美国学生历史 第132期:1830年美国的人口(3)

 　　At the same time it would benefit the farmers of those regions by bringing their produce to tide water cheaper than it could be brought by road through Pennsylvania. 同时，这条河还将让住在这个地区的农民收益--他们通过这条运河将农副产品运到海边要比通过穿越宾夕法尼亚州的陆路更加便宜。

　　It would still further benefit the farmers by enabling them to buy their goods much cheaper, 这条河还可以让这里的农民们进一步受益，他们通过这条运河就可以买到相当便宜的货物，

　　as the rates of freight would be so much lower by canal than they were by road. 因为运河上的运费要比走陆路的运费低得多。

　　People who did not see these things as clearly as De Witt Clinton saw them, spoke¹ of the enterprise most sneeringly² and called the canal "Clinton's big ditch." 人们并没有和德o维特o克林顿同时清醒地认识到这些，他们谈到这个工程时带着极大的嘲讽，并称它为"克林顿的大沟"。

　　It very soon appeared that Clinton was right. 但很快就证明克林顿是正确的，

　　In one year the cost of carrying a ton of grain from Lake Erie to the Hudson River fell from one hundred dollars to fifteen dollars. 不到一年，从伊利湖将一吨谷物运到哈得孙河的花费就从100美元降到15美元，

　　New York City soon outstripped³ all its rivals and became the center of trade and money in the United States. 纽约市迅速超越其他城市成为美国的贸易和货币中心。

　　Other canals, as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, were marvels⁴ of skill. 其他运河都是技术的杰作，如切萨皮克运河和俄亥俄运河，

　　But they were not so favorably situated⁵ as the Erie Canal and could not compete with it successfully. 但是，伊利运河地理位置重要，人们对它的赞誉最多，其他运河都不能与之相比。

　　297. Early Railroads. 297．最初的铁路

　　The best stone and gravel⁶ roads were always rough in places. 那些最好的由石头和碎石制成的马路的路面总是十分粗糙，

　　It occurred to some one that it would be better to lay down wooden rails, and then to place a rim⁷ or flange⁸ on the wagon⁹ wheels to keep them on the rails. 人们发现一个能对此做出改善的方法：把木制的栏杆铺到地上，并给马车的轮子装上轮缘以保证轮子能走在栏杆上。

　　The first road of this kind in America was built at Boston in 1807. 1870年波士顿修成第一条这样的路，

　　It was a very rude affair and was only used to carry dirt from the top of a hill to the harbor. 这条路非常粗陋，只用于将污泥从山上运到港口。

　　The wooden rails soon wore out, so the next step was to nail strips of iron on top of them. 这些木栏杆很快就破损了，因此下一步是在这些栏杆上钉上铁钉。

　　Long lines of railroads of this kind were soon built. 很快人们建成了较长的这样的路轨，

　　Both passengers and goods could be carried on them. 无论载人还是运送货物的马车都可以在上面运行。

　　Some of them were built by private persons or by companies. 部分这样的路是由个人或公司所修建，

　　Others were built by a town or a state. 其他的则是由某个镇或者某个州修建。

　　Any one having horses and wagons¹⁰ with flanged¹¹ wheels could use the railway on the payment of a small sum of money. 只要付出一点钱，任何有马匹和带有轮缘马车的人都可以使用这种路轨，

　　This was the condition of affairs when the steam locomotive was invented. 这就是发明蒸汽机车时的环境条件。

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 sneeringly   

嘲笑地，轻蔑地

参考例句：

• Guan and Zhang had nothing more to say, But they walked away sneeringly. 关羽、张飞无话，冷笑着走了。

3 outstripped   

v.做得比…更好，（在赛跑等中）超过( outstrip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• That manufacturer outstripped all his competitors in sales last year. 那个制造商家去年的销售量超过了所有竞争对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The imagination of her mother and herself had outstripped the truth. 母亲和她自己的想象力远远超过了事实。 来自辞典例句

4 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

5 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

6 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

7 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

8 flange   

n.边缘，轮缘，凸缘，法兰

参考例句：

• These include gusset plates welded to the flange.这些包括焊接到翼缘上的节点板。
• Three structures have exhibited cracking at the ends of flange gusset plates.已有三个结构在翼缘节点板端部出现了裂纹.

9 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

10 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

11 flanged   

带凸缘的，用法兰连接的，折边的

参考例句：

• Has a higher application temperature than Teflon ® seated flanged ball valves. 比特氟隆阀座法兰球阀还高的应用温度。 来自互联网
• Low pressure drop. Micrometer adjustment. Flanged with threaded companion flange. 具有低压降，可微调，配有法兰等产品特点。 来自互联网