VOA慢速英语2020 加州66号公路:路之尽头

When Route 66 travelers cross the Colorado River into the state of California, it is easy to begin to feel like the journey is almost over. After all, California is the eighth and final state you visit. But, the end of the road in Los Angeles is still a 500-kilometer drive away. And much of that drive goes through the treacherous¹ Mojave Desert. Eastern California's Route 66 is broken, hot and deserted². The road passes crumbled³ buildings of bypassed towns. Needles is first city in California after crossing the Colorado River. It was once a major stop along Route 66 and the Old National Trails Highway. That road was built before Route 66, in 1913. Today, Needles struggles economically, like many towns along the old Route 66. Travelers on the road used to pass resorts, gold mines, oil wells, railroad stops, and ranches⁴.

But economic opportunities dried up, just like the hot desert ground. Route 66 traffic decreased. Large interstates replaced the Mother Road. Traffic decreased. Bypassed towns are common here in the Mojave Desert. Goffs, California, is one of those towns. The former mining and railroad town was the first bypassed city along Route 66. Federal planners re-routed the Mother Road from Goffs in 1931. And in the 1960s, the new Interstate 40 bypassed it, too. The town is now nearly empty. Goffs' population is just 23 people. It serves as an example of how a disconnection from major roads can hurt a community. Goffs sits at one of the highest points in the Mojave Desert. From there, Route 66 descends⁵ to Fenner, and then on to Essex. After a brief meetup with Interstate 40, Route 66 travels south to the town of Amboy. The remote town is easy to spot: a colorful sign that reads "Roy's Motel Cafe" stands tall in the desert landscape. Amboy has fewer than five permanent residents. The area's rugged⁶ scenery attracts international marketers. The desert scenery has appeared in commercials for Cadillac cars, German beer, and Levi Strauss jeans.

The histories of nearby desert cities -- Ludlow, Baghdad, and Newberry Springs -- are similar to Goffs and Amboy. Once major railroad stops and supply centers for travelers, they rely now on Route 66 tourists to keep their few businesses open. The urban sprawl⁷ of Los Angeles becomes visible some 100 kilometers away from the city itself. The distant lights, haze⁸, and increased traffic serve as reminders⁹ that the end of the Mother Road is near. The Cajon Pass connects Los Angeles' eastern suburbs and the Mojave Desert. The winding¹⁰, mountainous road once served as a Native American trade route. It provides Route 66 travelers with a final sense of the open road, before the L.A. traffic jams begin far outside the city. On its way into L.A., Route 66 passes through the cities of San Bernardino, Rialto, and Pasadena. In San Bernardino, you find the site of the original McDonald's, which is now a museum. And Rialto is home to a classic roadside wigwam motel. And then, finally, the road enters Los Angeles. Route 66 cuts right through the heart of Hollywood. There, you can "go Hollywood" by touring a movie studio or watching a television show filming.

But one activity that should not be missed is a stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. More than 2,500 squares made of terrazzo, a stone mix, line the sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard. Each square has a pink star in the middle, with the name of a celebrity¹¹ lettered in brass¹². The first star went into the sidewalk in 1960. About 30 entertainers earn a star along the Walk of Fame every year. The Walk of Fame gets especially crowded outside the TCL Chinese Theater. The business opened in 1927 as Grauman's Chinese Theater. The unique building includes pagoda-like structures and temple bells. The Chinese Theater holds many movie premieres and other events. For many years, it was even home to the Academy Awards Ceremony, or Oscars. On the ground outside of the theater are hundreds of signatures, handprints and footprints of celebrities¹³. They have pressed their hands and feet into wet cement. Actors and dancers perform on the sidewalk outside the theater. They might be dressed up as characters from well-known movies, like Freddy Kruger of the horror film, "Nightmare on Elm Street."

