第6章　建在沼泽里的城市

大家戴在脑袋上的帽子（cap），意思就是“头”。

一名上尉（captain），指的也是“头儿”，因为他是一个连队里的士兵的头儿。

而一座首府（capital），也有“头”的意思，因为它是一个国家或者一个州领头的城市。

我小的时候，就居住在美国的首都（capital），不过，那时我并没有在美国的国会大厦（Capitol）里住过。这听上去很好玩，但事实却正是如此，因为在英语里，这是两个同音词。capital指的是一座城市，Capitol指的则是一座大楼。我呢，自然没有在国会大厦这栋大楼里住过。连美国总统，也不住在那里呢。

美国刚刚建国的时候，人们想要找到一个适合的地方，来作为首都。他们考查过八个地方，最终选定了一处沼泽，认为那里最适合于建立首都，因为在当时，那里就在美国中部地区的附近。于是，人们在那里修建起了一座城市，并且根据乔治·华盛顿的名字，将那里命名为华盛顿市，因为乔治·华盛顿是合众国的第一任总统。甚至到了我小的时候，大家都还把华盛顿市里的一个地区称为“沼泽潭”或者“沼泽池”呢。我很想知道，目前住在那里的孩子们，是不是还会这样来称呼那个地区。如今，这里已经成为世界上最美丽的一座城市，里面有着许多秀美的公园和漂亮的建筑。乔治·华盛顿可没有在华盛顿市里居住过。他住在离该市大约十英

has.

There are twenty-eight cities named“Washington”in the United States. Washington, the capital, looks on the map as if it were in the State of Maryland, but it isn't.It isn't in any State.The capital of all the States had to have a place all its own；so this piece of land is called the District of Columbia, or D.C.for short.The District of Columbia is named after Columbus, the man who discovered America.So if you write a letter to any one in Washington, the capital, you must be very careful to put“D.C.”after Washington, for there are so many cities and towns named after Washington that your letter might not go to the right one.

When I was a boy I thought the Capitol was the most beautiful building in the World. Since then I have seen nearly all of the most beautiful buildings in the World, and I have changed my mind.I have even seen a building fit to be in Heaven.I used to make a copy of the Capitol as nearly as I could in my sand-pile.I would fill a shoe-box with wet sand, then turn it carefully upside down so as to empty it out without breaking, and I made the dome on top in the same way with a tea-cup.

I thought all capitols of other countries must have domes too. I didn't learn until later that not capitols but churches were the first buildings to have domes, and that many capitols have no domes.As a boy I used to climb to the top of the dome—for there was no elevator—to see the view of the city, and to look down on the inside at the floor far below where people walking seemed like ants crawling.

里以外、属于弗吉尼亚州一个叫作“弗农山”的地方。现在，华盛顿市处于美国的边上，距美国的中心地带有一千多英里远了呢。不是这座首都移动了，而是美国的中心地带转移了。

在美国，总共有二十八座城市，都叫“华盛顿”。首都华盛顿市在地图上看来，似乎位于马里兰州，可实际上并非如此。它没有位于任何一个州里。作为全国的首都，它必须有一块属于自己的地盘才是，于是，这处地盘便被称为“哥伦比亚特区”，或者简称“特区”。哥伦比亚特区，是用发现美洲的哥伦布这个人物的名字来命名的。因此，假如你们要给首都华盛顿的哪个人写信的话，那就必须非常仔细，得在“华盛顿市”后面加上“特区”才行，因为美国有那么多以华盛顿的名字来命名的市镇和城市，如果不加上“特区”二字的话，你们的信件可能就到不了正确的城市呢。

