2007年VOA标准英语-Volunteer Guides Share Love for San Francisco

By Mike O'Sullivan
San Francisco, California
18 April 2007

San Francisco is a city built atop steep hills, and many say the city should be seen on foot.  Mike O'Sullivan reports that volunteer guides share their love of San Francisco on walking tours that explore the city's many nooks and crannies.

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Ken Becker, Nob Hill, San Francisco

Ken Becker is a retired² businessman who spends much of his time working without pay on his favorite causes, from a medical charity that helps children overseas to a local organization that offers free walking tours of historic San Francisco.

"I am a tour guide for City Guides, and I specialize in Nob Hill tours.  And I do this tour anywhere from one to four times a month," Becker says.

Nob Hill

The neighborhood of Nob Hill sits high atop one of San Francisco's many hills.  Becker points out its sites, including the Fairmont Hotel, where delegates from 50 countries wrote the United Nations charter in 1945.  The San Francisco story goes back much earlier, of course, to Native Americans and Spanish colonial settlers, to Gold Rush millionaires and the wealthy railway barons³ who built mansions⁵ on Nob Hill in the 19th century.

 Today, magnificent Grace Cathedral, which hosts concerts and recitals⁶, sits on the site of a mansion⁴ destroyed by the Great Earthquake and fire of 1906.

A brisk walk down the hill to San Francisco's civic⁷ center finds another tour group, led by retired engineer Leif Isaksen.  He points to city hall, a massive domed⁸ building that replaced an earlier structure destroyed in the 1906 quake.  Across the plaza⁹ is the civic auditorium¹⁰, which first opened in 1915 for the Pan Pacific Exposition.  The fair marked the completion of the Panama Canal, but also offered San Francisco a chance to celebrate its rebuilding.

"San Francisco took the opportunity to tell the world 'We are back in business, and anything that Europe can do, we can do better,'" Isaksen says.

The group City Guides offers dozens of free tours, led by volunteers who want to share their love for San Francisco.  The groups explore Chinatown and North Beach, the Italian neighborhood, and climb the stairways of Russian Hill, once a burial ground for Russian merchant sailors.

For Leila, a university student visiting from France, San Francisco lives up to its reputation as a cultural center.

"I think it is like a city in Europe, you know.  The people are not very different, the culture.   But it is good.  It is a great place," Leila says.

San Francisco is a compact city, just 127 square kilometers, but volunteer guide Ken Becker says there is much to see.  He says you can tour by cable car or by automobile¹¹, or better yet, on foot.

"To drive does not take you very long, and yet, to walk around with the hills, it is not easy to walk up and down the hills, and so it takes you time," Becker says.  "So you always want to give yourself plenty of time here in San Francisco, and if you can, not rush, and see plenty of things.  And depending upon what you like, I think there is something here for everyone."

He says walking up and down San Francisco's hilly streets is well worth the effort. 

1 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 barons   

男爵( baron的名词复数 )； 巨头； 大王； 大亨

参考例句：

• The barons of Normandy had refused to countenance the enterprise officially. 诺曼底的贵族们拒绝正式赞助这桩买卖。
• The barons took the oath which Stephen Langton prescribed. 男爵们照斯蒂芬？兰顿的指导宣了誓。

4 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

5 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 recitals   

n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 )；独奏会；小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等；一系列事件等的详述

参考例句：

• His recitals have earned him recognition as a talented performer. 他的演奏会使他赢得了天才演奏家的赞誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her teachers love her playing, and encourage her to recitals. 她的老师欣赏她的演奏，并鼓励她举办独奏会。 来自互联网

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 domed   

adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I gazed up at the domed ceiling arching overhead. 我抬头凝望着上方弧形的穹顶。
• His forehead domed out in a curve. 他的前额呈弯曲的半球形。

9 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

10 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

11 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。