VOA慢速英语2011--Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for L

Words and Their Stories: Nicknames² for Los Angeles
词汇典故：洛杉矶别名
Now the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。
A nickname¹ is a shortened³ form of a person's name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity⁴. Nicknames can also be funny.
别名是一个人名字的缩写形式。也可以是有关某人、某地、某事物的描述。美国城市许多都有别名，这可以帮助确立一种风格，激发民众自豪感，并增进团结。别名也可以非常有趣。
Los Angeles, California is the second largest city in population, after New York City. Los Angeles has several nicknames. One is simply the city’s initials⁵, L.A. It is also called the City of Angels because Los Angeles means “the angels” in Spanish.
加州洛杉矶是美国第二大人口城市，仅次于纽约。这个城市有很多别名，其中一个别名直接是该城市的首字母缩写L.A.。它也被称为“天使之城”，因为在西班牙语中，Los Angeles意为“天使”。
Los Angeles often has warm, sunny weather. So another nickname is City of Flowers and Sunshine. New York is called The Big Apple. So Los Angeles is sometimes called The Big Orange because of the fruit that grows in that city’s warm climate.
洛杉矶一向气候温和、阳光明媚。因此它还被称为“鲜花和阳光之城”。纽约被成为“大苹果”，因此洛杉矶有时就被称为“大橙子”，洛杉矶温和的气候非常适宜这种水果生长。
The American motion picture and television industries are based in Los Angeles. So it is not surprising that it is called The Entertainment Capital of the World. Many films are made in the area of Los Angeles called Hollywood. Millions of people visit the area. No trip to Los Angeles is complete without seeing the word "Hollywood" spelled out in huge letters on a hillside.
洛杉矶是美国影视行业基地，因此它被称为“世界娱乐之都”也就不足为奇。很多大片都是在洛杉矶的好莱坞制作的。数百万游客到此游览。到过洛杉矶，却没看见山坡上“Hollywood”那几个大字的游客，他的旅程是不完整的。
Many movie stars live in Los Angeles. The city is sometimes called Tinseltown. This nickname comes from the shiny, bright and often unreal nature of Hollywood and the movie industry.
很多影星都生活在洛杉矶，这里有时也被称为“Tinseltown”（美国口语，浮华城）。这个别名源于好莱坞以及好莱坞电影闪耀浮华的特质。
Another nickname for Los Angeles is La-La Land, using the first letters of Los and Angeles. This means a place that is fun and not serious, and maybe even out of touch with reality.
洛杉矶的另一个别名为“ La-La Land”，是由Los和Angeles的首字母拼成，意思是这里是一片欢乐不刻板的地方，有时甚至与现实脱节。
The city of Los Angeles is part of Los Angeles County. There are many smaller cities in the county. Beverly Hills, with its rich people, is one of them. So is Pasadena, with its Rose Parade each New Year's Day. So are the coastal⁶ cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, where people like to ride surfboards on the Pacific Ocean waves.
洛杉矶市是洛杉矶县的一部分，该县还有很多更小的城市，富豪云集的比佛利山庄就是其中之一。还有以新年玫瑰花车游行闻名的帕萨迪纳，以及人们喜欢冲浪的海滨城市圣莫尼卡和马利布。
注：本段提到的几个地名都是属于洛杉矶县的城市。美国的县市概念和中国不同。县又译为郡，一般包括多个市。但不具备行政隶属关系。
A good place for watching unusual-looking people is Venice, an area on the west side of Los Angeles. A system of waterways designed after the Italian city of Venice has been built there.
洛杉矶西部的威尼斯可以看到很多不寻常的艺术家。这里的水路是仿照意大利水城威尼斯设计修建的。
注：烟草大王艾伯特·金尼原本准备把加州威尼斯建成一座和意大利威尼斯一样的城市，后来却成了艺术家和娱乐的天堂。
Many people love Los Angeles for its warm sunny weather, beautiful mountains and beaches, and movie stars. That includes Randy Newman, who sings about his hometown.
很多人都喜欢洛杉矶温暖、阳光明媚的天气，美丽的山峰和海滩，以及遍地的明星大腕。这其中就包括兰蒂·纽曼，他这样唱到了他的家乡。
(MUSIC - Randy Newman - "I Love L.A.")
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Barbara Klein. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at voaspecialenglish.com.

1 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

2 nicknames   

n.绰号，诨名，昵称( nickname的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The other children taunted him with nicknames. 其他的孩子用绰号取笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He tried to amuse her by calling her the affectionate nicknames "Dark Sweetie" and "Miss Chocolate." 方鸿渐要博鲍小姐欢心，便把“黑甜”、“朱古力小姐”那些亲昵的称呼告诉她。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 initials   

n.首字母，姓名

参考例句：

• a glass tankard with his initials etched on it 刻有他姓名首字母的玻璃大酒杯
• All the towels were personalized with their initials. 所有毛巾上都标有物主姓名的首字母。

6 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。