雙語+MP3|美國學(xué)生世界地理06 建于沼澤中的城市

A CAP which you wear on your head means “head.”
有些含有cap（帽子）的英語單詞表示“頭”的意思。因?yàn)槊弊邮谴髟陬^上的。
A cap-tain also means “head”—he’s the head of a company of soldiers.
Cap-tain（隊(duì)長）是“頭”的意思——他是一隊(duì)士兵的頭。
A cap-ital means “head” too—it’s the head city of a country or of a State.
Cap-ital（首都）同樣也有“頭”的意思——它是一個國家或一個州的頭。
When I was a boy I lived in the capital of the United States, but I did not live in the Capitol of the United States. That may sound funny, but it’s true, for there are two kinds of capitals. The capit-Al is a city, the Capit-Ol is a building, and of course I didn’t live in the Capit-Ol building. Not even the President lives there.
我小的時候住在美國的首都，但我并不是住在美國的國會大廈[1]。聽起來很有趣，但真的是這樣，因?yàn)檫@是兩個不同的詞。“Capital”，首都，是一個城市；“Capitol”，國會大廈，是一棟建筑，我當(dāng)然不住在國會大廈里，就連總統(tǒng)也不住在那里。
When our country was started men tried to find a suitable place for the capital. Eight places were tried out and at last a swamp was chosen as the proper place to build the city, because it was then near the center of our country. So a city was built there and called Washington after George Washington, because he was the First President of the United States. Even when-I-was-a-boy there was a part of Washington which every one called “Swamp Puddle” or “Swam-poodle.” I wonder if boys there still call it that. It is now one of the most beautiful cities in the World, with lovely parks and beautiful buildings. George Washington didn’t live in Washington. He lived at a place in the State of Virginia about ten miles away called Mount Vernon. Washington is now on the edge of our country, over a thousand miles from the center. The capital hasn’t moved, but the center of the country has.
美國剛建立的時候，人們要找一個合適的地方作首都?？疾炝税藗€地方后，最后一塊沼澤地被選為最合適建首都的地方，因?yàn)樗?dāng)時靠近國家中心。于是在那里建了一座城市，并以美國第一屆總統(tǒng)喬治 · 華盛頓的名字命名為華盛頓。當(dāng)我還是個小孩子的時候，華盛頓還有一塊地方人人都稱之為“沼澤坑”或者“沼澤潭”。不知那里的孩子們是不是還這樣叫。華盛頓現(xiàn)在是世界上最美麗的城市之一，有可愛的公園和美麗的建筑。喬治 · 華盛頓那時并不住在華盛頓。而是住在距華盛頓有大約10英里的弗吉尼亞州的一個叫做弗農(nóng)山莊的地方。華盛頓現(xiàn)在處于美國的邊界，離中心有一千多英里。首都還在原地，但是國家的中心位置變了。
There are twenty-eight cities named “Washington” in the United States. Washington, the capital, looks on the map as if it were in the State of Maryland, but it isn’t. It isn’t in any State. The capital of all the States had to have a place all its own; so this piece of land is called the District of Columbia, or D. C. for short. The District of Columbia is named after Columbus, the man who discovered America. So if you write a letter to any one in Washington, the capital, you must be very careful to put “D.C.” after Washington, for there are so many cities and towns named after Washington that your letter might not go to the right one.
美國有28個城市都叫“華盛頓”。在地圖上看首都華盛頓好像是位于馬里蘭州，其實(shí)卻不是。它不屬于任何州。所有州的首府必須有屬于它自己的一塊地方；所以這塊地方就被叫做哥倫比亞特區(qū)，簡稱D.C.。哥倫比亞特區(qū)是以發(fā)現(xiàn)美洲大陸的哥倫布的名字命名的。所以如果你寫信給首都華盛頓的某人，你得很仔細(xì)地在華盛頓后面加上“D.C.”，因?yàn)榻腥A盛頓的城市和城鎮(zhèn)太多，不加的話很可能你的信就送不到你想寄去的地方。
When-I-was-a-boy I thought the Capitol was the most beautiful building in the World. Since then I have seen nearly all of the most beautiful buildings in the World, and I have changed my mind. I have even seen a building fit to be in Heaven. I used to make a copy of the Capitol as nearly as I could in my sand-pile. I would fill a shoe-box with wet sand, then turn it carefully upside down so as to empty it out without breaking, and I made the dome on top in the same way with a tea-cup.
