費城和波士頓：城市昵稱有玄機

在1681年，國王查理二世英格蘭給威廉佩恩大量的土地，國王授予佩恩的父親執(zhí)掌賓夕法尼亞殖民地。威廉佩恩不僅是博學(xué)的拉丁美洲和希臘文化學(xué)者，同時也是一個教友派信徒，他給這片土地帶來了宗教的平等與自由，以及兄弟之愛的信念。這片新土地也就是現(xiàn)在的費城，它承襲了希臘“兄弟之愛”的真諦。波士頓是一個重要的城市，它是美國最古老的城市之一。像費城，波士頓也是自由的搖籃，被稱為美國現(xiàn)代的搖籃。而它的名字意譯為中文，也被叫做“豆城”。

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

Almost all American cities have nicknames. They help establish a city's identity. They can also spread unity and pride among its citizens.

費城 兄弟之愛

Two east coast cities -- Philadelphia and Boston -- were both important in the early history of the United States. Philadelphia is best known as The City of Brotherly Love.

In sixteen eighty-one, King Charles the Second of England gave William Penn a large amount of land to establish a colony. The king named the colony Pennsylvania in honor of Penn's father. William Penn was a Quaker. He brought his beliefs about equality, religious freedom and brotherly love to this new land. Penn was also an expert in Latin and Greek. He established a city and named it Philadelphia, which is Greek for "brotherly love." An ancient city called Philadelphia was also noted in Christianity's holy book, the Bible.

Philadelphia became the social, political and geographical center of the American colonies. In the late seventeen hundreds, many events that took place in Philadelphia gave birth to the American Revolution and independence. For example, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed in the city. Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the new nation from seventeen ninety to eighteen hundred.

Some of Philadelphia's other nicknames are The Quaker City, The Cradle of Liberty and The Birthplace of America. Philadelphia is a long name. So many people just call it Philly.

波士頓 自由之城

Boston is another important city. It is one of the oldest cities in the United States. In sixteen thirty, Puritan settlers from England established Boston in what would become the state of Massachusetts.

Several major events took place in Boston before and during the American Revolution. You may have heard of the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

So, like Philadelphia, Boston is called The Cradle of Liberty. Another nickname is The Cradle of Modern America.

However, Boston's most famous nickname is Beantown. But it was not because the city grew a lot of beans. In the seventeen hundreds, Boston was a major trading center. It received a lot of sugarcane from the West Indies. Beans baked in molasses, a sugar product, became a favorite food in the city. Today, no companies there make Boston baked beans. Restaurants in Boston rarely serve it. But many Americans eat this tasty dish at home.

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