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美国州名别称(一) State Nicknames

  美利坚合众国(the United States of America)是一个由五十个州和一个联邦直辖特区组成的宪政联邦共和制国家。除了本名之外,这五十一个地区都有自己的别称。那么,从本期开始,我们将一同了解这些有趣的名称以及它们背后的故事。


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  A nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname can also be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing.

  America's fifty states have some of the most historically interesting nicknames.

  Alabama is known as the Heart of Dixie because it is in the very middle of a group of states in the Deep South. Dixie itself is a nickname for the American South. It started when Louisiana printed notes with the French word for “ten” on them. “Deece”, or D-I-X, led to “Dixie”.

美国州名别称(一) State Nicknames  Way up north, Alaska is called the Last Frontier for understandable reasons. Near the Arctic Circle, it was the final part of the nation to be explored and settled.

  Arizona is the Grand Canyon State because of the famous winding canyon carved by the Colorado River.

  The southern state of Arkansas is the Land of Opportunity. The state legislature chose this nickname. Arkansas is rich in natural resources and has become a favorite place for older people to retire.

  In a popular Spanish book, a fictional island called “California” was filled with gold. Sure enough, plenty of it was discovered in the real California, in 1848. This started a gold rush unlike any other in American history in the Golden State.

  You would think Colorado would be known as the Rocky Mountain State. But its nickname is the Centennial State. That is because it became a state in 1876, exactly one hundred years after the nation declared its independence.

  Connecticut is called the Nutmeg State after a spice. Connecticut Yankees, as people in this northeast state are called, are known to be smart in business. So smart that it was said they could sell wooden, meaning false, nutmegs to strangers.

  Little Delaware is called the First State because it was the first state—the first to approve the new United States Constitution.

  The southern state of Florida likes to tell about its sunny days and fine beaches. So Florida is the Sunshine State.

  Florida's neighbor to the north grows some of the sweetest fruit in America. So Georgia is the Peach State.

  Hawaii, far out in the Pacific Ocean, is the Aloha State. That is the friendly greeting that means both “hello” and “goodbye” in the native Hawaiian language. So, aloha for now.

  ● 阿拉巴马州(Alabama)位于美国东南部,其首府是蒙哥马利(Montgomery)。 “迪克西”(dixie)一词本身就是指美国南部地区,而阿拉巴马州位于该地区中部,“迪克西的心脏”(the Heart of Dixie)这一昵称便由此而来。

  ● 阿拉斯加州(Alaska)位于美国西北太平洋东岸,是美国面积最大的州,其首府是朱诺(Juneau)。阿拉斯加一词源于阿留申语的“Alyeska”,意为“很大的陆地”。阿拉斯加州远离美国本土大陆,加上大部分地区尚未开发,因此被称为“最后的边疆”(the Last Frontier)。

  ● 亚利桑那州(Arizona)位于美国西南部,由于特殊的地理位置,这里拥有由科罗拉多河切割而成的科罗拉多大峡谷,自然景观独特且壮观,因此被称为“大峡谷州”(the Great Canyon State)。

  ● 美国前总统比尔·克林顿(Bill Clinton)的家乡阿肯色州(Arkansas),位于美国东南部,首府是小石城(Little Rock)。这里自然资源丰富,是全美唯一出产天然钻石的地方,被称为“机会之乡”(the Land of Opportunity)。

  ● 加利福尼亚州(California)位于美国西部,是美国最发达、人口最多的州。这里原来是印第安人的聚居地,现在全美50%以上的华裔和墨西哥裔美国人聚集于此,我们熟悉的洛杉矶(Los Angeles)和旧金山(San Francisco)便位于该州。十九世纪中期,人们在这里发现了金矿,于是大批人口迁入,掀起了一股淘金热,因此有了“黄金州”(the Golden State)的别称。

  ● 科罗拉多州(Colorado)的首府是丹佛市(Denver),位于落基山区。该州成立时恰逢美国独立100周年,因此有“百年纪念州”(the Centennial State)之称。

  ● 康涅狄格州(Connecticut)位于美国东北部,拥有全美最负盛名的高等学府之一——耶鲁大学。康涅狄格州是最初的美国13州之一,由于一种香料而被称为“肉蔻州”(the Nutmeg State)。1639年,这里创立了新大陆首部宪法《基本法》,这是美国宪法的蓝本,因此该州还有“宪法州”(the Constitution State)的别称。

  ● 特拉华州(Delaware)是最早加入美国联邦的州,最先复决通过美国现行宪法,因此被称为“第一州”(the First State)。该州地小人少,在美国独立战争时期却起了战略性的作用,被第三任总统托马斯·杰弗逊(Thomas Jefferson)称赞为各州中的宝石,因此又有“钻石州”(the Diamond State)之称。

  ● 佛罗里达州(Florida)位于美国南部,其名称来源于西班牙语,意思是“花多的地方”。该州被称为“阳光州”(the Sunshine State),气候宜人,拥有全球著名的旅游天堂之一——棕榈海滩。

  ● 佐治亚州(Georgia)位于美国东南部,有“南方帝国”(the Empire State of the South)之称。佐治亚州因英国国王乔治二世而得名,首府亚特兰大(Atlanta)因1996年举办了百年奥运而闻名于世。由于气候较暖,这里盛产水果,尤其是桃子,产量位居全国前列,因此还被称为“桃州”(the Peach State)。

  ● 热带气候、旅游胜地、草裙舞……没错,这里就是夏威夷州(Hawaii)。夏威夷州是美国唯一的群岛州,位于太平洋上,也是美国唯一一个远离美洲大陆的州,被称为“太平洋上的天堂”(the Paradise of Pacific)。夏威夷人向人问候或离别之时,常说“aloha”,是“爱”的意思,所以夏威夷也叫“阿洛哈州”(the Aloha State)。

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