书城外语课外英语-美国各州小知识(十二)(双语版)
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第17章 西弗吉尼亚州(4)

Governor Manchin is also an avid pilot,outdoorsman(常在野外活动的人),hunter,fisherman and motorcyclist(乘机车者).He has been married for 38-years to the former Gayle Conelly of Beckley.They are the parents of three children:Heather,Joseph IV and Brooke,and the proud grandparents of Joseph V,Sophie,Kelsey,Madeline,Chloe and Jack.

State Bird州鸟

本州在1949年将北美红雀作为州鸟,它们以清脆高亢的叫声和耀眼夺目的羽毛见长,这种鸟也是这六个州的州鸟。红雀有时也被称为冬红雀,因为在冬天里它是目前惟一的红色鸟,最显而易见的。这种鸟常常出现在公园、草场和森林。雄鸟除了颈部和嘴的周遍部位的羽毛是黑色的,其余部位都是红色的。而雌鸟的羽毛颜色则与周遍自然环境相融,以便保护它们的卵和雏鸟。它们的羽毛颜色不会随着季节的改变而改变。

The Cardinal was made West Virginia’s official bird by concurrent resolution of the 1949Legislature.The male of the species is a rich scarlet with a mask and shading of black,while the young birds and females are a less brilliant color.The cardinal measures approximately eight inches long and is found from New York state to the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as Oklahoma.Its scientific name is Cardinalis cardinalis.

The northern cardinal is also the state bird for six other states.These are Illinois,Indiana,Kentucky,North Carolina,Ohio,and Virginia.

The Cardinal is sometimes called the Winter Redbird because it is most noticeable during the winter when it is the only “redbird”present.The Cardinal is one of the most common birds in our gardens,meadows(草地,牧场),and woodlands.The male Cardinal is red all over,except for the area of its throat and the region around its bill which is black;it is about the size of a Catbird only with a longer tail.The head is conspicuously(显著地,超群地)crested and the large stout bill is red.The female is much duller in color with the red confined mostly to the crest,wings,and tail.This difference in coloring is common among many birds.Since it is the female that sits on the nest,her coloring must blend more with her natural surroundings to protect her eggs and young from predators.There are no seasonal changes in her plumage(翅膀).

The Cardinal is a fine singer,and what is unusual is that the female sings as beautifully as the male.The male generally monopolizes(独占)the art of song in the bird world.

The nest of the Cardinal is rather an untidy affair built of weed stems,grass and similar materials in low shrubs,small trees or bunches of briars([植]石南),generally not over four feet above the ground.The usual number of eggs set is three in the South and four in the North.Possibly the Cardinal raises an extra brood down in the South to make up the difference,or possibly the population is more easily maintained here by the more moderate winters compared to the colder North.

State Flower州花

山杜鹃花在1903年1月23日被选为本州州花。它是由公立学校的小学生投票选举而产生的。它是一种石南科灌木,它有着常绿叶,淡粉红色和白色的花儿,有时还伴有红色和黄色的斑纹。花茎很细。花期从6月到7月。它们一般生长在雨林和湿地。

The Rhododendron maximum,or “big laurel”,is the state flower of West Virginia.It was selected on January 23,1903,by the Legislature,following a vote by pupils of the public schools.It is a shrub of the heath family and may be recognized by its large dark evergreen leaves and delicate pale pink or white bloom,mottled(使成杂色,使有斑点)with either red or yellow flecks(斑点,斑纹).

Leaf:Evergreen,alternate,simple,pinnately veined,4to 10inches long,elliptical(椭圆的,省略的),with entire margins.Leaves are dark green and shiny above,whitish with rust colored hair ,with rolled edges that curl in winter.

Flower:Showy,large,pale pink or white with a corolla(花冠)of five rounded petals.Flower stems sticky.June to July.

Fruit:Many tiny seeds borne in a long stemmed,red-brown capsule[(植物)蒴果](1/2inch long),splitting along five lines when mature(October).

Twig:Stout,whitish green in color,covered with reddish-brown hair.Vegetative(有生长力的)buds are small,appearing enclosed in small leaves.Flower buds are egg-shaped,enclosed in rusty(黄褐色的或红褐色的),pubescent(有软毛的)scales.

Bark:Thin,light brown and smooth when young.Broken into thin scales on older stems.

Form:A large shrub or small tree with several twisted stems that may form an impassable(不能通行的)thicket(灌木丛).Height:5-40′.

Habitat:Wet woods,swamps.

Range:Eastern and midwestern United States,Native,but often cultivated.

State Flag州旗

本州州旗是以白色为底色,四周有着蓝色长条。旗帜中心位置的图案上,有一石块上面写着:1863年6月20日,这一天西弗吉尼亚成立为州。图案上的两个人代表了农业和煤矿。他们带着自由帽,手里拿着枪和锄。下面的条幅上写着:“山地人总是自由”。图案周围还有着山杜鹃环绕着,图案的上面写着本州州名。本州在1929年使用本州旗。

Prior to the official adoption of the present State Flag by the Legislature on March 7,1929,by Senate Joint Resolution No.18,West Virginia had been represented by several flags.Prominently displayed on the pure white field of today’s flag is a Coat of Arms,the lower half wreathed by Rhododendron,the State flower.Lettered across the top on a ribbon(缎带),is the constitutional designation—“State of West Virginia”.The white field is bordered on four sides by a strip of blue.

A white field is bordered in dark blue.West Virginia’s flag displays a rock containing the date June 20,1863,the day West Virginia became a state.The two men represent farming and mining.Below them are two rifles(来复线,膛线)with a “Liberty Cap”on top the rifles.A banner ribbon includes the state motto “Mountainiers Are Always Free”.Around the picture are a wreath of rhododendren and the name of the state on a red ribbon.

State Song州歌

West Virginia Hills

1.Oh,the West Virginia hills!How majestic

(宏伟的,庄严的)and how grand,

With their summits bathed in glory,

Like our Prince Immanuel’s Land!

Is it any wonder then,

That my heart with rapture(狂喜的)thrills(兴奋),

As I stand once more with loved ones On those West Virginia hills?

CHORUS

Oh,the hills,beautiful hills,

How I love those West Virginia hills!

If o’er sea o’er land I roam,Still I’ll think of happy home,

And my friends among the West Virginia hills.

2.Oh,the West Virginia hills!

Where my childhood hours were passed,

Where I often wandered lonely,And the future tried to cast;

Many are our visions bright,Which the future ne’er fulfills;

But how sunny were my daydreams On those West Virginia hills!

CHORUS

3.Oh,the West Virginia hills!

How unchang’d they seem to stand,

With their summits pointed skyward(向天空地)

To the Great Almighty’s Land!

Many changes I can see,Which my heart with sadness fills;

But no changes can be noticed In those West Virginia hills.

CHORUS

4.Oh,the West Virginia hills!