英语博客(A cup of English):094 Father's Day.

　　Beginners.
Father's Day is celebrated¹ here in the United States on the twenty first of June. It is a day when special attention is given to fathers. Shops are filled with cards of all sorts, thanking the fathers and grandfathers for being great people. Young children especially celebrate this day. Just as with Mother's Day, in school, the children will read about families, make cards, pictures, paintings, and small gifts for their parent. Sometimes songs will be learned and sung in a special assembly for the parents. As with any holiday here, the commercial side of it is huge. You can see this reflected in the advertisements in the newspapers and on television. "Father's Day sale at your local hardware store. All drills 50% off!" Fathers are supposed to like and use drills more than anyone else, so it is a good time to advertise and encourage gift buying. Restaurants, hairdressers, clothing stores, and even golf courses advertise special discounts on gifts or services for these special guys. My husband gets hand made cards from our children, usually with a gift of milk chocolate, his favorite. The words of appreciation² in the cards are very cute. They range anything from, "I love you dad for playing baseball with me," to "When I grow up, I want to mow³ the lawn just like you do."
Grammar notes.
Useful words: assembly, commercial, hardware, drill, discount.
Exs:
The children put on a special assembly for the end of school. They sang songs, danced, and read about what they had learned.
This national holiday has become so commercial that I don't like it any more. It's all about spending money!
I need to make a trip to the hardware store. I need a lot of tools.
I need to make some holes in the wall to hang the curtains. Get the drill, would you please?
There is a wonderful sale in the local clothing store. All the clothes are at a 50% discount.
Advanced.
Warning: the next section of this podcast is fast and crazy. Don't panic, I will slow it down the second time so you can pick up some of the slang and humor. This dialogue is actually taken from the Father's Day card that my children bought for my husband. The two characters are called Yo-yo and Hoops⁴. They are reading a checklist of the father's good qualities. Try to read the text while you listen, especially the second time when I slow it down. Good luck!
"Okay, fertilize⁵ lawn in a timely manner."    "Check!"
"Sees to our plumbing⁶ needs."                    "Check!"
"Expert bug⁷ squasher."                               "Check!"
"Master griller⁹ of all manners of meat."        "Check!"
"Most loving, caring, do anything for us dad in the whole wide world?"
"Check!"
"Duh! Man! Oh-ho! Checkarooni! Was that even a question? I don't know. Check waiter!"
Grammar notes.
Yo-yo and Hoops' vocabulary: fertilize, timely, plumbing, squash, to grill⁸, the whole wide world, duh.
Exs:
Our lawn is looking very yellow. I think we need to fertilize it.
They arrived at work everyday in a timely manner.
Our tap is leaking. Honestly, the plumbing in this house is terrible.
She accidentally dropped the bananas as she was walking. She squashed two of them.
Put the barbecuer on please. I want to grill some hot dogs.
Even if I travelled the whole wide world, I would never find someone who I love as much as you.
Person 1: "Is the weather nice?"
Person 2: " Duh! It's July. Of course it's nice!"

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

3 mow   

v.割（草、麦等），扫射，皱眉；n.草堆，谷物堆

参考例句：

• He hired a man to mow the lawn.他雇人割草。
• We shall have to mow down the tall grass in the big field.我们得把大田里的高草割掉。

4 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

6 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

8 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

9 griller   

[人名] 格里勒

参考例句：