44.What is the capital of your state?
44.你们州的首府是什么？
Answer:
答案：
Answers will vary. [District of Columbia residents should answer that D.C. is not a state and does not have a capital. Residents of U.S. territories should name the capital of the territory.]
答案是多样的（哥伦比亚区和美国边境地区不是州因此没有首府，美国边境区域的居民应该命名边境首府。）。
Explanation:
解释：
Each of the fifty states has a capital (or a city where government buildings are and important decisions are made) for its state government. But what about the federal (or national) government? Where is its capital? Our Founding Fathers knew that if they put the federal capital within one state, that state would have more power and prestige (or importance and respect) than all the other states, and that wouldn’t be fair. They had to find a way to have a federal capital that would not favor (or give advantages to) one state more than all the others.
所有的50个州政府都有首府，那联邦政府呢？它的首都在哪里？建国元首们知道如果将联邦首都放在一个州，这个州的权力和名声会比其他州更大，这是不公平的。他们必须找出一个方法建立联邦首都但不会偏袒任何一个州。
The first capital of the United States was New York City, but this was just a temporary capital, a capital for a short period of time. Our first president, George Washington, had to find a better place for the capital. In 1791 the capital was moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At that time, Philadelphia was the biggest city in the country, so it made sense for the capital to be there. But even this was only temporary and the U.S. government planned to move the capital to a site (or place) on the Potomac River.
美国的第一个联邦首都是纽约市，但这只是一个临时的首都，不是长期的。第一任总统乔治.华盛顿要找一个更好的地方作为首都。1791年，首都迁至宾夕法尼亚州的费城，那是费城是美国最大的城市，因此在那建立首都合乎情理，但这个也是临时的，美国政府想把首都迁到波托马克河地带。
In 1800, the U.S. capital officially moved to Washington, DC. DC stands for District (or area) and Columbia, which refers to Christopher Columbus, who was an explorer (or a person looking for new places and things) and was one of the first people to come to North America from Europe. Washington, DC is the country’s capital and a city, but it is not a state. It isn’t in a state, either. Washington, DC was made by taking some lands from Maryland and Virginia, two states that border (or are next to) Washington, DC today.
1800年，美国首都迁至华盛顿DC.。DC代表区域和哥伦比亚，哥伦比亚指克里斯多夫.哥伦比亚，他是第一批从欧洲来到北美的探险家之一。华盛顿DC.是国家首都，是一个市而不是州，他也不属于任何一个州。华盛顿DC.市的面积是从马里兰州和佛吉尼亚州分出来的，与这两个州相邻。
When Washington, DC was built, the site was very unpleasant. The capital was built on swampland (or very wet earth). The weather was bad and there were many mosquitoes and other insects. But the plan was successful and Washington, DC is still our nation’s capital today. The White House, where the president lives, the Capitol Building, where Congress makes laws, and the Supreme Court, where legal decisions are made, are all in Washington, DC, along with many other federal buildings. There are also many businesses, museums, and monuments (or things built to remember people and things from the past). Many people live in Washington, DC, but because it is not a state, they do not have any representatives who can vote in Congress, since that is reserved (or set aside) for states.
华盛顿DC.建成后，地方很令人失望。首都建在沼泽地，气候很差，蚊子和其他昆虫又多，但这计划成功了，华盛顿DC.今天仍是国家的首都。总统居住的白宫，制定法律的国会大厦，做合法决定的最高法院还有其他联邦建筑都在华盛顿DC.，还有很多公司，博物馆，纪念碑等。许多人住在华盛顿DC.，但因为这不是一个州，他们没有在国会投票的代表，投票代表只是针对州而言的。
Glossary
词汇
44.What is the capital of your state?
44.你们州的首府是什么？
capital - a city where government buildings are and important decisions are made
Capital—做重要决定的政府建筑所在的市
*The city of Lansing in the capital of Michigan.
*兰辛市是密歇根州的首府。
prestige - importance and respect
Prestige—重要，尊重
*Medical doctors have a lot of prestige because they are well-paid and their work helps other people.
*医生有很大的声望，因为他们薪资高，工作能帮助他人。
to favor (someone or something) - to give advantages to someone or something
To favor (someone or something)—对某人或某物有利
*Do you favor one of your children more than the others?
*在你的孩子中你有偏爱的吗？
temporary - for a short period of time
Temporary—短期的
*We need to find temporary housing when we move to Dallas so that we'll have a few months to look for a home to buy.
*我们搬到达拉斯后要找个临时居所，因为购买房子需要几个月的时间。
site - a place; a location
Site—地方；位置
*That hill is the site of the first school in Wyoming.
*那座山是俄怀明州第一所学校。
district - area; a sub-division of a larger area; a large part or section of a bigger area
District—区域；大区域分的小块‘大区域的一部分
*If you live in the Laurelhurst School District, then your children will go to Laurelhurst Elementary School.
*如果你住在劳雷尔赫斯特区域，你的孩子们会上劳雷尔赫斯特小学。
to border (something) - to be next to another area
To border (something)—与另一区域接壤的
*Nevada borders Utah, Arizona, California, Oregon, and Idaho.
*内华达州与犹他州，亚利桑那州，加利福尼亚州，俄勒冈州和爱荷达州接壤。
swampland - very wet earth; land with a lot of water in it
Swampland—非常湿的地方；有许多水的地方
*When they went walking through the swampland, they were bitten by a lot of mosquitoes.
*他们经过沼泽地时被许多蚊子咬了。
monument - a building, statue, or something else that is built to remember an important person or event
Monument—为纪念重要人物或事件而建的建筑，雕塑或其他
*The Washington Monument is supposed to help people remember President George Washington and his achievements.
*华盛顿纪念碑是为了让人们记住乔治.华盛顿总统和他的成就。
reserved for (something or someone) - set aside for; arranged for the use of something by a specific person or group of people
Reserved for （something orsomeone）—为...留出；为使用某物由特定个人或多人安排的
*The closest parking space is reserved for the company president.
*最近的停车位是为公司董事长准备的。