美国学生世界地理教材 第210期:害怕黑暗(2)

 All the colored people in the United States to-day are descended¹ from these black slaves who were brought from Africa. 今天美国的所有黑人都是过去从非洲带来的这些黑人奴隶的后代。

Many people in our country thought these poor slaves, whose fathers and grandfathers had been stolen away from their homes in Africa, 许多美国人认为，这些可怜奴隶的父亲和祖父是从非洲的家园被偷来的，

should be sent back to their own land. 应该将他们送回他们的故土。

So when Monroe was President of the United States some of our colored people who had been set free and wanted to go "home" were put on a ship and sent back. 于是，在门罗当总统期间（美国第五任总统），一些恢复了自由并想“回家”的黑人就被送上船，回到非洲。

Home was Home—even if it was a jungle. 家就是家——即使它是一片丛林。

There they started this little country called Liberia, which means "Land of Liberty." 他们在那儿建立这个名叫利比里亚的小国家，“利比里亚”意思是“自由之地”。

They named their capital Monrovia after President Monroe and named some of their villages after great cities here. 他们以总统门罗的名字把首都命名为“蒙罗维亚”，并以美国一些大城市的名字给自己的一些村庄命名，

Two of their villages they called New York and Philadelphia, although there are but a few hundred people in them. 其中有两个村庄分别叫“纽约”和“费城”，尽管村子里只有几百人。

Instead of trying to forget the land where they had been enslaved they imitated it.As you go farther south in Africa you reach the Equator². 他们不是试图忘掉他们曾经受奴役的地方，反倒要仿效那里的一切。

This is half-way land between the North and South Poles, and the second greatest river in Africa, called the Congo, runs through it. 从利比里亚再往南走，就到了赤道，赤道是离南北两极距离相等的地方，非洲的第二大河叫刚果河，就流经此处。

In this part of Africa it is hot and rainy every month in the year. Things grow and keep on growing. Grass grows as high as a room. 非洲的这块地方终年炎热，每个月都下雨，所以植物很容易生长，不停地生长。

Vines and trees and everything else grow so thick, so close together, and in such a tangle³ that one can hardly get through them. 草长得和房子一样高。各种藤本植物和树，以及其他一切植物都长得极为茂盛，密密匝匝地纠缠在一起，人很难穿过。

It is something like that other Equator land—in South America—the Selvas. 这里很像另一个赤道地区——在南美洲——亚马孙河沿岸的热带雨林。

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 equator   

n.赤道，（平分球形物体的面的）圆

参考例句：

• Singapore is near the equator.新加坡位于赤道附近。
• The United States is north of the equator.美国位于赤道以北。

3 tangle   

n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱

参考例句：

• I shouldn't tangle with Peter.He is bigger than me.我不应该与彼特吵架。他的块头比我大。
• If I were you, I wouldn't tangle with them.我要是你，我就不跟他们争吵。