Words and their stories: state nicknames, part 3

中国日报网 2012-12-04 15:37

分享到

 

Get Flash Player

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

(MUSIC)

Today, we tell about more interesting nicknames of American states.

The mid-Atlantic state of Maryland is called the Free State. A Baltimore newspaper first called it that during the nineteen twenties when the manufacture and sale of alcohol were banned for a time. Maryland said it wanted to be free from this prohibition.

Mississippi is The Magnolia State. It is named for a tree with big, beautiful white flowers that grows in that hot, southern state.

The midwestern state of Missouri is called The Show Me State. The people of that frontier state were once famous for not believing everything people told them.

If you visit the western mountain and plains state of Montana you will know why it is known as Big Sky Country.

Nebraska is the only state to have a nickname that honors sports teams! The state university’s athletic teams are nicknamed Cornhuskers in recognition of one of the area’s chief crops. The state borrowed the Cornhusker nickname from the university.

The western desert state of Nevada is called The Silver State. It was once home to many silver mines and towns that grew up around them. Today, most of them are empty "ghost towns."

New Hampshire, in the northeast area called New England, is The Granite State because of that colorful rock.

New Jersey is between the big cities of New York, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It got its nickname, The Garden State, because New Jersey truck farms once provided vegetables to those big cities.

New York, which always thinks big, was called The Empire State because of its natural wealth. The most famous Manhattan skyscraper got its name from the state. It is, of course, the Empire State Building.

If you get a chance to see a red sunset over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of New Mexico, you will know why that southwestern state is called The Land of Enchantment.

North and South Carolina were one colony until seventeen twenty-nine. South Carolina’s nickname is the easier of the two: It is The Palmetto State because of a fan-leafed palm tree that grows there. North Carolina is the Tar Heel State. That is because many of the men who worked to gather substances from trees wore no shoes. They would make turpentine from tar and get the black, sticky tar on the heels of their feet.

Next week, we will finish telling about the colorful nicknames of American states.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program was written by Ted Landphair. I’m Barbara Klein. You can find more WORDS AND THEIR STORIES at www.voanews.com.

相关阅读

Palestinians cheer UN General Assembly vote

‘Patriotic Millionaires’ say their taxes are too low

Seeking HIV tests for all in US age 15-65

America's break with Britain divides families and friends

(来源:VOA 编辑:Julie)

 

分享到

中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883561联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。

中国日报网双语新闻

扫描左侧二维码

添加Chinadaily_Mobile
你想看的我们这儿都有!

中国日报双语手机报

点击左侧图标查看订阅方式

中国首份双语手机报
学英语看资讯一个都不能少!

关注和订阅

本文相关阅读
人气排行
热搜词
 
 
精华栏目
 

阅读

词汇

视听

翻译

口语

合作

 

关于我们 | 联系方式 | 招聘信息

Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved. None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. 版权声明:本网站所刊登的中国日报网英语点津内容,版权属中国日报网所有,未经协议授权,禁止下载使用。 欢迎愿意与本网站合作的单位或个人与我们联系。

电话:8610-84883645

传真:8610-84883500

Email: languagetips@chinadaily.com.cn