词汇提示

1.pontoon 浮桥平台

2.fasten 系牢

3.platform 平台

4.tropics 热带

5.edible 可食用的

6.monarchy 君主制

7.wrapped 缠绕

8.mats 垫子

原文

Hawaii

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far from any land.

There are the Hawaiian Islands.

These islands are the tops of a chain of volcanic mountains.

Two volcanoes on the island of Hawaii are still active.

There are five larger islands.

Kauai is to the west; Oahu, Molokai and Mauiare in the middle; and Hawaii is to the east.

There are three smaller islands.

Hawaii is the largest island of the group, but Oahu has the largest population.

The capital city, Honolulu, is on Oahu.

Since the Hawaiian Islands are so far from any land, one might wonder how people arrive there.

The answer is that the first Hawaiians were very good sailors.

They traveled thousands of miles from other islands in the Pacific in canoes.

To keep these canoes stable in the ocean, they attached an "outrigger," or pontoon, to the main canoe.

Sometimes they fasten two canoes together and put a wooden platform on top.

Then they could carry lots of people in supplies.

The first Hawaiians were Polynesians, and probably came from the Marguesas and Tahiti in the South Pacific.

They were a tall, good-looking people.

Their kings made rules about how their people should live, and priests and advisors called "kahunas" enforced these.

Today the phrase "the big kahuna" means someone who is, or thinks he is, very important.

Although Hawaii lies within the tropics, it has a very mild climate.

Sea breezes keep the weather from getting too hot even in the summer.

Many edible plants grow in abundance there.

So it was not difficult for the Hawaiians to live very comfortably without working hard.

Captain Cook was the first European to reach Hawaii in 1778.

Soon, European and American ships visited there regularly.

The sailors also brought diseases formerly unknown.

By 1853, the population had dropped to 73000 from about 300000 when Cook visited in 1778.

Besides Europeans, people from China, Japan and the Philippines came to live there.

Soon, large plantations of sugar cane and pine apples developed.

As more and more land came under Western control, the native monarchy was undermined.

American plantation owners were able to arrange for United States control of the islands.

Today, the largest industry is tourism.

Since the climate is good all year round, visitors can come at any time.

When you arrive, a young Hawaiian woman will greet you.

She will put a beautiful flower necklace called a “lei” around your neck.

Hula dancers entertain tourists.

Hula dancers wear skirts made of long leaves.

Each dancer tells a story by moving their arms and hands in a certain way.

For meals, the Hawaiians like to dig a pit in the ground, place wood in the pit, and then set the wood on fire.

Food wrapped in leaves is then placed on the wood, and the pit is covered with leaves and mats.

A feast cooked this way is called a "luau."

These traditions nowadays are usually performed for tourists or on special holidays.

Hawaii is the 50th state of the United States, and its people enjoy all the advantages of the modern world.

翻译

夏威夷

在太平洋中央，远离陆地。
这是夏威夷群岛。
这些岛屿是火山山脉的顶端。
夏威夷岛上的两座火山仍然活跃。
有五个较大的岛屿。
考艾岛在西面;中间是瓦胡岛、莫洛凯岛和毛亚雷岛;夏威夷在东面。
有三个较小的岛屿。
夏威夷是该群岛中最大的岛屿，但瓦胡岛的人口最多。
首府檀香山位于瓦胡岛。
由于夏威夷群岛离陆地如此之远，人们可能会想知道人们是如何到达那里的。
答案是最早的夏威夷人是非常好的水手。
他们乘独木舟从太平洋的其他岛屿跋涉数千英里来到这里。
为了使这些独木舟在海洋中保持稳定，他们在主独木舟上附加了一个“支腿”或浮筒。
有时他们把两只独木舟绑在一起，在上面放一个木平台。
这样他们就可以运载很多人。
最早的夏威夷人是波利尼西亚人，可能来自南太平洋的马格萨斯群岛和塔希提岛。
他们身材高大，相貌英俊。
他们的国王制定了人民应该如何生活的规则，被称为“kahunas”的祭司和顾问执行这些规则。
今天，“the big kahuna”这个短语指的是非常重要的人，或者自认为非常重要的人。
今天，the big kahuna这个短语指的是那些非常重要或自认为非常重要的人。
虽然夏威夷位于热带地区，但它的气候非常温和。
海风使天气即使在夏天也不会太热。
许多可食用的植物在那里大量生长。
所以对夏威夷人来说，不用努力工作就能过得很舒适并不难。
库克船长是1778年第一个到达夏威夷的欧洲人。
不久，欧洲和美国的船只定期访问那里。
水手们还带来了以前不知道的疾病。
到1853年，人口已经从库克1778年访问时的30万下降到7.3万。
除了欧洲人，来自中国、日本和菲律宾的人也来到这里生活。
很快，甘蔗和松苹果的大型种植园就发展起来了。
随着越来越多的土地被西方控制，当地的君主制被削弱了。
美国种植园主能够安排美国控制这些岛屿。
今天，最大的产业是旅游业。
由于气候一年四季都很好，游客可以随时来。
当你到达时，一个年轻的夏威夷女人会迎接你。
她会在你的脖子上戴上一条漂亮的花项链，叫做“花环”。
草裙舞演员招待游客。
跳草裙舞的人穿长叶子做的裙子。
每个舞者都以某种方式移动他们的手臂和手来讲述一个故事。
吃饭时，夏威夷人喜欢在地上挖一个坑，把木头放在坑里，然后把木头点着。
然后用树叶包裹的食物放在木头上，坑上盖上树叶和垫子。
以这种方式烹制的盛宴被称为“luau”。
这些传统如今通常是为游客或在特殊节日表演。
夏威夷是美国的第50个州，它的人民享受着现代世界的一切优势。