VOA慢速英语2009-THIS IS AMERICA - Cape May, a Beach Town Wit

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA. Many cities around the United States are proud to have historic¹ buildings that are recognized by the federal² government. But in the state of New Jersey³, a whole city is listed as a national historic landmark⁴.

The little city of Cape⁵ May lies at the end of a narrow piece of land with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Delaware Bay to the west. Now, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember tell us all about Cape May as the city celebrates its four hundredth anniversary⁶ this year.

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VOICE ONE:
　
A monument to fishermen lost at sea, in a small park near Victorian-style homes

Cape May officials say their city is the oldest seaside holiday place in the United States. The first visitors were Native American Indians. The Indians spent summers hunting and fishing in the area. In sixteen twenty, the area was named by a Dutch ship captain, Cornelius Jacobsen Mey.

Twenty-five years later, settlers formed the first government of Cape May. The settlers were members of the Quaker religion. Other people came from the eastern New England states, New York state and Britain.

VOICE TWO:
　
Cape May has hundreds of commercial fishermen

The first industry in Cape May was whaling. It was successful for many years. But as early as the middle seventeen hundreds, Cape May began to be known as a place to visit in the summer. Most people traveled to the area by boat. In the early nineteenth century steamboats came from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and from the nearby state of Delaware.

Steamboat travel led to a huge increase in visitors. More people began coming up to Cape May from the southern coastal⁷ states. The city had to deal with these large numbers of people. So, a new hotel was built right on the beach.

The Mount⁸ Vernon hotel was the largest in the world when it was built in eighteen fifty-three. However, it was only used for three years. The hotel was built of wood. Gas was used to light the building. This combination⁹ led to a huge fire that destroyed the hotel in eighteen fifty-six.

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VOICE ONE:

People still arrive at Cape May by boat. A ferry crosses the Delaware Bay from the town of Lewes Delaware to Cape May and back several times every day. The ferry takes people and their cars. A one-way trip takes about an hour.

Passengers on the ferry can see beautiful views. To the west is the Delaware Bay. To the east stretches the Atlantic Ocean. Leaving port, passengers can see two sets of sea walls built hundreds of meters from shore.

The walls are designed to protect the land from the powerful waves created by storms. The sea walls break the waves before the land does.

The two sea walls look very different. One was built by the hands of many men before there was industrial building equipment. The job was very difficult and dangerous. This early wall has a smooth and solid look.

The other wall was built during this century. Many machines were used to place the uneven¹⁰ rocks and other building materials together to form the wall. This wall may work as well and last as long but it is not as pleasing to look at as the one built by hand.

VOICE TWO:
　
Lam Huynh, left, with crew members of his fishing boat, the Mekong, in Cape May

The first thing a passenger sees on the Cape May coast is the area’s famous lighthouse. The simple structure rises about sixty meters from the ground. It is in the Cape May Point State Park. Visitors can see the ocean, the bay and surrounding communities from the top of the lighthouse. However, the only way up is to climb almost two hundred steps.

Cape May also has a sea wall. Passengers can see it as the ferry pulls into Cape May Port. This sea wall is built right into the hills of sand that make up the coast. The wall is made of equal-sized blocks of building material. The long, brownish red wall protects the white sand and coastal grasses from the sea.

VOICE ONE:

When passengers leave the boat, they can drive their cars eight kilometers into Cape May. There is only one road into the city. In the summer, that road is filled with cars.

Hundreds of thousands of people visit Cape May each summer. Most of them bring cars. It can take more than one hour to drive from the ferry to the center of town. And, it can take more than another hour to find a place to park your car. However, the crowds of people in Cape May decrease as the fall season begins. The city is much slower and quieter throughout the fall and winter.

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VOICE TWO:

Other kinds of visitors come to Cape May in the fall. Tens of thousands of birds stop in the Cape May area on their flight south for the winter. The Cape is a great feeding and resting place for the birds.

Visitors can see bald eagles, peregrine falcons¹¹ and ospreys. And many bird lovers¹² come to watch the show. More than two-hundred kinds of songbirds also stop in Cape May on their way to Central and South America. Other beautiful creatures also fill the air in Cape May during the fall. Monarch¹³ butterflies stop to rest on their way south for the winter.

