读者文摘:美国最棒的路边景观(2)

Nearby Montgomery boasts the World's Largest Brick Made of Bricks.

附近的蒙哥马利市拥有世界上最大的由砖组成的砖块。

We didn't stop to see it, but we did stop for five more giant chickens—some metal, some concrete—that were standing¹ in front of various small-town establishments off the interstate.

我们没有停下来看它，但是我们停下来看了五个巨鸡雕像，一些是金属制成的，一些是混凝土制成的，这些鸡雕像矗立在州际公路外的小镇上。

These are some of the roadside highlights along one stretch of one highway, mind you.

提醒你一下，这是一条高速公路沿线的一些路边亮点。

The peach-shaped water tower in Chilton County is half the size of the Peachoid in Gaffney, South Carolina.

奇尔顿县的桃形水塔只有南卡罗莱纳加夫尼市的桃子形水塔的一半大。

The giant chicken outside Elkton has nothing on the World's Largest Prairie Dog in Cactus² Flat, South Dakota.

埃尔克顿外的巨型鸡和南达科塔州的仙人掌平原的世界上最大的草原土拨鼠毫无瓜葛。

I know because we stopped to see the prairie dog in 2006. We also stopped in Collinsville, Illinois, to see the World's Largest Catsup Bottle.

我知道是因为2006年我们停下来去看了土拨鼠。我们还在伊利诺斯州的科林斯维停留，参观了世界上最大的番茄酱瓶。

Both stops occurred on the way to Mount Rushmore, which my husband still calls "The World's Largest Carving³ of Presidential Heads."

这两次停留都发生在去拉什莫尔山的路上，我丈夫仍然称它为“世界上最大的总统头像雕刻”。

All across the country stand an uncountable number of homespun reminders⁴ that American ingenuity⁵ and wit have not yet been Walmart-ized out of existence.

全国各地都有无数朴实无华的东西提醒着我们，美国人的聪明才智还没有被沃尔玛消灭。

Think of Car-henge in Alliance, Nebraska, a replica⁶ of Stonehenge made entirely⁷ of vintage automobiles⁸.

想想内布拉斯加州阿莱恩斯的“汽车阵”吧，它是巨石阵的复制品，完全由老式汽车制成。

Think of Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood, Idaho, a bed-and-breakfast that doubles as the World's Largest Beagle.

想想爱达荷州卡顿伍德的木狗公园旅馆吧，这是一家提供住宿和早餐的旅店，是世界上最大的比格犬的两倍。

Think of the 13-foot-tall peanut smiling with Jimmy Carter–style teeth outside of Plains, Georgia;

想想佐治亚州普莱恩斯外那颗13英尺(约1.83米)高、长着吉米卡特式牙齿的花生吧；

the World's Largest Ball of Twine⁹, claimed by Cawker City, Kansas; or Lenny, the World's Only Life-Size Chocolate Moose, in Scarborough, Maine.

堪萨斯州考克城的世界上最大的线球；或者伦尼，世界上唯一的真人大小的巧克力驼鹿，它位于缅因州士嘉堡市。

Every state has them. Virtually every road in the country is the site of at least one.

每个州都有。事实上，这个国家的每条道路都至少有一个。

They are most visible on leisurely¹⁰ summer road trips, when a detour¹¹ to take a selfie with a chicken

它们在悠闲的夏日自驾游中最为常见，比如绕道与一只鸡自拍，

or to snicker at a 112-year-old statue's bare butt¹² won't make anyone late for the cranberry¹³ relish¹⁴ or the Easter ham, but they are always there.

或者对着一座有着112年历史的雕像裸露的屁股窃笑，这不会让任何人在享用蔓越莓酱或复活节火腿时迟到，但它们总是在那里。

Often meant to be advertisements for local enterprises, they are inevitably¹⁵ much more than the mercantile economy requires.

它们往往是当地企业的广告，不可避免地要比商业经济所需要的多得多。

They are also evidence that human imagination will always resist homogenization, that daring art isn't found only in galleries and museums, that wit and wile¹⁶ are everywhere among us.

它们也证明了人类的想象力会经常拒绝同质化，这种大胆的艺术不仅存在于画廊和博物馆中，智慧和诡计无处不在。

When interstate exits are marked by the instantly recognizable icons¹⁷ of a dozen fast-food restaurants

当州际出口是由一眼就能认出来的十几家快餐店的图标和由同一跨国石油公司提供的加油站标记时，

and gas stations supplied by the same multinational¹⁸ oil companies, the giant roadside chickens will always remind us who we are.

路边的巨大的鸡雕像总是在提醒我们，我们是谁。

1 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。

2 cactus   

n.仙人掌

参考例句：

• It was the first year that the cactus had produced flowers.这是这棵仙人掌第一年开花。
• The giant cactus is the vegetable skycraper.高大的仙人掌是植物界巨人。

3 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

4 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。

5 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

6 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。

10 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

11 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

12 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

13 cranberry   

n.梅果

参考例句：

• Turkey reminds me of cranberry sauce.火鸡让我想起梅果酱。
• Actually I prefer canned cranberry sauce.事实上我更喜欢罐装的梅果酱。

14 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

15 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

16 wile   

v.诡计，引诱；n.欺骗，欺诈

参考例句：

• The music wiled him from his study.诱人的音乐使他无心学习下去。
• The sunshine wiled me from my work.阳光引诱我放下了工作。

17 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

18 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。