小時候，我以為國會大廈就是世界上最美的建筑。后來我見到了世界上幾乎所有最美的建筑，我改變了想法。我甚至還見過一個適合放在天堂里的地方。小時候玩沙，我都要在沙堆里盡可能造一個國會大廈。我先用鞋盒裝滿潮濕的沙子，然后小心翼翼地把它扣在地上，這樣沙子倒出來不會散開，然后用茶杯以同樣的方法在上面加個圓屋頂。
I thought all capitols of other countries must have domes, too. I didn’t learn until later that not capitols but churches were the first buildings to have domes, and that many capitols have no domes. As a boy I used to climb to the top of the dome—for there was no elevator—to see the view of the city, and to look down on the inside at the floor far below where people walking seemed like ants crawling.
我原以為其他國家的國會大廈也一定有圓屋頂?shù)摹Ｖ钡胶髞砦也胖绹鴷髲B不是最早有圓屋頂?shù)慕ㄖ?，最早的是教堂，而且許多國會大廈并沒有圓屋頂。小時候我常爬到圓屋頂上面去——因?yàn)楫?dāng)時還沒有電梯——觀看城市風(fēng)景，并朝下看大廈里地板上的人像螞蟻爬行似的在走動。
On one side of the Capitol is a large room called the Senate, and on the other side is a still larger room called the House of Representatives. In both the Senate and the House of Representatives men sit at desks like boys in school. These men are the ones who make our laws, which are rules that everybody in the United States must obey. The men in the Senate are called Senators. The men in the House are called Representatives. When I say “men,” I mean women too, for some of the Senators and Representatives are women.
國會大廈的一側(cè)有個大房間，叫參議院，另一側(cè)有個更大的房間，叫做眾議院。在參議院和眾議院里，人們就像孩子上課那樣坐在桌子旁。正是這些人制定了美國的法律，法律就是所有美國人都要遵守的規(guī)則。參議院里的人叫做參議員，眾議院里的人叫做眾議員。我說“人”的時候，當(dāng)然也包括那些女參議員和女眾議員。
Each State chooses two Senators to go to the Capitol in Washington. No matter whether the State is big like Texas or whether it is little like Rhode Island, it sends only two Senators. And each State also sends to the Capitol in Washington other men or women called Repre-sentatives, but the number of Representatives each State sends depends on the number of people in the State; New York has the most people, so it sends the most Representatives. Several States have so few people that they send only one Representative. The Senate and the House of Representatives together are called “Congress,” and when Congress is holding a meeting a flag is flying over the Capitol.
每個州選兩名參議員到華盛頓的國會大廈。不管是像德克薩斯這樣的大州，還是像羅德島這樣的小州，都只能選送兩名參議員。每個州還選眾議員到國會大廈，不過每州選送的眾議員人數(shù)取決于這個州的總?cè)丝跀?shù)；紐約人口最多，所以它選送的眾議員也最多。有幾個州人數(shù)太少，只能選送一名眾議員。參議院和眾議院一起被稱為“國會”，國會召開會議的時候，國會大廈上會有一面旗子在飄動。
Look in the front of this book or any other book and you will see printed there “Copyright.” Just across a park from the Capitol is a large building with a golden dome on top. This building is the Library of Congress. Every one in the United States who prints a book sends two copies of it to this library, and the library sends him a “copy-right,” which means that no one else has the “right” to copy it or print it without his permission. In the Library of Congress there are more books than in any other building in the country.
