Hey, Bill, Happy Independence Day!
Thanks, Amanda, Happy Fourth of July!
I've always known that the Fourth of July is your national day. But I don't even know what year the United States was founded.
It was 1776, when John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson drafted and singed the Declaration of Independence. Those three and a few others, like George Washington, are called the Founding Fathers.
Interesting. America was still a part of Great Britain before that, right?
Yep, The U.S, was only composed of thirteen colonies governed by England. They wanted to be self-governing. So on that day, they declared themselves a new nation.
Was that the American Revolution?
Not exactly, The American Revolution was set in motion (开始) 10 years before that as many Americans grew increasingly intolerant of British rule.
Oh, I see. I've always liked the American flag. It looks very nice.
Yeah, we call it the Star-spangled Banner (星条旗), and each star represents one of the 50 states. The original only had thirteen stars. Each time a state joined the union, they added a star.
What's the movie with Nicolas Cage where he steals that ancient document?
Oh, you mean National Treasure! Yeah, that was the Constitution. It's the supreme law of the U.S. To Americans, it's like the bedrock (基石) of their society.
Wow, I can see why it's such a big day for Americans. Thanks for filling me in (解释 说明).