美国学生世界地理教材 第52期:之最最多的西部(1)

 Chapter 15 The ‘Est,’ Est West 第15章 “之最”最多的西部

A LAND where they have the b-est, the bigg-est, the fin-est, the highest,  据说有个地方，那里有最好、最大、最优、最高、最美的东西，
the loveli-est of everything—so they say—the best oranges, the biggest prunes,  如世界上最好吃的柑橘、最硕大的李子、最美味的葡萄、
the finest grapes, the tallest trees, the highest mountains, the loveliest weather—  最高大的树木、最巍峨的山峰、最宜人的天气。是天堂吗？
No, it’s not Paradise 2. That’s the ’est, ’est West. 不，不是天堂。那就是拥有最多“之最”的美国西部。
California was named after an island in an old fairy-tale and in many ways the real California is a fairy-tale land.  加利福尼亚是以一个古老童话故事里的小岛命名的，而真正的加利福尼亚在很多方面都是一个童话般的地方。
When gold was found in the rivers there, the story sounded like a fairy-tale, but it turned out to be a true tale. 当人们在那里的河流里发现金子的时候，这样的事听起来就像是个童话，但结果证明这是一个真实的故事。
Many stories they tell nowadays about California still sound like fairy-tales to people in the East. 人们现在讲的很多关于加利福尼亚的故事对东部的人来说仍然像是童话故事。 
Who would believe that there are trees in California so tall they seem to brush the sky 谁会相信加利福尼亚有冲天大树
—trees so big around that men have cut tunnels in them for automobiles 3 to go through ——粗大的树干可以凿个洞，让汽车通过
—trees so old that they were born before Christ 4 was born! It’s true, there are.  ——有些树非常古老，在耶稣诞生前就开始生长了！是真的，真的有这样的树。
They are called Giant Redwoods.  它们叫做大红杉。
How more wonderful than a fairy-tale it would be if those trees could tell us the true story of what has happened in their long lives!  如果这些树能告诉我们在它们漫长生命中发生过的真实故事，那一定比童话故事更加精彩啊！
Let us see how many ’ests we can count in California. 让我们来数一数在加利福尼亚究竟有多少个“之最”吧。
California is the longest State in the United States. 加利福尼亚是美国“最”长的州。 
If you could take up California and put it down on the Atlantic coast it would stretch from Florida to New York. That’s one ’est. 如果你能拿起加利福尼亚州，放到大西洋沿岸，它将从佛罗里达延伸到纽约。这是一个“之最”。
California has the highest mountain in the United States. It is called Mount 1 Whitney. That’s two ’ests. 加利福尼亚有美国“最”高的山，叫做惠特尼山。这是两个“之最”了。
California has the lowest place in America. It’s a valley, and the valley is more than two hundred feet lower than the ocean. 加利福尼亚有美国的“最”低的地方。那是一个山谷，低于海平面200多英尺。 
It is so dry and so hot down in this hollow—this lowest spot—that nothing can live there, either animal or vegetable,  这个最低点的山谷里极其干燥炎热，没有动植物能在里面生存，
except horned toads 5 and lizards 6, both of which animals love heat—the more heat the better for them. 除了角蟾和蜥蜴，这两种动物都喜欢炎热的环境——越热越好。 
Some people say they can even live in fire—but that’s a fairy-tale.  有人说它们甚至在火里也能生存——但那是童话里才发生的事。
This low hot valley is called Death Valley.  这个炎热的低谷叫做“死亡谷”。
People usually keep away from it, but some men have strayed 7 into it looking for gold and have lost their way, 人们通常不会靠近死亡谷，但有人在找金子时误入其中而迷路， 
or some who wanted to get to the other side tried to cross it and before they could get out or reach the other side they have died of heat or thirst. 还有人想到另一面去，就尝试穿越死亡谷，但还没等他们走出去或到达对面就已经热死或渴死了。 
That’s why it is called Death Valley. That’s longest, highest, lowest—three ’ests. 正因如此，它才叫死亡谷。这里就有三个“之最”了：最长，最高，最低。