Homecoming1:an American Tradition

∷ 赵阳 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： 闪光，闪耀；dapple： 斑驳地洒在……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.校友返校节这项在学生和校友间举办的庆祝活动最早始于20世纪初，旨在提升学校精神、促进学生团结。alumni： 校友，毕业生。Typically, there’s a week of various activities and spirit days4. spirit day： 学校精神日。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，高贵华丽的。as the dance itself. Every day of the week was designated6. designate： 指定，选定。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“野生动物日”，学生们当天会戴上带有动物耳朵的头饰，装扮成斑马、猎豹或美洲豹。deck out： 装饰，打扮；headband： 头饰。

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： 露天看台；root out： 支持，为……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： 泡汤，终止。. As soon as I raised my fist up in the air to cheer on my high school’s football team,the rain came down.

如果你是正在备战2014年高考的高三学生，你是否也意识到随着高考的结束，这段承载了你无数美好回忆的高中生活也即将画上圆满的句号呢？你即将面对崭新的生活环境，结识新的朋友们。那么你可曾想过如何告别自己的高中生活呢？下面就一起看看美国的高中生们是如何告别他们的高中生活吧！

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： 贴在……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. 雨水打湿了我们的衣服，却浇不灭我们的热情。dampen：丧气，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，夸张。, 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： 露台。, side by side, as our parents took photos.The entire situation was so serene15. serene： 平静的，安详的。. 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. 耳边只有相机快门的声音、身后铺满百合花的池塘里的流水声，还有闺蜜们愉快的欢笑声。The ambience17. ambience： 气氛，环境。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： （专职）司机；exquisitely：精致地，精巧地。

The dance aspect of homecoming isn’t a prominent19. prominent： 突出的，显著的。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. 舞池里的学生们都在忙着展示新舞步：伯尼舞，道基舞，摇摆舞等等。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： 全麦饼干；Hershey： 好时（巧克力品牌）。The warm s’mores were the perfect way to wrap up the night.22. s’mores： 果塔饼干，一种美国特色美食，野炊时经常会在饼干中间夹棉花糖和巧克力，穿在棍子上烤着吃；wrap up： 圆满完成。

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. 我们告诉彼此自己申请了哪所大学并互相祝福，想着这些一去不复返的好时光，我们忍住了离别的泪水。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.