2007年VOA标准英语-Tombstone, Arizona Provides Glimpse of Old Amer

By Yi Suli
Tombstone, Arizona
26 September 2007
 

Tombstone, Arizona, in the southwestern U.S. offers a glimpse at America's old West where prospectors² could become rich overnight and lawlessness and violence were a way of life. Today, this popular tourist destination recreates that bygone era for visitors from around the world. For producer Yi Suli, Elaine Lu has the story.

Tombstone got its name in 1877 after prospector¹ Ed Shieffelin discovered rich veins³ of silver in the area.  It was to mark the warning he received when he first ventured into the Arizona desert, that instead of silver, he was only going to find his own tombstone.

As people poured into Tombstone, mining camps, gambling⁴ houses, saloons and brothels sprang up overnight.  By the early 1880s, the town was booming with almost 10,000 people. Joe Roberts, a local historian, told us, "The amount of activities that happened here in a short historical time period that was here is very tremendous. I mean at that time period this was the fastest growing boomtown in any of the mining towns in the U.S.  Everybody from San Francisco to New York to Chicago knew all about Tombstone and everything that happened here."

Ben Traywick, another local historian, says at the height of its prosperity, Tombstone was a dangerous place. "Violence occurred in the streets, in front of buildings, bars and gambling houses and stuff like that. I have always said that Tombstone has four magical words: Tombstone, OK Corral, Earp, and Holiday. Without those four words and magic, this town would have crumbled⁵ into dust and blown away in the desert long time ago like all the other old mining towns."

Those words tell an old west tale of the violent frontier:  It was a gun battle at the OK Corral where sheriff Wyatt Earp and his friend Doc Holiday confronted a group of local cowboys.

"Cowboys who didn't want to give up their guns, who were breaking the law. And you had the law here who were dedicated⁶ to imposing⁷ that law upon people and making them obey it. So they just came to the point they had to fight," Traywick said.

The gun battle left three cowboys dead and two others seriously injured.  It later became known as the "Gunfight at the OK Corral."

A decade after that famous battle, the town of Tombstone saw its fortunes turn. The silver mines flooded and much of the population moved on. But it did not disappear. Today, the historic buildings have been restored and Wild West reenactments attract visitors from around the world.

Traywick adds, "It is sad to say when you look at all these graves, and you realize these people created history. And it was a time that was great in America. But it was a time that has come and gone and will never come back again."

1 prospector   

n.探矿者

参考例句：

• Although he failed as a prospector, he succeeded as a journalist.他作为采矿者遭遇失败，但作为记者大获成功。
• The prospector staked his claim to the mine he discovered.那个勘探者立桩标出他所发现的矿区地以示归己所有。

2 prospectors   

n.勘探者，探矿者( prospector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The prospectors have discovered such minerals as calcite,quartz and asbestos here. 探矿人员在这里发现了方解石、石英、石棉等矿藏。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The prospectors have discovered many minerals here. 探矿人员在这里发现了许多矿藏。 来自辞典例句

3 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

6 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。