VOA慢速英语2009-THIS IS AMERICA - Mountain and Cowboy Culture Me

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today we travel to the mountains of Wyoming for a trip to Jackson Hole.

VOICE ONE:

This beautiful valley was named after the nineteenth-century explorer and hunter David Jackson. After he spent a winter in the area, his friends started to call it “Jackson’s Hole.”

VOICE TWO:

The valley looks like a hole in the middle of the mountains that surround it. Over time, the name stuck.

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VOICE ONE:
　
Grand Teton National Park

Jackson Hole is about forty-eight kilometers long. The valley includes the town of Jackson. About eight thousand people live there. The valley also includes the Grand Teton National Park and much of the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Jackson Hole is a popular holiday place. In the summer, people go there to ride horses, climb mountains, catch fish and take trips on the rivers and lakes.

Many visitors take a trip across the valley on the Snake River. The Snake Indians once lived near this river. It turns from side to side, like a snake on the move.

Some visitors bird-watch from sailboats. One of the birds they can see is America’s national symbol, the bald eagle. Other people go white-water rafting. Rubber rafts carry them along the fastest parts of the river. The water moves so fast, it becomes white with foam¹.

VOICE TWO:
　
Skiing near Jackson Hole

In the winter, people come to Jackson Hole to ski. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort² provides some of the best downhill skiing and snowboarding in the world.

And there are other kinds of skiing. Some people skate ski; they speed across level snow. Others enjoy the slower speed of cross-country skiing.

Some people go dog sledding in Jackson Hole. They get on a sled and are pulled by a team of dogs through the snow. This is one of the many ways to enjoy the extraordinary mountain views.

Some wealthy people have homes near the ski resort. Other people stay in the many hotels nearby. Some of these hotels are new and very costly³.

In fact, the average sale price of a single-family home in Jackson Hole is more than one million dollars.

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VOICE ONE:

Visitors to Jackson Hole have many shopping, dining and entertainment choices.

People can imagine they are in a town in the Old West. At the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, instead of chairs, they can sit on saddles⁴ as if riding a horse. On some nights there are dance lessons. People can learn the two-step, a kind of Western dance.

Or they can eat dinner and listen to live music at the Mangy Moose Saloon. There, a large dead moose hangs from the ceiling.

At the Silver Dollar Bar, a long table is covered with more than two thousand shiny silver dollars. If you look carefully, you see that the coins are all from the year nineteen twenty-one.

Visitors can also enjoy an evening at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. In the summer, actors perform musicals and other plays. This brightly painted old theater is one of the oldest wood buildings in town. It has been a popular entertainment place since the nineteen fifties.

VOICE TWO:

Some of the stores in Jackson Hole sell unusual things, like furniture made of deer antlers. Antlers are the hard and bony points that grow on the heads of male deer. These stores sell chairs, lights and other objects made from antlers. They look more like pointy sculptures than furniture.

Many stores in Jackson Hole sell winter sports equipment and clothing. Some sell cowboy clothing. C.J. James owns the Jackson Hole Hat Company. Her Web site describes the cowboy as a "symbol of American independence and strength."

She will sell you a cowboy hat made to fit the exact size of your head. There are many shapes, colors and materials to choose from.

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VOICE ONE:
　
Rodeo in Jackson Hole

Some of the ways of the Old West cowboy are kept alive in Jackson Hole. In the summer, visitors can go to a rodeo to see competitions based on traditional cowboy skills. Some people say it is the truest of American sports.

The rodeo usually begins with a parade of cowboys and their horses. Then comes the competition. In one event, riders try to stay on a wild animal for eight seconds. They ride wild horses and large bulls⁵. The animals try to throw the cowboys to the ground. The cowboys try not to fall off.

VOICE TWO:

In another event, the cowboy throws a rope around the neck of a young cow. Then he tries to tie the rope around three of its legs. The cowboy who does this in the shortest amount of time wins.

Visitors to Jackson Hole can experience different parts of cowboy life. They can ride horses. They can eat meals cooked outdoors over a fire. In the summer, they can watch actors dressed as cowboys perform “The Shootout.” This short Western play has been performed since the nineteen fifties.

VOICE ONE:

Arts and culture are important in Jackson Hole. Each summer, musicians from around the country perform classical music at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Musical guests also visit local schools while they are in town.

