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After 10 months in office, US President Barack Obama granted his first pardon Wednesday to "Courage," a 45-pound (20-kilogram) turkey spared from the Thanksgiving dinner table. Accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama stood under the North Portico of the White House to honor a holiday tradition that dates to 1947 — receiving a bird from the National Turkey Federation.
"I'm told Presidents Eisenhower and Johnson actually ate their turkeys," Obama said. "You can't fault them for that; that's a good-looking bird."
On the Thanksgiving holiday, the last Thursday in November, many Americans have turkey for lunch or dinner.
President George H.W. Bush was the first to officially pardon a turkey.
Obama joked about wanting to forgo the tradition and eat "Courage."
"Thanks to the interventions of Malia and Sasha — because I was planning to eat this sucker — 'Courage' will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate," he said.
Obama said he wished all American service members at home and abroad a happy Thanksgiving, saying it is a "tremendous honor it is to serve as commander in chief of the finest military in the world."
He also spoke about the first family's plans for the holiday dinner.
"Just like millions of other families across America, we'll take time to give our thanks for many blessings," Obama said. "We'll also remember this is a time when so many members of our American family are hurting."
Obama noted that President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a holiday in the midst of the Civil War in the 1860s, "when the future of our very union was most in doubt."
"This is an era of new perils and new hardships," he added. "So on this quintessentially American holiday, as we give thanks for what we've got, let's also give back to those who are less fortunate."
After his remarks, the turkey was lifted to a table and Obama raised his hand over its head to deliver a mock-serious pardon.
"You are hereby pardoned," he said.
Obama said "Courage" will get to spend the rest of his life in "peace and tranquility" at a Disneyland amusement park.
(Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.)
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本周三，上任10个月的美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马首次赦免了一只重45磅（20公斤）、名叫“勇气”的火鸡，使之免于成为感恩节大餐。当天，在女儿萨沙和玛莉亚的陪伴下，奥巴马站在白宫的北门廊下赦免了一只来自全国火鸡联盟的火鸡。美国总统赦免火鸡的感恩节传统始于1947年。
奥巴马说：“我听说艾森豪威尔总统和约翰逊总统其实都把他们的火鸡给吃了。这不能怪他们，火鸡看起来的确很诱人。”
每年11月的最后一个星期四是美国的感恩节，这一天，很多美国人通常会在中午或晚上享用火鸡大餐。
正式的火鸡赦免仪式始于乔治•H•W•布什总统时期。
奥巴马开玩笑说他想打破这一传统，尝尝“勇气”的味道。
他说：“我本来打算把这家伙给吃了，但多亏玛莉亚和萨莎的阻拦，‘勇气’才逃过成为盘中餐的命运。”
奥巴马祝愿驻扎在国内外的所有美国士兵度过一个愉快的感恩节，并称“能够成为世界上最精良军队的总指挥，他感到无上荣耀”。
奥巴马还提到了第一家庭的节日晚餐安排。
奥巴马说：“和全美数百万的其它家庭一样，我们也会好好感谢我们现在拥有的很多幸福。我们还会记住我们中间的很多人正在经受痛苦。”
奥巴马指出，感恩节要追溯到19世纪60年代的内战期间，当时亚伯拉罕•林肯总统将其定为国家假日，“那时我们国家的未来还十分不确定。”
他说：“当今时代充满了新的风险和困难。因此，在这个美国特有的节日里，我们在感谢我们所拥有的幸福的同时，也让我们向那些不那么幸运的人们伸出援手。”
奥巴马的讲话结束后，火鸡被抬到了桌上，奥巴马则把手举到它的头上，假装严肃地发表赦免讲话。
他说：“你被特赦了。”
奥巴马说，“勇气”将在迪斯尼乐园“平静安详地”度过它的余生。 |
