Ken:

Hi, Sue. Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Do you have any plans?

(嗨，苏。感恩节还有几天就快到了，妳有任何计划吗？)

Sue:

You bet! I attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my family every year. It’s like our annual family tradition.

(当然啰！我每年都跟家人参加梅西感恩节大游行，这已经像是我们家每年的传统了。)

Ken:

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Why is she holding a parade for people?

(梅西感恩节大游行？为何梅西要替大家办游行？)

Sue:

Ken, are you being serious? You’ve never heard of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade before?

(肯，你是认真的吗？你从来没听过梅西感恩节大游行？)

Ken:

Sue, I’m not from America, so there are lots of things I don’t know.

(苏，我不是美国人，所以有很多事情我不知道啊。)

Sue:

I’m sorry, Ken. There’re times I do forget you’re not American. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the major events in November. People travel to New York City just to attend the parade and get in the Christmas spirit.

(对不起喔。有时候我真的会忘记你不是美国人。梅西感恩节大游行是十一月其中一件大事，人们来纽约市就是为了参加游行和感受圣诞节的气氛。)

Ken:

Christmas spirit?

(圣诞节的气氛？)

Sue:

That’s because at the end of the parade Santa Claus will appear to kick off the beginning of the Christmas holiday season.

(那是因为游行结束时，圣诞老公公会出现，迎接圣诞假日季节的到来。)

Ken:

I see. Well, I’ve never been to a parade before. What’s the parade like?

(原来如此。嗯，我从来没去过游行，那游行如何呢？)

Sue:

Well, my father told me that the parade started in 1920s when many of the Macy’s department store employees wanted to celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving. The parade was so successful and it has become an annual event ever since then. In the parade, there are clowns, floats, giant balloons, cheerleaders, and marching bands. A couple of days ago, I saw some photos of the giant balloons getting a test run on Instagram. I think this year’s event will be very huge since this is the 90th anniversary of the parade. Hey! I think you should come and join us to see the parade.

(嗯，我爸爸跟我说过梅西感恩节大游行始于1920年代，当时梅西百货的员工想要庆祝感恩节，因为活动太成功了，所以之后每年都会举办。游行里有小丑、花车、大型气球、啦啦队和军乐队。几天前我才在Instagram看到大型气球试飞的照片，我觉得今年的活动应该会很盛大，因为今年是梅西感恩节大游行第九十周年纪念。嘿！我觉得你应该来跟我们一起看看游行！)

Ken:

Great! Thanks for the invite.

(太棒了！谢谢妳的邀请。)

Sue:

But you need to get up really early. Although the parade starts at 9 a.m. and runs until noon, we always get there at around 6:30 to get a good spot. So, you’d better bundle up because November in New York City can get quite chilly.

(但是你要很早起。虽然游行在早上九点开始，到中午结束，但我们总是约六点半就会到那边抢好位置，所以你最好要穿暖一点，因为十一月的纽约市很有凉意。)

Ken:

Okay. I think I can manage that. And how much is the admission fee?

(好的，我应该可以做到。那入场费多少钱呢？)

Sue:

It’s free, so you can imagine it’ll be very crowded and packed like sardines then. But hey, that’s what makes the parade so festive.

(那是免费的，所以你可以想像到时候会非常地拥挤，挤到像沙丁鱼一样。但是就是这样，游行才欢乐啊！)

Ken:

Wow! I can’t wait!

(哇！我等不及了！)

annual

adj. 年度的

parade

n. 游行

event

n. [C] 活动

kick off

ph. 开始

float

n. [C] 花车

marching band

ph. 军乐队

test run

ph. 测试运行

anniversary

n. [C] 周年纪念

bundle up

ph. 穿得很暖和

admission fee

ph. 入场费

be packed like sardines

ph. 挤得像沙丁鱼、拥挤不堪

festive

adj. 欢乐的