VOA标准英语2010年-Who Says America Doesn't Have Castles?

This one's history is as colorful as its surroundings

Ted¹ Landphair | Washington, DC 07 June 2010
 

Cleveholm is the 42-room Tudor castle of Cleve Osgood's dreams. Cleve came from his name; holm from the Swedish word for home.

 

Beside a rushing Rocky Mountain trout² stream lie two American rarities: a castle and a company town in which a single company - a single man, actually - once owned every building, even people's homes. 

By 1892, Cleve Osgood, a cousin of U.S. President Grover Cleveland, controlled several Rocky Mountain coal mines and the only steel mill in the West.

Osgood was based back east in New York City, where he had bought an entire block, built a mansion³ on it, and become a cigar-smoking pal⁴ of other wealthy industrialists⁵.

These were the men whom many called the robber barons⁶ of America's Gilded⁷ Age.

And Cleve Osgood also wanted a summer address as big as the West.

These aren't caves. They're some of the ovens in which Osgood's workers made coke out of coal. The coke, in turn, was shipped to his steel mill in Pueblo⁸, Colorado.

So he purchased 7,700 hectares of the wild Crystal River Valley of Colorado and built Redstone, a sort of benevolent⁹ feudal¹⁰ kingdom in which Osgood built 84 framed cottages, a guest inn, and a schoolhouse for his employees.

The residents were workers from Osgood's nearby plant that made superheated coal called coke. 

Redstone's name came from the red sandstone mountain right across the river. 

And towering over the town was Cleveholm, the 42-room Tudor castle of Osgood's dreams.

Here's one of the little workers' cabins at Redstone. Pretty nice digs for the time. They even had electricity and bathtubs with running water.

Cleve came from his name; holm from the Swedish word for home. His wife was Swedish. Osgood filled Cleveholm with trophy¹¹ animal heads, Tiffany lamps, ruby¹² velvet¹³ drapes, and imported leather wall coverings. 

Down his own railroad spur off the main line out of Denver, he brought his New York friends in opulent private rail cars to see his mountain retreat. 

Cleve Osgood eventually lost control of both his steel company and the town.

Even this building in which Cleve Osgood housed his supervisors¹⁴ is pretty grand. It's now a hotel.

Cleveholm became a dude ranch¹⁵, a resort, and then a bed-and-breakfast inn.

In 2005, the century-old castle was sold at auction¹⁶ following a scandal in which investors¹⁷ were bilked out of $56 million dollars. One of the ringleaders was sentenced to 330 years in jail! 

Cleveholm is now in one owner's hands and still open to tours, and there's talk of turning the great Redstone castle into a grand hotel.
 

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

3 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。

4 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

5 industrialists   

n.工业家，实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

8 pueblo   

n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄

参考例句：

• For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2，000多年的时间里，印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
• The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit

9 benevolent   

adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的

参考例句：

• His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。
• He was a benevolent old man and he wouldn't hurt a fly.他是一个仁慈的老人，连只苍蝇都不愿伤害。

10 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

11 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

12 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

13 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

14 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

15 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

16 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

17 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会