VOA慢速英語:Talk Turkey Before Thanksgiving Day

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語農業報道。

On Thursday, most Americans will gather around a table with family and friends to give thanks. Traditionally, a turkey is at the center of the table on Thanksgiving Day.

本周四，大多數美國人都會和家人朋友圍坐一桌表達感謝。通常在感恩節，一只火雞會擺在桌子的正中央。

Turkeys are grown in many areas across the United States. Last year, near 70 percent of the birds came from one of seven states: they were Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri, Indiana and California. And estimated forty-six million turkeys were raised in Minnesota.

美國很多地方都飼養火雞。去年，美國近70%的火雞都來自于這七個州：它們是明尼蘇達州，北卡羅來納州，阿肯色州，弗吉尼亞州，密蘇里州，印第安納州和加利福尼亞州。同時據估計其中4600萬只火雞是在明尼蘇達州飼養的。

The United States Department of Agriculture says 253 million turkeys were raised from January 2013 through September. There is a pleasant surprise about the cost of serving a turkey meal this month.

美國農業部表示，今年1至9月美國共飼養了2.53億只火雞。這個月吃一頓火雞大餐的費用有個意外驚喜。

Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation prepares a study of the prices and sales of foods served on Thanksgiving. The group says the average cost of a Thanksgiving meal for ten people this year is forty-nine dollars and four cents. That is forty-four cents less than last year.

每年，美國農場局聯合會都會準備研究感恩節食用的食物的價格和銷售情況。該組織表示，今年一頓10人感恩節大餐的平均費用是49美元4美分，比去年便宜44美分。

Scott Aronson of Maryland says he had to buy a large turkey because of all the people coming to his home on Thanksgiving day.

馬里蘭州的斯科特·阿倫森(Scott Aronson)說，因為大家都到他家過感恩節，他不得不買一只很大的火雞。

"Each year we celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family. This year we will be hosting 16 people with a 23 pound turkey."

他說，“每年我們都和家人朋友一起慶祝感恩節。今年我們將用一只23磅的火雞來招待16位客人。”

Some Americans like to purchase their turkey directly from a farm. This can cost more than buying one at store. Nicole Roza said it is worth the extra money because Thanksgiving comes just once a year. Last year, she spent 70 dollars for a 7 kilogram farm turkey. Some people may choose to buy a turkey directly from a farm, because they are told what the turkeys have been feed.

一些美國人喜歡直接從農場購買火雞，這比在商店買更貴一些。妮可·羅扎(Nicole Roza)表示，多花點錢也值，因為感恩節一年只有一次。去年，她花了70美元買了一只7公斤的農場火雞。一些人可能選擇直接從農場購買火雞，是因為他們被告知了這些火雞是用什么飼養的。

Polyface Farm in Virginia Shenandoah Valley, for example, says its turkeys are raised on pasture, that lets the animals eat many kinds of grasses and other bird feed. In addition, they eat oats, corn and whole roasted soybeans. This year, Polyface Farm has already presold about 12 hundred turkeys. The orders come from restaurants, small businesses, farm customers and other buyers.

舉例來說，弗吉尼亞州雪蘭多山谷的波利弗斯農場表示，他們的火雞是在牧場飼養的，這使它們能吃到各種各樣的草和其它鳥飼料。此外，它們還吃燕麥、玉米和烘烤大豆。今年，波利弗斯農場已經預售出大約1200只火雞。這些訂單來自于餐廳、小企業、農場客戶和其他買家。

Many countries have a smaller supply of turkeys than the United States, or perhaps, they have none of the birds. Turkeys do not grow in some parts of Africa for example. And in other areas, the animals can be very costly. A precooked, ready-to-serve turkey can cost as much as 100 dollars in places like Singapore.

許多國家在火雞供應量上都小于美國。或者他們完全沒有火雞。例如非洲的一些地區就沒有火雞。而在其它地區，火雞可能非常昂貴。在新加坡等地，一直預先烹飪過的火雞可能要花費高達100美元。