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Part 1 The History of Memorial Day 阵亡将士纪念日的历史
Memorial Day, perhaps more than any other holiday, was born of human necessity. Deep inside all of us lies a fundamental desire to make sense of life and our place in it and the world. What we have been given, what we will do with it and what we will pass to the next generation is all part of an unfolding history, a continuum that links one soul to another.
Abraham Lincoln pondered these thoughts in the late fall of 1863. His darkest fear was that he might well be the last president of the United States, a nation embroiled in the self-destruction of what he described as "a great civil war..testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure." He began his remarks with those words as he stood on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19th of that year.
The minute's speech that became known as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address turned into what might be called the first observance of Memorial Day. Lincoln's purpose that day was to dedicate a portion of the battlefield as a cemetery for the thousands of men, both living and dead, who consecrated that soil in the sacrifice of battle. Said Abraham Lincoln: "That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause which they gave the last full measure of devotion...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."
About that same time in 1865, a druggist in Waterloo, New York, Henry C. Welles, began promoting the idea of decorating the graves of Civil War veterans. He gained the support of the Seneca County Clerk, General John B. Murray, and they formed a committee to make wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. On May 5, 1866, war veterans marching to martial music led processions to each of three cemeteries, where the graves were decorated and speeches were made by General Murray and local clergymen. The village itself was also decorated with flags at half-mast, evergreen boughs and mourning black streamers.
Also, as the Civil War was coming to a close in the spring of 1865, Women's Auxiliaries of the North and South moved from providing relief to the families and soldiers on their own sides to joining in efforts to preserve and decorate the graves of both sides. A woman of French extraction and leader of the Virginia women's movement, Cassandra Oliver Moncure, took responsibility of coordinating the activities of several groups into a combined ceremony on May 30. It is said that she picked that day because it corresponded to the Day of Ashes in France, a solemn day that commemorates the return of the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte to France from St. Helena.
In 1868, General John A. Logan, first commander of the Grand Army of the Republic issued a General Order establishing May 30 as an official memorial day to pay respect to all those who had died, in war or peace. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that: The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery. As already mentioned this 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois.
In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo --- which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866 --- because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars.
In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)
Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.
Perhaps General Logan's proclamation was simply the making official of what the nation yearned for and spontaneously began to form after the near total destruction of the Civil War. It is that sharing of loss, honoring the sacrifices of those who made possible the lives we enjoy today, and family connections across the generations that keep Memorial Day in our hearts...and always will.
其实，很多国家都有自己的“阵亡将士纪念日”或类似的纪念日。大多数这样的纪念日，是以国家遭到袭击，或是历史上军队为保卫和平而战的日子来安排的。例如美国将每年5月份的最后一个星期一定为“阵亡将士纪念日”，每到这一天，美国现役军人和老战士便前往墓地，鸣枪向阵亡将士致意，吹响军中熄灯号让死难将士安息。
那么这个“阵亡将士纪念日”是怎么来的呢？在十九世纪的美国南北战争中，很多将士战死沙场。战后，很多南方妇女会在春天到阵亡战士的墓前献花，由于她们献花的对象不分南方人和北方人，这种举动感动了全国上下，到了1868年的时候，就正式确定了5月30日为美国的“阵亡将士纪念日”，纪念所有内战中阵亡的将士。
第一次世界大战以后，许多阵亡战士的家庭和曾经参与过战争的人，也会利用这一天，到战友或者阵亡的亲友墓前献花致敬。这个日子后来成为纪念所有为国捐躯的美国将士的日子。1971年，阵亡将士纪念日改为5月最后一周的星期一，并被定为国家法定假日。
其实现在美国很多年轻人都搞不清楚阵亡将士纪念日的由来，一般来说，会去墓园缅怀阵亡将士的，都是上了年纪的老兵。而大部分人，则会利用这连续三天的假期，邀请亲朋好友烤肉野餐。
Part 2 A Grill Party 烤肉派对
Dialogue Script 1 对话原文 1
Mark: The weekend's finally here!
Ann: And it's a long one. I have Monday off. It's Memorial Day or something like that.
Mark: Yep. It's the kickoff of the barbecue season. We're invited to a grill party in the park tomorrow.
Ann: Sounds good. What do we need to bring?
Mark: We need to buy some buns for the hotdogs and hamburgers, and I'm making potato salad.
Ann: I'll dig out the Frisbee and my kite from China.
讲解：
1. 对话中，Mark和Ann的朋友们邀请他们俩参加一个烤肉的派对。工作了一周之后，Mark说，The weekend's finally here! 总算到周末了！Ann接着说，And it's a long one. I have Monday off. It's Memorial Day or something like that. 还是一个很长的周末呢。而且星期一还连着放假，因为周一是美国的“阵亡将士纪念日”，是法定假日，放假一天。
2. have...off，表示“ 休...天的假”。休假一天，可以说have a day off。如果你要告诉人家你某天休假，不用上班或者不用上课的时候，就把休假的天数套入这个have...off的句型当中就可以了。比如说，---I'll have a day off tomorrow. Wanna go shopping with me? ---Sure. When shall we meet? ---我明天休假。想和我去逛街吗？---当然了。我们明天几点见？
3. 那么人们在这一天会做些什么呢？这一天通常代表着烤肉季节的开始，It's the kickoff of the barbecue season. kickoff在口语中表示“开始，序幕”，也可以表示“足球比赛的开球”。如果把kickoff 拆开，还有kick something off这个词组，表示“开始会议等活动”，I'll ask Tina to kick off . 我让Tina开始。那么开始什么就随情况而定了，比如我们可以说 I'll ask Tina to kick off the discussion. 我让Tina开始讨论。
4. 有人邀请Mark 和Ann去公园参加一个烤肉派对，也就是grill party，grill这个词的意思是“烤肉用的架子或炉子”，所以grill这个词就用来表示“烤肉”，而barbecue这个词侧重于表示“在篝火上烤肉的金属烤架”，当然也可以表示“吃烤肉等的野餐”。grill还可以做动词，表示“烧烤食物”，比如说，I'll grill you some fish. 我来给你烤些鱼。
5. Ann觉得这个grill party听起来挺好玩的。那么需要带什么东西过去吗？去参加人家的派对，什么东西都不带是不礼貌的。Mark说要买一些做热狗和汉堡用的圆面包，就是bun，一种小而圆的甜面包或点心。Mark还要做一个potato salad，土豆沙拉。那么Ann准备带什么去参加party呢？她要带Frisbee，也就是在一种在美国非常流行的玩具，飞盘，一种飞碟状的塑料圆盘，两个人可以互相抛扔。Ann还准备在那天放她从中国带过来的风筝。
