美国学生世界地理教材 第52期:之最最多的西部(1)

 Chapter 15 The ‘Est,’ Est West 第15章 “之最”最多的西部

A LAND where they have the b-est, the bigg-est, the fin-est, the highest,  据说有个地方，那里有最好、最大、最优、最高、最美的东西，

the loveli-est of everything—so they say—the best oranges, the biggest prunes,  如世界上最好吃的柑橘、最硕大的李子、最美味的葡萄、

the finest grapes, the tallest trees, the highest mountains, the loveliest weather—  最高大的树木、最巍峨的山峰、最宜人的天气。是天堂吗？

No, it’s not Paradise². That’s the ’est, ’est West. 不，不是天堂。那就是拥有最多“之最”的美国西部。

California was named after an island in an old fairy-tale and in many ways the real California is a fairy-tale land.  加利福尼亚是以一个古老童话故事里的小岛命名的，而真正的加利福尼亚在很多方面都是一个童话般的地方。

When gold was found in the rivers there, the story sounded like a fairy-tale, but it turned out to be a true tale. 当人们在那里的河流里发现金子的时候，这样的事听起来就像是个童话，但结果证明这是一个真实的故事。

Many stories they tell nowadays about California still sound like fairy-tales to people in the East. 人们现在讲的很多关于加利福尼亚的故事对东部的人来说仍然像是童话故事。 

Who would believe that there are trees in California so tall they seem to brush the sky 谁会相信加利福尼亚有冲天大树

—trees so big around that men have cut tunnels in them for automobiles³ to go through ——粗大的树干可以凿个洞，让汽车通过

—trees so old that they were born before Christ⁴ was born! It’s true, there are.  ——有些树非常古老，在耶稣诞生前就开始生长了！是真的，真的有这样的树。

They are called Giant Redwoods.  它们叫做大红杉。

How more wonderful than a fairy-tale it would be if those trees could tell us the true story of what has happened in their long lives!  如果这些树能告诉我们在它们漫长生命中发生过的真实故事，那一定比童话故事更加精彩啊！

Let us see how many ’ests we can count in California. 让我们来数一数在加利福尼亚究竟有多少个“之最”吧。

California is the longest State in the United States. 加利福尼亚是美国“最”长的州。 

If you could take up California and put it down on the Atlantic coast it would stretch from Florida to New York. That’s one ’est. 如果你能拿起加利福尼亚州，放到大西洋沿岸，它将从佛罗里达延伸到纽约。这是一个“之最”。

California has the highest mountain in the United States. It is called Mount¹ Whitney. That’s two ’ests. 加利福尼亚有美国“最”高的山，叫做惠特尼山。这是两个“之最”了。

California has the lowest place in America. It’s a valley, and the valley is more than two hundred feet lower than the ocean. 加利福尼亚有美国的“最”低的地方。那是一个山谷，低于海平面200多英尺。 

It is so dry and so hot down in this hollow—this lowest spot—that nothing can live there, either animal or vegetable,  这个最低点的山谷里极其干燥炎热，没有动植物能在里面生存，

except horned toads⁵ and lizards⁶, both of which animals love heat—the more heat the better for them. 除了角蟾和蜥蜴，这两种动物都喜欢炎热的环境——越热越好。 

Some people say they can even live in fire—but that’s a fairy-tale.  有人说它们甚至在火里也能生存——但那是童话里才发生的事。

This low hot valley is called Death Valley.  这个炎热的低谷叫做“死亡谷”。

People usually keep away from it, but some men have strayed⁷ into it looking for gold and have lost their way, 人们通常不会靠近死亡谷，但有人在找金子时误入其中而迷路， 

or some who wanted to get to the other side tried to cross it and before they could get out or reach the other side they have died of heat or thirst. 还有人想到另一面去，就尝试穿越死亡谷，但还没等他们走出去或到达对面就已经热死或渴死了。 

That’s why it is called Death Valley. That’s longest, highest, lowest—three ’ests. 正因如此，它才叫死亡谷。这里就有三个“之最”了：最长，最高，最低。

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 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

3 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 Christ   

n.基督，救世主，耶稣

参考例句：

• I regarded him as the Christ.我把他当作救世主。
• Christ preached that we should love each other.基督在布道中说人们应该互爱。

5 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

6 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 strayed   

v.走失( stray的过去式和过去分词 )；偏离正题；走入歧途；（已婚者或有固定关系者）有外遇

参考例句：

• He strayed into the path of an oncoming car. 他偏到了一辆迎面驶来的汽车的行车路线上。
• The more he talked, the further he strayed from the point. 他越讲越不着边际。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》