第8章 帝国之州
好几个国家合并起来之后，就称为一个“帝国”。纽约州通常被人们称为“帝国之州”，因为这个州人口众多，他们所从事的生意、赚到的钱财，都有好几个国家合起来那么多。
纽约州的南部一角，便是纽约市，它是世界上的第二大城市，其中的商店、旅馆、人口、财产，比西半球上其他任何一座城市都要多，而其中的高楼大厦，也超过了全世界其他任何一座城市。它是用大洋彼岸的一座叫作“约克”的城市来命名的，可如今的“新约克”，即纽约市，却要比旧的约克市大上了数百倍呢。这是一座既有许多百万富翁，也有数百万普通民众的城市。世界各地的人都纷纷来到纽约，希望自己也在这里变成一位百万富翁。有些人曾经以为，纽约市的街道上全都铺着黄金，因此待到发现该市的街道不过就是柏油路之后，他们都大失所望呢。
纽约市的主城位于一座小岛上，印第安人称这个小岛为“曼哈顿岛”。后来，白人从印第安人手中买下了这个小岛，当时，白人只花了大约二十四美元，就买下了整个岛屿。当然，白人支付的并不是现金，而是价值二十四美元的珠子和装饰品，因为印第安人那时还不知钱为何物。如今，一处巴掌大小、仅能供人站立的地块，价钱也会比当时整座小岛的价钱贵上许多、许多倍了呢。对于一小块土地来说，这似乎已经是一种高价了，可一块土地，却并不像一张没有厚度的纸张。地块
owns everything above and below the ground—down to the center of the earth and up to the sky. That is why men in New York build buildings up to the sky—“sky-scrapers”we call them—for a fifty-story building takes up no more land than a one-story building.
To me there is nothing in the World made by the hand of man more wonderful than New York's giant buildings. They are marvelous, magnificent, awe-inspiring, stupendous, amazing, overpowering, thrilling, Brobdingnagian.Have you read“Gulliver's Travels”?Brobdingnag was the land of the giants.They stand unmoved by thunder and lightning, by wind, storm, or tempest, and they look down on their creators—mites of men who, with their hands of only five fingers, have built them.New York's motto is“Excelsior，”which means“Higher”，and that is the motto of its builders.There is a saying，“Great oaks from little acorns grow，”and one of the greatest of these buildings—sixty stories high—was built from the nickels and dimes made by Woolworth's Five and Ten Cent Stores.The most marvelous building of all is called the Empire State Building.It is one hundred and two stories high, taller than any other building in New York City, or in America, or in the whole World.
One group of high buildings in New York might be called the capitol of the World. After
纽约的天际线
所有者拥有地上和地下的一切，下至地心、上至苍穹，一切都是地块所有者的。纽约市的人之所以会修建高耸入云的大楼（我们称这种大楼为“摩天大楼”），原因就在于，一栋五十层高的大楼所需的土地面积，并不比一栋一层楼的建筑多。
在我看来，人类在世界上手工建造出来的东西，没有什么比纽约的这些高楼大厦更加奇妙的了。它们神奇非凡、宏伟壮丽、令人惊叹、巨大无比、令人称奇、令人无法抗拒、令人激动，一座座都像巨人国里的巨人似的，耸立在那里。你们有没有看过《格列佛游记》这本书呢？这本书里提到的巨人国，就是一个巨人的国度。这些高楼大厦屹立在那里，不为雷鸣电闪和狂风暴雨所动，高高地俯瞰着下面的人们，正是那些小如虫蚁的人，用自己那双只有五个指头的手，建造了这些高楼大厦。纽约市的座右铭是“不断向上”，意思就是“追求更高”，而这也正是修建那些高楼大厦的人的座右铭。有一句谚语说得好：“参天橡树，也是从小小橡果长成的。”而那些最了不起的建筑中，有一座高达六十层，竟然都是用伍尔沃斯公司“五分和一角商店”里所用的那种分币和角币凑起来建成的呢。其中最令人称奇的一栋大楼，叫作帝国大厦。它有一百零二层楼高，曾经比纽约市、全美国乃至整个世界上的其他大楼都要高。
纽约有一组高楼群，堪称整个世界的国会大厦。第二次世界大战结束之后，世界上的绝大多数国家都希望找到某种途径，来避免爆发第三次世界大战。这些国家
World War II most of the countries of the World wanted to find some way of keeping a third World War from happening. These countries each sent men to meet together as our States send men to Congress.At their meetings they discuss matters that are of interest to all the countries of the World.When any country quarrels with another these people try to have them settle their quarrel without fighting.This congress is called the United Nations.The United Nations decided that New York City would be the best place to have its meetings and carry on its business.So there it built its offices.When the buildings were dedicated, or solemnly set apart for United Nations use, the speeches were broadcast in twenty-six different languages.
