Potomac River1

 

Broadcast: Jan 15, 2003
By Jerilyn Watson

VOICE ONE:

This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, Explorations. Join us today as we travel along the Potomac River in the eastern United States. The Potomac is one of America's most historic¹ waterways.

SOUND: River noises

VOICE ONE:

The Potomac River flows more than six-hundred kilometers from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, on the Atlantic Ocean coast. The river flows through West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. It also flows through the United States capital, Washington, D-C.

The Potomac is the wildest river in the world that flows through a heavily populated area. It supplies water for more than eighty percent of the four-million people who live in the Washington area. Millions of people use the river and the land nearby for recreational activities. These include boating, fishing, hiking and bird watching. The area is home to important birds such as the great blue heron and the American bald eagle2.

The Potomac River has played an important part in American history. For example, America's first President, George Washington, lived for many years along the Potomac in Virginia. He urged that the river be developed to link Americans with the West.

VOICE TWO:

We will explore the Potomac River in a small boat called a canoe that we move through the water using sticks called paddles. Our trip will take seven or eight days. The boat has only enough space for two or three people. But we will not be alone on the water. Other canoes float nearby.

We start in the calm waters of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A guide in the boat next to us says people lived here fifteen-thousand years ago. The Potomac River was a meeting place for American Indians long before Europeans arrived. The Indians gathered to trade food and furs. Today, people often find objects that the Indians left behind.

VOICE ONE:

We work hard to paddle our canoe, and are happy to stop and rest at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. During the nineteenth century, this village was an important transportation center for the river, a smaller waterway and a railroad. At Harpers Ferry, the Potomac flows through the Blue Ridge³ Mountains. Here it meets the Shenandoah River. From our boat we can see the water flowing toward huge rocks. Green trees cover the mountains on either side. Round white clouds hang low against a blue sky. It looks very peaceful.

VOICE TWO:

But this area is not known for peace. In eighteen-fifty-nine, the United States was close to civil war between the northern and southern states. The federal government had a weapons center at Harpers Ferry. John Brown, a militant⁴ who was against slavery, decided⁵ to raid⁶ it. Historians⁷ believe he did this to provide slaves with weapons for a rebellion⁸.

John Brown and eighteen of his supporters captured the weapons center. However, federal troops recaptured the center the next day. John Brown was later hanged. But his name was made famous forever by American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote that although Brown had died, his spirit would march on.

VOICE ONE:

Harpers Ferry became a national historical park in nineteen-forty-four. Today the park welcomes visitors who come to learn about life along the river. The park also operates a program to restore an important bird, the peregrine falcon⁹, to the area. About fifty years ago, the use of the insect-killing chemical D-D-T had almost killed all these large birds. D-D-T was banned in nineteen-seventy-two. Wildlife experts now bring baby peregrines from the Chesapeake Bay area. Then they place the birds in rocky areas high above the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry.

The baby birds wear a device that sends signals telling where there are. The devices let wildlife experts follow the birds' movements. They hope that before too long, many peregrines again will fly in these skies.

VOICE TWO:

Most of the time we paddle smoothly¹⁰ over the Potomac. But sometimes the river is wild. George Washington understood that the Potomac was difficult to travel on, even for much bigger boats than ours. He proposed a waterway to avoid dangerous places on the river. But he did not live to see it built. Washington died in seventeen-ninety-nine. The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was built more than twenty-five years later.

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, continued flooding from the Potomac damaged the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Today it no longer carries goods. Instead, the C-and-O Canal is a national park. Kayaks and barges¹¹ float on the waterway, passing through devices called locks. The locks close off the canal and use special gates to raise or lower the boats. They do this by raising or lowering the water level.

The area between the Potomac River and the canal is called a towpath. The towpath extends about three-hundred kilometers from Washington, D-C, to Cumberland, Maryland.

Today we see families walking their dogs along the towpath3. Other people are running or riding their bicycles. Still others are fishing.

