2015年職稱英語考試《綜合類》：閱讀理解材料(4)

      2015年職稱英語考試《綜合類》：閱讀理解材料(4)

　　Starting a New Tradition

　　Shantelle Davis is a nine-year-old girl in New York. On a cold night in December, her family is standing around the kitchen table while she lights a candle. The table is decorated with baskets of fruits and vegetables and ears of com for Shantelle and her two brothers.

　　“This candle represents umoja, an African word that means being together,” Shantelle says. “That's the most important thing for a family. ”

　　Tonight is the first night of Kwanzaa, and Shantelle is spending the holiday with her family. More than 5 million African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa every year from December 26 until January I. It's a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa.

　　Kwanzaa is very unusual because it was started by one man. In 1966, an American named Maulana Karenga wanted a holiday for African-Americans to honor their culture and traditions. So he used words and customs from Africa to create a new celebration. He took the name Kwanzaa from the words for “first fruits” in Swahili, an African language. At first, a few American families had small celebrations at home. Now there are also Kwanzaa events in schools and public places， and Kwanzaa has spread to other countries like Canada and Jamaica.

　　The main symbol of Kwanzaa is a candleholder with seven candles, one for each of the principles of Kwanzaa. Each night, a family member lights one of the candles and talks about the idea it represents： being together, being yourself, helping each other, sharing, having a goal， creating, and believing. The candles are red, black, and green, the colors of Kwanzaa. The parents also pour drinks to honor family members who have died. On the last night of Kwanzaa, there is a big dinner with African food, and children receive small presents.

　　Today people can buy Kwanzaa greeting cards and special Kwanzaa clothes. Stores sell Kwanzaa candles and candleholders. Some people don't believe that Kwanzaa is a real holiday， because it's so new. But other people say that customs and celebrations are always changing and that Kwanzaa shows what is important in people's lives.

　　Shantelle Davis says she likes Kwanzaa because it's fun. “But I also learn new things every year," she says.

　　詞匯：

　　ancestor n.祖宗，祖先

　　be decorated with 由……所裝飾

　　honor vt. 尊敬,使榮幸; n.榮譽,尊敬

　　ears of com玉米穗

　　candleholder n.燭臺

　　注釋：

　　1. It's a time when they get together with their families to think about their history and their ancestors in Africa.這段時間里他們和家人待在一起緬懷他們的歷史和非洲的祖先。

　　2. ... shows what is important in people's lives. ……展現(xiàn)了人們生活中重要的東西。

　　開始新的傳統(tǒng)

　　珊特爾•戴維斯是一位九歲的紐約小女孩。12月的一個寒夜，珊特爾•戴維斯的家人都圍站在餐桌邊看著她點亮一支蠟燭。水果蔬菜籃子和玉米穗裝飾著這個餐桌，這些都是給珊特爾和她的兩個兄弟的。

　　“這支蠟燭代表umoja，在非洲這個詞意味著在一起，”珊特爾說，“這是家庭中最重要的事。”

　　今晚是寬扎節(jié)的第一個晚上，珊特爾正和她的家人待在一起。超過500萬的非洲裔美國人每年從12月26日到1月1日慶祝寬扎節(jié)。這段時間里他們和家人聚在一起緬懷他們的歷史和非洲的祖先。

　　寬扎節(jié)非常獨特，因為它是由一個人創(chuàng)立的。在1966年，一個名叫馬拉那•卡林加的美 國人想要為非洲裔美國人創(chuàng)立一個節(jié)日來向他們的文化和傳統(tǒng)致敬。因此他利用非洲的語言和習(xí)俗來創(chuàng)造一個新的傳統(tǒng)。他將節(jié)日命名為寬扎節(jié)，這個詞來源于非洲語言斯瓦西里語;在斯瓦西里語中，寬扎節(jié)的意思是“最初的果實。” 一開始，只有少數(shù)一些美國家庭在家進行小規(guī)模慶?！，F(xiàn)如今學(xué)校和公共場所也有寬扎節(jié)的慶?；顒印２⑶覍捲?jié)巳經(jīng)流傳到諸如加拿大、牙買加等其他國家。

　　一個放著七支蠟燭的燭臺是寬扎節(jié)的主要標(biāo)志，每支蠟燭代表寬扎節(jié)一個信條。每天晚上都會由一個家庭成員點亮一支蠟燭，并談?wù)撨@支蠟燭所代表的信條：在一起，做自己，互幫互助，懂得分享，擁有目標(biāo)，有創(chuàng)造性和有信仰。這些蠟燭有紅的、黑的和綠的，這是寬扎節(jié)的顏色。父母們也為逝去的家庭成員斟上喝的以此來紀(jì)念他們。在寬扎節(jié)的最后一夜會有一頓非洲風(fēng)味的大餐，并且孩子們會收到小禮物。