VOA慢速英语2014 A Visit to George Washington's Mount Vernon 访问乔治华盛顿的芒特弗农

 

A Visit to George Washington's Mount¹ Vernon 访问乔治华盛顿的芒特弗农

From VOA Learning English, welcome to This isAmerica. I’m Steve Ember. Americans areremembering George Washington this month. February 22nd marks the birthday anniversary of the country’s first president. Come celebrate the event withus on a visit to Mount Vernon, Washington’s home inVirginia.

美国之音学英语，欢迎来到本isAmerica。我是史蒂夫灰烬。美国人areremembering乔治华盛顿这个月。2月22日，标志着该国的第一任总统的诞辰纪念日。前来庆祝活动为us在访问弗农山，华盛顿的家inVirginia。

George Washington lived at Mount Vernon for morethan 40 years. The big wooden house is 24 kilometerssouth of Washington, DC -- the city named in hishonor. But the distance from the city does not stoppeople from all over the world from visiting the home. The property can be reached by bicycle, car, bus –even by boat on the Potomac River.

乔治华盛顿住在芒特弗农的人数超过40年。大木房子是华盛顿特区的24kilometerssouth - 在hishonor命名的城市。但是，从城市的距离并不来自世界各地的stoppeople从逛回家。这个属性可以通过自行车，汽车，公交车，甚至乘船在波托马克河到达。

George Washington was born on February 11th, 1731. His birth date movedup a year and 11 days when the Gregorian calendar was accepted. BeforeWashington was elected president, he commanded the troops that won therevolutionary war against Britain. He helped to set up the country now calledthe United States of America. Some historians² say the nation would not existif George Washington had never lived.

乔治·华盛顿出生于1731年2月11日。他的出生日期movedup一年和11天的时候，公历被接受。BeforeWashington当选总统后，他吩咐赢得了对英国therevolutionary战部队。他帮助建立了现在calledthe美利坚合众国的国家。一些历史学家说，该国将不会existif乔治·华盛顿从来没有住过。

Washington helped choose where to build the capital city and an official homefor the president. Yet he is the only president who never lived in the WhiteHouse. It was completed after he left office. Washington lived in New Yorkand later in Philadelphia while he served as president. But Mount Vernon wasalways important to him. And the house he shared with his wife Martharemains an important place in American history.

华盛顿有助于选择在那里建立省会城市及正式homefor总统。然而，他是谁从来没有住在白宫的唯一的总统。它完成了他离任后。华盛顿住在新Yorkand后来在费城，而他担任总裁。但芒特弗农wasalways重要的是他。他与他的妻子分享了房子Martharemains在美国历史上占有重要地位。

George Washington’s father, Augustine, started buildingthe house in 1735. Later the home and farm werenamed “Mount Vernon.” At that time, GeorgeWashington’s half-brother, Lawrence, had the property. Lawrence Washington died in 1752.

乔治·华盛顿的父亲奥古斯丁，开始buildingthe房子于1735年。后来家里和农场werenamed“芒特弗农。”当时，GeorgeWashington的同父异母兄弟，劳伦斯，有属性。劳伦斯·华盛顿在1752年去世。

George Washington took possession of Mount Vernonin 1754. During the next 45 years, he continually addedto it. The main building grew to its present size of 21rooms. He watched over the additions, even while he was away at war.

乔治·华盛顿占有了山Vernonin1754。在接下来的45年里，他不断地addedto它。主楼增长到21rooms它现在的规模。他看着在增加，甚至当他是去打仗。

Today the house and property still look like a Virginiaplantation, a working farm where crops are grown. Butpresent-day Mount Vernon has been made moremeaningful to visitors through many creative displays. A Hands-On-History Center offers special activities forchildren aged⁴ three to eight.

今天的房子和财产仍然看起来像一个Virginiaplantation，其中农作物生长的农场。Butpresent天芒特弗农已moremeaningful向参观者通过许多创造性的显示器。一个动手 - 历史中心提供特别的活动forchildren三至八十岁。

Visitors can begin their trip to Mount Vernon with a stopat the Ford⁵ Orientation⁶ Center. A film called “We Fightto Be Free” tells about Washington both as a man and as a military leader. The movie shows the futurepresident commanding British forces during the French and Indian War, whichended in 1763.

游客可以开始与STOPAT福特取向中心他们前往芒特弗农。所谓“我们Fightto是自由的”A片讲述华盛顿既作为一个男人和一个军事领导人。这部电影展示了futurepresident法国和印度之战，whichended在1763年期间指挥英国军队。

Washington also led a small army across the icyDelaware River on December 25th, 1776. By that time, the American colonies were fighting for independencefrom Britain. Washington’s colonial⁷ forces were ontheir way to fight the Battle of Trenton, in New Jersey⁸.

