VOA标准英语2012--Holidays Never End in Santa Claus, Indiana

 

Holidays Never End in Santa Claus, Indiana

It’s June, it’s either warm or downright hot in the American Midwest, and in case you haven’t noticed, Christmas is about six months away.

But the holiday spirit abounds¹ every day of the year in Santa Claus, Indiana, a town of 2,000 people, one traffic light and a lot of holiday lights and tinsel.

It’s the summer home, sort of, of Saint² Nicholas, the holiday’s iconic patron³. It’s not just a one-stop gift shop and post office that stamps souvenir⁴ postmarks in places such as North Pole, Alaska. 

Santa Claus, Indiana, is a complete town, with a Santa Claus police department, Santa Claus High School, Santa Claus trash trucks, and three nice lakes: Lake Holly⁵, Christmas Lake, and Lake Noel. 

A carillon at the town hall plays Christmas carols 12 months a year, and a lot of people leave their Christmas decorations up at home all year, too.

Mostly inside, since the heavy rain in thunderstorms this time of year tends to knock down the outdoor displays.

Imagine walking through your front door day after day, year after year, and passing a Christmas tree, a model train, and maybe cookies for Santa’s elves. People do it all the time in Santa Claus, Indiana.

The place got its name 160 years ago. The story goes that the town founders⁶ were meeting in a church on Christmas Eve, trying to come up with a name.

A church bell sounded, a child yelled⁷ out “Santy Claus!” Everybody laughed, and before they knew it, they had voted to call their community “Santa Claus.”

Today you can find T-shirts in town that read, “I believe in Santa Claus,” which, of course, has a double meaning.

Local attractions⁸ include Santa’s Candy Castle, Frosty’s Fun Center, Santa’s Stables⁹, and a theme park called “Holiday World.” It’s not big like Disneyland, but it has kiddie rides, water slides, wave pools, and a classic¹⁰ wooden roller coaster.

The irony¹¹ is, Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana, is closed for the winter. 

1 abounds   

v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The place abounds with fruit, especially pears and peaches. 此地盛产水果，尤以梨桃著称。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• This country abounds with fruit. 这个国家盛产水果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

3 patron   

n.资助人，赞助人，老主顾，顾客

参考例句：

• The student wants to find a wealthy patron in America.那学生想在美国找一个富有的赞助人。
• I hope that you will become our patron.我希望你将成为我们的靠山。

4 souvenir   

n.纪念品，纪念物

参考例句：

• Please accept this little gift as a souvenir.请留下这个小小礼物作为纪念。
• I was going to save that as a souvenir.我本来准备把它做为纪念品保存下来的。

5 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

6 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

7 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 attractions   

n.吸引( attraction的名词复数 )；具有吸引力的事物；有吸引力的特征（或品质、人）；（尤指两性间的）爱慕

参考例句：

• Venice is one of the great tourist attractions of the world. 威尼斯是世界上令人向往的旅游胜地之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Three others like to see some natural attractions of beauty and peacefulness. 另外三个人喜欢美丽、安静的自然景观。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 stables   

n.（养马作特定用途的）养马场( stable的名词复数 )；畜舍；统称某人拥有（或训练的）赛马；在同一地方工作或训练的)一批人

参考例句：

• The estate consists of a main house, servants' quarters, a garage, stables and 100 acres of woods. 这地产包括一栋住宅，仆人住室，一个汽车房，几间马厩及100英亩的树林。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As we came out of the stables, a rider came towards us. 当我们走出马厩的时候，一个人骑着马向我们走了过来。 来自辞典例句

10 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

11 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。