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209.The Statue of Liberty
第209课 自由女神像
The Statue of Liberty's status as a steadfast symbol of freedom has remained steady for quite some time now. As huge in physical stature as Lady Liberty is, her stem, or base, is almost has big as she. In the early part of the 20th century, captains at the steering wheels of ships steered many immigrants through the steep waters of New York Harbor past the stern faced, stiff structure. Upon glancing at the figure, many passengers felt stimulated about arriving in the new country. Many would stick their heads over the edge of the ship and stiffen in amazement at the size of the statue. Such a work of art acted as a stimulus for them to assimilate into the new culture.
自由女神像作为自由不可动摇的象征，它的地位到现在已经稳固地保持了一定时间。自由女神像体形庞大，她的基座，或称基础，几乎同样高大。在二十世纪早期，掌舵的轮船船长们运载许多移民通过纽约港的深水域，从这座表情严峻、巍然屹立塑像旁边经过。一看到这尊雕像，许多乘客对来到这个新的国度就感到鼓舞。很多入会在船边探出头，对塑像规模之大惊叹不已，竟然看得连自己的脖子都巍然不动了。这样一件艺术作品成为他们融入这种新文化的激励因素。
Though we now think of Lady Liberty as having always been revered, at one time the statue had a stigma associated with it. Given to America by France on the 100th anniversary of the USA's victory in the Revolutionary War, it was supposed to immediately stand for the stellar achievements of the Founding Fathers. Instead, for the first few years of its stay in the U.S., the structure lay sterile inside a warehouse. Statistics at the time of its arrival in the U.S. show that people thought it would stifle the beauty of the growing New York skyline. This presented a sticky situation for the U.S. government. Though people seemed not to want it placed in New York Harbor, the country needed a poignant symbol so that the stimulation of national pride could occur for the Centennial celebration.
虽然我们现在觉得自由女神像一直受到尊崇，但它曾一度身带污名。这座雕像是美国独立战争胜利一百周年时法国所赠，被认为直接代表开国元勋的卓著功绩。但是，初到美国的几年，这座雕像竞独自待在仓库里虚度青春。当时的资料显示，人们认为它会破坏纽约不断升高的空中轮廓美景。这给美国政府造成了尴尬的处境。尽管人们似乎不希望这座雕像放置在纽约港口，但美国还需要一个生动感人的象征，以便于为迎接百年纪念激发民族自尊心。
They finally placed it in the harbor and it eventually became the symbol it is today. These days, people visit Liberty Island, Ellis Island and Manhattan, enjoying steak dinners in nearby posh restaurants, then heading out to the local tourist traps to buy Statue of Liberty memorabilia as diverse as stickpins and stationery.
他们最后还是把它安置在纽约港口，最终成为今天这样的象征。现在，人们来到自由岛，埃利斯岛和曼哈顿，先在豪华的餐馆享受牛排，然后出去到当地专敲游客竹杠的商店，购买自由女神像纪念品，其品种之繁多豫领带夹和文具一样不胜枚举。
