美国学生世界地理教材 第23期:建于沼泽中的城市(2)

 When I wa a boy I thought the Capital was the most beautiful building in the World. 小时候，我以为国会大厦就是世界上最美的建筑。

Since then I have seen nearly all of the most beautiful buildings in the World,  后来我见到了世界上几乎所有最美的建筑，

and I have changed my mind. 我改变了想法。

I have even seen a building fit to be in Heaven. 我甚至还见 过一个适合放在天堂里的地方。

I used to make a copy of the Capital as nearly as I could in my sand-pile. 小时候玩沙，我都要在沙堆里尽可能造一个国会大厦。

I would fill a shoe-box with wet sand, then turn it carefully upside down so as to empty it out without breaking,  我先用鞋盒装满潮湿的沙子，然后小心 翼翼地把它扣在地上，这样沙子倒出来不会散开，

and I made the dome¹ on top in the same way with a tea-cup. 然后用茶杯以同样的方法在上面加个圆屋顶。

I thought all capitols of other countries must have domes², too. 我原以为其他国家的国会大厦也一定有圆屋顶的。

I didn't learn until later that not capitols but churches were the first buildings to have domes, and that many capitols have no domes. 直到后来我才知道国会大厦不是最早有圆屋顶的建筑，最早的是教堂，而且许多国会大厦并没有圆屋顶。

As a boy I used to climb to the top of the dome—for there was no elevator—to see the view of the city,  小时候我常爬到圆屋顶上面去一一因为当时还没有电梯一一观看城市风景，

and to look down on the inside at the floor far below where people walking seemed like ants crawling³. 并朝下看大厦里 地板上的人像蚂蚁爬行似的在走动。

On one side of the capital is a large room called the Senate⁴, and on the other side is a still larger room called the House of Representatives. 国会大度的一侧有个大房间，叫参议院，另一侧有个更大的房间，叫做众议院。

In both the Senate and the House of Representatives men sit at desks like boys in school. 在参议院和众议院里，人们就像孩子上课那样坐在桌子旁。

These men are the ones who make our laws, which are rules that everybody in the United States must obey. 正是这些人制定了美国的法律，法律就是所有美国人都要遵守的规则。

The men in the Senate are called Senators⁵.The men in the House are called Representatives. 参议院里的人叫做参议员，众议院里的人叫做众议员。

When I say men, I mean women too, for some of the Senators and Representatives are women. 我说人的时候，当然也包括那些女参议员和女众议员。

Each State chooses two Senators to go to the capital in Washington. 每个州选两名参议员到华盛顿的国会大厦。

No matter whether the State is big like Texas or whether it is little like Rhode Island, it sends only two Senators. 不管是像德克萨斯这样的大州，还是像罗德岛这样的小州，都只能选送两名参议员。

And each State also sends to the capital in Washington other men or women called Representatives,  每个州还选众议员到国会大厦，

but the number of Representatives each State sends depends on the number of people in the State;  不过每州选送的众议员人数取决于这个州的总人口数；

New York has the most people, so it sends the most Representatives. 纽约人口最多，所以它选送的众议员也最多。

1 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

2 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

3 crawling   

n.表面涂布不均v.爬( crawl的现在分词 )；（昆虫）爬行；缓慢行进；巴结

参考例句：

• You should be ashamed of yourself, crawling to the director like that. 你那样巴结董事，应该感到羞耻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stubborn, self-confident Guo Zhenshan has never gone crawling to anyone. 坚强、自信、有气魄的郭振山，实在说，永远也不会向人低三下四啊！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

5 senators   

n.参议员( senator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When the senators vote, the ayes will have it. 参议员投票时，投赞成票的人将占多数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The committee concluded that the senators had engaged in improper conduct. 委员会断定议员们从事了不正当活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》