VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for Cleveland and Detroit

Many American cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens. But nicknames sometimes can make fun of something.
美国的许多城市都有着有趣的昵称。昵称有助于建立城市风格，还能传播民众的自豪感。但昵称有时也会对一些事情进行嘲讽。

Cleveland, Ohio is a city in America's Midwest. One of its earliest nicknames was Forest City. No one knows for sure who gave it this name in the eighteen thirties. But Cleveland probably had a lot of trees. This nickname became popular among local businesses in the eighteen fifties. Today, some businesses in the Cleveland area still use Forest City in their names.
俄亥俄州克利夫兰市位于美国中西部。其最早的昵称之一是“森林之城”。没有人知道谁在19世纪30年代给了克里夫兰这个昵称，但可能当时克里夫兰有许多树。19世纪50年代这个昵称在当地企业间开始流行。直到今天，克里夫兰的一些企业仍在其企业名称中使用“森林之城”这个昵称。

Cleveland sits next to Lake Erie, one of North America's Great Lakes. It was once a major manufacturing city. Ships used the lake for transporting goods. In the nineteen fifties, businesses called Cleveland, the Best Location in the Nation.
克里夫兰坐落于北美五大湖之一的伊利湖畔。它曾是一个重要的制造业城市。伊利湖可用于船舶运输货物。二十世纪五十年代，企业界称克里夫兰是全美国地理位置最好的城市。

However, many factories closed or moved away. Cleveland had severe financial problems in the nineteen sixties and seventies. In nineteen sixty-nine, the city became famous, but not in a good way. Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught on fire because of industrial wastes on the surface of the river. So in the nineteen seventies, the national media began calling the city The Mistake on the Lake.
然而，20世纪60,70年代，很多工厂倒闭或搬走，克里夫兰面临了严重的财政问题。1969年，克里夫兰开始臭名远扬，流经该市的凯霍加河表面的工业废料燃起了大火。因此20世纪70年代，全国媒体开始称克里夫兰为“湖面上的错误”。

Since then, Cleveland has sought to improve its image. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cleveland in nineteen ninety-five. So the city is proud of its latest nickname, The Rock and Roll Capital of the World.
从那时起，克里夫兰一直试图改善自身的形象。1995年，摇滚名人堂博物馆在克里夫兰开放。这座城市开始以“世界摇滚之都”这个最新的昵称而引以为豪。

Another city in the Midwest is Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford started the Ford Motor Company in Detroit in nineteen hundred three. Five years later, he made the first "Model T" automobile. Within ten years, Detroit was being called The Motor City. It is still the center of the automobile industry in America.
密歇根州底特律市是另一座位于中西部地区的城市。1903年，亨利•福特在底特律创办了福特汽车公司。5年后生产出首款T型车。在10年之内，底特律被开始被称为“汽车城”。至今它仍是美国的汽车产业中心。

Another popular nickname for Detroit is Motown. Berry Gordy, Junior started the Motown Record Corporation in Detroit in nineteen fifty-nine. African-American singers recording for the company were extremely popular in the nineteen sixties and nineteen seventies. Their records were so successful that Detroit was also called Hitsville, USA.
底特律的另一个流行的昵称是“摩城”。1959年，贝瑞•戈顿在底特律创建了摩城唱片公司。20世纪60年代到90年代，该公司旗下美国非洲裔歌手极为走红。他们的唱片如此成功以致于底特律还被称为“金曲乌托邦”