这是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。
Thanksgiving Day is America's version of a harvest festival. The holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
感恩节是美国庆祝丰收的节日。每年11月的第4个星期四是感恩节。
This Thursday, millions of Americans will join family and friends to give thanks and eat a meal with a history that is centuries old.
本周四，数百万美国人将和亲朋好友聚在一起表达感谢，并吃上一顿具有数百年历史的大餐。
Early European settlers in North America held other ceremonies where they gave thanks. But what Americans often consider the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony. Today we call it Massachusetts.
北美的早期欧洲新移民举行过另一种表达感谢的仪式。但美国人通常认为第一个感恩节发生在普利茅斯部落。今天，我们把这个地方称为马萨诸塞州。
Those settlers are known as the Pilgrims. They held a three-day celebration in the fall of sixteen twenty-one. They celebrated the harvest with members of a local Indian tribe.
这些新移民被称为清教徒。他们在1621年秋天举行了一场为期三天的庆祝活动。他们和当地印第安部落成员一起庆祝了丰收。
The best known food that Americans traditionally eat on Thanksgiving is turkey. The nation's turkey producers are expected to raise two hundred forty-two million birds this year. The government says that is two percent fewer than last year. Last year's turkey production had a value of about three and a half billion dollars.
美国人在感恩节上通常食用的最有名的一种食物是火鸡。今年，全国火鸡产量预计将提高到2.42亿只。美国政府称，这比去年减产了2%。去年火鸡产值达到了35亿美元左右。
Thanksgiving turkeys are traditionally served with a bread mixture that some Americans call stuffing. Others call it dressing. Side dishes include cranberries, sweet potatoes and green beans or other vegetables. The meal traditionally ends with a dessert of pumpkin pie or pecan pie.
感恩节火鸡通常都会配上被美国人称为填料的面包混合物一起食用。配菜包括红莓果酱、甜山芋、绿豆或其他蔬菜。这顿大餐通常以南瓜饼或山核桃馅饼等甜点收尾。
Some Thanksgiving foods have changed over time. For example, most turkeys these days are bred with larger breasts to provide more white meat. Corn -- known in much of the world as maize -- has also changed. It tastes much sweeter than the starchier corn of the past.
随着时间的推移，一些感恩节食物也发生了改变。例如，当前大多数火鸡都被养得胸肥体壮，以便提供更多白肉。在全球大部分地区被称为包谷的玉米也发生了改变（maize、corn中文都翻译成玉米）。它比以前富含淀粉的玉米吃起来更甜。
The way Americans prepare for Thanksgiving has also changed. Economist John Anderson of the American Farm Bureau Federation says people look for ways to save time, though not everyone does.
美国人筹备感恩节的方式也发生了变化。美国农场局联合会经济学家约翰·安德森表示，人们在想办法节省时间，虽然不是每个人都这样。
JOHN ANDERSON: "There are a lot of us who have grandmothers who would not even think of using a store-bought pie crust. And that is kind of the least of the shortcuts that we use."
安德森：“我们中很多人的外婆都从来不会想到去商店购买馅饼皮。这算是我们最少用到的捷径。”
He says shortcuts like buying prepared foods for the holiday are part of a bigger trend in America.
他表示，购买备好的节日食物等捷径是美国大趋势的一部分。
JOHN ANDERSON: "If you think about our food in general, not just Thanksgiving dinner, but our food products in general, there has been a tremendous move over the last twenty or thirty years toward more convenience products."
安德森：“如果你琢磨下我们日常的食物。在过去了二三十年间，不仅说是感恩节食物，还包括我们日常的食物，都朝着更多便利消费品的方向迈进了巨大的一步。”
Some people might not have the time or the desire to prepare a big meal, or the space for a lot of guests. Whatever the reason, John Anderson notes that more people go to a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner than in the past.
有些人可能没有时间或心思来准备一顿大餐，或者家里没有足够的地方来待客。约翰安德森指出，不管出于什么原因，越来越多的人去餐厅吃感恩节大餐。
Charity groups and religious organizations will also be busy this Thursday, serving Thanksgiving meals to the needy. The weak economy has increased the number of Americans receiving government assistance to buy food.
慈善团体和宗教组织本周四也将忙着为有需要的人士提供感恩节大餐。经济的疲软也提高了从政府获取援助购买食物的美国人数量。
And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Bob Doughty.
以上就是本次美国之音慢速英语农业报道的全部内容，编辑杰莉琳·沃森，我是鲍勃·道蒂。