VOA新闻杂志2025--American Places – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The Gettysburg National Military Park is in the small town of Gettysburg in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.

Much of the area around Gettysburg still looks like it did in the 1860s, during the American Civil War. The town is in the middle of good farmland.

Roads pass through Gettysburg that lead to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and other eastern cities. It is hard to believe that two huge armies fought there.

One fighting force was the United States Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George Meade. The other was the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee. Lee's troops had moved north into Pennsylvania from Virginia.

Lee believed that a Southern win of a battle on Northern land would force a negotiated¹ settlement of the Civil War and mean independence for the Confederate States.

The battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. About 170,000 soldiers fought for three days. When it ended on July 3, more than 50,000 soldiers were dead, wounded or missing².

Lee's army lost the battle.

Many visitors start their visit to Gettysburg at the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. The museum has a large collection of Civil War objects. The museum has more than 1 million artifacts, from soldiers' private notebooks and clothing to maps of the battlefield.

The museum also houses the Gettysburg cyclorama painting. This kind of artwork completely surrounds the people looking at it.

The painting shows the artist's vision³ of the final major attack of the battle on July 3, 1863. Over time, it has come to be called Pickett's Charge. George Pickett was one of several Confederate commanders ordered to make the charge.

The Confederate soldiers reached a point close to the northern lines and headquarters⁴. Today, the point is called the “High Water Mark.” Northern forces then turned the Confederates back.

The charge failed. Southern forces would never again reach so far north.

Soon after the battle, people began to visit Gettysburg to try to understand what happened there. One of those visitors, on November 19, 1863, was President Abraham Lincoln. He was invited to help dedicate⁵ a burial ground for Union soldiers killed in the battle.

Lincoln spoke⁶ for just two minutes. But his speech, known as “The Gettysburg Address,” is one of the most famous pieces of American oratory⁷.

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

Nancy Steinbach and Ashley Thompson with additional⁸ material from the National Park Service for VOA Learning⁹ English. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for the VOA Learning English podcast.

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Words in This Story

museum – n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (as works¹⁰ of art or historical or scientific objects) are collected and shown to the public

artifact – n. a usually simple object (as a tool or ornament) showing human work and representing a culture or a stage in the development of a culture

vision – n. a thought, idea, or object formed by the imagination

dedicate – v. to set apart for some purpose and especially a sacred or serious purpose

oratory – n. the job of making speeches in public

1 negotiated   

谈判，协商，议定( negotiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 兑现（支票等）； 通过，越过（险要路段）

参考例句：

• The government negotiated with the opposition party over the new law. 政府就新法与反对党进行了协商。
• By careful strategy she negotiated a substantial pay rise. 她精心策划后，谈妥了大幅增加工资的事。

2 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

3 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

4 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。

5 dedicate   

vt.献身，致力于，把（时间、精力等）用于

参考例句：

• She vowed to herself that she would dedicate her life to scientific studies.她默默地发誓要献身于科学研究。
• To my father I dedicate this volume in token of affection and gratitude.我谨以此书献给我的父亲，以表示对他的爱戴和感激之情。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 oratory   

n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞

参考例句：

• I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
• He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。

8 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

9 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

10 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。