2017年catti英語筆譯初級模擬題：感恩節(jié)
【英譯漢】
American Thanksgivings
According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims marked the occasion by feasting with their Native American guests - members of the Wampanoag tribe - who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. Although this event was an important part of American colonial history, there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feast as a thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period of drought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of thanksgiving because rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed among New Englanders to annually celebrate Thanksgiving after the harvest.
Colonial governments and, later, state governments took up the Puritan custom of designating thanksgiving days to commemorate various public events. Gradually the tradition of holding annual thanksgiving holidays spread throughout New England and into other states. During the American Revolution (1775-1783) the Continental Congress proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving following the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777.U.S. President George Washington proclaimed another day of thanksgiving in 1789 in honor of the ratification of the Constitution of the United States. In 1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and many other states soon did the same. Most of the state celebrations were held in November, but not always on the same day.
In 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day in order to bolster the Union's morale. After the war, Congress established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but widespread national observance caught on only gradually. Many Southerners saw the new holiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on them. However, in the late 19th century Thanksgiving's emphasis on home and family appealed to many people throughout the United States. As a distinctly American holiday, Thanksgiving was also considered an introduction to American values for the millions of immigrants then entering the country.
During the 20th century, as the population of the United States became increasingly urban, new Thanksgiving traditions emerged that catered to city dwellers. The day after Thanksgiving gradually became known as the first day of the Christmas shopping season. To attract customers, large retailers such as Macy's in New York City and Gimbel's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began to sponsor lavish parades. By 1934 the Macy's parade, featuring richly decorated floats and gigantic balloons, attracted more than one million spectators annually.
【參考譯文】
美國的感恩節(jié)若按傳統(tǒng)的祈禱儀式來界定，美國第一個感恩節(jié)應(yīng)該出現(xiàn)在1621年。當時，英國朝圣者在現(xiàn)在美國的馬薩諸塞州建立了第一個殖民地——普利茅斯殖民地。朝圣者為此擺設(shè)盛宴，大舉慶賀。當?shù)赝林f帕諾亞格族人也帶來象征友好的賀禮，共同歡慶。這個事件是美國殖民時期發(fā)生的歷史性事件，但當時人們并沒有意識到它還具有感恩性質(zhì)。兩年后，當?shù)剡m逢旱燥天氣。人們紛紛進行齋忌和禱告，祈求甘露。有一天當人們正在禱告時，天果真下起雨來。人們立刻舉行慶�；顒�，感謝上帝的恩賜。以后每年莊稼收割后，人們都會舉行類似的感恩慶祝活動。漸漸地，感恩節(jié)慶典活動發(fā)展成為了新英格蘭人的風(fēng)俗。
殖民地政府以及后來的州政府先后仿效清教徒的作法，借感恩節(jié)的名義來紀念各種重大事件。于是感恩節(jié)節(jié)假日的習(xí)俗逐漸在新英格蘭得到推行，繼而流傳到其他各州，比如：在美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭期間(1775-1883)，大陸軍國會曾宣布1777年薩拉托加戰(zhàn)役勝利日為全國感恩節(jié)。1789年，美國第一任總統(tǒng)喬治·華盛頓將美國憲法的頒布日改為感恩節(jié)。而1817年，紐約州政府正式確立感恩節(jié)的年度節(jié)假日地位。此后，感恩節(jié)的合法地位在其他州也陸續(xù)得到承認。感恩節(jié)大多定在十一月舉行，但各州的具體日期不盡相同。
1863年，美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)時期總統(tǒng)亞伯拉罕林肯宣布每年十一月的最后一個星期四為感恩節(jié)，以此鼓舞聯(lián)盟軍的士氣。戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，國會正式確立感恩節(jié)為全國統(tǒng)一節(jié)假日。盡管如此，該假日并沒有在美國各地迅速推廣開來。因為不少南方人認為此舉有將北方風(fēng)俗強加于人的嫌疑。但是發(fā)展到十九世紀末，人們漸漸被感恩節(jié)講究家庭和親情的特質(zhì)所觸動，感恩節(jié)終于在美國各地流行起來。另外，感恩節(jié)作為美國特有的節(jié)日，成為千萬新移民了解美國價值觀念的窗口。
二十世紀以來，隨著美國的城市化步伐的加快，城市居民的人數(shù)越來越多。感恩節(jié)的活動為了迎合潮流需要，也吸納了不少新鮮的元素。例如：眾所周知，從感恩節(jié)第二天開始就進入了圣誕購物黃金時段。于是一些著名的商家如紐約的Macy's公司，費城和賓夕法尼亞的吉姆貝爾，為了招攪顧客，紛紛主辦大型的游行表演活動。1934年以前，以華麗炫目的彩車和巨型氣球著稱的Macy's的游行隊伍，每年都能吸引到超過百萬的觀賞者。
