VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for New Orleans and Las Vegas

Many cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens.
许多城市都有有趣的别名。别名有助于竖立一个城市的形象，也会使市民普遍拥有自豪感。

New Orleans, Louisiana probably has more nicknames than any other American city. One web site lists more than twenty nicknames. The most famous is The Big Easy. It describes the gentle, slow and easy-going way of life in New Orleans.
路易斯安那州的新奥尔良是美国别名最多的一个城市。一家网站列出了其二十多个别名。最响亮的一个是“自由城”。这个名字形象地表现出了新奥尔良温和、悠闲、轻松的生活方式。

So how did the city get this nickname? In the early nineteen hundreds, there was a dance hall in New Orleans called The Big Easy. But the nickname did not become famous until the early nineteen seventies. That was when a Louisiana newspaper writer began calling.New Orleans by this name. She compared the easy-going way of life there to the hurried pace of life in New York City.
那么这个别名从何而来呢？20世纪初，新奥尔良有个舞厅叫做“自由城”。但这个名字直到20世纪70年代初期才流传开来。那时路易斯安那州的一名报社作家开始这样称呼新奥尔良。她把那儿的安闲舒适和纽约紧张匆忙的生活方式做了对比。

In nineteen seventy, James Conaway wrote a crime novel called “The Big Easy.” The story was set in New Orleans. In nineteen eighty-seven, that book was made into a film which made the nickname even more popular.
20世纪70年代，詹姆斯•康纳威写了一部侦探小说《自由城》，故事就发生在新奥尔良。1987年，这部小说被拍成了电影，这个别名流传更广了。

New Orleans has other nicknames. One of them is The Crescent City. During the nineteenth century, new neighborhoods expanded out from what is now known as the French Quarter. These areas followed the great curve of the Mississippi River, giving New Orleans the shape of a crescent.
新奥尔良还有其他别名。其中一个是“新月城”。19世纪时期，如今著名的“法国区”当时向外扩建新的街区，这部分正好沿着密西西比河弯弯的河道而建，新奥尔良从此形成了新月形。

Another nickname is the Birthplace of Jazz because that kind of music started in New Orleans. It is also called Mardi Gras City for the wild celebrations and parades that take place there every year. And, there is a nickname that uses the short way to write New Orleans and Louisiana. It you do not want to use the complete name, you can call the city NOLA.
新奥尔良还因为爵士乐起源于此而获得了“爵士乐之乡”的昵称。每年这里都会举办狂欢的游行和庆祝活动，因此也被称为“肥美星期二之城”。此外，新奥尔良和路易斯安那还有个简写的昵称，如果不想用全称，就可以把它叫做NOLA.

One of America’s most exciting cities is Las Vegas, Nevada. There you can play games of chance all night long. The city’s night clubs are also open all night for eating, drinking and dancing. So it is not surprising that Las Vegas is called The Gambling Capital of the World and The Entertainment Capital of the World.
位于内华达州的拉斯维加斯是美国最令人兴奋的城市之一。在那里，你可以通宵玩赌博游戏，夜店也是通宵营业，有吃有喝，还可以跳舞。难怪拉斯维加斯被称为“世界赌博之都”和“娱乐之都”。

Another nickname for Las Vegas is Sin City because you can find many kinds of adult entertainment there. Many people who come to Las Vegas in hopes of winning lots of money do not know when to stop gambling. They may lose a great deal of their hard-earned money. So the city is also called something that sounds like Las Vegas – Lost Wages.
拉斯维加斯的另一个外号是“罪恶之城”，因为这里有很多成人娱乐的种类。许多想来拉斯维加斯大赚一票的人一旦陷入赌钱就不知道何时收手，可能输掉自己大笔的血汗钱。因此这里也被戏称为“输掉薪水”(Lost Wages)，与拉斯维加斯(Las Vegas)谐音。

In nineteen sixty-four, Elvis Presley starred in a movie called "Viva Las Vegas." Here he sings the title song from that movie.
1964年，“猫王”埃尔维斯•普雷斯利主演了一部叫做“红粉世界”(Viva Las Vegas)的电影。

(MUSIC)