【美国精神】第64期

Explanation:

  Once Europeans arrived to North America, they began to fill up the land very quickly. Many Europeans moved to the land that would later become the United States. European countries like Britain, France, and Spain created colonies¹ (or areas of land that belong to a country but are far away). Britain had 13 colonies, and those colonies later became the original 13 states of the United States.

  The 13 colonies can be divided into four groups: the Southern Colonies, the Chesapeake Bay Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and New England. The Southern Colonies were Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. These colonies had very good weather for farming and were mostly used for growing cotton and tobacco (or a plant that is smoked in cigarettes). There was a lot of work to do on the plantations² (or large farms), so the Southern Colonies had many slaves (or people who were owned as property and forced to work without being paid).

  A little further north were the Chesapeake Bay Colonies of Maryland and Virginia. A bay is a large area of water that is mostly surrounded by land. The city of Jamestown in Virginia is famous for being the first permanent English settlement (or a place where people begin living) in America. It was founded (or created) in 1607. Many of the people who lived there died from hunger, cold, and attacks by the Native Americans, but Jamestown survived (or continued to exist), and today people can visit Jamestown to learn about its history.

  The Middle Colonies, which used to be called New Netherlands, were Delaware, New Jersey³, New York, and Pennsylvania. The people living in these colonies had many different religions and had a lot of tolerance⁴, which meant that they had the ability to live with other people who were very different from themselves. This was very different from the situation in Europe.

  The last four colonies, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, made up New England. We still call the northeastern part of the United States “New England.” These were some of the first colonies that wanted independence from Britain. They were also the first colonies to make their own coins (or money made from small, round, flat pieces of metal).

 

问题：

There were 13 original states. Name three.

Answer:

• New Hampshire

• Massachusetts

• Rhode Island

• Connecticut

• New York

• New Jersey

• Pennsylvania

• Delaware

• Maryland

• Virginia

• North Carolina

• South Carolina

• Georgia

1 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。