At a meeting of the United Nations each speaker speaks in his own language, yet he can be understood by all the other people there, for everyone wears earphones and hears a translation of the speech in the language he understands. Of course the people who do the translation must know two languages, for they have to listen in one language and speak into a microphone in another language.What they speak into the microphones is what is heard in the earphones.Millions of other people watch the United Nations meetings on television.
On a little island in New York Harbor is a huge bronze statue called the Goddess of Liberty holding aloft a torch-light. Her hand is over sixteen feet long.What a hand to shake！One finger is eight feet long.What a finger for a ring！Her nose is four and one-half feet long.What a nose for smelling！Her mouth is a yard wide.What a mouth for talking！
便各自派出代表来举行会议，就像我国各州派出代表参加国会那样。在会议上，他们将对关乎世界上所有国家的重大问题展开讨论。如果一个国家与另一个国家发生了冲突，那么这些代表就会想方设法，尽量让两国不要开战便解决分歧。这个“国会”，就叫“联合国”。联合国认为，纽约是一个最适合于举行联合国大会、行使联合国职能的地方，于是便把办公室建在这里。这组楼群专门拨给（或者说正式交付）联合国使用之后，代表们在联合国大会上的发言，便用二十六种不同的语言进行广播了。
在联合国大会上，每位发言者说的都是本国的语言，可与会的其他代表全都听得懂，因为每位代表都会戴上耳机，听到用他们听得懂的语言所翻译出来的发言。自然，那些从事翻译工作的人必须懂得两种语言才行，因为他们必须听一种语言，然后再对着麦克风说另一种语言。他们对着麦克风所说的内容，也就是代表们在耳机中听到的内容。还有其他数百万的人，都是通过电视收看联合国大会呢。
纽约港内的一个小岛上，有一尊巨大的青铜雕塑，叫作“自由女神像”，女神手里高举着一个火炬。她的手掌就有十六英尺长。这样的一只手，叫人怎么去握呀！其中一根手指就长达八英尺。要是戴上戒指的话，那个戒指得有多大呀！雕像的鼻子，有四英尺半长。用这么大的鼻子来闻气味，该有多神奇呀！雕像的嘴有一码宽。这张嘴巴说起话来，该有多响亮呀！你们可以从雕像内部爬到女神的脑袋
You can climb up on the inside into the Goddess's head and arm, and a dozen people can stand inside her torch. Ships pass by her, and their passengers crowding the deck greet her with a thrill of“My Country，'Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty，”and wave her farewell as they leave for afar, perhaps never to return.
On one side of Manhattan Island is the Hudson River and on the other side is the East River. A bridge was built across the East River by stretching ropes made of steel from one side of the river to the other and hanging the floor of the bridge from these steel ropes.This is called a suspension bridge.It is called the Brooklyn Bridge because at the other end of it on Long Island is another big city called Brooklyn.Brooklyn is now a part of New York City.Such bridges had been built over small streams before, but this was the first big, long bridge built in this way.It is suspended in the air so high above the water that even the greatest ships easily pass beneath it.
At first people were afraid to cross the Brooklyn Bridge, for, said they，“A bridge hung on ropes, even if made of steel, will fall.”It swayed and shook as trucks and cars rumbled over it, and it still does—but still hangs. Several other bridges have been built over the East River and the Hudson River to New York City.Also, tunnels have been dug under the Hudson.The tunnels are called“Tubes”because they are like big tubes under the river.
