2006年VOA标准英语-Not All Americans Know The Star-Spangled Banner

By Enming Liu
Baltimore, MD
27 September 2006
 
watch report on Fort McHenry 

The American national anthem¹, The Star-Spangled Banner, is played at sports events, religious ceremonies, and many other important occasions.  But not all Americans know the song's origins. VOA's Liu Enming takes a trip to the birthplace of the anthem. Elaine Lu narrates².

The American national anthem was inspired by the valiant³ defense⁴ of Fort McHenry. It is now a national park about an hour outside Washington D.C.  It was the site of fierce fighting during the War of 1812 between the Americans and the British. 

 
Ben Kreshtool, park ranger⁵ at Fort McHenry
Ben Kreshtool is a park ranger at Fort McHenry.  He tells us, "Fort McHenry was built in 1798. It was designed as part of the coastal⁶ fortification along the east coast.  Fort McHenry was finished in 1803. It was named for James McHenry who was the secretary of war under President George Washington.  Britain's Royal Navy attacked Fort McHenry in September of 1814. The ships later withdrew. That led Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem"

The British burned down the White House and the Capitol in August of 1814. They headed toward Baltimore Harbor, a strategic east coast port 64 kilometers outside Washington.  Fort McHenry is the main military post there.  Commanding officer Major George Armistead made a statement of their readiness by hanging what he called "a flag so large that the British will have no difficulty seeing it from a distance."

September 12th, 1814 -- British troops launched their land incursion.  The Royal Navy began its bombardment of Fort McHenry the next day. One thousand American soldiers held on at the fort. 
Illustration of the bombardment of Fort McHenry 

Park ranger Kreshtool continues the story.  "Out here you can see the green buoy⁷, which is the approximate location the Royal Navy had come in close to do the bombarding of the fort itself."

The bombardment lasted 25 hours. It was estimated that some 1800 bombs, rockets and shells were fired, burning over the sky above Fort McHenry. Native Marylander and lawyer Francis Scott Key witnessed it all.

"Francis Scott Key is on a ship, a flag of truce⁸ vessel⁹ way down the river behind the British fleet.  He was there to negotiate the exchange of a friend of his, Dr. William Beanes who had been taken prisoner by the British.  So he was there to exchange with Colonel John Skinner, who was the prisoner of war exchange agent.  They would not release everybody to come to Baltimore until the battle was over.  They feared they knew too much of the plans."

 
The Star-Spangled Banner was written on an envelope by Francis Scott Key
Francis saw the American flag flying proudly throughout the night.  He was inspired to write the Star-Spangled Banner on an envelope he found in his pocket.

Madeleine Halfner is visiting Fort McHenry from West Virginia. She said,  "I think what hits me most is how emotional it must have been for Francis Scott Key to be writing The Star Spangled Banner.  I mean, I can imagine what Key felt like when he looked through all the bombardment and everything and see the flag still standing¹⁰.  I would think that would be very emotional moment."

The Star-Spangled Banner became the official national anthem in 1931. 

The original flag that flew over the fort was given as a gift to the family of Major George Amistead.  It was in the family for a long time until it was donated to the Smithsonian Museum in 1909.  The 15 stars on the flag have become 50.  And Fort McHenry continues to stand tall to tell the story of the birth of the American national anthem.

1 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

2 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

3 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

6 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。

7 buoy   

n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The party did little to buoy up her spirits.这次聚会并没有让她振作多少。
• The buoy floated back and forth in the shallow water.这个浮标在浅水里漂来漂去。

8 truce   

n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束

参考例句：

• The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
• She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。

9 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。