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21章 怀俄明州(1)

怀俄明州小档案:

人口:约50万

面积:约253,596平方公里,排名第9位

州府:夏延Cheyenne

怀俄明州名称的来源是印第安语,其意义是“大草原之地”Large Prairie Place或“高山与深谷相间之地”Alternating State of Wyoming Mountains and Valleys。

1834年开始殖民。1890年7月10日成为美国第44州。以彩杯花Wyoming Indian Paintbrush为州花。本州别名叫做“平等之州”Equality State。本州箴言:“权利平等”Equal Rights。

州府是夏延Cheyenne,位于本州东南角,是本州第一大都市。本州州立大学怀俄明大学,创于1886年,地点在州府以西之拉阿密Laramie。

本州特征有三:第一,本州是密苏里、科罗拉多及哥伦比亚三大水系的发源地。第二,全世界著名的老忠实间歇泉就在本州之内。第三,除阿拉斯加州外,是人口密度最小之州。

本州在落矶山地内,是一个正方形,很整齐。北界蒙大拿州,东邻南达科他与内布拉斯加二州,南连科罗拉多与犹他二州,西与犹他、爱达荷及蒙大拿三州接壤。约占本州三分之二的西部,全是落矶山地;其余是高平原,已被切割,位于本州东部。主要矿产是石油、天然气、煤及铀。畜牧业次于矿业。旅游业很盛,因为本州西北部有两个著名的国家公园:一在本州西北角,叫做黄石公园Yellowstone National Park;另一个在黄石公园之南,叫做大台顿公园Grand Teton NationalPark。相距很近。

Introduction简介

The area that would become Wyoming was inhabited by several Native American groups before the arrival of Europeans.The Shoshone[(pl.Shoshone,Shoshones)肖松尼族人(美国西部的一种印第安人)],Arapaho[(pl.Arapahos)阿拉帕霍人(原住北美北普拉特和阿肯色河,现住怀俄明和俄克拉荷马的一支印第安人部落)],Cheyenne[夏安族(人)]and Crow lived in the eastern portion of the area.They hunted bison,following the tremendous herds through their seasonal migrations,and lived in tepees(美国印第安人的圆锥形帐篷).The Ute people inhabited Wyoming’s western mountains,depending less on bison and more on the gathering of wild foods,the hunting of smaller game(antelope(羚羊),rabbit,deer,elk)and fishing.

The U.S.acquired the land comprising Wyoming from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.John Colter,a fur-trapper,is the first white man known to have entered present Wyoming.In 1807he explored the Yellowstone area and brought back news of its geysers(间歇泉)and hot springs.

Robert Stuart pioneered the Oregon Trail across Wyoming in 1812-1813and,in 1834,Fort Laramie,the first permanent trading post in Wyoming,was built.Western Wyoming was obtained by the U.S.in the 1846Oregon Treaty with Great Britain and as a result of the treaty ending the Mexican War in 1848.

When the Wyoming Territory was organized in 1869,Wyoming women became the first in the nation to obtain the right to vote.In 1925Mrs.Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected first woman governor in the United States

Historians believe the first Europeans to see Wyoming were Francois and Louis Verendrye,who arrived in 1743,but it wasn’t until 1807that John Colter,who had been a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition,first explored the area that would become Yellowstone National Park(黄石国家公园).Fur trappers and traders followed,and by the 1840s,large numbers of westward-bound pioneers were trekking(运)across Wyoming on their way to Utah,Oregon and California.This influx(流入)led to conflict with the Native Americans.

In the late 1860s,the Union Pacific Railroad began stitching(缝合)Wyoming to the rest of the country,and the population increased dramatically(引人注目地).By the 1870s,the Native Americans had been confined to reservations,which opened lands for the new settlers.Cattle ranchers(〈美〉牧场(或农场)主)began arriving in Wyoming(many of them having driven herds north from Texas),and they were later joined by sheep herders.Bitter and violent range wars ensued between the two groups,though cattle became the more vital business in the long run.

Talk of statehood for Wyoming began as early as 1869after the organization of Wyoming Territory in that year.The road to statehood,however,did not begin until 1888when the Territorial Assembly sent Congress a petition(请愿书)for admission into the Union.Bills were introduced in both houses of Congress,but did not pass.

Though no legislation passed Congress enabling Wyoming to follow the steps that lead to statehood,Governor Francis E.Warren and others decided to continue as if an “enabling act”had passed.On July 8,1889,Wyoming Territory held an election of delegates to Wyoming’s one and only Constitutional Convention.Forty-nine men gathered in Cheyenne during September,1889,and wrote the constitution.The voters approved the document November 5,1889,by a vote of 6,272to 1,923.

Carved from sections of Dakota,Utah,and Idaho territories,Wyoming Territory came into existence by act of Congress on July 25,1868.The territorial government was formally inaugurated May 19,1869.The first territorial governor,John A.Campbell,appointed by President Ulysses S.Grant,took his oath(誓言)of office on April 15,1869.

At the time of its organization,Wyoming had already been divided into four counties:Laramie,established January 9,1867;Carter(later Sweetwater),established December 27,1867;Carbon and Albany,December 16,1868.These counties extended from the northern to the southern boundaries of the territory.Upon the organization of Wyoming Territory,a portion of Utah and Idaho,extending from Montana(including Yellowstone Park)to the Wyoming-Utah boundary,was annexed(并吞)and named Uinta County.As the territory and later the state became settled,the following counties were carved from the original five until there are now twenty-three counties in Wyoming.

The Ninth Territorial Legislative Assembly authorized the construction of the building in 1886,and on May 18,1887,the cornerstone(基础)was laid.

Flagstone(石板)for the building’s foundation was quarried near Fort Collins,Colorado,45miles south of Cheyenne,while sandstone from quarries near Rawlins,Wyoming,was used in the construction of the upper floors.Additional wings on each side of the original structure were completed in 1890and the final two wings were finished in 1917.The interior is finished in cherry(樱桃),oak([植]橡树)and butternut(白脱奶特白胡桃的一种)woods.The original cost and the two later additions totaled 389,569.13.The murals(壁画)in the Senate and House chambers were painted by Allen T.True.They depict(描述)industry,pioneer life,law and transportation.The ceiling of each chamber is stained glass[彩色的玻璃(常于镶嵌在教堂的窗户)]with the State Seal in the center.

Governor州长

Dave Freudenthal在2003年1月6日当选为怀俄明州州长。他1950年出生在怀俄明州的Thermopolis,他在家中排行第7。1973年他获得阿姆赫斯特学院的经济学学士学位,1980年获得怀俄明大学的法律学士学位。他的妻子是私人律师,他们有4个孩子。