美国学生世界地理教材 第42期:河流之父(4)

 Where the Mississippi begins in the far north of the United¹ States it is very cold in winter 在美国遥远的北方密西西比河起源的地方，冬季非常寒冷，

but as the river flows farther² and farther south it gets warmer and warmer and warmer.This warm country is nicknamed³ “Dixie.” 但是随着河水往南流，气候开始暖和起来，越往南流就越暖和。南方这块温暖的土地俗称“迪克西”。 

When the river is near its end at New Orleans, flowers bloom⁴ even at Christmas and it is warm all the year round. 当河流快要走完行程，在新奥尔良，即使在圣诞节也有各种鲜花绽放，一年四季都很温暖。

Where the river begins you see white people in the fields and on the shores, 在密西西比河源头附近你可以看到白人在田间岸边劳作， 

but when it gets down south in Dixie Land you see more and more colored people working in the fields. 但是随着河流进入南部迪克西地区，你会看到越来越多的黑人在田里劳动。 

The chief thing they are doing is growing cotton, for “Dixie Land,” as the song says, is way down south “in the land of cotton,” 他们最主要的农作物就是棉花，因为就像歌里唱的那样，远在南方的“迪克西的土地，就在满是白棉花盛开的地方”

and more cotton is grown here than anywhere else  Strange to say, there was no cotton in America at first. 这里是全世界棉花产量最多的地方。说来也怪，最初美国并没有棉花。

A cotton plant was brought first to Maryland from the other side of the world and grown only for its pretty flowers. 第一颗棉花秧是从世界另一面带到马里兰州的，种棉花只是为了观赏它漂亮的花朵。

Cotton grows on a low bush⁵ in little white balls, and inside each white ball are troublesome little seeds. 棉花成熟后，变成一个个白色的小球长在像灌木一样的植株上，每个小棉球里有很细小的种子，要把种子弄出来是很麻烦的。

The cotton is picked off the bush and then these seeds have to be picked out of the cotton before it can be made into cotton thread, 棉花采摘后，必须去籽，才能将棉花纺成棉线，棉线再织成棉布，

and then into cotton cloth, and then into cotton clothes, sheets, towels—can you think of anything else made out of cotton ? 然后做成棉布衣服、棉床单、棉毛巾——你能想到其他用棉花做成的东西吗？

Things made of cotton were once very expensive, because it took such a long time to pick the seeds out of the cotton, 从前棉花做的东西非常昂贵，因为把棉籽从棉花里摘出来要花很长的时间，

but a school-teacher—a man—invented a way to pick the seeds out by a machine—an “engine” which the colored people called “a gin,” for short, 但是一所学校的男教师发明了一种机器，很快就能把棉籽取出来——黑人把这种机器叫做“轧棉机”，

and now cotton goods can be made very cheaply⁶. Indeed, it is now hard to understand how we ever got along without cotton, 所以现在棉制品的生产成本就很低了。确实，现在很难理解没有棉花的时候人们是怎样过日子的呢。

for this little plant that was once grown only for its flowers is used in more things and in more ways than anything that grows out of the ground. 因为最初人们种这棵小植物只为了观其花朵，现在用棉花制作的东西之多和它的用途之广超过任何一种地里长的植物。 

This is why it is often called “King Cotton.” 因此棉花常被称为“棉花大王”。

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

3 nicknamed   

vt.给…起绰号（nickname的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• 'The human sound-track' he nicknamed her in his own mind. 在心里他给她个绰号，就叫"人体录音带"。 来自英汉文学
• People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

5 bush   

n.灌木，灌木丛，矮树

参考例句：

• This bush has grown up a lot in the last few months.这矮树丛几个月来已向上长高了很多。
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.一鸟在手，胜于二鸟在林。

6 cheaply   

adv.廉价地；粗俗地

参考例句：

• Old bikes can be bought quite cheaply.旧自行车很便宜就能买到。
• This apartment rents cheaply.这套公寓租价便宜。