2016考研英语阅读精选：感恩节的背后真的都是感恩吗

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　　感恩节的背后真的都是感恩吗?

　　This week, across the Pacific, Americans are busy polishing off slices of turkey and pie, as part of the annual Thanksgiving holiday.

　　本周，太平洋彼岸的美国人正在热火朝天地烤火鸡和馅饼，这是他们每年感恩节的一部分。

　　When the fourth Thursday in November rolls around, Americans gather around their dinner tables, appetites in tow, to re-live the 1621 Plymouth feast. It’s a celebrationof the country’s Pilgrim ancestors, who escaped religious persecution in England by sailing to Plymouth.

　　每年11月的第四个星期四，美国人都会团聚一堂，带着满满的食欲坐在餐桌边，重温1621年普利茅斯的盛宴。这是清教徒祖先流传下来的庆典，当年他们为了逃离英国的宗教迫害，远渡重洋来到了普利茅斯。

　　The first Thanksgiving is depicted as a rosy affair: grateful Pilgrims break bread with their newfound Native American friends. But there’s renewed interest in muddying this tidy narrative. After all, colonization didn’t end so cheerily for Native Americans.

　　第一个感恩节被描绘成美好的事件：心存感激的清教徒和他们新发现的印第安朋友一起用餐。不过现在有人燃起了搅乱这种共识的兴趣。毕竟，对印第安人而言，殖民并不是在愉快的氛围中结束的。

　　The characterof Squanto, for instance, is portrayed in Thanksgiving stories as a kind-hearted indigenous translator who shared helpful farming tips with the Europeans. But whatmoststories fail to mention is how bleak Squanto’s life really was.

　　以斯匡托这个人物为例，在有关 感恩节的故事里，他常被描述为热心的土著 翻译，他和欧洲移民分享有用的农业小窍门。但大多数的故事并没有提及斯匡托真实的悲惨人生。

　　Europeans had previously captured Squanto and forced him into slavery. That’s how he was able to speak English when the Pilgrims arrived. The arrival of European diseases also left Squanto without a home. His communityof Patuxet had all but died out.

　　欧洲人早前就俘虏了斯匡托，逼迫他成为奴隶。这就是为什么当英国清教徒到达普利茅斯时，他就能说英语了。欧洲传来的疾病也让斯匡托失去了家人。他所在的帕丢赛特部落几近灭绝。

　　The reaction against Thanksgiving–as a sanitized, European-focused holiday – started decades and decades ago. Native American groups have been celebrating “Un-Thanksgiving” since the 1970s. The celebrationstarted as a protestto protect indigenous rights.

　　几十年前，反对感恩节的活动就开始了，这个节日被认为是使同化的，以欧洲人为中心的。从20世纪70年代开始，印第安人开始庆祝“非 感恩节”。这个节日最早是保护美洲原住民权利的一项抗议。

　　But this year, mainstream media organizations like Buzzfeed and the National Geographic Channel are confronting the myths surrounding Thanksgiving. The four-hour Saints & Strangers mini seriesis National Geographic’s attempt to go “beyond the familiar historical account of Thanksgiving”.

　　不过今年，主流媒体，如 新闻聚合网站Buzzfeed和国家地理频道都在和 感恩节神话进行对垒。国家地理频道推出的四小时迷你剧《圣徒与陌生人》就试图“颠覆大家熟悉的感恩节演变史”。

　　“So many people celebrateThanksgiving every year, but I think mostpeople have no idea what the story is behind it,” Saints & Strangers star Kalani Queypo told Indian Country Today.

　　《圣徒与陌生人》的主演盖拉尼?奎珀告诉印第安国度每日媒体网络：“每年都有很多人庆祝感恩节，但我认为大部分人都不知道它背后的故事。”

　　Thanksgiving isn’t the only holiday to be criticized for its simplistic depiction of colonialism. Columbus Day, the October holiday that celebrates explorer Christopher Columbus, is also coming under fire.

　　因为简化对殖民主义的描述而被诟病的节日不仅只有 感恩节。每年10月纪念探险家克里斯托佛?哥伦布的哥伦布日也饱受争议。

　　Columbus is famous for “discovering” the New World. But historical documents show that he helped expand the slave trade to the Caribbean by using violence against the nativepeople.

　　哥伦布以“发现”新大陆而闻名。不过历史资料记载他是武力镇压原住民，将奴隶贸易扩展到哥伦比亚地区的帮凶。

　　Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Missoula, Montana, marked 2015 by replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. Even the Los Angeles citycouncilconsidered dumping Columbus Day this year, according to the Los Angeles Times.

　　密歇根州的安娜堡市和蒙大纳州的米拉苏市在2015年以土著人民日取代了哥伦比亚日。据《洛杉矶时报》报道，就连洛杉矶市议会都考虑过取消今年的哥伦比亚日。

　　“Los Angeles is the mostculturally diverse cityin the United States, and we must find a way to honor the profound sacrifices made by countless tribal members through the centuries,” city councilmember Mitch O’Farrell told the newspaper.

　　市议会成员米奇?奥法雷尔告诉《洛杉矶时报》：“洛杉矶是全美城市中文化最多元的，我们必须找到方法纪念几百年来为我们的国家做出重大牺牲的部落同胞。”

　　Some other countries are also questioning how to remember their colonial past. On May 26, Australia observes National Sorry Day, which commemorates the aboriginal children who were taken from their homes to be “re-educated” with Western culture.

　　还有一些国家也在争论该如何纪念它们的被殖民岁月。5月26日，澳大利亚庆祝了国家道歉日，纪念那些被迫离开家人，接受西方文化再教育的土著儿童。

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