美国学生历史 第134期:1830年美国的人口(5)

 　　The great increase in manufacturing, and the great changes in modes of transport, led people to crowd together in cities and towns. 制造业的巨大发展以及交通方式的巨大改变让人们纷纷涌向大城市和城镇。

　　These inventions made it possible to feed and warm large numbers of persons gathered into small areas. 这些发明成就了一种可能性，那就是，一大批人可以聚集在一些小地方而不遭受饥寒。

　　The cities began to grow so fast that people could no longer live near their work or the shops. 城市发展非常迅猛，人们再也不可能在靠近自己工作或购物的地方居住；

　　Lines of stagecoaches¹ were established, and the coaches were soon followed by horse cars, which ran on iron tracks laid in the streets. 人们修建了马车线路，不久，马匹拉动的客车出现在大街上，这些马车在街上铺就的铁轨上行走。

　　300. Progress in Letters. 300．文化的发展

　　There was also great progress in learning. 美国在教育方面也取得了很大发展。

　　The school system was constantly improved. 学制不断被提高，

　　Especially was this the case in the West, where the government devoted² one thirty-sixth part of the public lands to education. 西部地区更是如此，政府拿出三十六分之一的土地兴办教育。

　　High schools were founded, and soon normal schools were added to them. 人们创办高中，并很快随之创办师范学校，

　　Even the colleges awoke from their long sleep. 甚至大学也焕然一新。

　　More students went to them, and the methods of teaching were improved. 更多的学生走进学校，教学方法也得到改进，

　　Some slight attention, too, was given to teaching the sciences. 关于科学的教学也被给予一定的关注。

　　In 1828 Noah Webster published the first edition of his great dictionary. 1828年，诺亚o韦伯斯特大字典出版。

　　Unfortunately he tried to change the spelling of many words. 不幸的是他想改变许多单词的拼写，

　　But in other ways his dictionary was a great improvement. 但这部字典在其他方面也做出了巨大改进；

　　He defined words so that they could be understood, and he gave the American meaning of many words, as "congress." 他给出语词的定义以帮助人们理解，并且，他给出美国人所理解的许多单词（如"国会"）的意义。

　　American writers now began to make great reputations. 从此，美国开始出现一些著名的作家，

　　Cooper, Irving, and Bryant were already well known. 库珀、欧文和布莱恩特都已经非常出名，

　　They were soon joined by a wonderful set of men, who speedily made America famous. 很快出现了另一批文学巨匠，他们让美国闻名世界，

　　These were Emerson, Lowell, Longfellow, Holmes, Hawthorne, Prescott, Motley, Bancroft, and Sparks. 这些人有爱默生、罗威尔、朗费罗、赫尔墨斯、霍桑、普雷斯科特、莫特利、班克劳夫特和斯巴克斯等。

　　In science, also, men of mark were beginning their labors³, as Pierce, Gray, Silliman, and Dana. 科学方面也有一些伟人崭露头角，如皮尔斯、格瑞、斯里曼和戴纳等。

　　Louis Agassiz before long began his wonderful lectures, which did much to make science popular. 不久以后，路易斯o阿格赛兹推出其精彩的系列讲座，这些讲座为科学普及做了大量工作。

　　In short, Jackson's administration marks the time when American life began to take on its modern form. 总之，杰克森政府代表着一个时代，美国人从此有了现代生活的样式。

1 stagecoaches   

n.驿马车( stagecoach的名词复数 )

参考例句：

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句