Eduardo Lezcano moved to Hollywood from Argentina. He was dressed like recording¹⁴ artist Michael Jackson. And he could dance like him, too. "I come here for live and work, and looking for my dreams, you know?" Just west of Hollywood on Route 66 is another very famous neighborhood: Beverly Hills. Many celebrities live there. The neighborhood is known for its beautiful mansions¹⁵ hidden behind tall walls and gates. Vendors¹⁶ in Beverly Hills and Hollywood even sell maps to the stars' homes. The maps guide you through the residential¹⁷ part of Beverly Hills. But they are not always 100 percent correct. A few more kilometers down the road, the historic Route 66 comes to its western end when the road reaches the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean. The Santa Monica Pier¹⁸ is the traditional end to Route 66. The pier opened in 1909. Today, the Pier includes an official sign to mark the most western point of Route 66. The sign reads "Santa Monica -- 66 -- End of the Trail."

The official sign was put up in 2009 with the help of the small business Route-66-to-Cali. The little stand on the pier sells American-made Route 66 t-shirts and other road-related products. Brian Vazquez explains how the sign came to be. "So, there was never sense of closure for people. You would just come to the end and go 'hey that's it. Let's go home.' For 83 years there was never an ending sign until we created that one. So now, there's a sense of closure for people." We celebrated¹⁹ the end of our two-week Route 66 journey under the sign on the Pier. We were not alone. Nearby a large group of Brazilian motorcycle riders held hands and said a prayer. Then they cheered and hugged and congratulated each other. Ednilso Gablak expressed the excitement of the group. "We just finish(ed) our dream trip. We start(ed), like 15 days ago. Well, it's kind of a dream. We saw movies; we saw on the television, magazines, saw photos. Today, we can see (on) the Internet so many videos. So I think everybody knows something about Route 66, right?" The VOA Route 66 team agrees. And for those still strangers to the Mother Road, now is a great time to motor west on the highway that's the best. I'm Caty Weaver²⁰. And I'm Ashley Thompson.

《加州66号公路:路之尽头》。当66号公路的旅客穿过科罗拉多河进入加利福尼亚州时，很容易感觉旅程即将结束。毕竟，加州是到访的第八个州，也是最后一个州。但在洛杉矶，这条路的尽头还有500公里的车程，大部分都要经过险恶的莫哈韦沙漠。东加州的66号公路断裂、炎热、荒芜，它途径旁路城镇上的那些倒塌的建筑物。穿过科罗拉多河后，尼德尔斯是加州的第一个城镇。它曾经是66号公路和老国道的主要站点，这条路是1913年修建66号公路之前建造的。如今，像66号老公路沿线的许多城镇一样，尼德尔斯在经济上举步维艰。路上的旅行者过去常经过度假村、金矿、油井、火车站和牧场。

但经济机会就像炎热的沙漠一样枯竭了。66号公路交通量减少，大型州际公路取代了主干道，车流量下降。在莫哈韦沙漠，旁路城镇很常见。加州的戈夫镇就是其中之一。它以前曾是矿业和铁路城镇，是66号公路沿线的第一个旁路城市。1931年，联邦规划者重新规划了从戈夫出发的母路。上世纪60年代，新的40号州际公路也绕过了它。该城镇现在几乎空无一人。戈夫的人口只有23人，它可以看做是说明与主路隔断会如何对社区造成不良影响的例子。戈夫位于莫哈韦沙漠的一个最高点上。66号公路从那下降到芬纳，然后进入埃塞克斯。在与40号州际公路短暂交接后，66号公路向南行驶至安博伊镇。人们很容易发现这座偏僻的小镇：一个写着“罗伊汽车旅馆咖啡馆”的彩色招牌矗立在沙漠中。安博伊只有不到五名永久居民。该地区崎岖的景色吸引了国际营销人员。沙漠风光出现在凯迪拉克汽车、德国啤酒和列维·施特劳斯牛仔裤的广告中。