小的时候，我曾经以为国会大厦是世界上最漂亮的一座建筑。自那以后，由于已经见过了世界上差不多所有最漂亮的建筑，因此我不再那样认为了。我甚至还见过一座堪称天上才有的建筑呢。以前在玩堆沙的时候，几乎只要做得到，我都会用沙子堆出国会大厦的模样来。我会用一个鞋盒子装满湿沙，然后小心翼翼地将盒子倒过来，倒出里面的沙子，不让沙子散开，接着再用同样的方法，用一只茶杯在上On one side of the Capitol is a large room called the Senate, and on the other side is a still larger room called the House of Representatives.In both the Senate and the House of Representatives men sit at desks like boys in school.These men are the ones who make our laws, which are rules that everybody in the United States must obey.The men in the Senate are called Senators.The men in the House are called Representatives.When I say“men，”I mean women too, for some of the Senators and Representatives are women.

Each State chooses two Senators to go to the Capitol in Washington. No matter whether the State is big like Texas or whether it is little like Rhode Island, it sends only two Senators.And each State also sends to the Capitol in Washington other men or women called Representatives, but the number of Representatives each State sends depends on the number of people in the State；New York has the most people, so it sends the most Representatives.Several States have so few people that they send only one Representative.The Senate and the House of Representatives together are called“Congress，”and when Congress is holding a meeting a flag is flying over the Capitol.

Look in the front of this book or any other book and you will see printed there“Copyright.”Just across a park from the Capitol is a large building with a golden dome on top. This building is the Library of Congress.Every one in the United States

面做出一个穹顶来。

我曾经以为，其他国家的国会大厦，一定也都建有穹顶。直到后来我才知道，最先修建穹顶的可不是国会大厦，而是教堂，并且许多的国会大厦也没有修建穹顶。小的时候，我经常爬到那座穹顶上面（因为那时还没有电梯），去观看这座城市，去俯瞰国会大厦的内部，人们远远地在下面的地上走动，似乎就是一只只爬动着的蚂蚁呢。

国会大厦一侧，有一个巨大的房间，叫作参议院，而另一侧还有一个更大的房间，叫作众议院。在参议院和众议院里，人们都是像学校里的学生一样，坐在桌子旁边。这些人，就是为美国制定法律，即制定合众国里任何人都必须遵守的规定的人。参议院里的人，叫作参议员。众议院里的人，则叫众议员。我说的“人们”当中，也有女性，因为有些参议员和众议员就是女性议员。

每个州都会推选出两名参议员，入驻位于华盛顿市的国会大厦。不管一个州是像得克萨斯那样的大州，还是像罗德岛这样的小州，都只能派出两名参议员。每个州还会向位于华盛顿市的国会大厦派驻众议员，男女都有，可各州所派众议员的数量，却取决于各州的人口数量。纽约州的人口最多，因此该州派驻的众议员人数也最多。有好几个州，都由于人口太少，因此只能派出一名众议员呢。参议院与众议院合称为“国会”，每当国会举行会议的时候，国会大楼上方都会飘扬着一面美国国旗。

who prints a book sends two copies of it to this library, and the library sends him a“copy right，”which means that no one else has the“right”to copy it or print it without his permission. In the Library of Congress there are more books than in any other building in the country.

Look on your camera or phonograph, or any other machine in your home, and see if you can find the word“Patented.''Any one in the country who invents anything new and useful—whether it is a fountain-pen, an airplane, or a mouse-trap—sends one—a model, it is called—to another building in Washington called the Patent Office and asks for a patent. If the thing is really new and no one has ever made anything of the kind before, the Patent Office gives him the sole right to make and sell it, and no one else is allowed to make or sell it.That is called a patent.Some of the models are very curious.One model that some one had invented was a steam-engine that walked with iron legs.When-I-was-a-boy I invented a“snapback”handkerchief.I would blow my nose, then let go the handkerchief, and a rubber pulled it back into my pocket.But I didn't get a patent.

