VOA慢速英语--Resort Keeps Tradition of Harvesting Ice from Lake Alive

 

In modern times, most people choose to use electrical devices², like refrigerators, to keep drinks cool. But summer visitors at Rockywold-Deephaven Camps in New Hampshire cool their drinks the old-fashioned³ way - using large blocks of ice in wooden boxes.

Rockywold-Deephaven Camps first opened in the town of Holderness, New Hampshire in 1897. That year, workers and volunteers first began to get ice from nearby Squam Lake.

Workers use tools such as saws and ice pikes to cut 200 tons of ice in a normal winter. They transport the ice to two storage buildings on the campgrounds, where it is kept until the summer. Then, workers provide the ice to camp guests, who place it in old iceboxes to keep drinks and food cold. Some of the iceboxes date back to the 1930s. Guests are told not to eat the ice. But some older guests still place a few pieces of the ice in their drinks.

John Jurczynski has run the Rockywold-Deephaven Camps for 29 years. He also leads the ice harvest. He told the Associated Press, “Many of the families have been coming for generations, and people who come here don’t like to see much change. They like it to be a simple, quiet place.”

Workers wait until the ice reaches a safe thickness – about 33 centimeters — before the harvest begins. They mostly use a device¹ called an ice saw —a large, round piece of metal with many sharp points. It cuts deeply as a powered sled moves it across the ice. The blocks of ice it makes can weigh as much as 54 kilograms. They are loosened⁴ with the help of chain saws. Workers with tools called ice pikes guide the blocks along a narrow passage of water to land. There, the blocks are loaded onto a truck for a trip to the storage buildings.

The group collects as many as 3,600 blocks of ice each winter.

Dennis Picard is a former museum director in Massachusetts. He is considered an expert on ice harvesting. He told the AP that ice harvesting began in 1805. A man named Frederic Tudor came up with the idea of shipping⁵ ice around the world. Picard says at its peak, ice was shipped as far away as Asia. The ice harvesting business made Tudor millions of dollars. Picard added that tens of thousands of people were employed in the industry, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.

But ice harvesting declined⁶ after World War I. Gas-powered and electric refrigerators became more popular. Today, only a few places in North America continue to harvest ice for business purposes. Wine Lake Camp in Ontario, Canada does it, as well as several places in Wisconsin, Montana and Maine. In the Maine town of South Bristol, the ice is sold and used to produce ice cream for a yearly⁷ ice cream party in July.

Rockywold-Deephaven is open to guests from June through the middle of September. In the past 122 years, the camp has never gone without an ice harvest.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in this Story

resort⁸ –? n. a place where people go for vacations

blade⁹ – n. the flat sharp part of a weapon or tool that is used for cutting

sled – n. a small vehicle that has a flat bottom or long, narrow strips of metal or wood on the bottom and that is used for moving over snow or ice

1 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

2 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

3 old-fashioned   

adj.旧式的，保守的，挑剔的

参考例句：

• Why do you still dress in an old-fashioned mode?你为什么还穿款式陈旧的衣服？
• Here is an old-fashioned pump for drawing water from a well.这里有一个旧式水泵可从井里抽水。

4 loosened   

v.解开( loosen的过去式和过去分词 )；放松；松弛；（使）放松

参考例句：

• He has loosened the soil up with a fork. 他用耙松过土了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The new policies loosened up foreign trade. 新政策使对外贸易有了更大的灵活性。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 declined   

v.辞谢，谢绝（邀请等）( decline的过去式和过去分词 )；（道路、物体等）下倾；（太阳）落下；（在品格、价值上）降低

参考例句：

• We asked her to come to our party, but she declined. 我们请她来参加我们的晚会，但是她谢绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He declined to charge his memory with so many details. 他不愿在脑中记这么多细枝末节。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

8 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

9 blade   

n.刀刃，刀片；叶片

参考例句：

• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。
• He is a good blade.他剑术高明。