VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Fun in the Sun and S

MARIO RITTER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Mario Ritter. Many Americans take their summer vacations in August. President Obama and his family are among them. This past weekend the first family visited the Florida Gulf¹ coast. The president wants to support tourism in the area after the BP oil spill.

On Thursday, the first family will begin a ten-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard, where they spent part of last summer.

Today we tell about Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, two islands off the coast of Massachusetts that are popular places for summer vacations.

Both islands are known for their sailing and sunsets and fun things to do. Martha's Vineyard is also known for its tall cliffs overlooking² the Atlantic Ocean. The island is about thirteen kilometers off the coast and is less than two hundred sixty square kilometers.

Homes designed like those of earlier times line the streets of Edgartown, Oak³ Bluffs⁴ and Vineyard Haven⁵. These are the major towns on Martha's Vineyard.

For most of the year, the population of Martha's Vineyard is about fifteen thousand. During the summer, more than one hundred thousand people crowd the island. In addition to the Obamas, you might see some Hollywood stars and other rich and famous people.

Sunrise over Nantucket Sound as seen from Popponesset Beach in Mashpee, Massachusetts, last October

Some people arrive by boat, including a ship that carries passengers and cars. Others come by plane. Many visitors return year after year. Now, we continue our story with Shirley Griffith and Rich Kleinfeldt as your travel guides.

RICH KLEINFELDT: The towns and the quieter country areas of Martha's Vineyard all offer places to stay. Small hotels and homes for visitors on the island may not cost much. Other hotels cost hundreds of dollars per night. Some people save money by preparing their own food. Others eat in the many restaurants on the island.

Hungry visitors like the seafood⁶ at several famous eating places like the Black Dog Tavern⁷ in Vineyard Haven. And they can stop into small stores that sell sweets like ice cream and fudge candy.

During warm weather the Vineyard is a good place for many different activities. People can play golf or catch fish. They can ride in sailboats or motor boats. They can water ski and swim. They can take quiet walks along sandy beaches and among the thick green trees. They can take pictures of birds found around small areas of fresh water or on the old stone walls surrounding many farms.

President Obama stops at a store while on vacation on Martha's Vineyard in August 2009

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Many families with children spend their summer holidays in Martha's Vineyard. One of the popular places for families is the Flying Horses Carousel⁸ in Oak Bluffs. It is the oldest continually operated merry-go-round ride in the United States. The colorful wood horses that turn in a circle were created in eighteen seventy-six.

One of the best places for children and adults to swim is the Joseph A. Sylvia state beach. The water there is warmer and calmer than at some of the other Vineyard beaches.

Families also enjoy the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary⁹ where they can observe much of the island wildlife. People can walk through more than nine kilometers of fields, trees and wetlands to learn about the plants and animals on the island.

Almost twenty percent of the land on Martha's Vineyard is protected from development. There are other wildlife areas to explore. A flat-topped boat called the On-Time Ferry takes people and cars to a nearby small island, Chappaquiddick.

Chappaquiddick has a white sand beach at the Cape¹⁰ Poge Wildlife Preserve. Many small birds make their homes in the grass on the edge of the sand.

RICH KLEINFELDT: Back on Martha's Vineyard, visitors sit on the beach and on rocks in the fishing village of Menemsha to watch the sunsets. As the sun goes down in the sky it paints yellow, red, and other colors on the clouds. Some people offer a kind of ceremony as they watch the sun disappear into the seas.

Fishing boats rise and fall with the waves. Bells sound to help guide the boats to land as darkness covers the water.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Many people who live all year on the island make their money from the sea. Some of the fishermen and farmers on the island today are related to the Europeans who settled the land centuries ago.

Historians¹¹ say British mapmaker Bartholomew Gosnold first made a map of the island for the rulers of England in sixteen-oh-two. Gosnold is said to have named the island to honor his baby daughter, Martha.

The Vineyard part of the name came from the many wild grape vines Gosnold found on the island. Later, King Charles of England gave the island to businessman Thomas Mayhew of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The son of Thomas Mayhew established the first European settlement on the island in sixteen forty-two at Edgartown. The Wampanoag Indians taught the settlers to kill whales.

Men in Edgartown and Vineyard Haven earned their money by killing¹² whales until the middle of the nineteenth century. Then, after the Civil War, visitors began to provide most of the islanders' money.

