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209.The Statue of Liberty
第209課 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.
自由女神像作為自由不可動搖的象征，它的地位到現在已經穩固地保持了一定時間。自由女神像體形龐大，她的基座，或稱基礎，幾乎同樣高大。在二十世紀早期，掌舵的輪船船長們運載許多移民通過紐約港的深水域，從這座表情嚴峻、巍然屹立塑像旁邊經過。一看到這尊雕像，許多乘客對來到這個新的國度就感到鼓舞。很多入會在船邊探出頭，對塑像規模之大驚嘆不已，竟然看得連自己的脖子都巍然不動了。這樣一件藝術作品成為他們融入這種新文化的激勵因素。
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.
雖然我們現在覺得自由女神像一直受到尊崇，但它曾一度身帶污名。這座雕像是美國獨立戰爭勝利一百周年時法國所贈，被認為直接代表開國元勛的卓著功績。但是，初到美國的幾年，這座雕像競獨自待在倉庫里虛度青春。當時的資料顯示，人們認為它會破壞紐約不斷升高的空中輪廓美景。這給美國政府造成了尷尬的處境。盡管人們似乎不希望這座雕像放置在紐約港口，但美國還需要一個生動感人的象征，以便于為迎接百年紀念激發民族自尊心。
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.
他們最后還是把它安置在紐約港口，最終成為今天這樣的象征。現在，人們來到自由島，埃利斯島和曼哈頓，先在豪華的餐館享受牛排，然后出去到當地專敲游客竹杠的商店，購買自由女神像紀念品，其品種之繁多豫領帶夾和文具一樣不勝枚舉。
