VOA慢速英语2013 华盛顿附近农场体验殖民时期生活

 

Farm Near Washington Brings Colonial¹ Times to Life 华盛顿附近农场体验殖民时期生活

Welcome to American Mosaic² from VOA Learning English.  I’m Katherine Cole.

Claude Moore Colonial Farm is a US national park just outside Washington, DC. It is a place where time seems to have stopped in the 1770s. Workers at the park recreate  and reenact the world of typical tenant³ farmers of the late 18th century.

The park is in McLean, Virginia and the imagined year is 1771. Most Virginians at that time grew tobacco for a living. Tenant farmers did not own the land they farmed  but they lived on the property in exchange for some of the tobacco.

The United States Park Service created the farm in 1976. It opened just before the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States. However, now, a private  company operates Claude Moore, unlike any other US national park.

Facilities Manager John Engle explains.

“In 1980 the park service decided⁴ that they could not keep the park going and the people who worked here and the group of volunteers who loved the place so much got  together with the local congressman⁵ and worked out an arrangement with the Park Service.”

Visitors to Claude Moore step back in time as soon as they enter the park. America is under British colonial rule. The imaginary Thorton family farms the land.

Park employees arrive in the morning to get ready to represent members of the Thorton family. They change into clothing similar to that worn in 1771. Then, they start  their day.

Each reenactor has a duty. The women go into the kitchen garden where they plant for the coming season.

“Right now my girls are working in the kitchen garden. We got Martha the eldest⁶ and Sally the youngest and we’re planting our fall crops. So things like peas,  spinach and lettuce⁷, all sorts of greens, radishes⁸, cabbage that sort of thing. That’s what we’re planting right now.”

That is park employee Heather Bodin playing Lydia Bradley, the sister of tenant farmer James Thorton. Ms. Bodin says the farm offers an unusual experience for  visitors, especially young ones.

“One of my favorite stories was of a young man – a little boy – who realized for the first time that the chicken that you eat was actually from the animal chicken.  He had only seen chickens in the styrofoam package in the grocery stores. He realized there’s a moment where there’s a light bulb off his head and you could see him  saying chicken is chicken.”

The farm family gathers around the old wooden table for lunch. After lunch the farmer and some of the children go back to the tobacco field.

The story is that James Thorton provides about 230 kilograms of tobacco a year to the landowner. This pays for his use of the land.

“I must pay 500 pounds of tobacco to my landlord and that’s not a percentage and that’s a set amount, 500 pounds. So, if I grow 600 pounds, I only have 100 pounds  for me. If I grow 1100 pounds, I’ve 600 pounds left over. So that would be a good year and I could buy my wife a new dress and so forth⁹. But tobacco must be  inspected, it must be weighed, it’s very strictly¹⁰ controlled.”

Claude Moore Colonial Farm brings history alive for hundreds of visitors each year. The farm is now closed for the winter months. It will reopen April 1st.

I’m Katherine Cole.

1 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

2 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

3 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

8 radishes   

n.（做色拉用的）小萝卜( radish的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a bunch of radishes 一捆萝卜
• These radishes of mine taste as good as pears. 我这萝卜赛梨。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。