THIS IS AMERICA - Jamestown

THIS IS AMERICA -March 11, 2002: Jamestown

By Jill Moss¹

. . . . . . . . .

VOICE ONE:

Almost four-hundred years ago, three British ships
loaded with passengers and supplies sailed across the
Atlantic Ocean. Their trip was long and difficult. They
settled on the edge of the James River in sixteen-oh seven.
They immediately began building what was to
become England’s first permanent settlement in
America. I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. The colony of Jamestown, Virginia is our report today on the VOA Special English
program, THIS IS AMERICA.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Unlike the first colonists³ on Jamestown Island, people today arrive by car. As they drive up, visitors can either
stop at the Jamestown Settlement or they can see the very place where the colonists first settled on Jamestown
Island.

The Jamestown Settlement is a re -created version of the colony and a nearby Powhatan Indian village. Visitors
can see what life was like in the colony almost four-hundred years ago. The people who work at the settlement
speak English the way people did in the seventeenth-century. They also wear clothes from that time period and
fire musket⁴ guns from colonial⁵ days. Visitors can see the kind of food the settlers ate, the games they played and
the way they lived.

There are also recreated versions of the ships that carried the colonists to Jamestown
Island. The ships were called the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery.

VOICE TWO:

Jamestown Settlement was built by the state of Virginia in nineteen-fifty-seven to
celebrate the three-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the former colony. The goal was
to bring more visitors to the area. This is because the true place where the settlers

landed on Jamestown Island offered visitors little to see. Today, however, this has changed. Historians⁶,
archeologists and research experts are now working to uncover the remains⁷ of the old colony.

The United States National Parks Service and a Virginia historical organization jointly⁹ run Jamestown Island.
The two groups work together to provide visitors with a full understanding of the historical value of the land and
the remains that are being discovered there.

VOICE ONE:

For example, several months after arriving in America in Sixteen-Oh-Seven, the colonists built a three-sided
structure, or fort¹¹, along the edge of the island. Some of the remains of that fort still exist today. However, for
years, researchers believed the fort had worn away into the James River.

People visiting Jamestown Island will see a huge archeological project. Guides answer questions about the


discoveries being made. Several hundred-thousand historical objects have already been recovered from the
colony, including the remains of an early settler. Visitors can see many of these historic⁸ objects at the visitor
center at the entrance to Jamestown.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

The first few years of life in the Jamestown colony were extremely difficult. The colonists suffered from lack of
food and diseases. They clashed¹² with the Native American Indians who lived there. The winter of Sixteen-Oh-
Nine was one of the worst periods in the colony’s history. It was called “the starving time”
because everyone
went hungry. Almost ninety percent of the colonists died that year. Weapons and valuable farming tools were
traded to the Indians for small amounts of food. Wood from people’s homes was burned for heat. There were no
crops, and no hope.

To mark this difficult time, a memorial cross was built on the eastern coast of Jamestown Island. It honors some
of the three-hundred burial places dug by the settlers during “the starving time.
”
Queen Elizabeth of England
attended the observance in Jamestown in Nineteen-Fifty-Seven when the Memorial Cross was raised.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Jamestown is divided into two areas --“Old Towne”
and “New Towne.
”
The new area of the settlement was
built in sixteen-twenty. This is when the colonists had become economically secure through the trade of smoking
tobacco. Many settlers built homes in the New Towne area. Visitors can still see parts of these buildings,

including the ruins of the Ambler¹³ Mansion¹⁴. This was a two-floor home built in the mid-seventeen-hundreds. It is
one of the oldest standing¹⁰ structures at Jamestown.

VOICE TWO:

Another historic building on Jamestown Island is the old colonial church. A wood version of this church was first
built in Sixteen-Seventeen. Years later, in Sixteen-Thirty-Nine, a stone church was built in its place. Jamestown
Church has great historical value. The first representative legislature in America met here in Sixteen-Nineteen.
During this meeting, a plan of self-government was established for all future American colonies.

