英语课程计划-Pancake Day

Pancake Day is a favorite of children in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It is on this day they get to eat as many pancakes as they want – all smothered¹ with syrup², or lemon and sugar, or strawberry sauce. It is also called Shrove Tuesday. This is a religious holiday on the day before Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. During the 40 days of Lent, people used to fast and eat only the simplest of food. Things like eggs, milk and sugar had to be thrown away. Instead of wasting food, people traditionally used these ingredients to make pancakes. It became a mini celebration and people topped their pancakes with delicious things they could not eat for another 40 days. Few people nowadays fast for 40 days.

Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Day are not so well known in the United States. Americans are more familiar with Mardi Gras, which is also on the day before Ash Wednesday and is a very similar celebration. Different countries hold different events for Pancake Day. In England, some towns have pancake races. People must run a race with a frying pan and toss³ the pancakes as they run. The winner is the first person to cross the finishing line with a pancake that is still intact⁴. Children like to have a go at tossing⁵ the hot pancakes out of the frying pan in their kitchens. In Newfoundland, Canada, the cook puts a ring or a coin in the pancakes. The person who finds the coin will be rich and the person who finds the ring will be the next to get married.

1 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

2 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

3 toss   

n./v.突然抬起，摇摆，扔

参考例句：

• Let's toss to see who pays it.让我们来掷钱币决定谁付账吧。
• The matter made him toss in the bed.那件事使他在床上翻来覆去。

4 intact   

adj.完整无缺的，未经触动的，未受损伤的

参考例句：

• The glasses remained intact after being dropped.眼镜坠地后依然完好无损。
• He can scarcely survive this scandal with his reputation intact.他经此丑闻名誉很难不受损。

5 tossing   

v.（轻轻或漫不经心地）扔( toss的现在分词 )；（使）摇荡；摇匀；（为…）掷硬币决定

参考例句：

• Poor Joan has been tossing around all night with that fever. 可怜的琼因发烧而一整夜辗转不能入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The two boys agreed to decide the matter by tossing a coin. 这两个孩子同意用掷硬币的方法来决定这件事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》