Parades！Soldiers！Bands of music！Flying flags！Some of the greatest parades have passed down a very wide street in Washington called Pennsylvania Avenue, or usually just“The Avenue.”It might be called“Parade Avenue.”It stretches from the Capitol to another building about a mile away that looks like a big bank. This other building is called the Treasury.There is a picture of it on the$10 bill.In the Treasury is kept money of the United States.We write United States with two letters, U.S.，and we write the sign for

看一看本书的前部，或者看一看其他任何一本书的前部，大家就会发现，这些书上都印有“版权”两个字。与国会大厦隔着一个公园相对而立的，是一栋楼顶建有一座金色穹顶的大楼。这座大楼，就是国会图书馆。美国国内每个出版图书的人，都会送上两册到这座图书馆来，而这座图书馆则会把一种所谓的“复制权”授予给那个人，这就意味着，未经此人许可，其他任何人都没有“权利”来复制或者出版该书了。国会图书馆里的藏书，比美国国内其他任何一栋建筑里面的藏书都要多。

看一看家里的照相机、留声机，或者家中其他的机器设备，看你们能不能找出“专利”这个词来。美国国内任何一个发明了新颖、有用之物的人，无论他发明的是一支自来水笔、一架飞机还是一台捕鼠器，都会送上一件所谓的“样品”，到华盛顿市另一座叫作“专利局”的建筑里去，并且要求获得专利。如果发明的东西的确新颖，并且以前从未有人发明过同类之物，“专利局”便会授予发明者独家生产并销售这种东西的权利。这种权利，就叫专利。其中有些样品非常古怪。有个人发明的一件样品，竟然是一台用两条铁腿走路的蒸汽发动机。小的时候，我也发明过一种“迅速复原”的手帕呢。擤完鼻涕之后，我放开手帕，一根橡皮筋便会把手帕拽回我的口袋里去。不过，我并没有获得这种手帕的专利。

游行队伍！士兵！乐队！飞扬的旗帜！华盛顿市里一条叫作“宾夕法尼亚大道”的宽阔街道上，曾经举办过一些最为盛大的游行活动，这条大街，人们通常都简称为“大道”。其实，它也可以称为“游行大道”。它从国会大厦开始，延伸到

“dollars”with the same two letters, written one on top of the other, with the bottom of the“U”cut off—thus，$.

Paper money and postage-stamps are printed in another building.

“You see that man over there turning the handle of that printing-press?”says the guide who shows you around.“He makes a million dollars a day！”

“Whew！He must be the richest man in the World.”

“Oh, no. He only gets$5 a day.”

The money made out of silver, and gold, and copper is made in another city—not in Washington—at a place called the Mint.

When I was a boy I had an old bookcase which I called my museum. In it I had a starfish, some shells, a bird's nest, a“gold”rock, and so forth.In Washington there is a large museum called the National Museum in which there is a huge collection of all sorts of curious and remarkable things from all over the World.

There are many white houses in the country, but next door to the Treasury is a White House that is different from any other, for in this house the President lives. There is a picture of it on the$20 bill.From the back porch of The White House the latest President of the United States can look across his back yard and see a monument to the First President—-Washington.The Washington Monument is the highest piece of stone work in the World.It's like a giant finger, five hundred and fifty-five feet high.It seemed a mile high, but it is really only about a tenth of a mile high—not even as high as a low mountain.

了大约一英里之外的另一栋建筑，那座大厦的样子，就像是一家大型的银行。这栋建筑，叫作财政部大楼。在面值十美元的纸币上，就印有这座大楼的照片。财政部大楼里，保存着美国的货币。我们将美国缩写成U.S.，并且也用这两个字母来书写“美元”的符号：将它们叠起来，然后切掉U字的底部，就变成了$。

美国的纸币和邮票，却是在另一栋大楼里印制的。

“大家看到那边那个转动印刷机手柄的人了吗？”带领你们参观的导游说。“他每天都会印出一百万美元来呢！”

“嗬！那他一定是世界上最富有的人了。”

“噢，可不是那么回事。他每天的工资只有五美元。”

