At the time of War in 1812， Uncle Sam Wilson obtained a contract to supply beef to the Army， which he shipped in barrels。 Those barrels， being government property， were branded with the initials “U。S”， people would joke that the initials referred to “Uncle Sam”。

1812年第二次美英戰爭，山姆？威爾遜大叔獲得為美軍供給牛肉的合同。這些桶裝的牛肉，作為政府財產烙有“美國”的英文首字母。人們開玩笑稱烙著的首字母表示“山姆大叔”。

Uncle Sam was a man of great fairness， reliability， honesty， and he was willing to contribute for the country。

山姆大叔是一個公平、可靠、誠實，樂于為國做貢獻的人。

Uncle Sam is depicted as an elderly man with white hair and a goatee beard。

山姆大叔被描繪成一個有著白發和山羊胡子的老人。

The name of “Uncle Sam” and his vivid images can be often seen in newspapers， magazines， literatures and comic books in America。

在美國的報紙雜志、文學作品和漫畫中，經常可以看到“山姆大叔”的名字及其生動的形象。

Uncle Sam was used on behalf of “American” or “U。S。 Government”， mainly in the United States， Britain， especially in the media。

山姆大叔被用來代指“美國”或“美國政府”，主要在美國、英國，尤其是在新聞界中使用較多。

The image of “Uncle Sam” was based on an early cartoon character “Brother Jonathan”， who was very famous during the American War of Independence。

山姆大叔的原型是一個早期漫畫人物，名叫“喬納森大哥”，此人在美國獨立戰爭時期非常出名。

Uncle Sam became a useful icon in cartoons， much like the John Bull character who represented the United Kingdom。 John Bull and Uncle Sam have squared off in hundreds of political cartoons throughout the years。

山姆大叔成了漫畫有用的圖標，很像約翰牛的形象代表英國。約翰牛和山姆大叔已經在數以百計的政治漫畫中出現了許多年。

The most famous image of the Uncle Sam persona was a World War I recruiting image that depicted a stern Sam pointing his finger at the viewer and declaring， “I want you”。 It was painted by artist James Montgomery Flagg in 1916， just prior to US involvement in World War I， by or even based on the character Sam Slick， created by Canadian。

山姆大叔最有名的人物形象是第一次世界大戰的招兵形象，描繪了一個嚴峻的山姆指著觀眾宣布：“我要你。”這是畫家弗拉格？詹姆斯？蒙哥馬利在1916年之前創作的，恰巧早于美國卷入第一次世界大戰，是根據加拿大創作的山姆？史利克的形象創作的。

Let’s Talk！

開始交流吧！

Son： Dad， can I ask you a question？

兒子：爸爸，我能問你一個問題嗎？

Dad： Yes， dear son。

爸爸：說吧，寶貝兒子。

Son： Do you know Uncle Sam’s story？

兒子：你知道山姆大叔的故事嗎？

Dad： Certainly， all Americans know it。

爸爸：當然知道啦，全美國沒有誰不知道啊。

Son： But I do not know。

兒子：我就不知道。

Dad： You are young。 When you grow up， you will know。

爸爸：你還小，等你長大了，你就知道了。

Son： Can you tell me his story？

兒子：那你能告訴我他的故事嗎？

Dad： Yeah， once there was a meat packer in New York， honest and capable， the locals called him “Uncle Sam”。 During the war， he was responsible for stamping on the barrels of beef and wine for the military。 One day， the New York governor went to inspect and found the “US” on the barrels， both the abbreviation for the United States and Uncle Sam， so that Uncle Sam became famous。

爸爸：可以啊，紐約州有一位肉類包裝商，誠實能干，當地人都叫他“山姆大叔”。戰爭期間，他負責在供應軍隊的牛肉桶和酒桶上打戳。有一天，紐約州長去視察，就發現桶上有US的字樣，既是美國的縮寫，又是山姆大叔的縮寫，這樣山姆大叔就出名啦。

Son： But why Uncle Sam is now a synonym for the United States？

兒子：可為什么現在山姆大叔是美國的代名詞呢？

Dad： Because Uncle Sam is honest， hard－working and he has a spirit of patriotism， which is suitable to describe our country。

爸爸：因為山姆大叔誠實可靠、吃苦耐勞以及具有愛國主義的精神，很適合形容我們的國家啊。

Son： Oh， thank you Dad， I know， I want to become someone like Uncle Sam。

兒子：哦，謝謝爸爸，我明白了，我也要變成山姆大叔那樣的人。

Japanese Kimono and Wine

日本的和服和清酒

說起日本文化，有人可能會想到生魚片、壽司、木屐，但日本文化最精粹的當屬日本的和服以及清酒，下面讓我們去認識一下吧。

和服，江戶時代以前通常指吳服，是日本的一種民族服飾。語出《古事記》、《日本書紀》、《松窗夢語》。明治時代前，和服泛指所有服裝，而與這個詞相對的是洋服，指來自西洋的衣飾。后來此詞的詞意逐漸單一化，通常單指具有日本特色的民族服裝。

清酒，日本稱為日本酒，英語稱為Sake，是用大米釀制的一種糧食酒，制作方法和中國的糯米酒相似，先用熟米飯制曲，再加米飯和水發酵，不過日本清酒比中國的糯米酒度數高，但比不上蒸餾酒，最高濃度可達到20％。

Realize Kimono and Wine

認識和服和清酒

1和服的歷史

The kimono is a Japanese traditional garment worn by women， men and children。 The word “kimono”， which literally means a “thing to wear”， has come to denote these full－length robes。 The standard plural of the word kimono in English is kimonos， but the unmarked Japanese plural kimono is also sometimes used。 Kimonos are T－shaped， straight－lined robes worn so that the hem falls to the ankle， with attached collars and long， wide sleeves。 Kimonos are wrapped around the body， always with the left side over the right （except when dressing the dead for burial）， and secured by a sash called an obi， which is tied at the back。 Kimonos are generally worn with traditional footwear and split－toe socks。

Today， kimonos are most often worn by women， and on special occasions。 Traditionally， unmarried women wore a style of kimono called furisode， with almost floor－length sleeves， on special occasions。 A few older women and even fewer men still wear the kimono on a daily basis。 Men wear the kimono most often at weddings， tea ceremonies， and other very special or very formal occasions。 Professional sumo wrestlers are often seen in the kimono because they are required to wear traditional Japanese dress whenever appearing in public。

As the kimono has another name gofuku， the earliest kimonos were heavily influenced by traditional Han Chinese clothing， known today as hanfu， through Japanese embassies to China which resulted in extensive Chinese culture adoptions by Japan， as early as the fifth century。

It was during the 8th century， however， when Chinese fashions came into style among the Japanese， and the overlapping collar became particularly a women’s fashion。 During Japan’s Heian period （794–1192AD）， the kimono became increasingly stylized， though one still wore a half－apron。 During the Muromachi age （1392–1573 AD）， the Kosode， a single kimono formerly considered as underwear， began to be worn without the hakama over it， and thus began to be held closed by an obi “belt”。 During the Edo period （1603–1867 AD）， the sleeves began to grow in length， especially among unmarried women， and the Obi became wider， with various styles of tying coming into fashion。

2清酒的歷史