第4集 - 美洲土著居民及其文化

以下文字资料是由(历史新知网www.lishixinzhi.com)小编为大家搜集整理后发布的内容，让我们赶快一起来看一下吧！

 第4集 - 美洲土著居民及其文化

　　VOICE ONE:

　　This is Rich Kleinfeldt.

　　VOICE TWO:

　　And this is Sarah Long with the MAKING OF A NATION, a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Today, we tell about early Native Americans.

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Scientists believe that the native peoples of America came here thousands of years ago during the last ice age. These people settled the land from the cold northern areas to the extreme end of South America.

　　科学家认为，美洲的土著居民是数千年前在最后一个冰河时代来到美洲大陆的。考古学家从寒冷的北部地区到南美洲的最南端，都找到过他们的足迹。

　　As the groups of people settled different parts of the land, they developed their own languages, their own cultures and their own religions. Each group's story is important in the history of the Americas. However, it is perhaps the tribes of the central part of the United States that are most recognized. They will be our story today.

　　居住在不同地区的土著居民，创造了自己独特的语言、文化和宗教。每个土著部落的故事，都是美洲历史的重要组成部分，但是最为后人认可的，还是那些在今天的美国中部定居的土著部落。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE TWO:

　　In eighteen-oh-four, Merriwether Lewis and William Clark led a group of explorers to the Pacific Ocean. They were the first educated Americans to see some of the native tribes of the Great Plains. And they were the first white people these Native American people had ever seen.

　　1804年，刘易斯和克拉克率领的探险队到了太平洋。他们是见到大平原地区土著部落的第一批受过教育的美国人，也是土著人第一次见到的白人。

　　When the group of explorers neared the eastern side of the great Rocky Mountains, they met with a tribe of Indians called the Shoshoni. Merriwether Lewis was the first to see them.

　　Let us imagine we are with Merriwether Lewis near the Rocky Mountains almost two hundred years ago. Across a ... all hill, a group of sixty Shoshoni men are riding toward us.

　　刘易斯和克拉克等人到达落基山东侧的时候，大约六十个肖肖尼土著居民正骑马向他们走来。他们生动地记载了当时的情景。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　The first thing we see is that these men are ready for war. Each is armed with a bow and arrows. Some carry long poles with a sharp knife on the end.

　　我们的第一反应是，这些人已经做好了战斗的准备。他们都佩有弓箭，还有些人拿着顶端插着尖刀的杆子。

　　They are riding very fast. Some horses seem to be without riders. But a closer look shows that the men are hanging off the sides, or under the horse's neck. They are using the horses' bodies as protection.

　　他们骑得飞快，有些马背上好像并没有人，仔细看才会发现，骑手都贴在马肚子上，或是挂在马脖子下面，用马的身体做掩护。

　　The horses are painted with many different designs that use blue, black, red or other colors. Later we learn that each design has a special meaning for the man who owns the horse. Each one tells a story.

　　这些马的身上画着五颜六色的图案，后来我们才知道，每个图案有不同的意思，对马的主人有特殊的意义。

　　For example, the man riding one horse is a leader during battle. Another has killed an enemy in battle. One of the designs protects the horse and rider.

　　比如说，其中一个人是战斗总指挥，另一个在战斗中 ... 死过敌人，其中一种图案能保护马匹和骑手的安全。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　As they come nearer, the Shoshoni group sees that we are not ready for war. They slow their horses but are still very careful. Merriwether Lewis holds up a open hand as a sign of peace. The leader of the Shoshoni does the same. They come closer.

　　这些肖肖尼骑手走近后，看到我们不象要打仗的样子，于是放慢了步伐，但还是十分小心。刘易斯举起一只手，以示和平。肖肖尼人的头领也做出同样的手势，做出回答。双方继续靠拢。

　　The Shoshoni are dressed in clothes made from animal skin. Most of these skins are from deer or the American buffalo. The shirts they wear have many designs, and tell stories like the designs on the horses. One shows a man has fought in a battle. Another shows a man has been in many raids to capture horses. Still another shows the man saved the life of a friend.

　　肖肖尼人穿着用兽皮做的衣服，大多是鹿皮或水牛皮。他们的衬衣有不同的图案，也有不同的意思，可以显示某个人参加过战斗、多次参加捕获马匹的突袭行动，或是救过朋友的性命。

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Captain Lewis ... iles at these men. He again makes a hand sign that means peace. The signs are now returned. Lewis and the Shoshoni chief cannot speak each other's language. They can communicate using hand signs.