华盛顿也导致小军横跨icyDelaware河1776年12月25日。到那个时候，美国菌落争取independencefrom英国。华盛顿的殖民势力是ontheir打特伦顿战役，在新泽西的方式。

The colonial forces faced and defeated Hessian troopsat Trenton. The Hessians were fighting on the Britishside. Many were captured, and the colonial losseswere few. Winning the battle marked a turning point of the American Revolution.

殖民势力面对并击败黑森州troopsat特伦顿。粗麻布在打架上Britishside。许多人被抓获，并殖民地losseswere数。赢得战斗的一个转折点美国革命。

The film also tells about Washington’s life in more peaceful times, like his firstmeeting with his future wife, Martha Custis. Her first husband had died andleft her with four children. George and Martha Washington took the twoyoungest and raised them at Mount Vernon as their children.

该片还讲述了华盛顿的生活更加和平的时代，像他firstmeeting与他未来的妻子，玛莎卡斯蒂斯。她的第一任丈夫已经去世andleft她有四个子女。乔治和玛莎华盛顿采取了twoyoungest，并提出他们在芒特弗农作为自己的孩子。

The public loved George Washington for his service to the country. Somepeople wanted him to be president for life. But Washington said Americanshad fought for freedom from such rulers.

公众喜爱乔治·华盛顿为他服务于国家。Somepeople希望他成为终身总统。但华盛顿说Americanshad争取免于这样的统治者。

He was elected president two times without opposition⁹. He was offered a thirdterm, but he refused. Washington said he wanted to return to the life he hadled at Mount Vernon before the war.

他当选总统两次没有反对。他提供了一个thirdterm，但他拒绝了。华盛顿说，他想回到他在芒特弗农hadled战前的生活。

And that is what he did. The former president returned to Mount Vernon. During those last years, he led the life of a rich farmer. He directed the workof five farms.

那就是他做了什么。前总统回到了弗农山庄。在过去的那些年里，他带领一个富裕农民的生活。他执导的workof5场。

George and Martha Washington often invited friends to eat in the dining roomat Mount Vernon. They also provided food and a place to sleep for travelers. Very few hotels existed then. So the Washingtons offered a place to stay toabout 600 people a year. Many were strangers.

乔治和玛莎·华盛顿经常邀请朋友在用餐roomat弗农山庄吃。他们还提供食物和睡觉的地方的旅客。很少有酒店存在即可。所以Washingtons提供一个栖身之toabout600人一年的地方。很多都是不相识的。

George Washington was able to enjoy retirement¹⁰ atMount Vernon for less than three years. In Decemberof 1799, the former president became sick and died. He was 67 years old. Modern doctors believe thecause of death was a severe infection.

乔治·华盛顿是能够享受退休atMount弗农少于三年。在Decemberof1799年，前总统生病和死亡。他是67岁。现代的医生相信thecause死亡是一个严重的感染。

Many people mourned. They felt a terrible loss at thedeath of their revolutionary war hero and first president. More than 700 speakers throughout the countryhonored him. Towns and villages held funeralmarches. Businesses closed for days. Bells rang andrang.

许多人哀悼。他们认为一个可怕的损失thedeath他们的革命战争英雄和第一任总统。超过700音箱在整个countryhonored他。城镇和村庄举行funeralmarches。企业关闭了几天。钟声响起andrang。

Now that we know more about George Washington’slife, we will continue with our visit to his Mount Vernonhome. The property contains the family’s main houseand smaller buildings. Visitors also see farming areas, nature paths and –when in season – beautiful flower gardens. A green hillside leads down to thePotomac River.

现在我们知道了更多关于乔治Washington'slife，我们将继续与我们访问他的摩Vernonhome。该属性包含家庭的主要houseand较小的建筑。参观者还看到农区，自然路径和-当令之时 - 美丽的花的花园。一个绿色的山坡向下通往thePotomac河。

A guide suggests going into the main house. It is three floors high. Washington was responsible for much of its design.

的指南表明进入主屋。它是三层高的。华盛顿负责为它设计的。

Today, the mansion¹¹ has been restored to recapture the past. Step into theCentral Passage, and you find yourself in the world of 1799. The CentralPassage provides an entrance to the house. But it is more. It was a place forwelcoming and entertaining visitors. A guide tells us that during summermonths, the family gathered near the open doors in the hope of catching¹² somecool air.

如今，这座豪宅已经恢复夺回了过去。走进theCentral通道，你会发现自己在1799年的世界。该CentralPassage提供了一个入口的房子。但更。这是一个地方forwelcoming和娱乐观众。一个导游告诉我们，在summermonths，家人在追赶somecool空气的希望附近聚集了敞开的大门。

George Washington’s office is on the ground level. It contains many of hisbooks. This is the room where Washington planned the farm activities on hisland. It is also where he wrote to other leaders. One writer called this room, “the center of political intelligence for the new world.”