卢德洛、巴格达和纽伯里泉等附近沙漠城市的历史，与戈夫和安博伊相似。它们都曾是主要的铁路站点和旅客供应中心，现在它们依靠66号公路的旅客来维持少数的生意。洛杉矶的城市扩张在距离城市100公里的地方变得清晰可见。远处的灯光、雾霾和不断增加的交通流量提醒着人们，66号公路的尽头就在附近。卡戎山口连接洛杉矶东郊和莫哈韦沙漠，这条蜿蜒多山的公路曾是美洲土著人的贸易路线。它为66号公路的旅客提供了一种最终的开放道路的感觉，随后洛杉矶交通在市区外就开始拥堵起来。在进入洛杉矶的途中，66号公路经过圣贝纳迪诺、里亚尔托和帕萨迪纳市。在圣贝纳迪诺，可以找到麦当劳的原址，它现在是一座博物馆。里亚尔托则是典型的建于路边的棚屋式汽车旅馆。最后，这条路进入了洛杉矶。66号公路穿过好莱坞的中心地带。你在那儿能通过参观电影制片厂或观看电视节目拍摄，“感受好莱坞”。

但有一项活动不应错过，那就是在好莱坞星光大道上漫步。好莱坞大道的人行道两旁有2500多个水磨石砌成的广场。每个广场中间都有一颗粉红色的星星，上面用黄铜刻着名人的名字。1960年，这条人行道上迎来了第一颗星星。每年约有30位艺人在星光大道上喜获一颗星。中国剧院外的星光大道尤其拥挤，这家剧院作为格雷曼的中国剧院于1927年开业。这座独特的建筑包括塔状结构和寺钟。中国剧院举办过许多电影首映式和其他活动。多年来，这里甚至曾是奥斯卡颁奖典礼的举办地。剧院外的地面上有数百个名人的签名、手印和脚印，他们把手、脚压入湿水泥里。演员和舞者在剧院外的人行道上表演，他们可能装扮成知名电影中的角色，比如恐怖电影《榆树街上的噩梦》中的弗雷迪·克鲁格。

爱德华多·莱兹卡诺从阿根廷来到好莱坞，他穿得像歌手迈克尔·杰克逊，也能像杰克逊一样跳舞。“我为了生活和工作来到这里，寻找我的梦想？”就在好莱坞西侧的66号公路上，是另一个非常著名的街区：贝弗利山庄，许多名人住在这里。这个街区以其隐藏在高墙和大门后漂亮的宅邸而闻名。贝弗利山和好莱坞的商贩甚至出售通往明星们宅邸的地图，这些地图指引你穿过贝弗利山的住宅区，但它们并不总是百分之百准确。沿着这条路再往前走几公里，历史悠久的66号公路到达其西端，这里是波光粼粼的蓝色太平洋。圣莫尼卡码头是66号公路的传统上的终点站，这座码头开放于1909年。今天，码头上有一个官方标志，用来标志66号公路的最西端。标牌上写着“圣莫尼卡——66——路之尽头。”

这个官方标识是在小型企业Route-66-to-Cali的帮助下于2009年贴出的，码头上的小摊位出售美国制造的66号公路T恤和其他与该公路相关的产品。布莱恩·巴斯克斯解释了这个标志的由来。“人们从来没有过终结感，你只是来到尽头，然后说‘嘿，就这样，我们回家吧。’83年来，一直都没有终结标志，最后我们造了一个。现在，人们能体会到终结感了。”我们在码头的标志下庆祝了为期两周的66号公路旅程的结束。我们并不孤单，附近有一大群巴西摩托车手在牵手祈祷。然后，他们互相欢呼、拥抱和祝贺。埃德尼尔索·加布拉克表达了大家的兴奋。“我们刚刚完成了我们的梦想之旅。我们从15天前开始。嗯，这像是个梦。我们过去在电影、电视、杂志上看到过它的照片。今天，可以在网上看到许多视频。所以，我想大家都对66号公路有所了解，对吧？”美国之音66号公路小组对此表示同意，对于那些还不熟悉66号公路的人来说，现在是在这条最棒的公路上驱车西行的大好时机。凯蒂·韦弗和阿什利·汤普森报道。

1 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

2 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

3 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

4 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

5 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

7 sprawl   

vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延

参考例句：

• In our garden,bushes are allowed to sprawl as they will.在我们园子里，灌木丛爱怎么蔓延就怎么蔓延。
• He is lying in a sprawl on the bed.他伸开四肢躺在床上。

8 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

9 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

10 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

11 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

12 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

13 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

14 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

15 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

16 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

18 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

19 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

20 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。