　　刘易斯冲这些人笑笑，再次做出和平的手势，肖肖尼人也做出同样的手势。刘易斯和肖肖尼头领语言不通，但是可以通过手势进行交流。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　One young Shoshoni man comes near. He drops to the ground from his horse. He is tall and looks strong. His hair is black in color and long. He wears one long bird feather in the back of his hair. Some of his hair is held in place by animal fur.

　　一个年轻的肖肖尼人翻身下马，他身材高大强壮，留着长长的黑发，头发用兽皮绑着，头发后面还有一根很长的羽毛。

　　His arms have been painted with long lines. We learn that each line represents a battle. There are many lines. But we leave the Shoshoni without him adding another one.

　　他的胳膊上划着很多长线，每条线代表着一场战斗。但是这次跟我们的遭遇，双方并没有兵戎相见。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　The Shoshoni were only one of many tribes of native people who lived in the Great Plains area. The life, culture and society of these tribes developed because of the land that was their home.

　　（我们在前一个小时的建国史话中讲到了刘易斯和克拉克的探险队第一次遇到土著部落--肖肖尼人的情景。）其实，肖肖尼人只是大平原上众多土著部落中的一个。这些部落的生活、文化和社会形态都带有大平原的特色。

　　The Great Plains today is still huge. Even in a car, traveling at one hundred kilometers an hour, it can take two long days of driving to cross the Great Plains. The plains reach from several hundred kilometers north in Canada across the middle of the continent to Mexico in the south. In the East, the Great Plains begin near the Mississippi River and go west to the huge Rocky Mountains. It is the center of the United States.

　　直到今天，大平原还是一望无际，即使是坐在时速100公里的车上，要穿越大平原也要整整两天的时间。大平原北起加拿大，南抵墨西哥，东靠密西西比河，西至落基山脉，是美国的中心地区。

　　There are big rivers here, deserts and mountains. Other areas are so flat that a person can see for hundreds of kilometers. Millions of kilometers of this land were once covered by a thick ocean of grass.

　　大平原上有河流、沙漠、山脉，其余的地方则是一望无际的草地。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　The grass provided food for an animal that made possible the culture of the Indians of the Great Plains. The grass fed the bison, the American buffalo. The buffalo was the center of native Indian culture in the Great Plains.

　　草地养肥了水牛，水牛是大平原土著印第安人文化的核心要素。

　　The huge animal provided meat for the Indians. But it was much more than just food. It was an important part of the religion of most of the native people in the Great Plains.

　　水牛不仅为印第安人提供了食物，也是大平原地区大多数印第安人宗教的重要部分。

　　The Lakota tribe is one of the people of the Great Plains. The Lakota are sometimes called the Sioux. They believed that everything necessary to life was within the buffalo. Another Plains tribe, the Blackfeet, called the animal "My home and my protection."

　　苏人印第安部落就相信，凡是生活必须品，都能从水牛的身上找到。另外一个印第安人部落把水牛称做“我的家和保护者。”

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE ONE:

　　The back of the huge buffalo provided thick skin that was used to make homes for the Plains Indians. Other parts were made into clothing. Still other parts became warm blankets. Buffalo bones were made into tools. Nothing of the animal was wasted.

　　牛背上厚厚的皮可以用来做帐篷，其他部分的皮可以做衣服和毯子，牛骨头可以做工具，水牛身上的任何地方都不会被浪费掉。

　　No one knows how many buffalo were in North America when Merriwether Lewis first met the Shoshoni. But experts say it was probably between sixty million to seventy-five million.

　　没有人知道，刘易斯遇到肖肖尼人的时候，北美大陆上到底有多少头水牛，专家估计可能有六千万到七千五百万头左右。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　Another animal also helped make possible the Indian cultures of the Great Plains. Native Americans first called these animals mystery dogs, or big dogs. They had no word for this animal in their language. We know it as the horse.

　　另外一种动物也对大平原印第安部落的文化起到了关键作用。当时的土著印第安人把这种动物叫做大狗，其实他们说的就是马。

　　No horses existed in North America before the Spanish arrived in the fifteen hundreds in what is now the southern part of the United States. Native peoples hunted, moved and traveled by foot. Traveling long distances was difficult, so was hunting buffalo.

