Every year, at a ceremony at the White House, the American president “pardons” a turkey.
每年在白宫的一次仪式上，美国总统都会“赦免”一只火鸡。
Instead of becoming part of a Thanksgiving dinner in the United States, the bird’s life is saved.
这样，这只火鸡就不会成为感恩节餐桌上的一道菜，它的小命就保住了。
Stories on the origins of the presidential turkey "pardon" are numerous.Some of these stories date back to the presidency of Abraham Lincoln during the U.S. Civil War.
关于美国总统“赦免”火鸡渊源的故事多不胜数。其中一些起源于美国内战期间的亚伯拉罕·林肯总统。
Edward Lengel is the chief historian of the White House Historical Association.
爱德华·伦格尔是白宫历史学会的首席历史学家。
“He had a son named Ted,who joked with Abraham Lincoln about his pet turkey that he had, who was strolling around the voting booths in 1864.And Abraham Lincoln asked why he was strolling around. Is he here to vote?”
“林肯总统的儿子名叫特德。特德有一次跟林肯就自己养的宠物火鸡开起了玩笑。这只宠物火鸡在1864年整年都在投票站四处转悠。林肯就奇怪这只火鸡为什么要四处转悠，是想投票吗？”
The boy answered that his turkey could not vote because he was too young.
特德回答说，他的小火鸡还不能投票，因为年纪尚小。
“Therefore,” Lengel said, “Abraham Lincoln pardoned his turkey and forgave him the possibility of being killed for the Thanksgiving table.”
伦格尔说，“然后，林肯总统就赦免了这只火鸡成为感恩节餐桌上一道菜的厄运。”
Some people say a later president, Harry Truman, was the originator of the modern-day turkey pardon.But the Truman Library and Museum disputes this claim.
还有一些人说，林肯之后的哈里·杜鲁门总统是现代火鸡赦免仪式的发起人。但杜鲁门总统图书馆暨博物馆则反对这种说法。
According to the library’s website, workers have found no evidence of “Truman pardoning a turkey that he received as a gift in 1947,or at any other time during his Presidency. ”
该图书馆的官网上写道，图书馆员工并未发现证据表明“杜鲁门曾在1947年收到一只火鸡作为礼物时赦免了这只国际，也没有在杜鲁门就任总统期间发现他有这样的行为。”
Almost 20 years after Truman’s presidency, President John F. Kennedy decided to spare a turkey brought to the White House for the Thanksgiving meal.He reportedly said: ‘No, I think I’ll pardon this turkey and let it grow.’
杜鲁门任期结束大概二十年后，约翰·肯尼迪决定赦免一只送到白宫作为感恩节食物的火鸡。据报道，肯尼迪曾说，“还是不吃它了吧，我想赦免这只火鸡，让它长大。”
Edward Lengel notes that Kennedy was the first president to give an official pardon.
爱德华·伦格尔写道，肯尼迪是第一位给火鸡官方赦免的总统。
“We know that John F Kennedy definitely began this tradition and it has continued on and off ever since.”
“我们了解到的情况是，肯尼迪正式开启了这一传统，并将这一传统延续了下去。”
After 1981, the custom of sending the pardoned turkey to a farm became accepted practice during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
1981年之后，将赦免过的火鸡送到农场的习俗成为了大家接受的做法，那时的美国总统是罗纳德·里根。
Even if the presidents pardon turkeys before Thanksgiving, they generally still eat a different turkey on the holiday.
不过，虽然如今美国总统都会在感恩节前赦免一只火鸡，但他们依然会在感恩节期间吃其他的火鸡。
The bird cooked for the president’s meal is bought with his own money and prepared according to his taste and that of his family.
感恩节期间为总统烹制的火鸡由总统自己出钱，并根据总统及其家人的口味来准备。
I’m John Russell.
约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。