VOA标准英语2012--California, Oregon Battle Over Landmark Status

 

California, Oregon Battle Over Landmark¹ Status

The U.S. National Park Service is about to convey landmark status upon a place on the California coast, not far from San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge.

That sounds kind of routine, but some people up the coast in Oregon are not at all happy about it.

Sir Francis Drake, the daring British explorer, is said to have sailed to that little piece of California’s Pacific coastline 433 years ago, in 1579, in the middle of his epic² three-year expedition around the world.

He mapped a cove³ where he landed - and named it and the surrounding cliffs “New Albion.” Albion, which is Greek for “white,” was an early name for Britain, inspired by the famous white cliffs near Dover.

Today, the California cove and bay are called “Drake’s Bay” in the explorer’s honor.

Drake is said to have hung around for five weeks, repairing his ships and interacting with Native American tribes. That’s the main reason the place is historic, for this was the first recorded contact between the British and American Indians.

So why should people up the coast in Oregon be upset? 

They say Drake’s “Albion” visit didn’t happen there at all, that he actually put ashore⁴ farther north on the rocky Pacific coast.

Amateur historian Gary Gitzen and other Oregonians say that first contact took place in and around Oregon’s Nehalem Bay. 

If you lay Drake’s own map of the cove he visited atop a map of Nehalem Bay, Gitzen says, “it’s the same outline.” He’s writing a book, called "Oregon’s Stolen History," all about it.

The National Park Service sent the conflicting claims to a couple of historic commissions, which ruled in California’s favor.

According to the Northwest News Network, the California location’s landmark designation will be a “done deal” as soon as U.S. Interior Secretary Ken⁵ Salazar signs the proclamation.

For now maybe, say the folks up north. They’re not about to give up their claim that the real Drake’s Bay should be in Oregon.

1 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

2 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

3 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

4 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

5 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.