VOA慢速英语2012 EXPLORATIONS - Dry Tortugas National Park Is Deep In History, Natural Beauty
时间:2019-02-06 作者:英语课 分类:2012年VOA慢速英语(七)月
EXPLORATIONS - Dry Tortugas National Park Is Deep In History, Natural Beauty
FAITH LAPIDUS: I’m Faith Lapidus.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE 1: And I’m Christopher Cruise with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we visit one of the most unusual national parks in the United States. It is called the Dry Tortugas National Park. It includes seven very small islands about two-hundred kilometers southwest of the southern state of Florida. One of them was once a prison. Let us begin our visit by imagining that we are traveling back in time almost one hundred fifty years.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: It is the last few days of July in eighteen sixty five. The United States Navy 2 steamship 3 “Florida” moves slowly toward 4 a small island. Members of the crew tie the ship to the dock 5. Passengers begin to leave the ship. They move slowly in the extreme heat of the summer day. In front of them is a huge red brick 6 building.
The passengers walk over a small wooden bridge. It crosses an area of water that circles the huge building. They move slowly to the only door. They pass through the door and stop in front of a group of soldiers.
Fort 7 Jefferson occupies one of the seven islands in the Dry Tortugas National Park, in the Florida Keys
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: An officer among the soldiers comes forward and tells the ship’s passengers to stop. He looks at the passengers and says, “You are now within the walls of the Fort Jefferson Military Prison in the Dry Tortugas. You have been tried, convicted 8 and sentenced to serve your punishment here.
“No prisoner has ever successfully escaped from Fort Jefferson. No one will ever escape. It is more than two-hundred kilometers across open ocean to the nearest occupied land.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: Four of the prisoners who arrived that long ago day had been found guilty of taking part in the successful plot to murder the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
One of the prisoners was sentenced for giving medical aid to the man who killed President Lincoln. He was also found guilty of being an active member of the plot. That man was Samuel Mudd. He was a thirty-two year old doctor from the eastern state of Maryland. He had been sentenced to spend the rest of his life doing hard labor 9 at Fort Jefferson.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The huge red brick building that faced Doctor Mudd and the other prisoners had six sides. It took up most of the land area of the small island. The six wide walls surrounded a large area of open space in the center.
Each wall was about fifteen meters tall. Inside the walls were hundreds of rooms. Most of them held huge guns that pointed 10 out to sea. Many other buildings were also inside the huge fort. Soldiers slept in them. Some of the houses were used by the officers.
Soldiers and prisoners worked and lived within the walls of the fort. The extreme heat affected 11 them all.
Hundreds of sea birds flew over the small island. Doctor Mudd must have believed that those birds would be the only creatures that would ever escape from Fort Jefferson. He must have believed that far away island would be his new home for a very long time. But he was wrong.
FAITH LAPIDUS: In eighteen sixty seven, Doctor Mudd was helping 12 the prison doctor treat victims of the disease 13 yellow fever. Many died. Soon, the prison doctor also lost his own battle with the disease. Only Doctor Mudd was left to treat the increasing number of men who became sick with yellow fever.
Later, the sickness seemed to leave the island. Many of those who survived knew they owed their lives to Doctor Mudd. Almost every man in Fort Jefferson wrote to the president of the United States asking that Doctor Mudd be pardoned because of his work treating patients who had Yellow Fever. They said Doctor Mudd was a hero.
In February eighteen sixty nine, President Andrew Johnson signed a presidential pardon. Doctor Mudd was a free man. He left Fort Jefferson and returned to his home in the state of Maryland. He once again became a family doctor.
(MUSIC)
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The first European visitor to the small islands was the Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon. He arrived in fifteen thirteen. Ponce de Leon was an older man who was searching for special water that stories said would make him young again. It was called the “Fountain of Youth.”
Ponce de Leon named the little islands the Tortugas. Tortugas is the Spanish word for a turtle. Thousands of these creatures lived on the islands. Ponce de Leon was able to capture 14 many turtles to provide fresh meat for his ship’s crew. He never did find the special water of the Fountain of Youth.
In fact, the little islands had no water at all. The Tortugas were dry. The word “dry” began to appear on early maps of the area to warn ships they could find no fresh water there.
FAITH LAPIDUS: President Thomas Jefferson took an interest in the little islands as a place that could help protect ships traveling in a large area of water called the Florida Straits. He proposed 15 a military base be built there. In eighteen twenty one, the United States took control of Florida and its islands. The military fort was not begun until eighteen forty eight, long after Jefferson’s death.
