VOA常速英语:国家公园遗址保存美国早期战争中的人工制品

One of the first stops where national parks traveler Mikah Meyer on his journey through the southeastern US was a famous fort near Charleston, South Carolina.
国家公园旅行者米卡.迈耶沿着美国东南部旅行的第一站就是在南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿附近的一个著名的要塞。

“This is Fort Sumter right in front of me, the spot where the first shot of the Civil War was fired,and also where the first casualty of the Civil War.”
“我眼前的正是萨姆特堡，是内战第一炮打响的地方，也是内战中产生第一名伤亡人员的地方。”

After a decade of cultural and economic tension between the North and South,it was here, in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861,where the southern army opened fire, marking it as the day that Civil War began.
北方和南方在经历了十年的文化和经济紧张局势之后，于1861年4月12日，正是在查尔斯顿港这儿，南方军队开火，标志着内战自此开始。

“This is a tonnage mortar, this type again for our deep first shot at the war.”
“这是一枚重型迫击炮，正是它打响了战争的第一炮。”

“See across that bridge, Charleston, South Carolina, it was under siege at one point for 17 months.There were cannons that could fire from where I’m standing on the fort all the way to the old town.”
“看南卡罗来纳州查尔斯顿的那座桥，它一度被包围长达17个月之久。那时有那种大炮，可以从我站着的这个要塞一直打到老城区。”

At the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, also in South Carolina,Mikah learned about Pinckney, a principal author and signer of the United States Constitution.
在查尔斯.平克尼国家公园遗址，也位于南卡罗来纳州，米卡了解了平克尼，他是美国宪法的主要撰写人和签约人。

“Some people call him our forgotten founding father,but he was a political figure of early America who helped shape what our eventual Constitution ended up looking like.”
“有人称他为我们的被遗忘的开国元勋，但他是早期美国的一名政治人物，帮助塑造了我国宪法的最终模样。”

The National Park Service helps preserve what remains of the former plantation,and exhibits help tell the stories of 18th century plantation life for free and enslaved people.
国家公园管理局帮助保护这个前种植园里的遗迹，并进行展出，有助于展示18世纪种植园里的自由人和奴隶的生活。

While in South Carolina, Mikah also had a chance to visit Reconstruction Era National Monument,a site President Obama had just designated as a new National Park site,which tells us a story of post-Civil War America.
在南卡罗来纳州的时候，米卡还有幸参观了重建时期国家保护区，奥巴马总统最近才将这个景点指定为新的国家公园遗址，向我们展示了内战之后的美国生活。

“So all within the Charleston, South Carolina area,you have these three sites now that are really related to either America becoming America, or America figuring out who America is.”
“所以这三个景点都在南卡罗来纳州的查尔斯顿境内，这三个景点也都跟美国成为美国，或美国弄清楚美国到底是什么有关。”

Driving south into Georgia, Mikah stopped at Fort Pulaski National Monument.Built in 1861, the fort is considered one of the most technologically advanced fortifications of its time.
向南驶入乔治亚州，米卡停留在了普拉斯基堡国家保护区。普拉斯基堡建于1861年，此堡垒被认为是当时技术最先进的防御工事之一。

“It had a moat, with water that circled the whole fort,which after seeing a number of forts that don’t have moats,just that one little feature it’s amazing how much more exciting that can make it!”
“它有一个护城河，河水环绕整个堡垒，在看了这么多没有护城河的堡垒之后，就只这一个令人惊讶的特点就可以使人激动不已。”

An hour south at Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, Mikah walked among the ruins of this once flourishing 18th century settlement.
继续向南一个小时的路程，就是圣西蒙斯岛上的弗雷德里卡要塞，米卡在这个曾经在18世纪繁荣一时，而现在是一片废墟的地方漫步。

And at the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Jacksonville, Florida,Mikah learned that an abundance of oysters provided a steady supply of protein for the Native Americans who lived there,and provided materials for their dwellings, that are still intact today.
在佛罗里达州杰克逊维尔的Timucuan生态和历史保护区，米卡了解到此地区丰富多产的牡蛎为住在这里的原着美国人提供了稳定的蛋白质供应，也为他们的住房提供了材料，这些住房到如今还完好无缺。

“And it’s all of these little huts that were built out of a kind of paste of oyster shells and other minerals that when mixed together form, you know, sort of a brick-like substance.”
“这些小屋都是由牡蛎壳和其他矿物质裱糊的，当这些材料混合在一起，就形成了一种类似砖块的物质。”

Mikah also squeezed in a quick visit to Castillo de San Marcos National Monument,where he got to watch a re-enactment, and the much smaller Fort Matanzas.
米卡还挤出时间到圣马科斯堡国家保护区做了短暂参观，在那里他观看了一次战役重现，以及小得多的马坦萨斯堡。

The young traveler said visiting these historic sites, whether large or small,made him appreciate the efforts of the National Park Service in preserving these national treasures for all to enjoy and learn from.
这个年轻的旅行者说，通过参观这些历史遗址，不管是大的还是小的，都会让他感激国家公园管理局在保护这些国家宝藏上所做出的努力，给所有人带来欢乐和知识。

Julie Taboh, VOA news, Washington.
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