和胳膊那里去，而雕像所举的火炬里面，也可容纳十二个人呢。船只从雕像旁边经过，乘客们都挤到甲板上来对着她欢呼：“我的祖国，也属于你，美妙的自由国度。”如果是离开美国去往远方，或许永远都不再返回时，乘客们就会挥手向雕像告别。
雕像的鼻子有四英尺半长。用这么大的鼻子来闻气味，该有多神奇呀
在曼哈顿岛的一侧，流淌着哈德逊河，而岛的另一侧，则是东河。东河上修建了一条跨河大桥，这座大桥，是将钢索从河流的这一侧拉到对岸，再用这些钢索将桥面悬吊起来。这种桥梁，叫作悬索桥。这座大桥叫作“布鲁克林大桥”，因为大桥那一端的长岛上，还有一个叫作布鲁克林的大城市。如今，布鲁克林变成了纽约市的一个区。以前，人们在一些较小的河流上也修建过这种悬索桥，但布鲁克林大桥却是第一座用此种方法修建起来的大型长跨度悬索桥。它悬在空中，距水面很高，因此连最大的船只也能轻松地从桥下穿过去呢。
起初的时候，人们都很害怕，不敢跨过布鲁克林大桥，他们都说：“用绳索悬挂的桥梁，哪怕用的是钢索，也会垮掉的。”卡车和小汽车经过大桥上面时，大桥会摇晃、震动，如今依然这样，可大桥却依然悬挂在那里。东河以及通往纽约市区的哈德逊河上，后来又修建了好几座跨河大桥。而且，人们还在哈德逊河的下方修建了隧道。这些隧道被称为“管道”，因为它们就像是河流下面的一条条巨大管道似的。
Two of the most famous streets in the World run the length of Manhattan Island and still farther north. One is named Broadway and the other Fifth Avenue.Broadway was at first only a short street, but it seemed very broad, so they called it that.Broadway, however, is now so long that it might better be called“Longway.”One part of it is lighted so brightly at night by thousands of electric lights and flashing electric signs that it is often called“The Great White Way.”Fifth Avenue is a famous street of once fashionable homes, and many of the finest and most expensive shops are there, so that Fifth Avenue has come to mean Fashion Avenue.The streets of New York are so crowded that most of the people travel from their homes to their work by trains that run in tunnels underground.These underground tunnels are called Subways.
起初，人们都很害怕，不敢跨过布鲁克林大桥
In spite of the fact that land in New York City is worth more than any other land in the World, there are two big parks where city people may have a little country. Central Park is fifty blocks long and several blocks wide, and Bronx Park has a wonderful Zoo where there are strange and curious animals which hunters have brought alive from the jungles, mountains, deserts, and wildernesses of far-off lands.
A man from across the ocean once landed in New York and spent the day seeing the sights. Just before dinner he said he would like to drive
世界上最有名的两条街道，都穿过了整个曼哈顿岛，并且继续向北延伸。其中一条叫作“百老汇”，而另一条则叫“第五大道”。百脑汇大街起初只是一条很短的小街，但看上去宽阔得很，因此人们便给它起了个“百老汇”的名字。然而，如今的百老汇大街却已经变得很长，因此可能称它为“长街”更合适了。其中有一段路，晚上灯火通明，数千盏电灯、闪烁的电子广告牌相互竞辉，因此还经常被人们称为“大白路”呢。第五大道是一条曾经以时尚之家而著称的街道，那里有许多最优秀、最昂贵的商店，因此后来第五大道也开始指“时尚大道”了。纽约市内的街道都非常拥挤，因此绝大多数人 都是乘坐在地下隧道里运行的列车上下班。这种地下的隧道列车，就叫地铁。
尽管纽约市内的土地比世界上其他任何一个地方的土地都要值钱，但该市还是开辟了两个大型的公园，从而让城里人也可以感受到一点儿乡村风情。中央公园有五十个街区那么长，几个街区那么宽，而布朗克斯公园里还有一个奇妙的动物园，里面养着许多陌生而奇怪的动物，都是猎人们从遥远国度的丛林里、山脉上、沙漠中和荒野处捕捉来的。
out and see Niagara Falls, which he had heard were the most wonderful falls in the World. When he was told that it would take all night on a fast train to get to Niagara, he couldn't understand.