Each autumn, Jackson holds the Fall Arts Festival. This event celebrates many examples of visual and performing arts. It also provides many examples of fine local foods.

VOICE TWO:

Visitors to Jackson Hole can explore the National Museum of Wildlife. When this museum opened, it was located in the center of town. But soon the museum space was not large enough to hold the art collection.

In nineteen ninety-four the museum reopened in a new building made of stone. It looks like a fortress⁶ built centuries ago. The museum contains over two thousand artworks showing nature and animals.

There are many paintings, photographs and sculptures of antelope⁷, deer, birds, horses and other animals. The museum says its art celebrates the powerful connection between animals and humans.

VOICE ONE:

This art shows the natural beauty of the land and its creatures. To see this beauty in real life, all you have to do is walk outside the museum.

The building sits on a hillside overlooking⁸ the National Elk⁹ Refuge¹⁰. The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world. It had an estimated¹¹ seven thousand elk this season.

The refuge has ten thousand hectares of land. It was started in nineteen twelve to help protect the local elk population.

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VOICE TWO:

Six kilometers north of Jackson, Wyoming, is the Grand Teton National Park. Congress¹² created this park in nineteen twenty-nine. In the nineteen forties the wealthy John D. Rockefeller bought a great amount of land nearby. Then he gave it to the federal¹³ government.

Both Rockefeller and the government added to the park later. Today, the government controls about ninety-seven percent of all the land in the Jackson Hole area.

VOICE ONE:

The park is named for the Grand Teton Mountains. These mountains rise directly from the floor of the valley. They are part of the Rocky Mountains. The Grand Tetons are about four thousand meters high and sixty-five kilometers long. Many artists have captured¹⁴ images of these beautiful mountains.

The Native Americans who lived in the area many years ago called the mountains Teewinot, meaning “many pinnacles¹⁵.”

Fur trappers from Canada had their own idea of what the three largest mountains looked like. These French-speaking hunters named them “les Trois Tetons” -- "the Three Breasts."

VOICE TWO:

The Grand Teton Mountains were formed about ten million years ago. This makes them some of the youngest mountains in North America. The Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, for example, are about two hundred million years old.

Many of the lakes around the Grand Tetons were formed millions of years ago by slow-moving sheets of ice. Some small glaciers¹⁶ are still active in the mountains.

VOICE ONE:

People come to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from around the world to enjoy the best of cowboy and mountain culture. If you ever go, just don’t forget your cowboy hat.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Dana Demange and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁷. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Read and listen to our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. And join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

2 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 saddles   

马鞍( saddle的名词复数 )； （自行车或摩托车的）车座； （动物的）脊肉

参考例句：

• I'll tell you about it while Frank saddles the horse. 趁弗兰克给我备马的这会儿功夫，我把事情讲给你听吧。
• The interior pairs of cables will be supported on saddles. 当中的各对拉索支承在鞍座上。

5 bulls   

n.公牛( bull的名词复数 )；法令；力大如牛的人；（象、鲸等动物的）雄兽

参考例句：

• Riding bulls is always an exciting event at a rodeo. 骑公牛总是放牧人竞技会上激动人心的表演。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two white bulls were sacrificed and a feast was held. 献祭了两头白牛，并举行了盛宴。 来自辞典例句

6 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。

7 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

8 overlooking   

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 elk   

n.麋鹿

参考例句：

• I was close enough to the elk to hear its labored breathing.我离那头麋鹿非常近，能听见它吃力的呼吸声。
• The refuge contains the largest wintering population of elk in the world.这座庇护所有着世界上数量最大的冬季麋鹿群。

10 refuge   

n.避难（处），庇护（所）；v.庇护，避难（所）

参考例句：

• They took refuge in a cave yesterday.他们昨天是在一个洞里避难的。
• We took refuge in the lee of the wall.我们在墙的背风处暂避。

11 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

12 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

13 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

14 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

15 pinnacles   

顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 )； 顶点； 尖顶； 小尖塔

参考例句：

• What would be the pinnacles of your acting and music? 对你而言什麽代表你的演技和音乐的巅峰？
• On Skye's Trotternish Peninsula, basalt pinnacles loom over the Sound of Raasay. 在斯开岛的特洛登尼许半岛，玄武岩尖塔俯瞰着拉塞海峡。

16 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

17 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。