Father

龐先慶

人們在慶祝母親節的同時，并沒有忘記父親的功績。據說第一個提出這個建議的是華盛頓的約翰·布魯斯·多德夫人。多德夫人的母親早亡，其父獨自一人承擔起撫養教育孩子的重任。多德夫人感念父親養育之恩以及所有的父親對家庭和社會的貢獻，建議把六月的第三個星期日定為父親節。

With new concepts coming into our daily lives， foreign celebrations like Christmas Day in December， Valentines Day for lovers in February， and Mothers Day in May are gradually being observed by us. What did you do for your father on the third Sunday of June？

Sonora Dodd， of Washington， first had the idea for a“Fathers Day”. She thought of the idea for Fathers Day while listening to a Mothers Day sermon in 1909.

Sonora wanted a special day to honour her father， William Smart. Smart， who was a Civil War veteran（老兵）， was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. Mr Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington State.

After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her father who made all the parental sacrifices and was， in the eyes of his daughter， a courageous， selfless， and loving man. Sonoras father was born in June， so she chose to hold the first Fathers Day celebration in Spokane， Washington on the 19th of June， 1910.

President Calvin Coolidge， in 1924，supported the idea of a national Fathers Day.Then in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential document declaring the Sunday of June as Fathers Day. President Richard Nixon signed the law which finally made it permanent in 1972.

Fathers Day is a day of commemoration（紀念） and celebration for fathers. It is a day to honor not only your father， but all men who have acted as a father figure in your life—whether as stepfathers， uncles， grandfathers， or “Big Brothers”. It is a time of burnt toast and breakfast in bed， family gatherings， crayon（蠟筆） scribbled （涂寫） “I Love You” and， of course， that lovely new tie！

根據文章內容，回答下列問題。

1. The reasons for Sonoras honoring her father on the day are as follows： （three reasons needed）

A. _______________________________________

B._______________________________________

C._______________________________________

2. When was Fathers Day officially recognized？

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3. 翻譯文中的劃線句子。

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