“But isn't Niagara in New York?”he asked.
“Yes，”was the reply，“but not in New York City. Niagara is all the way across the State of New York.”
On the west edge of New York State are two great lakes with Indian names—Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Lake Erie on the map looks lower than Lake Ontario, but it really is much higher.So the water from Lake Erie falls over a high and broad cliff to reach Lake Ontario.This waterfall is called Niagara, and though there are other falls in the World higher and other falls broader, Niagara is the most beautiful and most famous, and people go from all over the World to see it.The roar of the water as it thunders over the edge can be heard for miles, and when the sun is shining there is always a rainbow in the spray that rises from the bottom of the falls.Thousands of people view the falls each day, and of each thousand—
358 say“Isn’t it wonderful！”
247 say“Isn’t it grand！”
136 say“Isn’t it beautiful！”
93 say“Isn’t it lovely！”
45 say“Isn’t it pretty！”
有个外国人曾经横渡大西洋，来到纽约，观赏了一整天的风景。就在吃晚饭之前，他说自己想开车出去，去看一看尼亚加拉大瀑布，因为他听说那是世界上最神奇的瀑布。当有人告诉他说，坐快速列车也得花上整整一个晚上才能到达尼亚加拉之后，他简直无法理解。
“尼亚加拉不是在纽约吗？”他问道。
“是的，”有人回答说，“但它不在纽约市。要穿过整个纽约州，才能到达尼亚加拉大瀑布呢。”
纽约州的最西端，是两个具有印第安名称的大湖，即伊利湖和安大略湖。在地图上看去，伊利湖的位置比安大略湖要低，但它的实际地势，却要比安大略湖高得多。因此，伊利湖的湖水便从一个高耸而宽阔的悬崖一泻而下，注入了安大略河。在这个悬崖边形成的那道瀑布，就叫尼亚加拉大瀑布，尽管世界上还有比它更高、更宽阔的瀑布，可尼亚加拉大瀑布却是其中最美丽、最著名的，世界各地的人都纷纷前来一睹其风采。湖水跃过悬崖边缘而下时发出的轰鸣之声，数英里以外都听得到，如果艳阳高照，那么瀑布底部喷溅上升的水雾，往往还会形成一道彩虹。每天都有成千上万名游客来观赏这道瀑布，而每一千名游客中，就有
24 say“Ah！”
And the rest say“Oh！”
A part of Niagara is caught in a huge bucket as it falls, and the falling water turns giant wheels in the bottom of the bucket. The wheels make electricity, which is carried on wires to turn the wheels of mills, to run the trolley-cars, and to light the houses and streets in the city of Buffalo near-by, and other places farther away.
For some reason or other, every now and then some man tries to jump the falls in a barrel, and at least one man has done it and lived. But boats on Lake Erie that wanted to go to Lake Ontario couldn't jump the falls.So men dug a river around Niagara Falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and put water steps in it so that boats could go downhill to Lake Ontario or uphill to Lake Erie.This man-made river is called the Welland Canal.
