『えいごで読む物語』シリーズでは、ランカル英会話に所属するメイトの日常や思い出をえいごでお届けします。

今回のテーマは「独立記念日」
7月4日はアメリカの独立記念日だということをご存知ですか？

アメリカ出身のGrewが、どんなことをするのか詳しく解説してくれました！

初心者の方は「インテンシブ・リーディング（精読）」の読み物として、こちらのシリーズを読んでみることをオススメします。
コラムになっているため、文章量が少なく、また単語・表現も日常的に使われるものが中心となっています。

そのため、じっくりと読むインテンシブ・リーディングで文章の組み立て方に注目してみてくださいね！
詳しくは下にまとめてみたのでチェックしてくださいね。

詳しい練習方法は以下を参考にしてくださいね♪

Intro

There are around eighty countries that celebrate the founding of their nation so I won’t list all of them here, but a few of them include: Australia in January, South Africa in April, the EU in May, the UK in June, the US is in July, and Japan celebrates National Foundation Day in February. 

 I don’t know much about other countries, but I do know that this is a major holiday in the US. It’s one of the biggest and most celebrated holidays over there.

With neighbors

 Cities, Towns, and major metropolises celebrate the 4th of July, Independence Day, all across the US. The celebrations are pretty much the same anywhere you go and range from small backyard BBQs to city sponsored parties.  

 No matter the size of the town or city there will be a parade. There are usually fireworks of some kind and everyone has the day off to enjoy time outside with family, friends, and neighbors.  

 This year it happens to fall on a Saturday, but most companies will give their employees Friday off as well since it’s generally recognized as a three day holiday weekend.

BBQ on sunny day

 Now, let’s get into some fun examples of what might happen. For sure, there will be BBQs. Even if your town is hosting an event, not everyone will want to go or at least they won’t stay the whole day.  

My family almost always hosted a BBQ in our backyard. Living in Southern California you could almost guarantee that there would be beautiful weather in early July, so at least for us there was never a fear of it getting rained out. 

 Standard BBQ foods would always appear: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, roasted/grilled corn on the cob, baked potatoes, hotdogs, potato skins, potato salad, fruit salad, usually some type of platter with a variety of vegetables on it, and for the adults, alcohol. 

 Lot’s and lot’s of alcohol. We’d invite some friends and a few neighbors. If there was a pool we’d be swimming. But, as much fun as it is, it’s also one of the worst days for DUIs and car accidents. 

Parades

There are lots of services that offer free rides on the day and in my city if you called the non-emergency police line they would drive you home if you had been drinking. I never did it myself as my town was pretty small so I usually just walked home.

 Next on our festivities list are parades which will be the next big event during the 4th.  I’ve walked in quite a few parades myself, as a kid, and watched many more on TV.  From small towns to big cities there will be a parade.

 The big ones will be broadcast on the major TV channels for people to enjoy during their BBQ and the small ones will usually happen earlier in the day so that people can come enjoy it before going to whatever party they planned to attend. 

You’ll see veterans, marching bands, dancers, and  floats made by students and local clubs. If the parade is also part of your town’s big party it will have booths there selling food, drinks and offering games for kids and adults alike.  

You can see fireworks in the states!

It’s pretty similar to a Japanese summer festival in that sense.  I would recommend checking one out if you’ve got the chance.  

The last thing I’ll mention is the fireworks.  They’re a big part of the celebration.  You’ll have kids with sparklers, teens with bottle rockets, and adults playing around with mortar fireworks.  

There are hundreds of different kinds, but make sure to check with the city regulations wherever you are, because some types are not allowed in certain areas. California for example has a statewide ban on personal fireworks.

  California has an issue with wildfires due to its hot and dry temperature. So, the only fireworks you should see are the ones performed by professional crews paid for by the city, though some people do break that rule.  

They’re usually quite grand and some of the ones I’ve seen can easily compare to the fireworks displays at Disneyland.

Conclusion

All in all the 4th of July, Independence day, is just a giant party in the US.  It’s a lot of fun, there’s always good food, and lot’s to do.  If you’re a fan of food and fun. Stop by a city celebration next time you’re in the US.   

 

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今回はGrewがアメリカの独立記念日についてを紹介してくれました。
普段あまり知る機会のない海外の記念日。
あなたもこの機会にぜひ、さまざまな国の記念日を調べてみてはいかがでしょうか？

LanCul英会話ではリーディングはもちろん、スピーキング、コミュニケーションにも役立つ学習動画を取り扱っており、教科書では学ぶことの出来ない、日常的でより実践的な多様な会話を学ぶことができます。
気になる方は下のプレビュー動画をチェックしてみてくださいね。

 

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