第5章　“十三州”俱樂部

有人可能會花上數百萬美元，來用自己的名字為一座醫院、圖書館或者博物館命名，但也有一個人，既沒有花任何錢、沒有做任何事，也沒有要求什么，就讓自己的名字變成了世界上兩個最大地區的名稱，即南、北美洲這兩塊大陸的名稱；而且，人們還會繼續下去，永遠用他的名字來稱呼這兩塊大陸呢。他就是一個并不重要、幾乎名不見經傳的人物，叫作亞美利哥。

你們知不知道有這樣一首歌曲，開頭是“我的祖國，也屬于你”呢？你們知道“我的祖國”指的是什么嗎？它就是北美洲的一部分，且屬于北美洲的一小部分。

大家口袋里有沒有一枚水牛鎳幣，即一枚五分錢的硬幣？要是沒有的話，或許你們可以去借一枚來看一看。硬幣的正面，是一幅頭插羽毛的印第安人像。你們想一想，為什么美國的鎳幣上會用印第安人的頭像，而不是用白人的頭像呢？硬幣的背面，是一頭水牛的圖案。你們想一想，為什么美國的硬幣上會用一頭水牛的圖案，而不是用一匹馬兒或者一頭母牛的圖案呢？

If you will look at the printing on the nickel you will see it says“United States of America.”That's the full name of our country, but it is too long for us to say United States of America every time, so we usually say just United States or just America or use just the initials U. S.A.

Have you ever seen a picture of a tall man with a suit of clothes that looked as if it had been made out of a flag, with red and white striped breeches, a long-tailed coat, and a tall hat with stars on it?There never was such a man really, but he is supposed to be the picture of the United States. As the initials of the United States are U.S.，some one said they stand for Uncle Sam, so the old fellow dressed in a flag we call Uncle Sam.

The map of the U. S.looks as if it were made like a patch-work quilt of patches of different sizes and shapes.These patches are the States that are United—that means, joined to one another.As a matter of fact, of course, there are no lines between the States.The lines on the map are marked on the ground by stone posts set so far apart that you may cross from one State to another without even knowing when you are in a different State.Each State has towns and cities and country.I live in a city and the city is in the State of Maryland.You may live in a city or a town or in the country in another State.But every one in the U.S.must live in some State unless—I'll

好吧，在美國還沒有出現任何白人、沒有出現任何馬匹或者母牛的很久以前，這個國家里就生活著大量的印第安人，生活著大量的水牛了。如今，美國的印第安人數量很少，而水牛數量也不多了，因此硬幣上的這兩幅圖案，就是為了提醒我們，印第安人是美國最初的原住民，而水牛則是美國最早的動物。

假如看一看硬幣上的文字，大家就會看到，上面寫著“美利堅合眾國”幾個字。這是我們美國的全稱，不過，由于這個全稱太長，人們不可能每次都說“美利堅合眾國”，因此我們通常都將其簡稱為“合眾國”、“美國”，或者只用首字母U.S.A.來表示。

你們有沒有見過這樣一幅圖畫，上面是一個身材高高的男子，身穿一套似乎是用一面旗子制成的衣服，下身是紅白條紋相間的馬褲，上衣則是長長的燕尾服，頭上還戴著一頂高高的、上面綴著星形的帽子呢？雖說現實當中根本就沒有這樣的一個人，可人們卻認為，他就是美國的象征哩。由于“合眾國”的首字母是U.S.，有人說它是“山姆大叔”（Uncle Sam）的縮寫，因此，我們就把這個身披旗幟的老伙計稱為“山姆大叔”，來指代美國人了。

美國的地圖，樣子就像是一條用布頭拼成的被子，上面布滿了大小和形狀不同的各種補丁。這些“補丁”，就是“合眾”起來，也即彼此聯合起來的各個州。當然，各州之間事實上并沒有真正的線條相隔。地圖上的這些線條，在地面上是用石

tell you later the few places he may live without being in any State.

Some of the States have straight sides and some have one, two or more crooked sides. Some are big and some are little.The biggest State is Texas, at the bottom, near the center—only we don't say bottom, we say south.The smallest State is Rhode Island, which is not an island at all.It is near the upper right-hand corner—

樁標示的，但它們之間相距甚遠，因此當你們越過一個州，進入另一個州時，甚至都不知道自己何時已經身處一個不同的州里了。每個州都有市鎮、城市和鄉村。我住在一座城市里，而這座城市則位于馬里蘭州。你們可能住在另一個州的一座城市、一個市鎮或者鄉下。不過，美國境內的每個人，都必定居住在某個州，除非他可以住在幾個不屬于各州的地方，到了后面，我再跟你們來說一說那幾個不屬于各州的地方吧。

有一些州的邊界都是筆直的，還有一些州則有兩條或者更多條彎彎曲曲的邊界。有些州的面積很大，有些州則很小。美國面積最大的州是得克薩斯州，它位于地圖底下靠近地圖中心的那個地方，只是，我們不說“底下”，而說“南部”。美國面積最小的州則是羅得島州，但它其實根本就不是一個島嶼。該州位于地圖的右

only we don't say upper right-hand corner, we say northeast. Texas would make more than 200 Rhode Islands.That is, you could put more than 200 Rhode Islands in Texas.

