VOA标准英语2010年-Landmark to Freedom Stands Above Mean

Cedar¹ Hill, home of Frederick Douglass, in Washington, DC's Anacostia neighborhood, shown here in 1905.

The Anacostia neighborhood - named for the polluted branch of the Potomac River that runs past it - is the poorest, most run-down section of Washington, D.C.

 It encompasses² most of the city's public-housing projects and burned-out homes.

But among them, in what had been Washington's first suburb, are some beautiful places and significant historical sites.

Library of Congress
Frederick Douglass, once an escaped slave, became one of the most riveting³ speakers against slavery in the South.

One sits on a high spot called Cedar Hill, from which one gets a magnificent view of the distant U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress, and Supreme⁴ Court Building.

A small but elegant mansion⁵ was built there in 1852, when that part of Anacostia was for white Protestants only - no Catholics, Jews, or, certainly, African-Americans were welcome.

The owner got into financial trouble, and the property was taken over by an institution called the Freedman's Bank, which was set up after the Civil War to help former southern slaves.

Carol M. Highsmith
This is the parlor⁶ as Frederick Douglass kept it at Cedar Hill, restored by the National Park Service.

And the Freedman's Bank sold Cedar Hill to a black man who broke the color line in Anacostia. He was the bank's own president, Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who had become the most rapturous speaker in the abolitionist movement.

Douglass, who had learned to read from little white boys to whom he sneaked⁷ food when he was a slave, inspired other slaves to learn to read as the path to freedom and a full life.

His home in Anacostia contains hundreds of Douglass artifacts, including his walking sticks, swamp hats, and pens that he used to write his speeches and books in the little, windowless building called a growlery out back.

Library of Congress
Douglass is prominent on this 1881 lithograph⁸, Heroes of the Colored Race. The others are U.S. senators Blanche Kelso Bruce (left) and Hiram Revels⁹ (right).

The main house looks like a smaller version of his master's old manor¹⁰ home.

That's why he bought it, Frederick Douglass said. He couldn't pass up the opportunity because of the irony¹¹ of it all.

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 encompasses   

v.围绕( encompass的第三人称单数 )；包围；包含；包括

参考例句：

• The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
• Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句

3 riveting   

adj.动听的，令人着迷的，完全吸引某人注意力的；n.铆接（法）

参考例句：

• I find snooker riveting though I don't play myself.虽然我自己不打斯诺克，但是我觉得它挺令人着迷。
• To my amazement,I found it riveting.但令我惊讶的是，我发现它的吸引人处。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 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。

6 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

7 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

8 lithograph   

n.平板印刷，平板画；v.用平版印刷

参考例句：

• Lithograph was introduced from China to Europe.印刷术是从中国传入欧洲的。
• Cole printed 1,000 of the cards on a lithograph stone before having them hand-colored.科尔随即用石版印刷了1000张，之后又让人给这些卡手工着色。

9 revels   

n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句

10 manor   

n.庄园，领地

参考例句：

• The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
• I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主，而是这儿的女主人。

11 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。