VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for Chicago

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
这里是美国之音英语词语典故。
A nickname is a shortened version of a person's name. A nickname also can describe a person, place or thing. Many American cities have interesting nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
别名是一个人名字的缩短形式，还可以是一个人，一个地方或一个物品的描述性名字。许多美国城市都有很有趣的别名，这可以帮助创立一个城市的风格，激发公民的自豪感，建立团结精神。

(Frank Sinatra - “Chicago”)

Chicago, Illinois was once the second largest city in the United States. So, one of its nicknames is The Second City. Over the years, the population of Chicago has decreased. Today it is the third largest American city.
伊利诺伊州的芝加哥曾经是美国第二大城市。所以，芝加哥其中一个别名就是“第二城”(The Second City)。多年过去了，芝加哥的人口不断缩减。今天，芝加哥已经是美国第三大城市。

However, another nickname for Chicago is still true today. It is The Windy City. Chicago sits next to Lake Michigan, one of North America’s Great Lakes. Language expert Barry Popick says on his web site that Chicago was called a “windy city” because of the wind that blows off of Lake Michigan. In the eighteen sixties and seventies, Chicago was advertised as an ideal place to visit in the summer because of this cool wind.
然而，芝加哥的另外一个别名却名副其实。叫做“风城”(The Windy City)。芝加哥位于密歇根湖畔，密歇根湖是北美洲五大湖之一。语言专家Barry Popick在其网站上写道，芝加哥被称作“风城”是因为吹过密歇根湖的风。在19世纪六七十年代，芝加哥的广告宣传称那里凉风习习，是夏季避暑胜地。

But anyone who has ever lived in Chicago knows how cold that wind can be in winter. The wind travels down the streets between tall buildings in the center of the city.
但是，任何曾在芝加哥居住过的人都知道，冬季的风非常寒冷。寒风可以穿越市中心高楼之间的街道。

Barry Popick says other cities in the central United States called Chicago a “windy city.” This meant that people in Chicago liked to brag or talk about how great their city was. They were full of wind or full of hot air. He says newspapers in Cincinnati, Ohio used this expression in the eighteen seventies.
Barry Popick说，美国中部的其他城市也称芝加哥为“windy city”(浮夸之城)。意思是说，芝加哥人很喜欢吹嘘或谈论芝加哥有多大，空话连篇，夸夸其谈。他说，俄亥俄州辛辛那提的报纸曾在19世纪70年代使用过这个说法。

Chicago was an important agricultural, industrial and transportation center for the country.
芝加哥是美国重要的农业，工业和交通中心。

In nineteen sixteen, the city gained two more nicknames from a poem called “Chicago,” written by Carl Sandburg. Here is the first part of the poem:
1916年，芝加哥从Carl Sandburg创作的一首叫做“芝加哥”的诗中又获得了两个别名。下面是这首诗的第一部分：

Hog Butcher for the World,
全世界的宰猪场，

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat,
工具场，积麦仓，

Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler;
玩弄铁路的游戏师，国民经济的搬运大王；

Stormy, husky, brawling,
风暴，破嗓，喧嚣，

City of the Big Shoulders.
臂力刚强的大肩膀。

Chicago was called Hog Butcher for the World because of its huge meat-processing industry. And, it was called The City of the Big Shoulders or City of Broad Shoulders because of its importance to the nation.
由于其巨大的猪肉加工行业，芝加哥又被叫做“世界屠猪城”(Hog Butcher for the World)。由于其对全国的重要性，又被叫做“巨肩之城”(City of Broad Shoulders)。

There are several songs about Chicago. “My Kind of Town” was made popular by Frank Sinatra in nineteen sixty-four.
关于芝加哥的歌曲有很多。1964年，Frank Sinatra演唱的"My Kind of Town"流行起来。