THIS IS AMERICA - Southern Friendliness Meets American Histo

THIS IS AMERICA - Southern Friendliness¹ Meets American History in Charleston
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Monday, November 14, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember with Shirley Griffith. This week, come along to one of the most beautiful and historic² cities in the United States – Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War began at its waterfront.

 
Charleston's South Battery
Charleston is on a piece of land in the southeastern United States that points like a finger to the Atlantic Ocean. Rivers flow by either side of the city. They are the Ashley and the Cooper rivers.

The people of Charleston will smile and tell you the Ashley and the Cooper rivers join to form the Atlantic Ocean. They know this is not true, but they like to tell the story anyway. It shows how proud the people of Charleston are of their city.

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Charleston has a very rich history. It is the only city in the United States that can claim to have defended itself from American Indians, fierce pirates⁴, Spanish ships, French soldiers, and British forces. It was first in many things. Charleston had the first continual train service in the United States.

It built the first museum and the first public flower garden in America. And the first battle of the American Civil War took place on a very small but important island in its port.

Charleston has some of the most beautiful and unusual homes in America. One critic has called Charleston the most friendly city in the United States. Charleston is all of these things and much more.

VOICE TWO:

Plan your visit to Charleston for early spring, late autumn or the winter months. The citizens of Charleston will tell you their lovely city is not fun in the summer. It is extremely hot. The summer heat is important to the history of Charleston.

Early settlers owned huge farms called plantations⁶. In the seventeen hundreds, these farms produced a plant called indigo⁷ which is used to make cloth the color blue.

Many plantation⁵ owners forced slaves to do the work needed to grow indigo in the extreme heat. Slavery became important to the economy of Charleston. The plantations, indigo and slavery are part of the history of the city.

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VOICE ONE:

At least three Indian tribes⁸ were living in the area that became Charleston when Spanish explorers arrived in fifteen twenty one. The Spanish explorers, and later, French explorers tried to establish settlements near that area but none lasted.

English settlers first came to the area in sixteen seventy. They established a town. They called it Charles Town in honor of the English King, Charles the Second. The people of the city changed its name to Charleston in seventeen eighty-three.

VOICE TWO:

Many people came to live in Charleston because it produced indigo and had a good port. The people who settled the area were hard working and independent. They considered themselves citizens of England.

Still, they did not like some of the laws declared by the English government. The colonists⁹ successfully defended their city many times in the early seventeen hundreds. They defended it against both French and Spanish forces, and against raids¹⁰ by Yamasee Indians and by pirates.

In seventeen nineteen, the citizens of Charleston rebelled against the group of English men who controlled their colony. They wanted more self-government. Britain's King George agreed. This change gave the people of Charleston a feeling of independence.

VOICE ONE:

Charleston is still proud of its part in the war for independence. The city provided several political and military leaders during the American Revolution.

British forces attacked it two times, but were defeated by the people of Charleston. The third time, the British captured the city and held it for more than a year.

Charleston continued to grow after the American colonists had won their independence from England. The new federal government knew that the city was important.

Workers began building a strong base to guard Charleston in eighteen twenty-eight. This base was on a small island in Charleston Harbor. It was named Fort¹¹ Sumter. It was designed to guard the city from any future enemy.

VOICE TWO:

 
Fort Sumter
There were no thoughts of war or future enemies while Fort Sumter was being built. The plantations near Charleston had began to plant new crops like rice and cotton.

With the help of slave labor¹², cotton became extremely important to the economy of Charleston and much of the South. Many people in the northern United States began to think that slavery was very wrong, however.

Slave owners in the South wanted things to remain as they had always been. They believed the federal government had no right to tell them what they could or could not do.

VOICE ONE:

A national crisis¹³ began when Abraham Lincoln was elected president in eighteen sixty. The people of South Carolina believed he would try to end slavery by force. They voted to leave the United States. They were quickly followed by other southern states. These southern states soon created the government of the Confederate States of America.

 
Abraham Lincoln
Federal troops controlled Fort Sumter when South Carolina voted to leave the Union. The people of Charleston demanded the federal troops leave. The Union commander refused.

On the morning of April twelfth, eighteen sixty-one, a cannon¹⁴ was fired at Fort Sumter. It was the first shot of America's long Civil War.

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VOICE TWO:

 
Row of commercial buildings along the south side of Broad Street
Charleston suffered a lot of damage during the Civil War. Several major battles were fought there. Late in the war another battle for control of Fort Sumter continued for almost two years. Much of Charleston had been destroyed by the time the war ended. Rebuilding the city was a long and slow process.

