华盛顿樱花再度盛开

Washington's Cherry Blossoms² Signal the Start of Spring 华盛顿樱花再度盛开

EDITOR'S NOTE: This year, the U.S. National Park Service turns 100. American’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service in 1916 to “protect the wild and wonderful landscapes” in the United States. Today, the National Park Service protects over 400 parks and historical sites from coast to coast. Every week, VOA Learning English will profile one of the sites within the National Park Service.  

The West Potomac Park in Washington, DC, lies just west of the National Mall. It is home to some of Washington's most iconic sites, like the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the Tidal Basin.

But, the park’s most famous attraction? Cherry blossoms.

Thousands of cherry trees bloom around the waters of the Tidal Basin, which reflect the trees’ images. The basin was created in the late 1800s to prevent the Potomac River from flooding.

These pink and white flowers serve as a symbol of international friendship. The original cherry trees were a gift from Japan.

On March 26, 1912, more than 3,000 cherry trees arrived in Washington. Most were planted around the Tidal Basin. But cherry trees were also planted near the Washington Monument and the White House.

Mike Litterst is a spokesperson for the U.S. National Park Service. The park service maintains West Potomac Park, and helps protect the cherry trees.

“It’s this wonderful gift that’s over 100 years old now that, if you will, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. The 1912 gift from the people of Japan has grown to this 3,800 trees.”

The cherry blossoms also serve as a symbol of the beginning of springtime. The trees burst with colors of soft pink and white.

“The blossoming⁴ of the cherry blossoms every spring is sort of the great springtime celebration, not only in the District of Columbia but throughout the United States."

Every year, Washington celebrates the arrival of spring with a two-week Cherry Blossom¹ Festival. More than 1.5 million people from around the world visit the nation’s capital during the festival. They all hope to see the cherry trees at their “peak bloom.”

Park officials define⁵ "peak bloom" as the period when 70 percent of Washington’s most common cherry tree variety -- the Yoshino trees -- are blooming. Yoshino cherry trees are one of 12 types of cherry trees in Washington. Peak bloom lasts several days each year.

Experts begin making peak bloom predictions in February. Visitors make their travel plans to Washington based on these predictions.

Some years, the early guesses are correct. Last year, officials correctly predicted the peak bloom six weeks in advance.

But this year, unpredictable weather in March in Washington has made guessing the “peak bloom” difficult. “Peak bloom” dates have changed many times.

“We use a combination of natural indicators⁷ - we look at the trees, what are the trees telling us - we look at the historic³ record, but primarily what we are looking at is the forecast temperatures as we go from February and into March. This year the forecasts were sort of all over the place, which caused us to change considerably⁸.”

Carl Feasley and his family visited the Tidal Basin one day before the 2016 peak bloom was set to begin on March 23. It was his first time to see the cherry blossoms.

“We’re coming from Buffalo⁹, New York, where it’s been winter for, even a mild winter this year, but winter for the past 5 months or so, or so it seems. It’s just nice to be out in the sunshine and see evidence of spring all over.”

Virginia Walsh is a Washington, DC local. She said she comes down to the Tidal Basin several times every spring to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

“I always try to come early, the peak, and then a couple days later. It’s normally three times a year. I just love this place.”

The cherry blossoms may signal the start of spring in Washington. But they have also become a worldwide symbol of Washington itself.

Bo Wen moved to Washington from China seven years ago. He comes to the Tidal Basin every year during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

“It’s just famous. Everywhere you can see like Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival, on like Twitter and Instagram. In the world everywhere, people just know that.”  

Words in This Story

festival - n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something

peak - adj.  at the highest point or level?

bloom - n. a time period in which a plant has many open flowers

unpredictable - adj. not capable of being known before happening 

indicator⁶ - n. a sign that shows the condition or existence of something

all over the place (idiomatic) - not well organized or carefully considered

considerably - adv. by a large amount or to a large extent; greatly.

1 blossom   

n.花，开花；vi.开花，发展

参考例句：

• The blossom on the trees looks lovely in springtime.春天树上的花很漂亮。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。

2 blossoms   

n.（尤指果树的）花( blossom的名词复数 )；花丛，花簇v.（植物）开花( blossom的第三人称单数 )；发展；长成；变得更加健康（或自信、成功）

参考例句：

• It was springtime and the slopes were ablaze with almond blossoms. 时当春季，怒放的扁桃花使那片山坡鲜红似火。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The spring comes and peach blossoms [flowers] are all open. 春天了，桃花都开了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 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。

4 blossoming   

v.（植物）开花( blossom的现在分词 )；发展；长成；变得更加健康（或自信、成功）

参考例句：

• Our firm is blossoming out. 我们的公司正在成长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

6 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

7 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

8 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

9 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。