四级拓展：VOA慢速

美国各州别名

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

Today, we tell about more interesting nicknames of American states.
今天我们将讲述更多美国各州有趣的别名。

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.
位于大西洋中部的马里兰州被称为“自由之州”。巴尔的摩的一份报纸在20世纪20年代酒类生产销售被禁期间第一次这样称呼它。当时马里兰州表示它想要摆脱这份禁酒令。

Mississippi is the Magnolia State. It is named for a tree with big, beautiful white flowers that grows in that hot, southern state.
密西西比州被称为“木兰之州”。它以生长在密西西比这个炎热的南部州，盛开出美丽白花的木兰树命名。

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.
中西部的密苏里州被称为“索证之州”。这个边境州的人们曾经因不相信别人告诉他们的任何事情而著名。

If you visit the western mountain and plain state of Montana you will know why it is known as Big Sky Country.
如果你游览一下西部的高山和草原之州蒙大拿，你就会明白它为什么被叫做“长空之州”。

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.
内布拉斯加州拥有唯一一个纪念运动队的别名。该州州立大学的运动队别名叫做“剥玉米壳的人”，这是为了对该地区的一种主要作物玉米的肯定。内布拉斯州借用了这个别名。

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."
位于西部沙漠的内华达州被称为“白银之州”。这里曾有很多银矿，围绕银矿周围诞生了很多小城镇。如今，这些小城镇都成了空空的“鬼城”。

New Hampshire, in the northeast area called New England, is the Granite State because of that colorful rock.
位于东北部新英格兰地区的新罕布什尔州由于五颜六色的岩石被称为“花冈岩州”。

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.
新泽西州位于纽约州的纽约市和宾夕法尼亚州的费城市之间。新泽西州得名“花园之州”，因为新泽西州的菜圃曾经向这些大城市运送蔬菜。（译者注：如果是因为运蔬菜的原因，就应该译为菜园之州。:)）
 
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.
在人们印象中纽约州规模很大，由于其自然资源被称为“帝国州”。该州最注明的曼哈顿摩天大楼也因该州别名而得名“帝国大厦”。

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.
如果你有机会在新墨西哥州的基督圣血山脉观看红红的落日，你就会明白这个位于西南部的州为什么被称为“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.
南北卡罗莱纳州在1729年之前是殖民地。南卡罗莱纳的别名相对来说比较简单，它被称为“棕榈州”，因为这里生长着许多扇形叶子的棕榈树。北卡罗莱纳则被称为“焦油脚后根之州”。因为许多采集树脂的人都光着脚。他们从树脂中提炼松节油，然后他们的脚后跟就会沾上黑色黏稠的焦油。

Next week, we will finish telling about the colorful nicknames of American states.
下周，我们将结束对美国各州别名的讲述。

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