第5章　“十三州”俱乐部

有人可能会花上数百万美元，来用自己的名字为一座医院、图书馆或者博物馆命名，但也有一个人，既没有花任何钱、没有做任何事，也没有要求什么，就让自己的名字变成了世界上两个最大地区的名称，即南、北美洲这两块大陆的名称；而且，人们还会继续下去，永远用他的名字来称呼这两块大陆呢。他就是一个并不重要、几乎名不见经传的人物，叫作亚美利哥。

你们知不知道有这样一首歌曲，开头是“我的祖国，也属于你”呢？你们知道“我的祖国”指的是什么吗？它就是北美洲的一部分，且属于北美洲的一小部分。

大家口袋里有没有一枚水牛镍币，即一枚五分钱的硬币？要是没有的话，或许你们可以去借一枚来看一看。硬币的正面，是一幅头插羽毛的印第安人像。你们想一想，为什么美国的镍币上会用印第安人的头像，而不是用白人的头像呢？硬币的背面，是一头水牛的图案。你们想一想，为什么美国的硬币上会用一头水牛的图案，而不是用一匹马儿或者一头母牛的图案呢？

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，在美国还没有出现任何白人、没有出现任何马匹或者母牛的很久以前，这个国家里就生活着大量的印第安人，生活着大量的水牛了。如今，美国的印第安人数量很少，而水牛数量也不多了，因此硬币上的这两幅图案，就是为了提醒我们，印第安人是美国最初的原住民，而水牛则是美国最早的动物。

假如看一看硬币上的文字，大家就会看到，上面写着“美利坚合众国”几个字。这是我们美国的全称，不过，由于这个全称太长，人们不可能每次都说“美利坚合众国”，因此我们通常都将其简称为“合众国”、“美国”，或者只用首字母U.S.A.来表示。

你们有没有见过这样一幅图画，上面是一个身材高高的男子，身穿一套似乎是用一面旗子制成的衣服，下身是红白条纹相间的马裤，上衣则是长长的燕尾服，头上还戴着一顶高高的、上面缀着星形的帽子呢？虽说现实当中根本就没有这样的一个人，可人们却认为，他就是美国的象征哩。由于“合众国”的首字母是U.S.，有人说它是“山姆大叔”（Uncle Sam）的缩写，因此，我们就把这个身披旗帜的老伙计称为“山姆大叔”，来指代美国人了。

美国的地图，样子就像是一条用布头拼成的被子，上面布满了大小和形状不同的各种补丁。这些“补丁”，就是“合众”起来，也即彼此联合起来的各个州。当然，各州之间事实上并没有真正的线条相隔。地图上的这些线条，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—

桩标示的，但它们之间相距甚远，因此当你们越过一个州，进入另一个州时，甚至都不知道自己何时已经身处一个不同的州里了。每个州都有市镇、城市和乡村。我住在一座城市里，而这座城市则位于马里兰州。你们可能住在另一个州的一座城市、一个市镇或者乡下。不过，美国境内的每个人，都必定居住在某个州，除非他可以住在几个不属于各州的地方，到了后面，我再跟你们来说一说那几个不属于各州的地方吧。

有一些州的边界都是笔直的，还有一些州则有两条或者更多条弯弯曲曲的边界。有些州的面积很大，有些州则很小。美国面积最大的州是得克萨斯州，它位于地图底下靠近地图中心的那个地方，只是，我们不说“底下”，而说“南部”。美国面积最小的州则是罗得岛州，但它其实根本就不是一个岛屿。该州位于地图的右

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，只是我们不说“右上角”，而是说“东北部”。得克萨斯州的面积，相当于两百多个罗得岛州的面积呢。也就是说，你们可以把两百多个罗得岛州，装入得克萨斯州里面。

就在不久之前，世界上还没有什么“合众国”。当时，只是大西洋沿岸有十三个小小的州。这几个州的面积都太小，因此它们都觉得，应该组成一个俱乐部才行。有个古老的故事，说的是一个人想要折断一把棍子。他试了又试，可怎么也没法折断那把棍子。后来，有人告诉他说，可以把那捆棍子分开，再一根一根地折断。他听从了这一建议，便轻而易举地把所有棍子都折断了。这十三个州觉得，要是各自为政的话，它们同样会被敌人轻而易举地各个击破，因此，它们便彼此团结起来，就像一捆棍子那样，从而不至于被任何敌人“折断”了。于是，这十三个州便组成了一个“十三州”俱乐部，并自称为“合众国”。它们把“团结就是力量”当成座右铭，这句话的意思就是：“抱成一团，我们就很强大。”

如今，人们常常认为十三是个不吉利的数字，可在当时，这十三个州却并不担心它们会遭到噩运。事实上，由于新成立的这个合众国必须拥有一面国旗，因此它们便制作了一面镶有十三道条纹的旗子，其中有七道红色条纹、六道白色条纹，并且在旗帜上那个蓝色的角上，用白色的星形代表各个州。后来，北美洲的其他地区觉得，它们最好也加入这个俱乐部，因此，越来越多的地区不断加入进来，直到总数达到了四十八个州。而联合起来的这些州，从北美洲一侧的大西洋沿岸延伸到了另一侧的太平洋沿岸，也就是说，从太阳升起那一侧的海洋，一直延伸到了太阳落

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.

下的另一侧海洋。每当一个地方加入合众国，国旗角上便会增加一颗星星，但国旗上的条纹数却没有变化，因为要是每加入一个州就添加一道条纹的话，那么条纹数就会太多了。因此，如今美国的国旗上就有四十八颗星星，意味着四十八个州联合起来，组成了一个国家。我国的硬币上印着一行拉丁文“e pluribus unum”，意思就是“合众为一”，原因就在这里呢。

然而，并不是北美洲的所有地区全都加入了这个俱乐部。美国北边的那个国家，叫作加拿大，而美国南边的那个国家，则叫墨西哥，它们都没有加入。虽说加拿大人和墨西哥人也都属于美洲人，但这两个国家的统治者都与美国不同，所以它们都是与美国不一样的国家。

尽管如今美国境内剩下的印第安人已经很少了，但我们还是用了印第安语里的一些名称，来给一些州命名。看一看，你们能不能在地图上找出一些拥有印第安名称的州来吧。马里兰州和弗吉尼亚州当然不是，因为它们都是女孩子的名字。凡是以“新”或音译“纽”开头的州，比如纽约州、新泽西州、新罕布什尔州等，用的自然也不是印第安名称。它们都是用另一个国家的老地名来命名的。不过，意思是“天空般湛蓝之水”的明尼苏达州、意指“漂亮河流”或者“巨大”的俄亥俄州，以及其他许多的州名，用的可都是印第安名称呢。