美国学生历史第132期:1830年美国的人口(3)（打印版）

　　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, spoke of the enterprise most sneeringly 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 outstripped 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 marvels 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 situated 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。

　　The best stone and gravel 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 rim or flange on the wagon 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 wagons with flanged 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。

美国学生历史 第132期:1830年美国的人口(3)（在线收听）

美国学生历史第132期:1830年美国的人口(3)（在线收听）