U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday pardoned a turkey named Cheese to mark the country's Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, when roasted turkey is the traditional main course.

烤火雞是感恩節的一道傳統主食。周三，美國總統奧巴馬赦免了火雞“奶酪”（Cheese），以此紀念周四的感恩節。

Obama, in a light-hearted ceremony before a small group of White House visitors, said that pardoning Cheese would surely be the "most talked-about executive action" he has taken this month.

在一場人數不多、氣氛輕松的白宮典禮上，奧巴馬說赦免“奶酪”一事無疑會成為他本月“最熱門的措施”。

"Today I am taking an action fully within my legal authority, an executive action taken by Democrat and Republican presidents before me, to spare the lives of two turkeys, Mac and Cheese," Obama said.

奧巴馬說：“今天我要做一件我法律權限內的事，一件以往的民主黨、共和黨總統都做過的事——挽救‘通心粉’（Mac）和‘奶酪’這兩只火雞的生命。”奧巴馬說。

Obama's remarks, which referenced his announcement last week that he would take action to defer deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants, drew laughter from the crowd.

上周奧巴馬宣布暫緩遣返美國幾百萬非法移民的行政令。他此番言論暗指此事，引起現場來賓一陣歡笑。

Though Cheese alone is the National Thanksgiving Turkey, he will be joined by Mac at Morven Park's Turkey Hill, the former home of a Virginia governor. There, the two birds will enjoy a form of amnesty, Obama said.

奧巴馬說，盡管只有“奶酪”是國家感恩節火雞，但它將和同被赦免的“通心粉”一起被送往莫文公園的火雞山。

U.S. presidents have been pardoning turkeys since the 1800s. Starting in 2012, the top turkey has been chosen by a public vote.

自19世紀以來，美國總統們就開始在感恩節舉行赦免火雞的活動。自2012年開始，被赦免的火雞均由大眾投票產生。

The White House said that Mac and Cheese were "beak-to-beak" on Twitter in the days leading up to the pardon as users weighed in on which bird should receive the official pardon.

白宮發言人說，幾天來“通心粉”和“奶酪”在推特上“尖峰對決”。網友們紛紛發表看法：哪只火雞能獲得赦免。

Mac and Cheese are males born in July that hail from Cooper Farms in Oakwood, Ohio.

“通心粉”和“奶酪”都是“男孩”，7月份出生，來自俄亥俄州奧克伍德（Oakwood）的庫珀農場（Cooper Farms）。

Mac is a "feather shaker" who weighs in a 47 pounds and boasts a melodious gobble that has a hint of bluegrass, #TeamMac supporters within the White House said.

在白宮，“通心粉”隊的粉絲說，它是個“羽毛撲騰家”，有47磅（21.21千克）重，那美妙的“咯咯”聲略帶“藍草”音樂的意味。

Cheese is a "grand champion" who weights in at 49 pounds and has a gobble that manages to be both romantic and has a country ring, #TeamCheese White House aides said.

而“奶酪”隊粉絲說，超級贏家“奶酪”重49磅（22.22千克），它的“咯咯”聲既浪漫有富有鄉村氣息。

The chairman of the National Turkey Federation, Gary Cooper of Ft. Recovery, Ohio, was at the pardoning ceremony, along with seven family members. Cooper's son raised Mac and Cheese without antibiotics.

俄亥俄州里卡弗里堡（Ft. Recovery）的美國火雞聯合會主席加里·庫珀（Gary Cooper）和七位家人出席了此次典禮。據說庫珀的兒子喂養這兩只雞時未添加任何抗生素。

Mac and Cheese will now leave their room at the posh Willard InterContinental Hotel near the White House, where they awaited their fate, and travel to the farm in Leesburg, Virginia, where they will receive visitors.

目前，“通心粉”和“奶酪”將離開等待赦免時所在的白宮附近的豪華酒店，前往弗吉尼亞的利斯堡（Leesburg）供游客參觀。

（翻譯：xysweetxy? 編輯：Julie）