What the White House Looks Like for Christmas

What the White House Looks Like for Christmas

白宫在圣诞节时看起来是什么样的

【原文听力】

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　　By Hai Do

　　27 November 2023

　　U.S. first lady Jill Biden wants everyone who visits the White House around Christmas to feel like a kid again.

　　On Monday, Biden held a gathering to show the White House Christmas decorations. "Magic, Wonder and Joy" is the theme this year. It will be the Bidens' third Christmas holiday in the White House.

　　"Each room on display is designed to capture the...delight and imagination of our childhoods," the first lady said. She also thanked some 300 people who volunteered to decorate the White House.

　　There are oversized holiday candies and other sweets in the hallway. There is a Santa Clause with eight reindeer suspended near the entrance.

　　Throughout two floors of the public area of the White House are reminders from the poem popularly known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The U.S. Library of Congress helped with copies of the poem from the past 200 years.

　　The traditional gingerbread White House includes a large sugar cookie copy of the book opened to a page that says, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night." The book contains 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough. Another 40 sheets of gingerbread dough are used for the house with 14 kilograms of chocolate and 23 kilograms of royal icing.

　　The oversized decorations are meant to bring feelings of joy to children at this time of the year, White House aides said. Children of military families were among the first members of the public to see the decorations. And they were also treated to an afternoon performance of the Disney musical performance Frozen.

　　One of the first Christmas trees visitors will see upon entering the White House is decorated with golden wooden stars. The ornaments include the names of fallen service members.

　　The official White House Christmas tree is a 5.6-meter-tall tree that stands in its usual place in the Blue Room. The tree is decorated with cheerful pictures from across the country. A toy train runs around its base.

　　The State Dining Room has been turned into Santa's workshop. There are workbenches for Santa's helpers, the elves. Stools and ladders circle Christmas trees and gifts-in-progress round out the display.

　　In the library, the moons and the stars are ready to honor the tradition of bedtime stories. The China Room has been turned into a shop of baked goods. The Vermeil Room celebrates music with a display of a toy Marine Band.

　　In her prepared remarks, the first lady said she knows that magic, wonder and joy can be hard to find, especially as the days grow shorter, the weather turns colder. She said, "Our hearts grow heavy in the face of a tumultuous world."

　　"But it's in these times, when we are searching for hope and healing, that we need those points of light the most, that we need each other the most," she said. "It's in these times that I hope you remember, if even just for a moment or a season, how you saw the world as a child."

　　Overall, the White House uses 98 Christmas trees, nearly 34,000 ornaments, over 22,000 bells and more than 350 candles for the display. And they are lit with 142,500 lights.

　　I'm Faith Pirlo.

　　Darlene Superville reported this for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Hai Do

　　日期：2023年11月27日

　　美国第一夫人吉尔·拜登希望每个在圣诞节期间参观白宫的人都能再次感受到孩子般的快乐。

　　周一，拜登举行了一个聚会，展示了白宫的圣诞装饰。今年的主题是“魔法、奇迹和欢乐”。这将是拜登夫妇在白宫度过的第三个圣诞节。

　　“每个展示的房间都设计得能捕捉到我们童年的……欢愉和想象力，”第一夫人说。她还感谢了大约300名自愿装饰白宫的人。

　　走廊里有超大的节日糖果和其他甜点。入口附近悬挂着一位圣诞老人和八只驯鹿。

　　在白宫公共区域的两层楼中，都有来自被广泛称为《圣诞节前夜》的诗的提醒。美国国会图书馆帮助提供了过去200年的诗的副本。

　　传统的姜饼白宫包括一本大糖饼复制的书，打开的页面上写着，“祝所有人圣诞快乐，愿所有人都有一个美好的夜晚。”这本书包含40张糖饼面团。另外40张姜饼面团用于房子，配有14公斤的巧克力和23公斤的皇家糖霜。

　　白宫助手表示，这些超大的装饰品旨在在这个时候给孩子们带来快乐的感觉。军人家庭的孩子们是首批看到这些装饰的公众成员。他们还被邀请观看了迪士尼音乐剧《冰雪奇缘》的下午表演。

　　进入白宫后，游客首先看到的圣诞树上装饰着金色的木星。装饰品中包括阵亡军人的名字。

　　官方的白宫圣诞树是一棵5.6米高的树，它位于蓝色房间的通常位置。这棵树上装饰着来自全国各地的欢快图片。一个玩具火车在它的底部运行。

　　国宴厅已经变成了圣诞老人的工作室。那里有圣诞老人的助手，小精灵的工作台。凳子和梯子围绕着圣诞树和正在制作的礼物，构成了展示的一部分。

　　在图书馓，月亮和星星已经准备好，以纪念睡前故事的传统。中国房间已经变成了烘焙食品的商店。Vermeil房间以玩具海军乐队的展示来庆祝音乐。

　　在她准备的讲话中，第一夫人说，她知道魔法、奇迹和快乐可能很难找到，尤其是当日子变短，天气变冷的时候。她说，“面对一个动荡的世界，我们的心情变得沉重。”

　　“但是就在这些时候，当我们正在寻找希望和治愈的时候，我们最需要那些光明点，我们最需要彼此，”她说。“就在这些时候，我希望你记住，即使只是一瞬间或一个季节，你是如何像一个孩子一样看待世界的。”

　　总的来说，白宫使用了98棵圣诞树，近34,000个装饰品，超过22,000个铃铛和350多个蜡烛进行展示。它们由142,500个灯点亮。

　　我是Faith Pirlo。

　　这篇报道是由Darlene Superville为美联社报道的。Hai Do为美国之音学习英语进行了改编。

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　　这个故事中的词汇：

　　decoration –n. 装饰品：用来使地方更具吸引力和趣味性的物品或装饰物

　　theme –v. 主题：在地方的物品或写作中用词语表现的主要主题或重复的想法

　　delight –n. 快乐：一种幸福的感觉

　　tumultuous –adj. 动荡的：涉及暴力、混乱和无序