银币、金币和铜币，则是在华盛顿以外的另一座城市里，在一个叫作铸币厂的地方制造出来的。

小的时候，我曾经有过一只旧书柜，并称它是我的博物馆。书柜里，我存放了一只海星、一些贝壳、一个鸟巢、一块“金”石头，以及诸如此类的东西。而在华盛顿，也有一座大型的博物馆，叫作“国家博物馆”，里面收藏着从世界各地搜集来的、各种各样古怪而非凡的东西。

美国国内，有许多白色的房子，但紧挨着财政部大楼的，却是一座与众不同的

No man has ever been able to build as high as God. Though there is an elevator, I used to run up the stairs, two steps at a time, to the top of the monument—just for fun—to see how quickly I could do it, and whether I could beat the elevator.Boys are like that.They will run a race with anything.I could beat the elevator down by jumping half a dozen steps at a time, but not up.My heart did the beating going up.

There is a long pool of water at the foot of the Washington Monument in which you can see the monument as in a mirror. At the other end of this pool is a marble building with columns all around the four sides.It was built in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President after Washington.It is probably the most thrilling memorial ever built to a

“白房子”，因为住在里面的，是美国总统。在面值二十美元的纸币上，就印有这座房子的照片。从白宫的后阳台上，在任的美国总统既可以眺望自家后院的景色，还能看到美国第一任总统华盛顿的纪念碑。华盛顿纪念碑，是世界上最高的一座石制艺术品。它就像是一根巨大的手指，有五百五十五英尺高呢。虽说看上去似乎高达一英里，可实际上它却只有差不多十分之一英里高，甚至还没有一座小山那么高。有史以来，还没有人能够建造出像上帝所造之物那样高的建筑。尽管纪念碑里有电梯，但我以前经常沿着楼梯跑上去，一次跨过两级台阶，爬到纪念碑的顶上去，这样做只是为了好玩，只是为了看一看我能跑多快，能不能打败那部电梯。男孩子就是那样的。他们会为了任何东西来比赛。下来的时候，我一次可以跳下六级台阶，因此可以超过电梯，但上去的时候就不行了。往上跑时，我的心跳会不断加快，弄得上气不接下气。

华盛顿纪念碑的脚下，有一个长长的水池，它就像一面镜子，人们可以在池中

human being. There is a picture of Lincoln on the$5 bill and on the other side a picture of his Memorial.Lincoln was born in a tiny house made of logs, so small that the whole house could be put in one room of your home.No boy was ever poorer, or had less money or less chance, and yet he became President of the United States.While he was President two parts of the United States fought a terrible war with each other and almost became un-United, but Lincoln kept the States together.That's why this beautiful building was built in his honor.The only thing in the building is a statue of Lincoln sitting in a chair.He looks down on the crowds of people who visit him, as if his spirit were inside that figure of stone.

看到纪念碑的倒影。这个水池的另一端，是一座大理石建筑，其四面都有圆柱环绕。这座建筑，是为了纪念华盛顿之后、曾任美国第十六届总统的亚伯拉罕·林肯而修建的。它很可能是有史以来为纪念一个人类而修建起来的、最令人激动的一座纪念馆了。在面值五美元的纸币上，一面印有林肯的头像，而另一面就是他这座纪念堂的照片。林肯出生于一座小木屋里，那座小木屋实在是太小了，你们家里的一个房间就可以容纳下来呢。再也没有其他的孩子比他更穷，或者比他更没有钱、机会更渺茫的了，可尽管如此，后来他还是成了美国的总统。他担任总统的时候，美国的南北两个地区之间爆发了一场可怕的战争，使得整个国家差一点儿就四分五裂，可林肯却维护了美国的统一。人们之所以修建这座美丽的建筑来纪念他，原因就在于此。纪念堂里唯一的物品，就是一尊坐在椅子里的林肯雕像。他俯瞰着前来瞻仰自己的那一群群民众，仿佛他的精神永远活在那尊雕像里。