VOA常速英语2013--孩子们亲身感受感恩节游行花车的魅力（在线收听）

Children Ogle at Floats for Thanksgiving Day Parade 孩子们亲身感受感恩节游行花车的魅力

MOONACHIE, NEW JERSEY — Next Thursday, November 28, is Thanksgiving Day in America. For thousands of bystanders and millions of television viewers, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York is as traditional as turkey and stuffing. This year marks the 87th year of Macy's parade. It will feature 15 giant helium balloons of cartoon and pop culture characters, 1,200 dancers and cheerleaders, 900 clowns, 10 marching bands and nearly 9,000 personnel, almost all of them volunteers. Some children were fortunate to get a sneak preview of some of 2013’s most dazzling floats, a full year in the making.

Over the course of the nearly nine decades since Macy's immigrant employees organized the first Thanksgiving Day Parade, the floats and balloons have been getting larger, more colorful and more surprising.

距离梅西百货的移民员工们第一次组织感恩节游行已经有90多个年头了,现在的花车和气球已经变得更大，颜色也更加五彩缤纷,也更加令人瞠目结舌。

This year, school children were invited to the Macy's parade studios outside New York City, for a first look at several just completed floats.

而在今年,学校的孩子们都被邀请前往纽约外梅西游行活动的工作室,第一次亲眼目睹几辆刚刚完成的花车。

Bella was excited to be there.

来到这里让贝拉感觉很兴奋。

“I think it's great because I get to see all of these floats before anyone else does in the parade.

“我认为这太棒了,因为我可以在花车游行之前看到它们。

And I like that they do acrobatics on it," said Bella.

而且我喜欢人们在上面表演杂技,”贝拉说道。

Nine-year-old Maral was inspired.

9岁的马拉尔受到了启迪。

“I really like art and making things.

“我真的很喜欢艺术和制作东西。

So it's really cool for me to see all this being made and how it looks when it's done,” said Maral.

所以我看到制作这些花车及它们完成的样子真的很酷。”马拉尔说。

John Piper is vice president of Macy's studio and so-called Head Balloonatic.

约翰·皮尔是梅西工作室的副总裁及此次活动的负责人。

He said his work is fun all the time.

他表示自己的工作一直充满乐趣。

“Or at least it seems that way.

“或者至少看起来是这样。

It's a lot of work.

有很多工作要做。

All year long, the artists at the Macy's Studio build these floats.

梅西百货工作室的艺术家们要利用全年时间制造这些花车。

We create them from scratch.

我们从零开始做起。

I have the finest carpenters, and welders and metal workers and sculptors and painters and illustrators all collaborating together,” said Piper.

我们这里最好的木匠,焊工和金属工人以及雕塑家，画家，插图画家们一起合作,” 皮尔说道。

The floats are supposed to showcase the parade's commercial sponsors in time for the start of the Christmas season.

游行的花车本应为了圣诞季节的开始展现给商业赞助商们。

But Amy Kule, the event producer, said there's more to it than that.

但这一活动的策划人艾米·酷勒表示相比之下还有更多的事情要做。

“And that is to maintain the beauty and the majesty of this parade.

“我们要维护这次游行的美丽与威严。

And this parade is always about giving back and it's about entertaining.

而且此次游行总是关于回馈和娱乐。

But most important, it's about leaving it intact for the next generation.

但最重要的是,它是留给下一代完整的回忆。

With only days left until Thankgiving, New Yorkers and Americans can look forward to a Thanksgiving Day Parade that's a visual feast “with all the trimmings.”

随着距感恩节只剩下几天时间,纽约人和美国人可以期待这次感恩节游行的视觉盛宴。