In eighteen thirty-five, the Methodist Church held a group camp meeting in what was to become the town of Oak Bluffs. Some of the campers stayed on and built small homes.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, ships from the American mainland began bringing visitors to the island. Big hotels were built in the town near the edge of the water. Martha's Vineyard was on its way to becoming the visitors' center that it is today.

(MUSIC)

RICH KLEINFELDT: Many summer visitors also travel to Nantucket, another island in the Atlantic near Massachusetts. They like this island for its beaches, its open land and its trees.

Nantucket is smaller than Martha's Vineyard. It is about fifty kilometers from the Massachusetts coast. Its distance from the mainland causes some Nantucket citizens to say they are true islanders. The only town on Nantucket Island also is called Nantucket.

Artists often paint its waterfront and the small stores along it. But many visitors say the most interesting part of the town is the area of homes. The island is known for its small gray houses with roses growing on them. Signs on some of the houses say they were built as long ago as the seventeenth century.

The public may enter fourteen historic¹³ homes now open as museums. Another museum, the Museum of Nantucket History, helps newly arrived mainlanders learn about the land and history of the island.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Humans are not the only visitors to Nantucket. More than three hundred fifty kinds of birds visit the island each summer. So people who like to watch birds return year after year.

Nature in general appeals to Nantucket visitors. Many plants and flowers grow wild in open areas of the island. Farmers also grow several kinds of berry fruits. Cranberries¹⁴ are a leading crop. Some people visit Nantucket in the autumn to watch the harvests of the red berries.

People who visit Nantucket enjoy water sports, walking and bicycle riding. They also catch fish for pleasure. Some Nantucket citizens earn money by fishing. Earning their living from the sea comes naturally to people who live on the island.

At one time, hunting for whales was the main job of people on Nantucket, just as it was on Martha's Vineyard.

RICH KLEINFELDT: England gave Nantucket to Thomas Macy in sixteen fifty-nine. Macy made an agreement with the Wampanoag Indians who lived there. Then he sold most of the land to shareholders¹⁵. Settlers farmed the land. But farming on Nantucket did not succeed very well because the ground was so full of sand.

In sixteen ninety an expert from the mainland taught sailors to catch small whales from boats very close to the land. Years later, strong winds forced a whaling boat further into the ocean. Sailors on that boat caught a sperm¹⁶ whale. That whale provided highly sought oil. Soon the Nantucket sailors were catching¹⁷ many sperm whales.

That accidental event made Nantucket a whaling center. However, whales in the seas near Nantucket died out over time. Nineteenth century sailors from the island had to travel for years to catch whales.

Luckily, visitors had begun to provide earnings¹⁸ for Nantucket by the eighteen seventies. But it was not until the nineteen sixties that providing for visitors became the major industry on Nantucket.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Visitors today to both Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard enjoy almost everything about the islands -- except other visitors. The crowds during the warm season can mean heavy traffic and long lines for services.

Yet, most visitors to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket really enjoy their holidays there. They often say they feel they are escaping from the problems of daily life. And they leave with peaceful memories of watching the red sun disappear into the dark ocean waters around the islands.

(MUSIC)

MARIO RITTER: Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁹. Shirley Griffith and Rich Kleinfeldt were the announcers. Tell us about your summer vacation. You can comment on our website, voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Mario Ritter. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 overlooking   

v.忽视( overlook的现在分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高，可以俯瞰全城。
• The house sits high on a hill overlooking a lake. 房子高高地坐落在可以俯瞰湖水的小山上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 oak   

n.栎树，橡树，栎木，橡木

参考例句：

• The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
• The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。

4 bluffs   

恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁

参考例句：

• Two steep limestone bluffs rise up each side of the narrow inlet. 两座陡峭的石灰石断崖耸立在狭窄的入口两侧。
• He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. 他虚张声势的方式，假装最初是一个洗碗机，然后厨师。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

7 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

8 carousel   

n.旋转式行李输送带

参考例句：

• Riding on a carousel makes you feel dizzy.乘旋转木马使你头晕。
• We looked like a bunch of awkward kids riding a slow-moving carousel.我们看起来就像一群骑在旋转木马上的笨拙的孩子。

9 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

10 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

11 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

14 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

15 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

16 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

17 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

18 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

19 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。