Homecoming1:an American Tradition

∷ 趙陽 注

My curls feel loosely upon my shoulders, and the gloss glistened on my lips. The dress fit like a glove, the heels made me feel queen of the world, and the cool, autumn breeze aroused the perfume dappled on my wrists.2. gloss： 唇彩，唇膏；glisten： 閃光，閃耀；dapple： 斑駁地灑在……上。It was perfect. It was homecoming.

A tradition since the early 1900’s, homecoming has been a celebration of students and alumni in an effort to raise school spirit and unite the student body.3.校友返校節(jié)這項在學生和校友間舉辦的慶?；顒幼钤缡加?0世紀初，旨在提升學校精神、促進學生團結(jié)。alumni： 校友，畢業(yè)生。Typically, there’s a week of various activities and spirit days4. spirit day： 學校精神日。preceding the homecoming football game. The main event,however, for high schools across America is the homecoming dance.

Nonetheless, the week preceding my homecoming was just as magni ficent5. magni ficent： 宏大的，高貴華麗的。as the dance itself. Every day of the week was designated6. designate： 指定，選定。a spirit day. Tuesday, for example, was “Wild Animals Day” in which students decked out in zebra, cheetah, or leopard print with animal ear headbands.7.比如星期二是“野生動物日”，學生們當天會戴上帶有動物耳朵的頭飾，裝扮成斑馬、獵豹或美洲豹。deck out： 裝飾，打扮；headband： 頭飾。

This spirit week precedes the massive homecoming football game in which nearly the entire school attends. Typically, there is a student section where hundreds of students stand on bleachers rooting for their team.8. bleacher： 露天看臺；root out： 支持，為……加油。The bleachers are jam packed with students pressed up against each other.

This year’s game, however, was entirely drained out9. drain out： 泡湯，終止。. As soon as I raised my fist up in the air to cheer on my high school’s football team,the rain came down.

如果你是正在備戰(zhàn)2014年高考的高三學生，你是否也意識到隨著高考的結(jié)束，這段承載了你無數(shù)美好回憶的高中生活也即將畫上圓滿的句號呢？你即將面對嶄新的生活環(huán)境，結(jié)識新的朋友們。那么你可曾想過如何告別自己的高中生活呢？下面就一起看看美國的高中生們是如何告別他們的高中生活吧！

The raindrops met my frowning face with a strong impact, and my clothes began to soak in a matter of minutes. My hair clung to10. cling to： 貼在……上，黏在……上。my face and the students were all over the place, as they knocked one another down with their slippery bare arms.

However, as the rain continued to dampen our clothes, it did not dampen our spirits.11. 雨水打濕了我們的衣服，卻澆不滅我們的熱情。dampen：喪氣，消沉。We roared in the stands, making not only the bleachers beneath our feet tremble but also the opposing side.

The day after the game was the homecoming dance. From 9 a.m. in the morning to 5:30 p.m., girls, including myself, get ready for the dance. It takes an entire day of preparations. Although I didn’t go too far out12. go far out： 出格，夸張。, most girls get their hair and nails professionally done. Often times, most girls even have their make up done by a make-up artist at the mall.

After all preparations were made, we convened13. convene： 集合，聚集。at my friend’s house for pictures. We gathered on her patio14. patio： 露臺。, side by side, as our parents took photos.The entire situation was so serene15. serene： 平靜的，安詳?shù)摹? The only things I could hear were the clicks of the camera, the water trickling into the lily pad- filled pond behind us, and light-hearted giggles of my friends.16. 耳邊只有相機快門的聲音、身后鋪滿百合花的池塘里的流水聲，還有閨蜜們愉快的歡笑聲。The ambience17. ambience： 氣氛，環(huán)境。was ideal.

After pictures were taken, we headed to the party-bus,a large bus with bench seats enough for about 20 people.The chauffeur transported us to the restaurant we had reservations at where the dinner was exquisitely delicious.18. chauffeur： （專職）司機；exquisitely：精致地，精巧地。

The dance aspect of homecoming isn’t a prominent19. prominent： 突出的，顯著的。feature, but still an enjoyable part of the experience. The dance floor was filled with students showcasing the newest dance moves: the Bernie, the Dougie, the Wobble and more.20. 舞池里的學生們都在忙著展示新舞步：伯尼舞，道基舞，搖擺舞等等。The music was blasting, the speakers were roaring, and the kids were all yelling out of joy. Although my ears had been thoroughly abused, I was pleased as I stepped out of the dance hall.

After the night of festivities, we went to another friends house where the fire was already burning outside. We formed a circle around the fire pit stick in hand, and burned marshmallows that we later stuffed between two pieces of graham crackers and Hershey chocolate.21. marshmallow： 棉花糖； graham cracker： 全麥餅干；Hershey： 好時（巧克力品牌）。The warm s’mores were the perfect way to wrap up the night.22. s’mores： 果塔餅干，一種美國特色美食，野炊時經(jīng)常會在餅干中間夾棉花糖和巧克力，穿在棍子上烤著吃；wrap up： 圓滿完成。

Despite the different aspects of homecoming dance, however, my friends were the most important part of it all. As my high school career is wrapping up, I have started to fully appreciate the time I spend with the friends I’ve had for years. Their laughter, their conversations, and their faces will soon be a part of my past. Often times, we speak about college.We tell each other where we are applying and we wish each other good luck, biting back the tears as we think about how things will never be the same.23. 我們告訴彼此自己申請了哪所大學并互相祝福，想著這些一去不復返的好時光，我們?nèi)套×穗x別的淚水。There’s nothing that means more to me right now than having the time of my life with the best friends I could ask for.