2018考研英语双语阅读：为什么要过父亲节?

　　2018考研复习进行时，考研英语阅读真题中的文章，多摘自英美主流外刊，有时候你认识所有单词、搞清全部语法还不够，还需要了解英美文化，掌握他们的表达方式，这就是阅读的潜台词。下面新东方在线考研整理《2018考研英语双语阅读精选》，速来学习吧！

　　History of Father’s Day

　　为什么要过父亲节?

　　History of Father’s Day Festival as seen today is not even a hundred years old. Thanks to the hard work and struggle of Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Washington that just as we have set aside Mother’s Day to honor mothers we have a day to acknowledge the important role played by the father. However, some scholars opine that Father’s Day history is much older than we actually believe it to be. They say that the custom of honoring dad’s on a special day is over 4,000 years old. There are a few more claims about the Father’s Day origin about which we will learn in this page.

　　现代父亲节的历史还不到100年。由于华盛顿索诺拉·路易斯的努力争取，就和我们有专门纪念母亲的母亲节一样，我们有了一个特别的日子来纪念父亲这一重要角色。但是一些学者认为，父亲节的历史事实上比我们认为的要长得多。他们表示称，在一个特殊的日子里纪念父亲的习俗已有4000多年历史。下文就介绍了一些关于父亲节起源的说法。

　　Earliest History of Father’s Day

　　一、父亲节最早的历史。

　　Scholars believe that the origin of Father’s Day is not a latest phenomenon, as many believe it to be. Rather they claim that the tradition of Father’s Day can be traced in the ruins of Babylon. They have recorded that a young boy called Elmesu carved a Father’s Day message on a card made out of clay nearly 4,000 years ago. Elmesu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life. Though there is no record of what happened to Elmesu and his father but the tradition of celebrating Father’s Day remained in several countries all over the world.

　　正如许多人所认为的那样，学者们认为父亲节的起源并不是一个现代才有的现象。相反，他们认为父亲节的起源可以追溯到巴比伦时代。他们的记录显示，在一块近4000多年前由黏土制成的卡片上，一个名为Elmesu的小男孩刻下了希望父亲(巴比伦人)健康长寿的信息。虽然没有记录表明Elmesu和他的父亲后来怎么样，但是庆祝父亲节的传统在全球各地延续了好几个世纪。

　　History of Father’s Day in US

　　二、美国父亲节的历史。

　　Modern version of Father’s Day celebration originated in United States of America and thereafter the tradition spread in countries around the world. The world owes thanks to Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd a loving daughter from Spokane, Washington as it is because of her struggle that Father’s Day saw the light of the day.

　　现代父亲节起源于美国，随后这个传统在全世界各国都流传了开来。全世界都要因此感谢来自华盛顿斯波坎的一个可爱女儿索诺拉·路易斯，正是因为她的努力才有了父亲节这个节日。

　　The idea of Father’s Day celebration originated in Sonora’s mind when she per chance listened to Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Fairly mature at the age 27, Sonora pondered if there is a day to honor mother then why not for father? Sonora felt strongly for fathers because of the affection she received from her own father Mr William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran. Sonora’s mother died while childbirth when she was just 16. Mr Smart raised the newborn and five other children with love and care.

　　庆祝父亲节的念头第一次出现在索诺拉的心中是在1909年，当时她偶然听到了母亲节的布道。27岁的索诺拉已经相当成熟了，她琢磨着既然有母亲节，那么为什么没有父亲节?由于受到父亲威廉(一个内战老兵)的影响，索诺拉对父亲们很有好感。索诺拉的母亲在分娩时去世，当时她只有16岁。后来，父亲威廉用爱和关怀将那名新生儿和其他5个孩子抚养长大。

　　Inspired by Ms Anna Jarvis’s struggle to promote Mother’s Day, Ms Dodd began a rigorous campaign to celebrate Father’s Day in US. The Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) supported Sonora’s cause. As a result Spokane celebrated its first Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. Though there was initial hesitation the idea gained gradual popularity all over US and Fathers Day came to be celebrated in cities across the country

　　受到安娜·贾维斯推动母亲节努力的启发，索诺拉在美国发起了庆祝父亲节的运动。斯波坎部长协会和当地的青年会都对索诺拉表示了支持。最终，1910年6月19日，斯波坎庆祝了第一个父亲节。虽然最初有点犹豫，但是这一想法逐渐流行起来，全美各地城市都开始庆祝父亲节。

　　Looking at the heightened popularity of Father’s Day in US, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge too supported the idea of a national Father’s Day in 1924 to, "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations". After a protracted struggle of over four decades, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. Sonora Smart Dodd was honored for her contribution at the World’s Fair in Spokane in 1974. Mrs. Dodd died in 1978 at age 96.

　　鉴于父亲节在美国日益流行起来，1916年时任总统威尔逊批准了这一想法。1924年时任总统卡尔文·柯立芝也对成立全国性父亲节的想法表示支持，从而“在父亲和孩子之间建立更密切的关系，明确父亲们的义务”。在四十多年的争取之后，1966年时任总统林登·约翰逊签署了一份总统声明，宣布每年6月第三个星期日为父亲节。1972年时任总统尼克松在6月第三个星期日举行了一场全国性的父亲节纪念活动。1974年在斯波坎世界博览会上，索诺拉因其这一贡献而受到人们的尊敬。索诺拉最终于1978年去世，享年96岁。

　　Present Day Celebrations

　　三、父亲节的礼物。

　　Father’s Day Festival has gained amazing popularity over the years. The festival is considered to be a secular one and is celebrated not just in US but in a large number of countries around the world including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway and India though on different dates. World over people take Father’s Day as an opportunity to thank father and pay tribute to them.

　　这些年来，父亲节受到了极大的欢迎。父亲节被认为是一个世俗节日，不仅是美国，包括阿根廷、澳大利亚、比利时、巴西、法国、德国、日本、新西兰、挪威和印度等国家都会庆祝父亲节，虽然日期不相同。世界各地的人们都把父亲节作为一个向父亲表达感谢和致敬的机会。

　　On this day children present Father’s Day cards not just to their dads but also grandfathers, uncles, stepfathers or any other person who commands the position of a father in their life. There is also a trend to present Father’s Day gift to dad, most popular of all being necktie. Other popular gift being roses, the official Father’s Day flower. Many people rue that the trend of presenting gifts to fathers has led to over commercialization of the festival relegating the noble idea behind Father’s Day celebration.

　　在这一天，孩子们不仅会给自己的父亲送上贺卡，还会给自己的祖父、叔父、继父、以及其他任何在他们人生当中担当过类似父亲角色的人送上贺卡。也有在父亲节给父亲送礼物的趋势，其中最受欢迎的是领带。其他受欢迎的礼物还包括玫瑰花——父亲节官方花朵就是玫瑰花。但是许多人感叹，父亲节送礼物的趋势被过分商业化了，使得父亲节背后的崇高理念蒙尘。

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