乔治·华盛顿的办公室是在地面上水平。它包含了许多hisbooks的。这是房间里华盛顿计划在hisland的农业活动。这也是在那里，他写信给其他领导人。有一位作家叫这个房间，“政治情报中心的新的世界。”

Another guide leads visitors up some steps. MountVernon has eight bedrooms. George and MarthaWashington needed all these bedrooms for their manyvisitors. High above is a cupola -- a small structurewith windows on all sides. Washington designed thisso that hot summer air would escape from inside thehouse.

另一位导游带领游客了一些步骤。MountVernon有八间卧室。乔治和MarthaWashington需要所有这些客房为他们manyvisitors。高高在上是一个冲天 - 四面小structurewith窗口。华盛顿设计thisso那个炎热的夏天空气会逃脱从内thehouse。

African slaves were responsible for a great amount ofwork at Mount Vernon. More than 300 slaves lived andworked on the property. Slaves and some paid workersoperated George Washington's five farms. Togetherthe farms covered more than one-thousand hectares.

非洲奴隶负责在芒特弗农大量ofwork。300多名奴隶的财产生活andworked。奴隶和一些付费workersoperated乔治华盛顿'五个农场。Togetherthe农场覆盖超过一万公顷。

Other slaves built houses and furniture. Still otherscooked and performed housekeeping duties. Visitorscan see the burial places of slaves at Mount Vernon. The cemetery¹³ holds the remains³ of slaves and free black people who workedon the property during the 1700s and the first half of the 1800s. Their finalresting places are not marked.

其他的奴隶建造的房屋和家具。还是otherscooked和进行家务职责。Visitorscan看到奴隶的墓地在芒特弗农。墓地拥有奴隶和自由黑人谁在1700年和第一1800年上半年workedon财产的遗体。他们finalresting地方都没有标明。

Many years after the birth of the new country, America’s 16th presidentAbraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation¹⁴ Proclamation. The measureended slavery in southern states, including Virginia. Lincoln’s action in 1863 was widely criticized as well as praised. Even in Washington's time, therewas great debate about slavery.

新国家的诞生多年后，美国的第16presidentAbraham林肯签署了解放黑奴宣言。该measureended奴隶制南部各州，包括弗吉尼亚。1863年林肯的行动受到广泛批评和赞扬。即使在华盛顿的时候，therewas关于奴隶制大辩论。

Washington came to disapprove¹⁵ of slavery as he grewolder. He was the only one of the men known as theFounding Fathers of the country to free his slaves. Heordered that his slaves be freed after he and his wifedied. Older slaves received payments for years afterthat.

华盛顿来到不赞成奴隶制，因为他grewolder。他是被称为该国的theFounding父亲来释放他的奴隶的人只有一个。Heordered，经过他和他的wifedied他的奴隶被释放。较旧的奴隶收到的付款多年afterthat。

Much is said about George Washington the hero. Butthere is also the argument today that not enough is saidabout Washington the slave owner.

多说关于乔治·华盛顿的英雄。Butthere也是今天的说法，没有足够的saidabout华盛顿的奴隶主。

After George and Martha Washington died, MountVernon was given to other family members. By the 1850s, the individual who owned Mount Vernon did nothave enough money to keep it in good condition. He offered to sell it to Virginiaor to the federal government. Both said no.

之后乔治和玛莎华盛顿去世，MountVernon是给其他家庭成员。到了19世纪50年代，谁拥有的芒特弗农个人的确nothave足够的钱，以保持良好的状态。他主动将其出售给Virginiaor联邦政府。既说没有。

That is when a private group rescued the home. The Mount Vernon Ladies’Association bought the property with money it collected.

这时候，一个私人小组救出了家。芒特弗农Ladies'Association买了它收集到的财产与金钱。

If you cannot visit Mount Vernon in person, you can explore it online. Go to thewebsite, www.mountvernon.org . It lets you visit the world of a man whohelped to build a new nation. And for pictures of Mount Vernon, go to ourwebsite: learningenglish.voanews.com.

如果你不能访问芒特弗农的人，你可以在网上探索它。去thewebsite，www.mountvernon.org。它可以让你访问一个男人whohelped建立一个新国家的世界。和芒特弗农的照片，去ourwebsite：learningenglish.voanews.com。

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson, and I’m Steve Ember, inviting¹⁶ youto join us again next week for another This Is America program from VOALearning English.

我们的计划是作者杰瑞林华生，我史蒂夫灰烬，邀请侑斗再次加入我们下周再为这是从VOALearning英文美洲程序。

For pictures of Mount Vernon, go to our website:learningenglish.voanews.com. Join us again next week for another This isAmerica from VOA Learning English.

对于芒特弗农的图片，请访问我们的网站：learningenglish.voanews.com。再次加入我们下周再此isAmerica美国之音学英语。

1 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 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。

6 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

7 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。

8 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。

9 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

10 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

11 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

12 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

13 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

14 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

16 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。