The state park protects many hectares of land for the birds and butterflies. However, people are welcome to come and observe the nature. Some people choose to walk alone. Others take part in group explorations led by bird experts. Bicycle trips through the park and surrounding nature areas are also popular.

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VOICE ONE:

There are several good ways to see the city of Cape May. There are bus and trolley¹⁴ rides through the city. There are also walking tours. Guides tell about the homes and businesses along the road. The guides also discuss the history of Cape May.

The main reason to go on these tours is to see the famous houses of Cape May. There are more than six hundred houses of nineteenth century Victorian design in the city. The houses are made of wood. The borders on each part of the house have different edges. The edges are cut with extreme detail.

Some are wavy¹⁵, or have a flowery style. Others have sharp points, rows of cut-out circles or designs like snowflakes.

VOICE TWO:

Victorians used interesting colors as well as design. The true Victorian style of house requires many different colors of paint. The Victorians used one color for edging, another for the outside walls, another for decorative¹⁶ pieces connected to the house.

The Victorians liked colors linked to the fall season. Deep and dark reds, yellows and browns were popular. You see many such houses as you walk or ride through the streets of Cape May.

However, there are also many houses that are all white. Cape May guides say it became popular to use white paint in the twentieth century. The general desire was for a more moderate¹⁷ style.

VOICE ONE:

Among the hundreds of Victorian houses in Cape May are the houses that are called "Painted Ladies." These houses have many different colors like traditional Victorians. However, these colors are intense¹⁸ pinks and purples or bright shades of green, yellow and blue. These different styles of house painting create some exciting streets to look at throughout the city.

Many of these late nineteenth century houses would not have been built had it not been for a major tragedy. In eighteen seventy-eight, a huge fire began in Cape May. It burned for a day. The fire destroyed the center of the city. The city was left with few hotels. But summer homes for families became popular as a result.

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VOICE TWO:

In the twentieth century, Cape May became a less popular place to visit for the summer. Cape May guides say it was costly¹⁹ to care for and repair summer homes near the sea. They say the increasingly²⁰ common automobile²¹ made travel to other holiday places easier. There were not many visitors to Cape May for most of the last eighty years.

Then, in the nineteen seventies, the city was given the National Historic Landmark award. Major rebuilding and repair projects began throughout Cape May. Small business owners came to the city. Many people bought and repaired the old houses. They turned the houses into special places for visitors to stay called bed-and-breakfasts. These B-and-Bs are extremely popular now.

Cape May now is as popular a summer holiday place as it was at the turn of the century. Maybe that is why the city’s saying is "Our Future Is Our Past."

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ANNOUNCER²²:

Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver²³. The narrators were Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember. You can find transcripts²⁴, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 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。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

5 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

6 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

9 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

10 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

11 falcons   

n.猎鹰( falcon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Peregrine falcons usually pluck the feathers and strip the flesh off their bird prey. 游隼捕到鸟类猎物时，通常是先拔掉它们的羽毛，再把肉撕下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Though he doubted the wisdom of using falcons, Dr. de la Fuente undertook the project. 虽然德·拉·富恩特博士怀疑使用游隼是否明智，但他还是执行了这项计划。 来自辞典例句

12 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

13 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

14 trolley   

n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车

参考例句：

• The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
• In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆，书籍是放在台车上搬动的。

15 wavy   

adj.有波浪的，多浪的，波浪状的，波动的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• She drew a wavy line under the word.她在这个词的下面画了一条波纹线。
• His wavy hair was too long and flopped just beneath his brow.他的波浪式头发太长了，正好垂在他的眉毛下。

16 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

17 moderate   

adj.适度的，稳健的，温和的，中等的；v.节制，使...稳定，使...缓和；n.稳健的人

参考例句：

• You should moderate your language when children are present.在孩子面前，你说话应该有节制。
• The wind is moderate today.今天的风很柔和。

18 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

19 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。

20 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

21 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

22 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

23 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。

24 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句