VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: State Nicknames, Part 4

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在，这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。
Today, we finish telling about the interesting nicknames that have been given to the fifty American states.
今天，我们将结束讲述美国五十个州的有趣别名。

The state of Ohio is in the midwest. It is named the Buckeye State after a tree that produces nuts similar to chestnuts.
俄亥俄州位于中西部。俄亥俄州以七叶树命名，叫做“七叶树之州”。七叶树结出的果子与坚果类似。

The Great Plains state of Oklahoma is called the Sooner State. That is because of a sale of land in eighteen eighty-nine.
大平原上的俄克拉荷马州被称为“抢先之州”。这是源于1889年的土地销售。

Some people arrived in the territory to claim their land earlier than they were supposed to. They cheated and got there "sooner."
一部分人比预期中更早到达这片领土，宣称这里是他们的土地。他们通过欺骗的方式，“抢先”得到了这块地。

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.
宾夕法尼亚州的别名是“拱心石之州”。就如拱心石支撑起石拱一样，人们认为宾夕法尼亚支撑起了年轻的美利坚共和国。

Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Quaker State. Its founder, William Penn, and most of his followers, were members of the Protestant Quaker religion.
宾夕法尼亚州有时也被称为“教友派之州”。该州的创始人威廉•佩恩，及他的大部分追随者，都是新教徒教友派的成员。

Rhode Island's nickname is Little Rhody because of its size. The state is smaller than the area around Los Angeles, California.
罗德岛的别名是“小罗地”，因为它的面积很小。该州比加利福尼亚州的洛杉矶的周围区域还要小。

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.
田纳西州得到“志愿者之州”的别名，是因为这里的公民英勇善战。在1812年的战争中，为了保卫路易斯安娜州的新奥尔良，他们志愿加入到田纳西人安德鲁•杰克逊中，抗击英国军队。

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.
德克萨斯州被称为“孤星之州”。之所以得此绰号，是因为该州的旗帜上只有一颗星。这代表了德克萨斯州为争取自治而与墨西哥交战时的一段短暂的独立国家时期。

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.
犹他州是“蜂巢之州”，这里的蜂巢并不比其他州多。此别名来自于摩门教堂中象征为辛勤劳动的标志物。

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.
(美国)东部的佛蒙特州以其格林山脉为豪，因此得名“翠峦州”。(美国)南部的弗吉尼亚州则被称作“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，英国国王查尔斯二世在他的盾牌上添加上了该殖民地的徽章。它也加入了英国，爱尔兰，苏格兰的行列，成为他的领域。

West Virginia broke away from Virginia in the eighteen sixties. It is called simply the Mountain State for the ancient Appalachian mountains.
十九世纪六十年代，西弗吉尼亚从弗吉尼亚中分离出来。它的别名甚为简单，以古老的阿巴拉且山脉命名，叫做“山脉之州”。

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.
我们把或许是最富美国化的别名留到了最后。曾经，西部的怀俄明州曾经是将牛群东运的地方。哪里有牛，哪里就有男人——现在是女人——驱赶它们。因此，怀俄明州叫做“牛仔州”。