Presidential Trivia Intrigues Tourists
总统独家琐事引发游客兴趣
This is Anthony Pitch’s time of the year. He’s a Washington, D.C., writer and tour guide who, in the weeks before the mid-January Presidents’ Day holiday, brings out an updated little paperback book that’s a hit with tourists.
今年对安东尼?皮特奇来说可谓大放异彩。这位华盛顿特区的作家兼导游在1月中旬前几周总统日假期推出最新的小本平装书被游客们奉为珍宝。
It’s called "Exclusively Presidential Trivia," and contains more than 650 brain-teasing questions and answers about U.S. chief executives.
这本书的名字是《总统独家琐事》,专门针对美国的首席执行官设计了超过650个头脑测试的问题及答案。
Pitch has also written scholarly books on subjects such as the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the burning of Washington by British troops in 1814. But the trivia book is pure fun.
安东尼也有学术性的著作，比如亚伯拉罕?林肯总统遇刺及1814年英国军队燃烧的华盛顿。而这本琐事书的目的纯粹是娱乐为主。
Pitch tosses out obscure facts that, he says, stimulate the memory and provoke an interest in history. Breezy tidbits such as these:
安东尼舍弃了难以理解的事实,他说道,刺激记忆及引发对历史的兴趣反而更容易使读者着迷。这些捕风捉影之事无怪乎下面几类:
How far was Lee Harvey Oswald from President Kennedy when he shot the president in 1963 in Dallas - assuming you believe he did shoot Kennedy? Answer: 81 meters.
李?哈维?奥斯瓦尔德1963年在达拉斯当时距离美国总统肯尼迪有多远？假定你相信确实是他射杀肯尼迪?答案是81米。
Which fairly unmannered president was visiting the Taj Mahal in India and shouted loudly to see if he could hear his echo? Answer: Lyndon Johnson.
哪位行为粗鲁的总统访问印度的泰姬陵时曾大声喊叫看是否能够听到自己的回声?答案是林登?约翰逊。
Did you know that Jimmy Carter worked in the White House as a chef in Franklin Roosevelt’s administration? It’s true - but it wasn’t the Jimmy Carter who became president.
你知道吉米?卡特曾在弗兰克?罗斯福政权时在白宫担任厨师吗?这是真的,但并不是成为美国总统的那位吉米?卡特。
Here’s one you can take a guess at: How many American state capitals are named after presidents? A colleague of ours guessed 40.
这个问题你可以猜测:有多少美国州的首府被总统命名?我们的一位同事猜40。
But perhaps surprisingly, it’s only four: Jefferson City, Missouri; Lincoln, Nebraska; Madison, Wisconsin; and Jackson, Mississippi. There’s a Clinton, Iowa, too, but it’s not the capital.
或许令人吃惊的是,只有4个而已:杰斐逊城,密苏里,林肯,内布拉斯加,麦迪逊,威斯康辛,杰克逊及密西西比。的确也有克林顿和爱荷华州,但并不是首府。
Here’s one last one: If both the president and vice president should die in office, who’s next in line? It’s the speaker of the House of Representatives. Even for many Americans, just the name of the speaker of the House would be trivia. It’s John Boehner.
最后一个问题:如果总统和副总统死在办公室,下一位继任者会是谁?答案是众议院议长。甚至对许多美国人来说,提起众议院议长也是麻烦事一件。现今是约翰?博纳。
Oh, and Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, the two President Bushes, and President Obama are not on any postage stamps. Until this year, the Postal Service had a strict rule that no living person, not even a president, could appear on a stamp.
噢,还有比尔?克林顿,吉米?卡特及2位布什总统及奥巴马都没有在任何邮票上出现。直到今年,邮政服务仍然遵守严格规定,不允许活人出现在邮票上，即使是一位总统也不例外。
|