VOICE ONE:

People can also visit the Old Colonial Tower next to the Jamestown Church. This tall building was added to the
church in Sixteen-Forty-Seven. Traditionally, builders of seventeenth century English churches added the bell
tower after the church was finished. At one time, the Old Colonial Tower stood fourteen meters high and had two
upper floors. Six small windows were on the top floor. Those openings permitted light to enter the upper room.
They also let the sound of the church bell be heard across the colony.

VOICE TWO:

Near the historic Old Church Tower is a statue of the Indian woman, Pocahontas. She was the daughter of Chief
Powhatan. She married English colonist² John Rolfe in Sixteen-Fourteen. This marriage began an eight-year
period of peace between the settlers and the Powhatan Indians. Jamestown used this peaceful time to develop and
grow a new crop--tobacco. With the help of Pocahontas, tobacco for smoking became as valuable as gold. By
Sixteen-Nineteen, the colony had exported more than nine -thousand kilograms of tobacco to Europe.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Near the statue of Pocahontas is the Tercentenary Monument. This tall memorial stands thirty-one meters high. It
was built in Nineteen-Oh-Seven to mark the three-hundredth anniversary of Jamestown. The monument is made
of smooth white stone. Tercentenary Monument is a place where visitors gather before a Jamestown guide leads
them on a walk around the former colony.


For visitors who want to drive around the island, there is a four or eight-kilometer road that circles Jamestown.
The drive provides visitors with a look at the natural environment first discovered by the settlers. Signs along the
drive tell about the early industries and agricultural traditions of the colonists.

Down the road from Jamestown is a stone building known as the glasshouse. Local artists work here every day.
They demonstrate for visitors how the Jamestown settlers made glass products. Glass-blowing was one of the
early industries started by the English colonists in Virginia.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE TWO:

Nearly one -hundred years after Jamestown was settled, a rebellion¹⁵ led by colonist Nathaniel Bacon burned the
settlement to the ground. The colony fell into ruin in sixteen-ninety-nine, when the capital of Virginia moved to
Williamsburg. Jamestown never became the great city its first settlers imagined. But it did allow England to
establish a permanent presence in North America. Jamestown, America’s first colony, started a culture that
would shape this country forever.

In two-thousand-seven, Jamestown will celebrate its four -hundredth anniversary. State and federal officials are
planning special events. They want Jamestown to be remembered as the place where America’s government,
economy and culture were born.

((MUSIC FROM JAMESTOWN))

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Jill Moss. It was produced by Caty Weaver¹⁶. Our studio engineer was Mick Shaw.
I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program This is America.

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1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 colonist   

n.殖民者，移民

参考例句：

• The indians often attacked the settlements of the colonist.印地安人经常袭击殖民者的定居点。
• In the seventeenth century, the colonist here thatched their roofs with reeds and straw,just as they did in england.在17世纪，殖民者在这里用茅草盖屋，就像他们在英国做的一样。

3 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 musket   

n.滑膛枪

参考例句：

• I hunted with a musket two years ago.两年前我用滑膛枪打猎。
• So some seconds passed,till suddenly Joyce whipped up his musket and fired.又过了几秒钟，突然，乔伊斯端起枪来开了火。

5 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

6 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

9 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

12 clashed   

发出撞击声（clash的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The color of the curtains clashed with the color of the carpet. 窗帘的颜色与地毯的颜色不协调。
• Her wedding clashed with my examination, so I couldn't go. 她的婚礼与我的考试冲突，因此我无法参加。

13 ambler   

n.以溜步法走的马，慢慢走的人

参考例句：

• Moving its six crab like legs was the easiest part for Ambler. 动动六条蟹爪似的腿对“漫步者”而言还算最轻松的事。 来自互联网
• A robot cannot have a remotely linked head, as Ambler did. 一个宇航机器人不能象“漫步者”那样，身在太空，头在地球。 来自互联网

14 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

15 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

16 weaver   

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。