VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 4

 

Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames², Part 4

词汇典故：美国各州别名 4

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

Today, we finish telling about the interesting nicknames that have been given to the fifty American states.

今天我们将结束讲述美国50个州的有趣别名。

The state of Ohio is in the midwest. It is named the Buckeye State after a tree that produces nuts similar to chestnuts³.

中西部的俄亥俄州由于一种结着类似栗子的坚果的树被称为“七叶树州”。

The Great Plains state of Oklahoma is called the Sooner State. That is because of a sale of land in eighteen eighty-nine. Some people arrived in the territory to claim their land earlier than they were supposed to. They cheated and got there "sooner."

大平原的俄克拉荷马州被称为“捷足州”。这是因为1889年一块土地出售时，一些到达该州的人们慌称比他们实际到得更早。他们蒙骗于是捷足先登。

Pennsylvania's nickname¹ is the Keystone State. Just as a keystone holds together a stone arch⁴, Pennsylvania was seen as holding together the young American republic. Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Quaker State. Its founder⁵, William Penn, and most of his followers⁶, were members of the Protestant Quaker religion.

宾夕法尼亚州的别名是“基石州”。正如垒成牌坊的基石，宾夕法尼亚州被视为维系了年轻的美利坚共和国。宾夕法尼亚州有时也被称为“贵格会之州”，宾夕法尼亚州开拓者威廉·佩恩和他的多数追随者是基督新教贵格会成员。

Rhode Island's nickname is Little Rhody because of its size. The state is smaller than the area around Los Angeles, California.

罗得岛州由于面积小被称为“小罗得”。该州的面积比环洛杉矶地区还小。

Tennessee got its nickname -- the Volunteer State -- because of the bravery of its citizens. They volunteered to join Tennessean Andrew Jackson to defend the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, against the British army in the War of Eighteen Twelve.

田纳西州由于其市民的英勇得名“志愿者之州”。他们在1812年抵抗英军的战斗中，志愿加入田纳西人安德鲁·杰克逊(Andrew Jackson）的队伍保卫新奥尔良。

Texas is called the Lone⁷ Star State. It gets its nickname from the single star on its flag. This represents the short time Texas was an independent nation battling Mexico for self-rule.

德克萨斯州被称为“孤星之州”。它得名自其旗帜上的一颗单独的恒星。这代表着德克萨斯州作为一个独立国家抵抗墨西哥争取自治的短暂历史。

The Beehive State of Utah has no more beehives than any other state. The nickname is from the Mormon Church's symbol for hard work.

“蜂巢州”犹他州并没有比其他州更多的蜂巢。该别名来自摩门教辛勤工作的象征。

The eastern state of Vermont is proud of its beautiful Green Mountains so it calls itself the Green Mountain State. The southern state of Virginia is called the Old Dominion⁸.

东部的佛蒙特州因其美丽的青山而自豪，故自称为“青山州”。南部的弗吉尼亚州被称为“老自治州”。

Long ago, King Charles the Second of England added the colony's coat of arms to his shield. It joined his other dominions⁹ of England, Ireland, and Scotland.

很久以前，英格兰国王查理二世将该殖民地的盾形纹章加到他的盾牌，该州加入到他英格兰、苏格兰和爱尔兰等其他领土里。

West Virginia broke away from Virginia in the eighteen sixties. It is called simply the Mountain State for the ancient Appalachian mountains.

西弗吉尼亚州十九世纪六十年代脱离弗吉尼亚州。它因古老的阿帕拉契山脉而被称为“山颠之州”。

And we have saved perhaps the most American nickname for last. The western state of Wyoming was once an area where cattle were transported east. And where there are cattle, there are men -- and now women -- to move them. So Wyoming is the Cowboy State.

我们还保留了可能是近代最美国的别名。西部的怀俄明州曾经是往东部运牛的地区。哪里有牛，哪里就有男人，现在还包括女人来运送它们。因此怀俄明州被称为“牛仔州”。

1 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

2 nicknames   

n.绰号，诨名，昵称( nickname的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The other children taunted him with nicknames. 其他的孩子用绰号取笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He tried to amuse her by calling her the affectionate nicknames "Dark Sweetie" and "Miss Chocolate." 方鸿渐要博鲍小姐欢心，便把“黑甜”、“朱古力小姐”那些亲昵的称呼告诉她。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 chestnuts   

n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马

参考例句：

• A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 arch   

n.拱门，桥洞；v.拱起，成为弓形

参考例句：

• Dip your head under the low arch.在低矮的门拱下要低头。
• The trees arch overhead.树木在头顶上弯成拱形。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

9 dominions   

统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图

参考例句：

• The King sent messengers to every town, village and hamlet in his dominions. 国王派使者到国内每一个市镇，村落和山庄。
• European powers no longer rule over great overseas dominions. 欧洲列强不再统治大块海外领土了。