【Mother's Day in US】奥巴马电话“偷袭”三位单亲老妈

【Mother's Day in US】奥巴马电话“偷袭”三位单亲老妈 Hello大家好，休息了一个周末，我们的雅思口语电台要继续开播了。昨天是母亲节，我在这里科普一下，其实母亲节是来源自美国的一个节日。美国内战结束之后，很多妻子都成了遗孀，要一个人养大孩子。所以一位叫贾维斯的女性就一直主张设立母亲节，给这些悲惨的母亲们一些慰藉。可惜，她奔波一生，这个倡议却直到她去世后才得到了响应；1914年的5月，当时的美国总统威尔逊宣布，把贾维斯夫人的忌日，也就是五月的第二个周日，设为母亲节。我们知道，由于美国是一个移民国家，大家的民族和文化背景千差万别，所以亲情和家庭就成了维系社会安定最重要的纽带。那么距离母亲节设立101年后的今天，美国人又是怎样大张旗鼓的过母亲节的呢？我们来看美国广播公司ABC刊登的这个英语小故事。 Most moms hope to get a hug or a call from their kids on Mother's Day. What they definitely don't expect is a call from the commander-in-chief. But President Barack Obama decided to make this Mother's Day a holiday, three American moms would never forget. All three women had written letters to Obama and were reportedly told to expect a call from a White House official. When they heard the president’s voice on the line Wednesday, they could hardly believe their ears. “No way!” exclaimed Patricia Church, a 50-year-old single mother of four. “Way,” Obama chuckled. “You still don’t believe me? No it’s me! Okay, give me a test ... Ask me about anything,” the president offered, as another mom was left speechless. “I know how tough it is to raise kids and do right by them. If it hadn't been for my mother, I certainly wouldn't be here,” he said. “You’re doing the most important work there is.” Stephanie Tarr, a mother to two boys, ages 9 and 3, described the experience as "surreal." “He was very encouraging about the boys having a bright future,” Tarr told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “I was just in complete shock that this was happening.” Obama’s own mother, Ann Dunham, died of ovarian cancer 1995. 好了，这就是ABC给我们讲的小故事，大概意思就是美国总统奥巴马出其不意，在母亲节当天亲自打电话给几位单亲妈妈，致以节日问候。这篇文章非常简单，没有什么生词和idioms,但它有几个好的地方。首先，作为短篇报道本身，它的故事结构非常出色，开头第一句“What they definitely don't expect”对于悬念的布置，中间展示奥巴马的幽默，后边又用一句“He was very encouraging about the boys having a bright future,”，把这件小事的主题升华了。所以我们不论是准备口语抑或是大小作文，这篇短文的思维逻辑都是值得我们学习的。 最后说一句题外话，聊聊美国政府是怎么做老百姓的公关的。小小的一个电话，小小的一篇ABC的短文，其实却传达了很多个层面的意思：第一，奥巴马非常亲民，亲自给老百姓打电话，还不忘了制造一个惊喜；第二，体现美国政府的人情味，注重亲情和家庭，尤其是最后一句貌似不经意的话，“Obama’s own mother, Ann Dunham, died of ovarian cancer 1995”，把高高在上的总统和老百姓牢牢绑定在一起。第三，一位母亲转述奥巴马“was very encouraging about the boys having a bright future”，也表明了美国政府在营造“希望在下一代人”的价值观。在文章的最后，我们再分享一段奥巴马接受采访的原声，听听他如何解释他个人和美国政府为什么这么注重母亲节。*Obama* “除了母亲节，每天都是父亲节”，耐人寻味啊。好了，今天的内容就是这些，so much for today and see you tomorrow!