看看這本書或者其他書的前面，你會看到上面印有“版權(quán)”一詞。從國會大廈穿過一個公園有一座很大的建筑，上面有金色的圓屋頂，這就是國會圖書館。在美國，任何人要出版一本書都要先送兩冊到這個圖書館，然后圖書館會授予他“版權(quán)”，就是說其他人沒有他的同意就無“權(quán)”復(fù)印或印刷那本書。國會圖書館的藏書比美國任何別的建筑物里的書都要多。
Look on your camera or phonograph, or any other machine in your home, and see if you can find the word “Patented.” Any one in the country who invents anything new and useful—whether it is a fountainpen, an airplane, or a mouse-trap—sends one—a model, it is called—to another building in Washington called the Patent Office and asks for a patent. If the thing is really new and no one has ever made anything of the kind before, the Patent Office gives him the sole right to make and sell it, and no one else is allowed to make or sell it. That is called a patent. Some of the models are very curious. One model that some one had invented was a steam-engine that walked with iron legs. When-I-was-a-boy I invented a “snapback” handkerchief. I would blow my nose, then let go the handkerchief, and a rubber pulled it back into my pocket. But I didn’t get a patent.
看看你的照相機(jī)或留聲機(jī)，或者家里其他任何機(jī)器，看看能不能找到“專利”這個詞。美國任何人發(fā)明了新的有用的東西——不管是自來水鋼筆、飛機(jī)還是老鼠夾——都要送一個——一般稱為模型——到華盛頓的另一棟叫做專利局的大樓里，去申請專利。如果這個東西確實(shí)是新發(fā)明，從來沒做過同樣的東西，專利局就會授予他制造和銷售這種東西的獨(dú)享的權(quán)利，其他任何人都不允許生產(chǎn)和銷售同樣的東西。這就叫做專利。有些模型非常稀奇古怪。有個人發(fā)明的模型是個能用鐵腿走路的蒸汽機(jī)。我小時候發(fā)明過一種“快速返回”手帕。擤完鼻涕，我一松開手帕，一根橡皮筋就把它拉回到我的口袋里。但是我沒有獲得專利。
Parades! Soldiers! Bands of music! Flying flags! Some of the greatest parades have passed down a very wide street in Washington called Pennsylvania Avenue, or usually just “The Avenue.” It might be called “Parade Avenue.” It stretches from the Capitol to another building about a mile away that looks like a big bank. This other building is called the Treasury. There is a picture of it on the $10 bill. In the Treasury is kept money of the United States. We write United States with two letters, U. S., and we write the sign for “dollars” with the same two letters, written one on top of the other, with the bottom of the “U” cut off—thus, $.
游行！士兵！樂隊(duì)！飄揚(yáng)的旗幟！有一些大規(guī)模的游行都經(jīng)過華盛頓一條非常寬大的街道，叫賓夕法尼亞大街，人們通常就直接稱它“大街”。這條街滿可以叫做“游行大街”。它從國會大廈一直延伸到約1英里外的另一棟建筑物，那棟建筑物看起來像是座大銀行，那是財政部。10美元上就有它的圖案。美國的錢都由財政部保管。我們用U.S.這兩個字母表示美國，我們同樣用這兩個字母表示“美元”，把一個字母寫在另一個上面，并把U的底下切掉——這樣就變成了$。
Paper money and postage-stamps are printed in another building.
印制紙幣和郵票是在另一棟建筑物里。
“You see that man over there turning the handle of that printing-press?” says the guide who shows you around. “He makes a million dollars a day!”
“你看到那邊那個人在轉(zhuǎn)動印刷機(jī)手柄嗎？”帶你參觀的導(dǎo)游會這樣介紹說，“他一天制造一百萬美元！”
“Whew! He must be the richest man in the World.”
“哇！他一定是世界上最有錢的人了。”
“Oh, no. He only gets $5 a day.”
“哦，不。他一天只掙5美金。”
The money made out of silver, and gold, and copper is made in another city—not in Washington—at a place called the Mint.
銀幣、金幣和銅幣是在另外一個城市制造的——不是在華盛頓——而是在一個叫鑄幣局的地方。
When-I-was-a-boy I had an old bookcase which I called my museum. In it I had a starfish, some shells, a bird’s nest, a “gold” rock, and so forth. In Washington there is a large museum called the National Museum in which there is a huge collection of all sorts of curious and remarkable things from all over the World.
