世界节假日博览 第94期:母亲节

 Mother's Day is an important day all around the world, even though it started in North America and Europe. Not all countries celebrate it on the same day, but the most popular day is the second Sunday in May. It is, of course, a day to honour our mothers and make them feel extra special. A punctuation¹ point about the day is that most countries choose the singular² possessive “Mother’s Day”, with the apostrophe before the ‘s’ to show that each family honours their mother, rather than all of the world’s mothers. Young children get especially excited about Mother’s Day and put a lot of effort into making cards and presents for their Mums, or Moms in America. For mothers, it is like having a second birthday.

尽管它起源北美和欧洲，但母亲节在全球享有重要地位。庆祝时间各国并不统一，但多数会在5月的第二个周日庆祝。我们会在这天感恩母亲，让她们感受到特殊对待。关于母亲节的英文符号，多数国家采用单数名词“Mother's Day”，“s”前的单引号想要表达的是，每个家庭感恩自己的母亲，而非全天下的母亲。儿童对母亲节尤为兴奋，在准备礼物和贺卡上煞费苦心。对于母亲来说，母亲节就像是她们的第二个生日。

Mother's Day in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. means³ mothers usually get the day off from housework. It is common for children to cook for their mother so she can have breakfast in bed. She also receives presents, flowers and cards. In America, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, as children take their Mums to lunch and/or dinner. Americans spend a lot on this day over $2.5 billion on flowers and $70 million on Mother’s Day cards. In Sweden, people buy small plastic flowers and the money raised goes to help needy⁴ mothers and their children. Many people are against the idea of Mother’s Day as it is upsetting for children (and adults) who have lost their mother. Spare a thought for them this Mother's Day.

在美国、加拿大、英国以及澳大利亚等国家，母亲通常会在这天摆脱家务烦恼。孩子们通常会给母亲做饭，母亲可以在床上享用早餐。还会收到礼物、鲜花以及贺卡。在母亲节那天，美国餐厅将迎来全年最忙碌日，孩子们会带母亲去餐厅吃午餐或晚餐。这天的消费也很大，鲜花收赢25亿美元，贺卡收赢7000万美元。在瑞典，人们购买小型塑料花，所得收入将捐给需要帮助的母亲和儿童。因该节日会让那些失去母亲的儿童（或成人）不安，许多人抵制母亲节。我们这次也要为他们想想。

1.excited about 对..兴奋

例句：This is why we are so excited about this research.

这也是为什么我们对此项研究如此兴奋。

2.all around the world 全世界

例句：Royalty⁵ and government leaders from all around the world are gathering⁶ in Japan.

世界各国的王室成员和政府首脑齐聚日本。

3.take sb to 带某人去

例句：I will take you to the park.

我带你去公园。

4.a lot of 许多

例句：We have grown a lot of beautiful roses this year. 

今年我们栽种了许多漂亮的玫瑰。

1 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

2 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

5 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。