　　西班牙人十六世纪来到今天的美国南部之前，北美大陆上原本没有马。土著印第安人都是徒步狩猎和行动的，长途跋涉十分辛苦，更不用说捕猎水牛了。

　　The horse greatly changed the life of all the people of the Great Plains. It gave them a method of travel. It provided a way to carry food and equipment. It made it easier and safer to follow and hunt the buffalo. The horse made it possible to attack an enemy far away and return safely. The number of horses owned became the measure of a tribe's wealth.

　　马的出现彻底改变了他们的生活，给他们提供了交通和运输的方便，也让追踪和捕猎水牛变得更加简单了。有了马，印第安人就能对远方的敌人发动进攻，然后安全返回。拥有马匹的数量，一度成为衡量部落财富的标准。

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Spanish settlers rode horses to the ... all town of Santa Fe in what is now the southwestern state of New Mexico. They arrived there in about the year sixteen-oh-nine.

　　西班牙定居者大约在1609年的时候骑马到了今天美国西南部新墨西哥州的小镇圣菲。

　　It is not known how native peoples in Santa Fe got the first horses in the country. Perhaps they traded for them. Perhaps they captured them in an attack. Many tribes soon were trading and capturing horses.

　　没有人知道，圣菲的土著居民是怎么得到第一匹马的，也许他们是用东西换的，也许是发动进攻抢来的。重要的是，没过多久，很多印第安部落都开始买卖和捕获马匹了。

　　By the seventeen fifties, all the tribes of the Great Plains had horses. They had become experts at raising, training and riding horses. They became experts at horse medicine.

　　到1750年代的时候，大平原上的所有部落都有了马，而且这些印第安人成了饲养、训练和骑马的行家。

　　Each Indian of the Great Plains could ride a horse by the age of five. As an ... , a young man would have a special horse for work. Another horse would be trained for hunting. And another would be trained for war. An Indian warrior's success depended upon how closely he and his horses worked together.

　　大平原地区的印第安人，五岁学骑马，长大以后，每个年轻人都有好几匹马，分别用于工作、狩猎和作战。一个印第安勇士的成功在很大程度上要取决于他和他的坐骑的密切配合。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE TWO:

　　George Catlin was an artist who traveled a great deal in the early American west. He painted many beautiful pictures of American Indians. Mister Catlin said the Plains Indian was the greatest horse rider the world has ever known. He said the moment an Indian rider laid a hand on his horse he became part of the animal.

　　卡森林是美国早期艺术家，他到过西部的很多地方，画了很多描写印第安人的作品，据他说，大平原上的印第安人是世界上最出色的骑手，印第安人把手放在马身上的一瞬间，就和马融为一体了。

　　VOICE ONE:

　　The buffalo and horse were extremely important to the Plains Indian. Because the horse made hunting easier, more time could be spent on things like art. The Plains Indians began to make designs on their clothing, and on special blankets their horses wore. Even common objects were painted with designs.

　　水牛和马匹对大平原地区的印第安人来说至关重要，马的出现简化了狩猎工作，让印第安人能把更多的时间用于美化生活，他们开始在衣服和马用的毯子上设计图案，即使是最常用的物品上也出现了图案设计。

　　VOICE TWO:

　　The coming of white settlers to the Great Plains was the beginning of the end of the buffalo and horse culture of the American Indians. Settlers did not want buffalo destroying their crops. The buffalo were killed. By the year eighteen eighty-five, the Indians of the Great Plains were mostly restricted to area of land called reservations.

　　白种定居者的到来，标志着美洲印第安人水牛和马匹文化的终结。定居者不希望水牛破坏他们的庄稼，于是开始宰 ... 水牛。到了1885年的时候，大平原地区的印第安人大多都已经被赶到了保留地上居住。

　　VOICE ONE:

　　Many of the Great Plains tribes that survive today work hard to keep their traditional cultures. They produce art, music, and clothing. They keep alive the memory of these people who added greatly to the history of America.

　　很多延续至今的部落都在设法保留自己的传统文化，他们通过艺术、音乐和服装，让对美洲历史做出过重大贡献的自己祖先的文化流传下去。

　　（MUSIC）

　　VOICE TWO:

　　This MAKING OF A NATION program was written by Paul Thompson. This is Sarah Long.

　　VOICE ONE:

　　And this is Rich Kleinfeldt. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.