VOICE TWO:

Now we are getting close to Washington, D-C. Here the river begins to look dangerous. Signs warn boats away from the twenty-four kilometers of the Potomac Gorge¹². So we leave our canoe to walk along the towpath.

Water moves fast in the gorge. There are many rocks and waterfalls. The gorge begins above a large waterfall called Great Falls. Here the water drops to sea level. The gorge then extends to Theodore Roosevelt Island, named for America's twenty-sixth president. Here we get a quick look at a blue heron. This beautiful bird stands for a minute on a rock on one long, thin leg. An eagle spreads its wide wings in the sky, but does not land.

VOICE ONE:

We take land transportation to follow the river into America's capital. Washington, D-C was built on a low wetland area in eighteen-hundred. The British burned the city in eighteen-twelve. But Americans soon rebuilt it.

While in Washington, we decide to continue our trip on the Potomac River in a larger boat for visitors. This will take us past George Washington's home in Virginia.     He helped design the big white house, called Mount² Vernon. George Washington and his wife, Martha, are buried on the property.

Today we see sheep and goats eating grass on the hill between the back of the house and the river. This sight probably looks about the same as it did when George Washington supervised¹³ his beautiful riverside farm.

After passing Mount Vernon, we end our trip on the Potomac River as it flows toward the Chesapeake Bay. By now, we have a deep feeling for the beauty of the river. But the beauty always exists under threat.

VOICE TWO:

Over the centuries, industry, agriculture and human development severely¹⁴ damaged the environment of the Potomac River. By the nineteen-seventies, people described the river's condition as sickening. Then Congress passed the Clean Water Act in nineteen-seventy-two.

The river has been improved greatly since then. Still, coal mines in West Virginia drop harmful acids into the water. Waste material from the Anacostia River floats on the Potomac. Sediment¹⁵ material that falls to the bottom prevents traffic on some areas of the river. Pesticides¹⁶ and fertilizers pollute the water. Many environmental activists¹⁷ worry especially about the building of new homes and businesses along the Potomac.

VOICE ONE:

The Potomac River faces many environmental problems as a result of population growth and its resulting pressures on land and water resources.

The river flows through land controlled by developers, private owners and state and local governments. These groups often have conflicting ideas about what is good and bad for the river. Several organizations work to protect and improve the Potomac River and the land near it. The Potomac Conservancy is one of them. It carries out a land protection program, develops land and water restoration projects, and provides education programs for adults and young people.

VOICE TWO:

We have enjoyed our trip on the Potomac River. The trip was sometimes peaceful and sometimes exciting. We learned a lot about the river and its history. We hope that Americans will always take good care of their historic Potomac River.

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another Explorations program on the Voice of America.
1. Potomac River [pE5tEumEk] n. 波拖马可河(美国东部重要河流,流经首都华盛顿)
2. bald eagle n. [美]秃头鹰
3. towpath [`tEJpB:W] n. 拉船路, 牵道

1 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

2 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。

3 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

4 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

5 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。

6 raid   

v.劫掠，攫取，袭击，突击搜捕；n.突然袭击

参考例句：

• Our house was blown up in an air raid.在一次空袭中我们的房子被炸掉了。
• During their raid on the house,the police found a lot of drugs.在对这所房子的搜查中，警方发现了大量的毒品。

7 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。

8 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

9 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

11 barges   

驳船( barge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tug is towing three barges. 那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
• There were plenty of barges dropping down with the tide. 有不少驳船顺流而下。

12 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

13 supervised   

v.监督，管理( supervise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The architect supervised the building of the house. 建筑工程师监督房子的施工。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He supervised and trained more than 400 volunteers. 他指导和培训了400多名志愿者。 来自辞典例句

14 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

15 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

16 pesticides   

n.杀虫剂( pesticide的名词复数 )；除害药物

参考例句：

• vegetables grown without the use of pesticides 未用杀虫剂种植的蔬菜
• There is a lot of concern over the amount of herbicides and pesticides used in farming. 人们对农业上灭草剂和杀虫剂的用量非常担忧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》