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VOA慢速英语 2007 0212b

时间:2007-07-07 05:53:55

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. George Washington won the Revolutionary War and was the first president of the United States. But can the man known as the father of his country still command attention?

VOICE ONE:


George Washington's home at Mount1 Vernon

This week on our program, we take you to a place where a lot of money has just been invested to make sure the answer is yes. That place is George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens in Virginia.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

George Washington lived in a number of homes as a boy and young man. But he spent most of his life at Mount Vernon, twenty-four kilometers to the south of the city of Washington.

He helped choose where to build the new capital city and the White House. Yet George Washington is the only president who never lived in the White House -- it was completed after he left office. When he was president, New York City and, after that, Philadelphia served as the nation's capital.

VOICE ONE:


1850 portrait by Rembrandt Peale

George Washington was born two hundred seventy-five years ago. His birthday is celebrated2 every year at his home and burial place at Mount Vernon.

The public is invited onto the grounds free of charge next Monday for ceremonies including military performances. The honor is fitting3 for a man who loved music and was the commander of the Continental4 Army.

Washington's birthday became a federal holiday in eighteen eighty-five, long after his death. Today the holiday is observed on the third Monday in February and is commonly called Presidents Day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Entering Mount Vernon is like stepping back into the eighteenth century. It still looks much like when George Washington lived there with his wife, Martha.

Sheep still chew grass near the Potomac River. The animals are the same kind that grazed5 on the property when the Washingtons lived there. Farming also continues at Mount Vernon.

But Mount Vernon has recently gained many up-to-date things to see and do. About one hundred ten million dollars in changes have been made over the past several years.

The new look was in reaction to concerns among the operators and supporters of Mount Vernon. They wondered especially if a visit there met the needs of today's young people.

So the group that operates Mount Vernon used private donations to add two buildings and many new exhibits and films. The new buildings are the Ford6 Orientation7 Center and the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. They were built mostly below ground. They opened last October.

VOICE ONE:

Many Americans have an image of George Washington as a very serious older man. Artworks generally present him that way. But the additions to Mount Vernon present a younger and livelier George Washington.

A million visitors a year come through Mount Vernon, often with school groups. Wayne Howland has worked as a volunteer providing information to the public at Mount Vernon for many years. He says it will be interesting to see if the new additions make George Washington more meaningful to visiting students.

VOICE TWO:

Visitors to the orientation Center are welcomed by a statue of George and Martha Washington, holding hands with two grandchildren. The entrance area is light and airy in the winter sunshine. Colorful glass windows present important times in Washington's life.

Films are shown in two theaters. In one movie, television personality Pat Sajak talks about what to see and do at Mount Vernon. He also introduces a film called We Fight to Be Free.

VOICE ONE:




It presents George Washington as a young and strong-willed revolutionary. He commands the army of the American colonies. He unites men, some of them half-starved and shoeless, to fight for freedom from British rule.

We also see him meeting his future wife, Martha Custis. Her first husband had died, leaving her with two children.

VOICE TWO:

After the film, we walk over cobblestone paths to the main house at Mount Vernon. Guides describe what daily life was like in the long, white home on a hill overlooking8 the Potomac River.

As we look out from the back of the house, the Potomac shines blue in the winter sun. No boats are out on the icy river. The home seems to rest on the hill in perfect stillness.

VOICE ONE:

The main house is three floors high. George Washington was responsible for much of the design. His office contains many of his books. This is where Washington planned the activities of the farms on his land.

George Washington owned African slaves, as did many other people. But even at that time, there was great debate about slavery. Washington ordered that his slaves be freed after he and his wife died. In his will, he left instructions for the care and education of some of his former slaves, and support and training for the children.

At the time of his death, Washington had more than three hundred slaves. They provided much of the labor9 at Mount Vernon. Most were field workers, sixty percent of them women. The workday lasted from sunup to sundown, six days a week.

Mount Vernon has a gallery that deals with the slavery issue and a monument that honors the slaves.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:




George and Martha Washington often invited friends for meals in the dining room at Mount Vernon. The Washingtons also provided sleeping rooms and food for travelers. Very few hotels existed then. So George and Martha Washington offered a place to stay for more than six hundred visitors a year.

VOICE ONE:

After visiting the main house, we stop at the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center. Here we meet a life-size George Washington made of wax. He is riding his horse, Blueskin.

