读者文摘:美国最美好的地方(4)

Perhaps Columbiana's greatest symbol of this giving instinct is Firestone Park.

也许哥伦比亚纳最伟大的奉献本能的象征就是火石公园。

Harvey Firestone was born on his grandfather's farm here in 1868,

哈维·费尔斯通于1868年生于他祖父的农场，

and while he set up his manufacturing business in Akron, Ohio, he never forgot his hometown.

虽然他在俄亥俄州阿克伦市创建了制造公司，但是他从未忘记他的家乡。

He vacationed here (often with fellow industrialists¹ Henry Ford² and Thomas Edison),

他回去家乡旅游（经常和同道实业家亨利·福特和托马斯·爱迪生一起），

and in 1933 he donated part of the family homestead to create this oasis³.

1933年，他捐赠了部分家庭宅地来建造这个舒适的地方。

It features a pool and waterslide, baseball and football fields, a track,

那里有一个游泳池和滑水道，棒球和足球场，还有一个跑道，

and walking trails lined with deep brick gutters⁴ filled with fresh spring water— relics⁵ from the days when folks would water their horses here.

还有人行道，两旁是充满淡泉水的深深的砖砌水槽，这是以前人们洗马遗留下来的东西。

This crown jewel had tarnished⁶ a bit over the years. Pat Tingle⁷, who was born, raised, and married in Columbiana, noticed the changes in 2000.

珍贵的火石公园多年来已经有点失去光泽了。帕特·廷格尔是土生土长的哥伦比亚纳人，她在2000年注意到了这些变化。

An educator, she spent most of her adult life moving around the country with her husband, Brad Tingle, an executive with UPS.

作为一名教育工作者，帕特成年后的大部分时间都和丈夫布拉德·廷格尔一起在全国各地奔波。丈夫布拉德是联合包裹的一名高管。

When Brad retired⁸, there was only one place he wanted to be. "My husband said, 'Let's go home,'" Pat says.

布拉德退休后只想去一个地方。帕特说，“我丈夫对我说，我们回家吧。”

The Tingles⁹ lived happily in Columbiana for many years. But Brad died in 2014, and their son, David Tingle, passed away three years later.

廷格尔一家在哥伦比亚纳快乐地生活了很多年。但是布拉德2014年去世了，三年后，他们的儿子大卫·廷格尔去世。

"When I lost them both, I wanted to do something special for them and something special for the town," Pat says.

帕特说，“当我失去他们后，我想为他们和这个小城做点特别的事情。

She cashed in some savings¹⁰, added much of her husband's life insurance money, and donated her remarkable¹¹ nest egg—$500,000—to spruce up the family's favorite spots.

她把一些积蓄兑换成现金，拿出她丈夫人寿保险的大部分钱，并捐出了她数额巨大的储蓄金——50万美元来装饰这个家人最喜欢的地方。

"I always tell people I'm never sorry I came back. There's something very good and solid about Columbiana,"

帕特一边坐在公园新辟的一条长凳上吃冰淇淋，眺望着镜湖，一边说，

Pat says while eating ice cream on one of the new park benches overlooking Mirror Lake and a plaque¹² that honors her son's memory.

“我总是告诉人们我从不后悔回来。哥伦比亚纳有些很好的和可敬的东西。”这里还有一块纪念她儿子的牌匾。

You can witness residents doing good by one another—and enjoying every minute of it—most vividly¹³ at the Crown Theater troupe's special productions.

你可以看到居民们一个接一个地行善，并享受其中的每一分钟。最生动的就是皇冠剧团的特别演出。

If you show up for an audition¹⁴, you get a part, even if they have to add more extras to the cast. Never acted before? No problem.

如果你去试镜，你就会得到一个角色，即使他们不得不增加更多的临时演员。以前从来没有表演过吗？没有问题。

Before Caleb Clapsadle debuted¹⁵ in Mulan, his only experience in front of a crowd was reading a Mother's Day poem at church, and it didn't go well.

在迦勒·克兰普首次登场参演《花木兰》之前，他唯一的经历就是在教堂里当着众人的面读一首母亲节的诗，但并不顺利。

Caleb, 19, has Asperger's syndrome¹⁶ and often has trouble connecting with others.

19岁的迦勒患有阿斯伯格综合症，经常难以与他人沟通。

"He just kept his head down and read it as fast as he could," says his mother, Carla Clapsadle.

他的母亲卡拉·克兰普说：“他就是把头低下来，用最快的速度把诗念完。

"When he finished, he said, 'I'm never going to talk out in front of everybody again.'"

他读完诗之后说，我再也不会在大家面前讲话了。”

Caleb was sure people would laugh at him when his mother suggested he try out for Mulan.

当迦勒的母亲建议他参加《花木兰》的选拔时，他相信人们会嘲笑他。

But working with a supportive group that includes people with all sorts of challenges has helped him blossom.

但与一个包括面临各种挑战的人们的支持性团体一起工作，帮助他获得成长。

"He's a totally different person," says Carla. "It gives him a place where he belongs. He used to not hug, and now he's hugging everybody."

“他成为了一个完全不同的人，”卡拉说。“这给了他一个属于他的地方。他以前不拥抱，现在他拥抱所有人。”

Next Caleb plans to audition for Shrek. In fact, he plans to audition to play Shrek.

接下来，迦勒打算为《怪物史莱克》试镜。事实上，他打算试演史莱克。

"I get to express how I'm feeling, who I am," he says. Today, Caleb is a star, just like Ryan Houck.

他说：“我可以表达自己，展现我是谁。”今天，迦勒成了明星，就像瑞恩·霍克一样。

1 industrialists   

n.工业家，实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

4 gutters   

（路边）排水沟( gutter的名词复数 )； 阴沟； （屋顶的）天沟； 贫贱的境地

参考例句：

• Gutters lead the water into the ditch. 排水沟把水排到这条水沟里。
• They were born, they grew up in the gutters. 他们生了下来，以后就在街头长大。

5 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

6 tarnished   

（通常指金属）（使）失去光泽，（使）变灰暗( tarnish的过去式和过去分词 )； 玷污，败坏

参考例句：

• The mirrors had tarnished with age. 这些镜子因年深日久而照影不清楚。
• His bad behaviour has tarnished the good name of the school. 他行为不轨，败坏了学校的声誉。

7 tingle   

vi.感到刺痛，感到激动；n.刺痛，激动

参考例句：

• The music made my blood tingle.那音乐使我热血沸腾。
• The cold caused a tingle in my fingers.严寒使我的手指有刺痛感。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 tingles   

n.刺痛感( tingle的名词复数 )v.有刺痛感( tingle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Something has been pressing on my leg and it tingles. 腿压麻了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His cheek tingles from the slap she has given to him. 他的面颊因挨了她一记耳光而感到刺痛。 来自互联网

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 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。

12 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

13 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

14 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

15 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

16 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。