VOA慢速英语2013 词汇典故 - 摇滚之都克里夫兰和汽车城底特律

 

Words and Their Stories: Nicknames² for Cleveland and Detroit

词汇典故 - 摇滚之都克里夫兰和汽车城底特律

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。

Many American cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens. But nicknames sometimes can make fun of something.

许多美国城市都有一些有趣的别名。别名有助于确立城市风格，还能激发民众自豪感。但别名有时也会对一些事情进行嘲弄。

Cleveland, Ohio is a city in America’s Midwest. One of its earliest nicknames was Forest City. No one knows for sure who gave it this name in the eighteen thirties. But Cleveland probably had a lot of trees. This nickname¹ became popular among local businesses in the eighteen fifties. Today, some businesses in the Cleveland area still use Forest City in their names.

俄亥俄州克利夫兰市位于美国中西部。其最早的别名之一是“森林之城（Forest City）”。没有人知道谁在十九世纪三十年代给了克里夫兰这个别名，但可能当时克里夫兰有许多树。十九世纪五十年代这个别名在当地企业间开始流行。直到今天，克里夫兰的一些企业仍在其企业名称中使用“森林之城”这个别名。

Cleveland sits next to Lake Erie, one of North America’s Great Lakes. It was once a major manufacturing city. Ships used the lake for transporting goods. In the nineteen fifties, businesses called Cleveland, the Best Location in the Nation.

克里夫兰坐落在北美五大湖之一的伊利湖畔。它曾是一个重要的制造业城市。伊利湖可用于船舶运输货物。二十世纪五十年代，企业界称克里夫兰是全美国地理位置最好的城市。

However, many factories closed or moved away. Cleveland had severe financial problems in the nineteen sixties and seventies. In nineteen sixty-nine, the city became famous, but not in a good way. Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught on fire because of industrial wastes on the surface of the river. So in the nineteen seventies, the national media began calling the city The Mistake on the Lake.

然而二十世纪六七十年代，很多工厂关闭或搬走了，克里夫兰面临了严重的财政问题。1969年，克里夫兰开始臭名远扬，流经该市的凯霍加河表面的工业废料燃起了大火。因此二十世纪七十年代，全国媒体开始称克里夫兰为“湖面上的错误（The Mistake on the Lake）”。

Since then, Cleveland has sought to improve its image. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cleveland in nineteen ninety-five. So the city is proud of its latest nickname, The Rock and Roll Capital of the World. 

从那时起，克里夫兰开始试图改善其形象。1995年，摇滚名人堂博物馆在克里夫兰开放。这座城市开始以“世界摇滚之都（The Rock and Roll Capital of the World）”这个最新的昵称而引以为豪。

Another city in the Midwest is Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford³ started the Ford Motor Company in Detroit in nineteen hundred three. Five years later, he made the first “Model T” automobile⁴. Within ten years, Detroit was being called The Motor City. It is still the center of the automobile industry in America.

密歇根州底特律市是另一座位于中西部地区的城市。1903年，亨利·福特（Henry Ford）在底特律创办了福特汽车公司。5年后生产出首款T型车。在不到10年，底特律被开始被称为“汽车城（The Motor City）”。直到如今它仍是美国的汽车产业中心。

Another popular nickname for Detroit is Motown. Berry Gordy, Junior started the Motown Record Corporation in Detroit in nineteen fifty-nine. African-American singers recording⁵ for the company were extremely popular in the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies. Their records were so successful that Detroit was also called Hitsville, USA. 

底特律的另一个众所周知的别名是“摩城(Motown)”。1959年，贝瑞·戈顿（Berry Gordy, Junior）在底特律创建了摩城唱片公司。二十世纪六十年代到九十年代，该公司旗下美国黑人歌手极为走红。他们的唱片如此成功以致于底特律还被称为“金曲乌托邦（Hitsville U.S.A.）”

注：Hitsville U.S.A.是摩城唱片总部原址，现已辟为博物馆，成为底特律著名景点。

(MUSIC)

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at our website, www.voanews.cn.

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 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。