Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore. Ridden by Kathy Fergang.

拉什莫尔山 作者：凯西·费刚

A Big Idea for America In the early 1900s, the United States of America was growing fast. Many people were settling in the West, but many more had not yet visited the area. In 1924, a member of the South Dakota Historical Society had an idea. He thought a huge memorial carved from rock would bring visitors to the area, and he knew he was just the sculptor for the job.

一个属于美国的绝妙想法 20世纪初，美利坚合众国发展十分迅速。 许多人前往西部定居，但还有更多人从未去过那片区域。 1924年，南达科他州历史协会的一名成员想到了一个主意。 他认为在岩石上雕刻一座巨型纪念物能吸引游客来到这里，而且他知道自己就是完成这项工作的最佳雕刻家。

He asked an artist named Gutzon Borglum to help. Borglum suggested a memorial that would show faces of American presidents. After a year of searching for the right place to carve a memorial, he found Mount Rushmore. It was in an area called the Black Hills. The area had a special kind of rock called granite that was good for carving.

他邀请了一位名叫格曾·博格勒姆的艺术家来帮忙。 博格勒姆提议建造一座展示美国总统面孔的纪念物。 花了一整年时间寻找合适的雕刻地点后，他找到了拉什莫尔山。 它坐落在一片名为布莱克山的区域。 这片区域有一种名叫花岗岩的特殊岩石，非常适合用来雕刻。

An American Message Borglum thought about which president's faces should be carved into the rock. He wanted to show the strength of America through each person. First, he chose George Washington because he was the first president. Second, he chose Thomas Jefferson because he purchased land from France that doubled the size of the United States.

传递美国精神，博格勒姆开始思考应该把哪些总统的面孔刻在岩石上。 他希望通过每一位总统展现美国的力量。 首先，他选择了乔治·华盛顿，因为他是美国第一任总统。 第二位是托马斯·杰斐逊，因为他从法国手中购买的土地让美国的国土面积扩大了一倍。

Third, he chose Abraham Lincoln because he led the country during the difficult Civil War. Finally, he chose Theodore Roosevelt because he had the United States build an important waterway in Central America. This waterway, the Panama Canal, may travel faster between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Roosevelt was also a special choice because he had a home in South Dakota.

第三位是亚伯拉罕·林肯，因为他在艰难的南北战争时期领导着国家。 最后一位是西奥多·罗斯福，因为他推动美国在中美洲建造了一条重要的航道。 这条航道就是巴拿马运河，它能让人们在太平洋和大西洋之间的航行速度更快。 选择罗斯福还有一个特别原因：他在南达科他州有一处住所。

Blasting through rock. Carving a work of art into rock is no easy job. First, Borglum made smaller models of each president. Then the models were carried up Mount Rushmore for workers to copy. Dynamite was used to blast away rock. Finally, workers were lowered down the mountain on cables to drill shapes out of the rocks.

凿穿岩石。在岩石上雕刻艺术品可不是件容易的事。 首先，博格勒姆制作了每一位总统的缩小模型。 随后这些模型被运到拉什莫尔山上，供工人们比照雕刻。 工人们用炸药炸开多余的岩石。 最后，工人们被缆绳吊到山壁上，在岩石上钻出总统面部的轮廓。