VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for New Orleans and Las Vegas

 

Words and Their Stories: Nicknames² for New Orleans and Las Vegas

词汇典故：新奥尔良和拉斯维加斯的别名

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

Many cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity³ of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens.

许多城市都有别名。别名有助于树立一个城市的形象，还能激发民众自豪感。

New Orleans, Louisiana probably has more nicknames than any other American city. One web site lists more than twenty nicknames. The most famous is The Big Easy. It describes the gentle, slow and easy-going way of life in New Orleans.

路易斯安那州的新奥尔良市可能比其它任何美国城市拥有更多别名。有家网站列出了该市20多个别名，其中最有名的是大快活（The Big Easy）。这个别名描述了新奥尔良温和、缓慢及悠闲的生活方式。

So how did the city get this nickname¹? In the early nineteen hundreds, there was a dance hall in New Orleans called The Big Easy. But the nickname did not become famous until the early nineteen seventies. That was when a Louisiana newspaper writer began calling New Orleans by this name. She compared the easy-going way of life there to the hurried pace of life in New York City.

那么此别名是因何而得呢？20世纪早期，新奥尔良有家歌舞厅名为The Big Easy。但直到20世纪70年代这个别名才开始流传开来，当时路易斯安那州一位新闻撰稿人开始用这个名字称呼新奥尔良市。她将这里悠闲的生活方式与纽约的匆忙人生做了一个对比。

In nineteen seventy, James Conaway wrote a crime novel called “The Big Easy.” The story was set in New Orleans. In nineteen eighty-seven, that book was made into a film which made the nickname even more popular.

20世纪70年代，詹姆斯·科纳韦（James Conaway）写了一本名为“The Big Easy”的犯罪小说，故事发生地被设定在新奥尔良。1987年，这本书被拍成电影，使得这个别名更受欢迎。

New Orleans has other nicknames. One of them is The Crescent City. During the nineteenth century, new neighborhoods expanded out from what is now known as the French Quarter. These areas followed the great curve⁴ of the Mississippi River, giving New Orleans the shape of a crescent.

新奥尔良还有其它一些别名。其中之一就是新月城（The Crescent City）。在上个世纪期间，新的社区沿着密西西比河的大曲线从现在的法国街（French Quarter）开始延伸，给了新奥尔良一个新月型的轮廓。

Another nickname is the Birthplace of Jazz because that kind of music started in New Orleans. It is also called Mardi Gras City for the wild celebrations and parades that take place there every year. And, there is a nickname that uses the short way to write New Orleans and Louisiana. It you do not want to use the complete name, you can call the city NOLA.

另一个别名是爵士乐诞生地（Birthplace of Jazz），因为这种类型的音乐起源于新奥尔良。由于每年举行的狂野庆祝和游戏，它也被称为狂欢之都（Mardi Gras City）。此外，还有一个别名使用了新奥尔良和路易斯安那州的简写，如果你不想用全名，你可以称其为诺拉（NOLA）。

One of America’s most exciting cities is Las Vegas, Nevada. There you can play games of chance all night long. The city’s night clubs are also open all night for eating, drinking and dancing. So it is not surprising that Las Vegas is called The Gambling⁶ Capital of the World and The Entertainment Capital of the World.

内华达州的拉斯维加斯是美国最令人兴奋的城市之一。你可以在这里彻夜赌博。这个城市的夜总会也彻夜提供吃喝和舞蹈。因此拉斯维加斯被称为赌城和世界娱乐之都也就不足为奇。

Another nickname for Las Vegas is Sin⁵ City because you can find many kinds of adult entertainment there. Many people who come to Las Vegas in hopes of winning lots of money do not know when to stop gambling. They may lose a great deal of their hard-earned money. So the city is also called something that sounds like Las Vegas – Lost Wages.

拉斯维加斯的另一个别名是罪恶之城，你可以在这里找到各种形式的成人娱乐。希望在拉斯维加斯大赢一把的许多人都不知道该什么时候收手，他们可能会输掉大把自己辛苦挣来的钱。因此该市也被称为Las vegas的谐音：Lost Wages。

In nineteen sixty-four, Elvis Presley starred in a movie called "Viva Las Vegas." Here he sings the title song from that movie.

1964年，猫王主演了一部电影，名为《赌城万岁》，以下就是猫王演唱的那部电影的主题曲。

(MUSIC)

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Barbara Klein.

1 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

2 nicknames   

n.绰号，诨名，昵称( nickname的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The other children taunted him with nicknames. 其他的孩子用绰号取笑他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He tried to amuse her by calling her the affectionate nicknames "Dark Sweetie" and "Miss Chocolate." 方鸿渐要博鲍小姐欢心，便把“黑甜”、“朱古力小姐”那些亲昵的称呼告诉她。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

4 curve   

n.曲线，弯曲，曲球；v.弯，使...弯曲

参考例句：

• The train slowed its speed as it went around the curve.火车在弯道行驶时放慢了速度。
• The path of an arrow is a curve.箭的轨迹是一条曲线。

5 sin   

n.罪，罪孽，过失；vi.犯罪，违反

参考例句：

• It's a sin to waste food.浪费食品是一种罪过。
• It's a sin to be indoors on holiday.假期中待在家里实在是罪过。

6 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。