VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 4

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

現(xiàn)在是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

Today, we finish telling about the interesting nicknames that have been given to the fifty American states.

今天我們將結(jié)束講述美國(guó)50個(gè)州的有趣別名。

The state of Ohio is in the midwest. It is named the Buckeye State after a tree that produces nuts similar to chestnuts.

中西部的俄亥俄州由于一種結(jié)著類似栗子的堅(jiān)果的樹被稱為“七葉樹州”。

The Great Plains state of Oklahoma is called the Sooner State. That is because of a sale of land in eighteen eighty-nine. Some people arrived in the territory to claim their land earlier than they were supposed to. They cheated and got there "sooner."

大平原的俄克拉荷馬州被稱為“捷足州”。這是因?yàn)?889年一塊土地出售時(shí)，一些到達(dá)該州的人們慌稱比他們實(shí)際到得更早。他們蒙騙于是捷足先登。

Pennsylvania's nickname is the Keystone State. Just as a keystone holds together a stone arch, Pennsylvania was seen as holding together the young American republic. Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Quaker State. Its founder, William Penn, and most of his followers, were members of the Protestant Quaker religion.

賓夕法尼亞州的別名是“基石州”。正如壘成牌坊的基石，賓夕法尼亞州被視為維系了年輕的美利堅(jiān)共和國(guó)。賓夕法尼亞州有時(shí)也被稱為“貴格會(huì)之州”，賓夕法尼亞州開拓者威廉·佩恩和他的多數(shù)追隨者是基督新教貴格會(huì)成員。

Rhode Island's nickname is Little Rhody because of its size. The state is smaller than the area around Los Angeles, California.

羅得島州由于面積小被稱為“小羅得”。該州的面積比環(huán)洛杉磯地區(qū)還小。

Tennessee got its nickname -- the Volunteer State -- because of the bravery of its citizens. They volunteered to join Tennessean Andrew Jackson to defend the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, against the British army in the War of Eighteen Twelve.

田納西州由于其市民的英勇得名“志愿者之州”。他們?cè)?812年抵抗英軍的戰(zhàn)斗中，志愿加入田納西人安德魯·杰克遜(Andrew Jackson)的隊(duì)伍保衛(wèi)新奧爾良。

Texas is called the Lone Star State. It gets its nickname from the single star on its flag. This represents the short time Texas was an independent nation battling Mexico for self-rule.

德克薩斯州被稱為“孤星之州”。它得名自其旗幟上的一顆單獨(dú)的恒星。這代表著德克薩斯州作為一個(gè)獨(dú)立國(guó)家抵抗墨西哥爭(zhēng)取自治的短暫歷史。

The Beehive State of Utah has no more beehives than any other state. The nickname is from the Mormon Church's symbol for hard work.

“蜂巢州”猶他州并沒有比其他州更多的蜂巢。該別名來自摩門教辛勤工作的象征。

The eastern state of Vermont is proud of its beautiful Green Mountains so it calls itself the Green Mountain State. The southern state of Virginia is called the Old Dominion.

東部的佛蒙特州因其美麗的青山而自豪，故自稱為“青山州”。南部的弗吉尼亞州被稱為“老自治州”。

Long ago, King Charles the Second of England added the colony's coat of arms to his shield. It joined his other dominions of England, Ireland, and Scotland.

很久以前，英格蘭國(guó)王查理二世將該殖民地的盾形紋章加到他的盾牌，該州加入到他英格蘭、蘇格蘭和愛爾蘭等其他領(lǐng)土里。

West Virginia broke away from Virginia in the eighteen sixties. It is called simply the Mountain State for the ancient Appalachian mountains.

西弗吉尼亞州十九世紀(jì)六十年代脫離弗吉尼亞州。它因古老的阿帕拉契山脈而被稱為“山顛之州”。

And we have saved perhaps the most American nickname for last. The western state of Wyoming was once an area where cattle were transported east. And where there are cattle, there are men -- and now women -- to move them. So Wyoming is the Cowboy State.

我們還保留了可能是近代最美國(guó)的別名。西部的懷俄明州曾經(jīng)是往東部運(yùn)牛的地區(qū)。哪里有牛，哪里就有男人，現(xiàn)在還包括女人來運(yùn)送它們。因此懷俄明州被稱為“牛仔州”。