VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 3

 

Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 3

词汇典故：美国各州别名 3

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。

(MUSIC)

Today, we tell about more interesting nicknames of American states.

今天我们将讲述更多美国各州有趣的别名。

The mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is called the Free State. A Baltimore newspaper first called it that during the nineteen twenties when the manufacture and sale of alcohol were banned for a time. Maryland said it wanted to be free from this prohibition².

位于大西洋中部的马里兰州叫做“自由之州”。20世纪20年代，酒类的生产和销售曾被禁止，巴尔的摩一家报纸首先这样叫。马里兰州称它想免受该禁令的限制。

Mississippi is The Magnolia State. It is named for a tree with big, beautiful white flowers that grows in that hot, southern state.

密西西比州叫做“木兰之州”。它以木兰花命名，木兰生长在处于南方的炎热的密西西比州，盛开大二漂亮的花朵。

The midwestern state of Missouri is called The Show Me State. The people of that frontier state were once famous for not believing everything people told them. 

位于中西部的密苏里州叫做“索证之州”。位于这个边境州的人们曾经因不相信别人告诉他们的任何事情而著名。

If you visit the western mountain and plains state of Montana you will know why it is known as Big Sky Country.

如果你游览一下西部的高山和平原之州蒙大拿，你就会明白它为什么被叫做“长空之乡”。

Nebraska is the only state to have a nickname that honors sports teams! The state university’s athletic³ teams are nicknamed Cornhuskers in recognition of one of the area’s chief crops. The state borrowed the Cornhusker nickname from the university.

内布拉斯加州是唯一一个以运动队命名的州。这个州立大学的运动队别名叫做“剥玉米壳人”，是为了认可该地区的一个主要作物玉米。内布拉斯州从这个大学借来了这个别名。

The western desert state of Nevada is called The Silver State. It was once home to many silver mines and towns that grew up around them. Today, most of them are empty "ghost towns."

位于西部沙漠的内华达州叫做“产银之州”。这里曾经有很多银矿，而且在银矿周围衍生出了许多小镇。今天，这些小镇大部分都是空空的“城市的废墟”。

New Hampshire, in the northeast area called New England, is The Granite⁴ State because of that colorful rock.

位于东北部新英格兰地区的新罕布什尔州叫做“花冈岩州”，因为这里含有五颜六色的花岗岩。

New Jersey⁵ is between the big cities of New York, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It got its nickname, The Garden State, because New Jersey truck farms once provided vegetables to those big cities.

新泽西州位于纽约，费城和宾夕法尼亚之间。新泽西州别名叫做“花园之州”，因为这里的农场曾经向大城市运送蔬菜。

New York, which always thinks big, was called The Empire State because of its natural wealth. The most famous Manhattan skyscraper⁶ got its name from the state. It is, of course, the Empire State Building.

在人们的印象中，纽约很大，它的别名叫做“帝国之州”，因为这里含有丰富的自然财富。最著名的曼哈顿摩天大楼以该州的别名命名，叫做“帝国大厦”。

If you get a chance to see a red sunset over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, you will know why that southwestern state is called The Land of Enchantment⁷.

如果你有机会看到新墨西哥州基督圣血山脉红红的落日，你就会明白这个位于西南部的州为什么被叫做“迷人之地”。

North and South Carolina were one colony until seventeen twenty-nine. South Carolina’s nickname is the easier of the two: It is The Palmetto State because of a fan-leafed palm tree that grows there. North Carolina is the Tar⁸ Heel State. That is because many of the men who worked to gather substances from trees wore no shoes. They would make turpentine from tar and get the black, sticky tar on the heels of their feet.

南北卡罗莱纳州在1729年之前一直是殖民地。南卡罗莱纳的别名相对来说比较简单，叫做“棕榈州”，因为这里生长着许多叶子像扇子一样的棕榈树。北卡罗莱纳叫做“焦油鞋根之州”。因为许多从树上采集物品的人从来都不穿鞋。他们用焦油制造松节油，这样他们的脚上就会沾上黑色黏稠的焦油。

Next week, we will finish telling about the colorful nicknames of American states. 

下周，我们将结束对美国各州别名的讲述。

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program was written by Ted¹ Landphair. I’m Barbara Klein. 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

3 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

4 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

7 enchantment   

n.迷惑，妖术，魅力

参考例句：

• The beauty of the scene filled us with enchantment.风景的秀丽令我们陶醉。
• The countryside lay as under some dread enchantment.乡村好像躺在某种可怖的魔法之下。

8 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。