The fort was to be the home of one thousand five hundred men and four hundred fifty huge cannon 16. It would become the largest American fort made of brick building material.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Fort Jefferson was never really completed. It had to be worked on continually 17. The salt air, wind, water and sand quickly caused problems. The weight of the brick walls made them sink into the sand.
It was difficult to keep the fort in good repair. As workers built new parts of the fort, others worked at repairing damage caused by the environment.
Slaves and prisoners did the building and repair work at the fort. Most of the prisoners were army troops. They had been found guilty of some crime and ordered to serve their sentences at Fort Jefferson.
In eighteen seventy four, the American army left Fort Jefferson. Modern artillery 18 made the fort no longer useful.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Today, thousands of visitors make the trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. Soldiers no longer greet them when they arrive at Fort Jefferson. Friendly members of the National Park Service do. They meet every boat filled with visitors. They smile and say, “Welcome to Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas National Park.”
The small island’s days as a prison are long past. Yet almost every visitor to the Dry Tortugas National Park asks about its most famous prisoner, Samuel Alexander Mudd. They ask to see his room. Most people know that Doctor Mudd did not end his life in the Fort Jefferson prison.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Only a few of the huge cannon remain at the Park. These have been left to show visitors what the old fort looked like. The weather continues to affect the fort’s grounds and buildings. So workers continue the fight against the severe environmental damage.
A government program, the American Recovery 19 and Reinvestment Act, is providing money to help keep Fort Jefferson standing 20. Workers are removing and rebuilding damaged areas of the walls.
FAITH LAPIDUS: The Park extends 21 over an area of more than twenty-six-thousand hectares. Almost all of this is ocean and living coral reefs 22 that protect the little islands.
Thousands of different kinds of fish live in the waters near the islands. Many ships have sunk in those waters over the centuries. Many are inside the area that is part of the national park. The wrecks 23 of these ships help provide safe places for many of the fish.
Some visitors are lucky enough to see the huge sea turtles that gave the islands their name. The little islands are also home to many kinds of sea birds. Visitors are not permitted on some of the islands in the Dry Tortugas National Park because they would frighten birds that are laying eggs.
(MUSIC)
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: When Fort Jefferson was a prison, a sign was placed on the wall for new prisoners to see. It said, “Thee Who Enter Here Leave Hope Behind.” Few prisoners except for Doctor Mudd had any hope of ever leaving there.
Today the old fort and empty little islands provide a protected home for thousands of birds, fish and turtles. Visitors travel for hours on high-speed boats that bring them from the island of Key West, Florida. They swim in the warm waters and enjoy the bright sun. Many explore the underwater shipwrecks 24. Still others bring tents and spend a few days living on the white sand beaches.
The striking 25 natural beauty of the island today seems to clash 26 with its earlier history as a lonely, inescapable prison. Doctor Mudd surely would approve of the change.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: This program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Brianna Blake. I’m Faith Lapidus.
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: And I’m Christopher Cruise. You can see a video about Fort Jefferson and its restoration on our website, www.voanews.cn. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the Voice of America.
- They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
- She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。
- My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
- He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。
- The return may be made on the same steamship.可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
- It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port.雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
- Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
- Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了,并跑了过去。
- We took the children to the dock to see the ships.我们带孩子们到码头去看轮船。
- The corrupt official stood in the dock.那贪官站在被告席上。
- She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
- I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。
- The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
- No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证,任何人不得进入要塞。
- We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
- He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
- He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
- She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
- She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
- His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
- He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。
- The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
- With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后,大家都松了一口气。
- There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
- an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议
- The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
- The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。
- The other kids continually taunted him about his size.其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
- The US is continually building up its armed forces.美军正持续加强它的三军。
- This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
- The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。
- The doctors said that his recovery was a miracle. 医生们说他的复原是件奇事。
- The quick recovery was truly in response to medication.这次迅速康复确实是对药物治疗的反应。
- After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
- They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
- This country extends its power and influence into neighbouring countries. 这个国家将其势力与影响扩大至邻国。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- His domain extends for 20 miles in every direction. 方圆20英里之内都是他的地产。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The motorboat cut across swift currents and skirted dangerous reefs. 汽艇穿过激流,绕过险滩。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- Fish are abundant about the reefs. 暗礁附近鱼很多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句
- Shipwrecks are apropos of nothing. 船只失事总是来得出人意料。
- There are many shipwrecks in these waters. 在这些海域多海难事件。
- There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
- What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。