The people of Charleston tried to save the historic buildings from the seventeen hundreds. They wanted to keep those buildings they felt were an important part of their city.

The huge plantations near Charleston were also in need of rebuilding. Many owners failed in their efforts because they could no longer use slave labor. Their farms became much smaller.

VOICE ONE:

The historic buildings of Charleston were affected¹⁵ by weather as well as wars. Through the years, ocean storms have severely¹⁶ damaged the city. A major storm struck Charleston in September nineteen-eighty-nine. It killed eighteen people and caused more than three-thousand-million dollars in damage.

The huge storm had winds of more than two hundred seventeen kilometers an hour. It caused high waves that severely flooded city streets.

VOICE TWO:

The federal, state and city governments and individual citizens have spent millions of dollars to rebuild and repair historic areas. So in some places, Charleston looks a lot like it has for several hundred years.

In the center of the city are stores in small one-hundred year old buildings. The same family has owned one of the stores for almost one hundred fifty years. Fine eating places throughout the city serve southern food.

The people of Charleston will tell you they have some of the best eating places in the United States. Many visitors agree.

VOICE ONE:

Beautiful, old buildings are a major reason thousands of people visit Charleston each year. One of the famous buildings is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon¹⁷. It was built in the early seventeen hundreds. It was a jail that held the famous English pirate³ Stede Bonnet¹⁸ and his crew before they were hanged.

 
Houses of Charleston's South Battery
Several of the old plantation farms near Charleston also are open to visitors. One is called Boone Hall Plantation. It is still a working farm. Boone Hall Plantation looks much like it did before the American Civil War. It has been used as the setting for a number of movies and television programs about the American South and the Civil War.

VOICE TWO:

From almost anywhere along the waterfront in Charleston, you can see a large American flag flying over the small island that still holds Fort Sumter. Most visitors go to the historic fort during their time in Charleston. Several companies provide boat rides to the fort.

Much of the fort was destroyed during the Civil War. But what remains¹⁹ of Fort Sumter is protected by the National Park Service. Park workers meet each boat and explain about the battles that took place.

VOICE ONE:

Charleston has many interesting places to visit. However the people who live in the city really make it special. They are extremely friendly in a way that is part of the culture of the American south. The people of Charleston continue to keep their city beautiful using modern technology to protect their historic past.

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Our program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Lawan Davis. Internet users can read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. With Shirley Griffith, I'm Steve Ember. Listen again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 friendliness   

n.友谊，亲切，亲密

参考例句：

• Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面，我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
• His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。

2 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。

3 pirate   

n.海盗，每盗船

参考例句：

• The pirate chief commanded that the prisoners should be shot.海盗头子下令枪毙俘虏。
• The shore batteries fired at the pirate boat.海岸炮兵向海盗船开火。

4 pirates   

n.海盗( pirate的名词复数 )；剽窃者；侵犯版权者；非法播音的人（或组织）

参考例句：

• Children dressed (themselves) up as pirates. 孩子们假扮成海盗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The pirates treated their captives with barbarity. 海盗们残暴地对待他们的俘虏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

6 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

7 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

8 tribes   

n.部落( tribe的名词复数 )；（动、植物的）族；（一）帮；大群

参考例句：

• tribes living in remote areas of the Amazonian rainforest 居住在亚马孙河雨林偏远地区的部落
• In Africa the snake is still sacred with many tribes. 非洲许多部落仍认为蛇是不可冒犯的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 raids   

突然袭击( raid的名词复数 )； 劫掠，劫夺； 突然查抄[搜捕]

参考例句：

• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。
• We can annoy the enemy by raids. 我们可以用空袭骚扰敌人。

11 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

12 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

13 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

14 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 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。

17 dungeon   

n.地牢，土牢

参考例句：

• They were driven into a dark dungeon.他们被人驱赶进入一个黑暗的地牢。
• He was just set free from a dungeon a few days ago.几天前，他刚从土牢里被放出来。

18 bonnet   

n.无边女帽；童帽

参考例句：

• The baby's bonnet keeps the sun out of her eyes.婴孩的帽子遮住阳光，使之不刺眼。
• She wore a faded black bonnet garnished with faded artificial flowers.她戴着一顶褪了色的黑色无边帽，帽上缀着褪了色的假花。

19 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。