瀑布的轰鸣之声，几英里以外都听得见
It may seem strange for a boat to step downhill, but it not only can step downhill, it can step up too. A water step down a hill is called a“lock，”and a lock is like a huge bathtub set in the canal.Perhaps you have floated toy boats in your bathtub.If you have, you know that as you fill the tub the boat rises
尼亚加拉大瀑布的一部分在下落的过程中，会注入一个巨大的戽斗里，从而驱动戽斗底部那些巨大的轮子。这些轮子能够发电，通过电线的输送，就可以给附近的布法罗市及更远的其他地方提供电力，让磨坊里的轮子转动，以及驱动电车，提供家用照明和街道照明用电了。
出于某种原因，时不时地会有人试图坐在水桶里从这道瀑布上跳下去，起码有一个人干过这样的事情，并且活了下来。不过，伊利湖里的船只要想驶到安大略湖去，却是没法直接从瀑布上跳下去的。于是，人们便绕着尼亚加拉大瀑布挖出了一条从伊利湖通往安大略湖的河流，并且一级一级地注水，从而让船只可以从上游航行到安大略湖里去，或者从下游上溯到伊利湖里去。这条人工开凿出来的河，叫作威兰运河。
一艘船只竟然可以走下山去，这一点看起来似乎很奇怪，不过，船只不但可以下山，还可以上山呢。下山时的梯级提水区，叫作“水闸”，一道水闸，就像是安放在运河里的一个巨型浴盆似的。没准，你们都在浴盆里漂过玩具船吧。要是玩过的话，那你们就会知道，往浴盆里加水时，随着水位升高，玩具船也会上浮，要是as the water rises, and as you let the water run out of the tub the boat lowers as the water lowers.
Now a canal lock works the same way with large boats as the bathtub with small boats. If a boat wants to go downhill it sails into the lock.The water in the lock is then let out and the boat lowers as the water lowers.When the boat is at the bottom, doors at the end of the lock are opened and the boat sails out on the lower canal.If a boat wants to go uphill it sails into the bottom of the lock through the open doors, the doors are then closed, and the water is turned on.As it fills the lock the boat rises with it, for water will lift anything that will float, no matter whether it be the smallest chip or the biggest ship.Water, just plain water, has more power to lift and lower the largest steamship than even giant machinery would have.It lifts the largest battle-ship as easily and softly as it would the lightest feather floating on the surface—as easily as you might lift a snowflake on your hand.
Boats that wanted to go to New York City—and almost all boats did want to go to New York—once had to go down through the Welland Canal and locks to Lake Ontario, then all the way out the St. Lawrence River, which runs from Lake Ontario to the Atlantic Ocean, then sail down the coast to New York.To avoid this long detour, this long way round, men dug a canal all the way across New York State from Buffalo on Lake Erie to the Hudson River, so that big boats can now cut across from Lake Erie to New York City.This is called the Barge Canal.It's one of the longest canals in the World.
将浴盆里的水放掉，那么，随着水位下降，玩具船也会下沉。
注意，一座运河船闸让大型船只上下航行的原理，与你们在浴盆里让小型玩具船只上下浮动的原理是一样的。假如一艘船想要下坡，它就会驶入水闸。接下来，水闸里的水就会被排掉，而随着水位下降，那艘船只也会下降。当船只到达水闸底部后，水闸一端的两扇门就会打开，船只便可以驶出去，进入较低的那段运河了。如果一艘船想上山，它就会通过那两扇打开的大门驶入水闸底部，然后关上那两扇门，并且开始向水闸里注水。随着河水注满水闸，船只便会上浮，因为河水能够托起任何可以漂浮起来的东西，无论是最小、最小的木片还是最大的船只。水，普普通通的水，在托举或者放下大型汽轮方面，本领甚至比巨型机械还要大呢。它能够轻而易举、平平稳稳地浮起一艘最大的战舰，使之就像是一片漂浮在水面上的最轻的羽毛一样，并且像你们用小手托起一片雪花那样毫不费力。
过去，那些想要前往纽约市的船只（几乎所有船只的确都想要前往纽约呢），都不得不先沿着威兰运河，以及运河里的水闸，一路下行到安大略湖，然后一路驶出圣劳伦斯河（该河从安大略湖一直通往大西洋），再向南航行，沿着海岸驶向纽约。为了避免如此麻烦的长途迂回，人们便开掘了一条贯穿整个纽约州的运河，从伊利湖畔的布法罗开始，一直通到了哈德逊河，这样一来，大型船只如今就可以抄近路，从伊利湖直接驶往纽约市了。这条运河，称为“驳船运河”。它也是世界是最长的运河之一呢。