美國各州別名

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
現(xiàn)在是美國之音慢速英語詞匯典故節(jié)目。

Today, we tell about more interesting nicknames of American states.
今天我們將講述更多美國各州有趣的別名。

The mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is called the Free State. A Baltimore newspaper first called it that during the nineteen twenties when the manufacture and sale of alcohol were banned for a time. Maryland said it wanted to be free from this prohibition.
位于大西洋中部的馬里蘭州被稱為“自由之州”。巴爾的摩的一份報(bào)紙?jiān)?0世紀(jì)20年代酒類生產(chǎn)銷售被禁期間第一次這樣稱呼它。當(dāng)時(shí)馬里蘭州表示它想要擺脫這份禁酒令。

Mississippi is the Magnolia State. It is named for a tree with big, beautiful white flowers that grows in that hot, southern state.
密西西比州被稱為“木蘭之州”。它以生長在密西西比這個(gè)炎熱的南部州，盛開出美麗白花的木蘭樹命名。

The midwestern state of Missouri is called the Show Me State. The people of that frontier state were once famous for not believing everything people told them.
中西部的密蘇里州被稱為“索證之州”。這個(gè)邊境州的人們曾經(jīng)因不相信別人告訴他們的任何事情而著名。

If you visit the western mountain and plain state of Montana you will know why it is known as Big Sky Country.
如果你游覽一下西部的高山和草原之州蒙大拿，你就會明白它為什么被叫做“長空之州”。

Nebraska is the only state to have a nickname that honors sports teams! The state university’s athletic teams are nicknamed Cornhuskers in recognition of one of the area’s chief crops. The state borrowed the Cornhusker nickname from the university.
內(nèi)布拉斯加州擁有唯一一個(gè)紀(jì)念運(yùn)動隊(duì)的別名。該州州立大學(xué)的運(yùn)動隊(duì)別名叫做“剝玉米殼的人”，這是為了對該地區(qū)的一種主要作物玉米的肯定。內(nèi)布拉斯州借用了這個(gè)別名。

The western desert state of Nevada is called the Silver State. It was once home to many silver mines and towns that grew up around them. Today, most of them are empty "ghost towns."
位于西部沙漠的內(nèi)華達(dá)州被稱為“白銀之州”。這里曾有很多銀礦，圍繞銀礦周圍誕生了很多小城鎮(zhèn)。如今，這些小城鎮(zhèn)都成了空空的“鬼城”。

New Hampshire, in the northeast area called New England, is the Granite State because of that colorful rock.
位于東北部新英格蘭地區(qū)的新罕布什爾州由于五顏六色的巖石被稱為“花岡巖州”。

New Jersey is between the big cities of New York, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It got its nickname, the Garden State, because New Jersey truck farms once provided vegetables to those big cities.
新澤西州位于紐約州的紐約市和賓夕法尼亞州的費(fèi)城市之間。新澤西州得名“花園之州”，因?yàn)樾聺晌髦莸牟似栽?jīng)向這些大城市運(yùn)送蔬菜。（譯者注：如果是因?yàn)檫\(yùn)蔬菜的原因，就應(yīng)該譯為菜園之州。:)）
 
New York, which always thinks big, was called the Empire State because of its natural wealth. The most famous Manhattan skyscraper got its name from the state. It is, of course, the Empire State Building.
在人們印象中紐約州規(guī)模很大，由于其自然資源被稱為“帝國州”。該州最注明的曼哈頓摩天大樓也因該州別名而得名“帝國大廈”。

If you get a chance to see a red sunset over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, you will know why that southwestern state is called the Land of Enchantment.
如果你有機(jī)會在新墨西哥州的基督圣血山脈觀看紅紅的落日，你就會明白這個(gè)位于西南部的州為什么被稱為“迷人之地”。
 
North and South Carolina were one colony until seventeen twenty-nine. South Carolina’s nickname is the easier of the two: It is the Palmetto State because of a fan-leafed palm tree that grows there. North Carolina is the Tar Heel State. That is because many of the men who worked to gather substances from trees wore no shoes. They would make turpentine from tar and get the black, sticky tar on the heels of their feet.
南北卡羅萊納州在1729年之前是殖民地。南卡羅萊納的別名相對來說比較簡單，它被稱為“棕櫚州”，因?yàn)檫@里生長著許多扇形葉子的棕櫚樹。北卡羅萊納則被稱為“焦油腳后根之州”。因?yàn)樵S多采集樹脂的人都光著腳。他們從樹脂中提煉松節(jié)油，然后他們的腳后跟就會沾上黑色黏稠的焦油。

Next week, we will finish telling about the colorful nicknames of American states.
下周，我們將結(jié)束對美國各州別名的講述。

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