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Now the VOA Special English program, "Words and their
stories".
I’m Rich Kleinfeldt. Today
we tell about the word fireworks.
we tell about:
comentamos acerca
de.
The expression fireworks
gets its meaning from the fireworks
that people shoot into the sky when they are celebrating a great
event.
Rockets
explode to fill the dark, night sky with bright reds and blues, with yellows and
greens and whites.
gets its meaning:
recibe su nombre (obtiene su
significado); shoot into: disparan hacia el; event: acontecimiento;
rockets:
los cohetes; to fill: llenar.
The expression also means a great show of
noisy anger, or
something exciting. For example, a defense lawyer in a
court trial may become
very emotional in arguing with the government lawyer about evidence affecting
the accused. The judge finally stops the loud argument and calls the two lawyers
forward. He tells them, “I want no more of these
fireworks in my courtroom.”
noisy ange:
enojo estruendoso;
court trial:
juicio ante un juez; in arguing with: al discutir con; accused:
acusado; forward: al frente; fireworks: jaleo, jarana, riña,
discusión acalorada.
Another kind of fireworks can be any event or activity that
is especially exciting. One such event is
falling in love. If anything can
produce fireworks, it is a
sweetheart’s kiss or the touch of a lover’s hand.
Often movie or television
cartoons show fireworks to represent the excitement of
a kiss.
falling in love:
enamorarse;
sweetheart: novio/a, enamorado/a; cartoons: dibujos animados.
People use the expression fireworks throughout the year. But
if you live in the United States and want to see real fireworks, the best time
of the year is about now. The Fourth of July is Independence Day in the United
States. Americans traditionally celebrate their nation’s
freedom with
giant
public parties and fireworks at night.
freedom:
libertad; giant:
gigantescas.
In Washington, for example, large
crowds gather near the
Washington Monument to listen to music and watch a
huge fireworks show. In other
cities and smaller towns, local people listen to band concerts and watch
fireworks explode in a dark sky.
crowds gather:
multitudes se
reúnen, concentran; huge fireworks show: enorme despliegue de fuegos de
artificio.
Many other countries around the world also enjoy the
tradition of exploding fireworks on special days. In Australia, the city of
Sydney begins each new year with a fireworks show
at midnight. China is the
birthplace
of fireworks. Large fireworks shows
were held
often during earlier
times in China. Now, people use small fireworks to help celebrate
weddings
and
birthdays.
at midnight:
a medianoche;
birthplace:
lugar de origen; were held: se llevaban a cabo, se realizaban;
weddings: fiestas de boda.
France also has a great fireworks tradition. A large
fireworks show always takes place on Bastille day
which celebrates the beginning
of the French Revolution. The French city of Cannes holds an international
fireworks competition each year in July and August.
Bastille day:
festejo de (la toma
de) la Bastila.
In India, people have been using fireworks for more than five
hundred years. A great Indian fireworks show takes place during the religious
celebration of
Diwali, every autumn.
Diwali:
fiesta religiosa
("festival de las luces") celebrada en la India.
Fireworks shows are popular around the world. But if I do not
end this program right now, there will be
fireworks from my producer.
fireworks:
una discusión
fuerte.
This VOA Special English program, "Words and their stories",
was written by David Jarmul. I’m Rich Kleinfeldt. |
