英语听力：自然百科 美国总统华盛顿的往事

 If George Washington really had chopped down a cherry tree, he would have done it here. And if he ever threw a stone across the Rappahannock River, then this is the spot. 

Both childhood stories have found their way into the legend of George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental¹ Army and ultimately, America's first president. 

But the reality of Washington's early life may be equal to the myth. 

He was one of five children who grew up on a farm in Northern Virginia and went on to greatness. And now archaeologists working near Fredericksburg with support from the National Geography Society have uncovered the exact site of that very farm. 

Washington's father Augustine moved his family to Ferry Farm in 1738 when young George was 6 years old. The future president lived here until he was in his twenties. Archaeologists always knew this was the right area, but only when the team uncovered some well-crafted cellars, did they realize they had found the actual foundation of Washington's boyhood home. 

"What we've uncovered is the Washington landscape as it stood in the 1740s to 1770s, but also on that landscape are other outbuildings, including a kitchen, a slave quarter." The site is incredibly rich in history, and not just Washington's.

"It's a tricky², it's a tricky site. It's a site that had continuous occupancy from about 1700 to the early 1990s, and not in the same buildings." 

There are trenches³ here built during the Civil War by Union troops fighting to capture rebel-held Fredericksburg. The team has already brought up thousands of artifacts, but one potentially special find deserves notice — a clay pipe with Masonic symbols. 

"It is that George Washington was a Mason, actually he became a Mason when he was living in Fredericksburg. Without being able to say for sure, it's tempting⁴ to wonder if this is something that actually belonged to George." 

Each piece is cleaned, cataloged and stored. It's all part of the team's ultimate goal, to recreate what was until recently believed to be lost. 

"In the long run, where we're sitting will turn once again into, into the home of Augustine Washington, uh, with this landscape in place, uh, with animals and crops growing and be open to the public to come in and sort of experience it as a, as an 18th century farm." 

And yes, visitors will have a chance to see if they too can hurl⁵ a rock across the Rappahannock as Washington supposedly did. 

Sponsored by National Geographic⁶ Mission Programs, taking science and exploration into the new millennium⁷.

1 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

4 tempting   

a.诱人的, 吸引人的

参考例句：

• It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
• It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。

5 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

6 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。