Not so long ago there was no United States. There were only thirteen little States along the shore of the Atlantic Ocean.These States were so small they thought they ought to form a club.There is an old story about a man who wanted to break a bundle of sticks.He tried and he tried but he couldn't break the bundle.Then some one told him to take the bundle apart and break each stick separately；so he did, and broke them easily.The States thought that they, in the same way, might be broken easily if separate, so they tied themselves together like a bundle of sticks in order that they might not be“broken”by an enemy.And so the 13 States formed a 13 club and called themselves the United States.They took as their motto“In Union is Strength，”which means“In one bundle we are strong.”

Now thirteen is generally considered an unlucky number, but these 13 States were not afraid of bad luck. In fact, as the new country had to have a flag, they made a flag with 13 stripes—seven red stripes and six white—and they put a white star for each State in a blue corner of the flag.Other parts of North America thought they'd like to join the club too, and more and more pieces kept on joining until there were forty-eight States, and these States that were united stretched from the Atlantic Ocean on one side to the Pacific Ocean on the other—that is, from where the sun rises from the ocean on one side to where it sets over the ocean on the other.Each time a piece joined the U.S.another star was put in the

上角，只是我們不說“右上角”，而是說“東北部”。得克薩斯州的面積，相當于兩百多個羅得島州的面積呢。也就是說，你們可以把兩百多個羅得島州，裝入得克薩斯州里面。

就在不久之前，世界上還沒有什么“合眾國”。當時，只是大西洋沿岸有十三個小小的州。這幾個州的面積都太小，因此它們都覺得，應該組成一個俱樂部才行。有個古老的故事，說的是一個人想要折斷一把棍子。他試了又試，可怎么也沒法折斷那把棍子。后來，有人告訴他說，可以把那捆棍子分開，再一根一根地折斷。他聽從了這一建議，便輕而易舉地把所有棍子都折斷了。這十三個州覺得，要是各自為政的話，它們同樣會被敵人輕而易舉地各個擊破，因此，它們便彼此團結起來，就像一捆棍子那樣，從而不至于被任何敵人“折斷”了。于是，這十三個州便組成了一個“十三州”俱樂部，并自稱為“合眾國”。它們把“團結就是力量”當成座右銘，這句話的意思就是：“抱成一團，我們就很強大。”

如今，人們常常認為十三是個不吉利的數字，可在當時，這十三個州卻并不擔心它們會遭到噩運。事實上，由于新成立的這個合眾國必須擁有一面國旗，因此它們便制作了一面鑲有十三道條紋的旗子，其中有七道紅色條紋、六道白色條紋，并且在旗幟上那個藍色的角上，用白色的星形代表各個州。后來，北美洲的其他地區覺得，它們最好也加入這個俱樂部，因此，越來越多的地區不斷加入進來，直到總數達到了四十八個州。而聯合起來的這些州，從北美洲一側的大西洋沿岸延伸到了另一側的太平洋沿岸，也就是說，從太陽升起那一側的海洋，一直延伸到了太陽落

corner of the flag, but the number of stripes was not changed, for there would have been too many；so now there are forty-eight stars—that means forty-eight States united into one country. That's why there are on our coins the words“e pluribus unum”，which means“one from many.”

Not all of America joined the club, however. The country north of the U.S.called Canada and the country south of the U.S.called Mexico did not join.And yet the people in Canada are Americans, and the people in Mexico are Americans too, but both Canada and Mexico have different rulers from what we have, for they are different countries.

Though there are very few Indians left in the U. S.，we still use some of their names in naming our States.See if you can pick out some of the States on the map that have Indian names.Maryland and Virginia, of course, are not—for they are girls'names.States beginning with“New”—like New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire—of course are not Indian.They are named after old places in another country.But Minnesota, which means“sky blue water”；Ohio, which means“beautiful river”or“great”；and many others are Indian.

下的另一側海洋。每當一個地方加入合眾國，國旗角上便會增加一顆星星，但國旗上的條紋數卻沒有變化，因為要是每加入一個州就添加一道條紋的話，那么條紋數就會太多了。因此，如今美國的國旗上就有四十八顆星星，意味著四十八個州聯合起來，組成了一個國家。我國的硬幣上印著一行拉丁文“e pluribus unum”，意思就是“合眾為一”，原因就在這里呢。

然而，并不是北美洲的所有地區全都加入了這個俱樂部。美國北邊的那個國家，叫作加拿大，而美國南邊的那個國家，則叫墨西哥，它們都沒有加入。雖說加拿大人和墨西哥人也都屬于美洲人，但這兩個國家的統治者都與美國不同，所以它們都是與美國不一樣的國家。

盡管如今美國境內剩下的印第安人已經很少了，但我們還是用了印第安語里的一些名稱，來給一些州命名。看一看，你們能不能在地圖上找出一些擁有印第安名稱的州來吧。馬里蘭州和弗吉尼亞州當然不是，因為它們都是女孩子的名字。凡是以“新”或音譯“紐”開頭的州，比如紐約州、新澤西州、新罕布什爾州等，用的自然也不是印第安名稱。它們都是用另一個國家的老地名來命名的。不過，意思是“天空般湛藍之水”的明尼蘇達州、意指“漂亮河流”或者“巨大”的俄亥俄州，以及其他許多的州名，用的可都是印第安名稱呢。