我小的時候有一個很老的書架，我把它叫做博物館。里面放了一只海星、一些貝殼、一個鳥窩、一塊“黃金”石等。在華盛頓有一個非常大的博物館，叫做國家博物館，里面陳列著從世界各地搜集過來的各種各樣稀奇古怪、非同尋常的東西。
There are many white houses in the country, but next door to the Treasury is a White House that is different from any other, for in this house the President lives. There is a picture of it on the $20 bill. From the back porch of The White House the latest President of the United States can look across his back yard and see a monument to the First President—Washington. The Washington Monument is the highest piece of stone work in the World. It’s like a giant finger, five hundred and fifty-five feet high. It seemed a mile high, but it is really only about a tenth of a mile high—not even as high as a low mountain. No man has ever been able to build as high as God. Though there is an elevator, I used to run up the stairs, two steps at a time, to the top of the monument—just for fun—to see how quickly I could do it, and whether I could beat the elevator. Boys are like that. They will run a race with anything. I could beat the elevator down by jumping half a dozen steps at a time, but not up. My heart did the beating going up.
在全美國有很多白色的房子，但是要數(shù)財政部旁邊那個白宮最為與眾不同，因?yàn)槟鞘强偨y(tǒng)住的地方。20美元上面就有它的圖案。從白宮后面的走廊上美國在任總統(tǒng)可以看到在他的后院對面有一個紀(jì)念碑——此碑是為紀(jì)念第一任總統(tǒng)華盛頓而建的。華盛頓紀(jì)念碑是世界上最高的石方工程。它就像一根巨大的手指，有555英尺高，看起來足有1英里高，但它實(shí)際高度大概上只有1英里的十分之一——甚至還沒有一座小山高。沒有人能像上帝那樣建造出高聳入云的東西。雖然有了電梯，我過去卻經(jīng)常自己登上紀(jì)念碑，一步兩個臺階向上跑——這只是為了好玩——看看自己能有多快，能不能超過電梯。男孩子就是這樣，跟什么都要比比速度。下來的時候我能一次跳六個臺階，比電梯還快，但是上去卻比不過電梯；上的時候我心跳加速，只好敗下陣來。

There is a long pool of water at the foot of the Washington Monument in which you can see the monument as in a mirror. At the other end of this pool is a marble building with columns all around the four sides. It was built in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President after Washington. It is probably the most thrilling memorial ever built to a human being. There is a picture of Lincoln on the $5 bill and on the other side a picture of his Memorial. Lincoln was born in a tiny house made of logs, so small that the whole house could be put in one room of your home. No boy was ever poorer, or had less money or less chance, and yet he became President of the United States. While he was President two parts of the United States fought a terrible war with each other and almost became un-United, but Lincoln kept the States together. That’s why this beautiful building was built in his honor. The only thing in the building is a statue of Lincoln sitting in a chair. He looks down on the crowds of people who visit him, as if his spirit were inside that figure of stone.
華盛頓紀(jì)念碑前有一個長長的水池，就像一面鏡子，里面可以看到紀(jì)念碑的倒影。在池子的另一端有一個大理石的建筑，四周有圓柱環(huán)繞。這是為了紀(jì)念美國的第十六任總統(tǒng)亞伯拉罕 · 林肯而建的。這也許是有史以來為個人而建的最激動人心的紀(jì)念堂了。5美元紙幣上有林肯像，紙幣另一面就是他的紀(jì)念堂。林肯出生在一個木頭造的房子里，房子小得可憐，可以整個放進(jìn)你們家任何一個房間里。沒有人比他更卑微、更貧窮、更缺乏機(jī)會的了，然而他后來當(dāng)了美國總統(tǒng)。他任總統(tǒng)期間，美國的南北兩方爆發(fā)了激烈的戰(zhàn)爭，差一點(diǎn)就分裂了，但是林肯維護(hù)了美國的統(tǒng)一。這就是為什么要為他建造這座漂亮的紀(jì)念堂。紀(jì)念堂里沒有其他東西，只擺放著一尊坐在椅子上的林肯雕像。他向下注視著來瞻仰他的人群，好像他的精神還活在這石頭的雕像里。


[1] 英語“首都”（capital）音同“國會大廈”（capitol），兩者容易混淆——譯者注。