A movie in the Reynolds Center tells us about his major battles. Our seats shake as cannons10 fire and smoke rises. White particles fall from above. Snow! calls out a child in the audience.

VOICE TWO:

The museum shows about five hundred objects from the Mount Vernon estate, the Revolutionary War and Washington's presidency11. Through exhibits and films, we learn about George Washington as a soldier and statesman12, but also as a young boy, a land surveyor and a woodsman.

Visitors crowd around a glass container. It holds Washington's false teeth. They were made of hippopotamus13 ivory14 and human teeth. When he became president, he had only one of his own teeth left in his mouth.

VOICE ONE:

Another popular exhibit is called hands-on history. Bitsy Unkle works at Mount Vernon. She explains the children's clothing and toys in this room. She points to dolls made of cloth, and describes how children learning to read shaped the dolls into letters.

(SOUND)

BITSY UNKLE: This is how children took these -- it's like a little rag doll. They have to form the alphabet, and that's how children learned their letters in the eighteenth century.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

After his victory in the Revolutionary War, some people wanted George Washington to be president for life. Or even king. But Washington said Americans had fought for freedom from such rulers.

He was elected president two times and served from seventeen eighty-nine to seventeen ninety-seven. He was offered a third term, but he refused. He wanted to return to the life he had led at Mount Vernon before the war.

VOICE ONE:

Yet George Washington did not get to enjoy a long retirement15 at Mount Vernon. He died there in seventeen ninety-nine. Modern doctors believe he died of a severe infection. He was sixty-seven years old.

He and his wife are buried at Mount Vernon. After Martha Washington died, Mount Vernon was given to other family members. By the eighteen fifties, the person who owned it did not have enough money to keep it in good condition. He offered to sell Mount Vernon to Virginia or to the federal government. Both said no.

So the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association collected money. The group bought the property and has operated George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens to this day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver16. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can find our program, along with a link to the Mount Vernon Web site, at www.unsv.com. And we hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mount 6Fixv     
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 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
3 fitting 8sszzP     
n.[pl.]设备,家具,配件,试穿;adj.适合的
参考例句:
  • I'm going to a fitting tomorrow.明天我要去试穿新衣。
  • The President's address was a fitting end to a bitter campaign.总统的讲话为一场激烈的竞选运动适时画上了句号。
4 continental Zazyk     
adj.大陆的,大陆性的,欧洲大陆的
参考例句:
  • A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
  • The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。
5 grazed ba6588cf266a4e3dec6b6cd8e6dc3cf8     
v.(让动物)吃草( graze的过去式和过去分词 );轻擦,擦破;擦过;掠过
参考例句:
  • I grazed my knee when I fell. 我摔了一跤,把膝盖擦破了。
  • The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 Ford KiIxx     
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。
7 orientation IJ4xo     
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。
8 overlooking 02f13402b531fc102ec151f39ba72951     
v.忽视( overlook的现在分词 );监督;俯视;(对不良现象等)不予理会
参考例句:
  • The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高,可以俯瞰全城。
  • The house sits high on a hill overlooking a lake. 房子高高地坐落在可以俯瞰湖水的小山上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 labor P9Tzs     
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。
10 cannons dd76967b79afecfefcc8e2d9452b380f     
n.加农炮,大炮,火炮( cannon的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 presidency J1HzD     
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
参考例句:
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
12 statesman Yu6wf     
n.国务活动家,政治家
参考例句:
  • Friends gathered at a memorial for the late statesman.这位已故政治家的生前好友为他举行了纪念仪式。
  • The statesman is much occupied with affairs of state.那个政治家忙于国事。
13 hippopotamus 3dhz1     
n.河马
参考例句:
  • The children enjoyed watching the hippopotamus wallowing in the mud.孩子们真喜观看河马在泥中打滚。
  • A hippopotamus surfs the waves off the coast of Gabon.一头河马在加蓬的海岸附近冲浪。
14 ivory KaJzc     
n.象牙,乳白色;adj.象牙制的,乳白色的
参考例句:
  • My grandmother has some jewelry made of ivory.我祖母有一些象牙首饰。
  • It is carved from ivory.它是用象牙雕成的。
15 retirement TWoxH     
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。
16 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

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