VOA慢速英语2024--Researchers Find Bottles of Cherries at George Washington's Home

Researchers Find Bottles of Cherries at George Washington's Home

Researchers have made what they call a “spectacular” finding at the Mount Vernon home of America’s first president: almost 30 bottles of preserved fruit.

The bottles of cherries and berries were preserved in storage areas in the cellar of George Washington’s home near the Potomac River.

Researchers discovered the fruits during an archaeological dig connected to a restoration project.

Jason Boroughs¹ is Mount Vernon’s head archaeologist. He said the discovery of so much perfectly² preserved food from more than 250 years ago is almost unequaled.

“Finding… fresh fruit, 250 years later, is pretty spectacular,” Boroughs told the Associated Press. Whole pieces of fruit, recognizable as cherries, were found in some of the bottles. Other bottles held what appear to be gooseberries or currants, though testing is underway to confirm that.

George Washington's residence undergoes a $40 million revitalization project in Mount Vernon, Va., on June 17, 2024. Earlier this year, 18th-century glass bottles containing fruit were found in the Mansion³ cellar of America's first president. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)George Washington's residence undergoes a $40 million revitalization project in Mount Vernon, Va., on June 17, 2024. Earlier this year, 18th-century glass bottles containing fruit were found in the Mansion cellar of America's first president. (AP Photo/Nathan Ellgren)Mount Vernon is partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is doing DNA⁴ testing on the fruit. The USDA is also examining more than 50 cherry pits recovered from the bottles to see if any of them can be planted.

Benjamin Gutierrez, a USDA plant scientist, said the chances of using a cherry pit to grow a tree are low. Seeds preserve best when they are dry, and most of the pits found at Mount Vernon were wet. A couple of pits tested at first were not able to be used as seeds.

Still, Gutierrez said the bottles are a remarkable⁵ find. In addition to DNA testing, he said chemical testing may be able to show if spices were used to preserve the fruits.

Records at Mount Vernon show that George and Martha Washington enjoyed cherries, at least when mixed with the alcoholic⁶ drink known as brandy. Martha Washington’s recipe for a “cherry bounce” drink survives. And Washington wrote that he took some cherry bounce with him on a trip across the Alleghenies in 1784.

These cherries, though, were most likely bottled to be eaten as food, Boroughs said.

The quality of the preservation⁷ suggests skilled work. The kitchen was overseen⁸ by an enslaved woman named Doll, who came to Mount Vernon in 1758 with Martha Washington.

Boroughs said the slaves were probably responsible for the preservation process and described the work as “highly skilled.” He added that if the work was poorly done it “wouldn’t have survived this way.”

The bottles were found only because Mount Vernon is doing a $40 million restoration project on the house. The work is expected to be finished by the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026.

Boroughs said the archaeological dig started because the ground was going to be affected⁹ during structural¹⁰ repairs to the house. “We didn’t expect to find all this,” he said.

Researchers know the bottles date to before 1775 because that is when a building project on the house led to the area being covered over with a brick floor.

Mount Vernon announced back in April, at the start of its archaeological work, that it had found two bottles.

As the dig continued, the number increased to 35 in six different storage pits. Six of the bottles were broken, with the other 29 in good condition. Twelve held cherries, 16 held the other berries believed to be currants and gooseberries, and one larger bottle held both cherries and other berries.

Boroughs believes they have now uncovered all the cherries and berries that survived.

“There is a lot of information that we’re excited to get from these bottles,” he said.

I’m Andrew Smith.

Matthew Barakat reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

Words in The Story

spectacular – adj. very impressive

preserve – v. to prevent food from decaying; to keep in good condition

cellar – n. the part of a building that is below ground

restore – v. to return something to good condition (by repairing, cleaning, etc. )

pit – n. the hard middle part of a fruit

recipe – n. a set of instructions for making food or drink

1 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

7 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

8 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。