欢迎来到VOA在线收网 www.voa365.com
当前位置:VOA NEWS > VOA慢速英语 > 今日美国 >

Washington's Cherry Blossoms Signal the Start of Spring

2016-03-24 07:32来源:未知

音频下载

The cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin

EDITOR'S NOTE: This year, the U.S. National Park Service turns 100. American’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service in 1916 to “protect the wild and wonderful landscapes” in the United States. Today, the National Park Service protects over 400 parks and historical sites from coast to coast. Every week, VOA Learning English will profile one of the sites within the National Park Service.  

 

The West Potomac Park in Washington, DC, lies just west of the National Mall. It is home to some of Washington's most iconic sites, like the Jefferson Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the Tidal Basin.

 

But, the park’s most famous attraction? Cherry blossoms.

 

Thousands of cherry trees bloom around the waters of the Tidal Basin, which reflect the trees’ images. The basin was created in the late 1800s to prevent the Potomac River from flooding.

 

These pink and white flowers serve as a symbol of international friendship. The original cherry trees were a gift from Japan.

 

On March 26, 1912, more than 3,000 cherry trees arrived in Washington. Most were planted around the Tidal Basin. But cherry trees were also planted near the Washington Monument and the White House.

 

Mike Litterst is a spokesperson for the U.S. National Park Service. The park service maintains West Potomac Park, and helps protect the cherry trees.

 

“It’s this wonderful gift that’s over 100 years old now that, if you will, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. The 1912 gift from the people of Japan has grown to this 3,800 trees.”

 

The cherry blossoms also serve as a symbol of the beginning of springtime. The trees burst with colors of soft pink and white.

 

“The blossoming of the cherry blossoms every spring is sort of the great springtime celebration, not only in the District of Columbia but throughout the United States."

 

Every year, Washington celebrates the arrival of spring with a two-week Cherry Blossom Festival. More than 1.5 million people from around the world visit the nation’s capital during the festival. They all hope to see the cherry trees at their “peak bloom.”


Park officials define "peak bloom" as the period when 70 percent of Washington’s most common cherry tree variety -- the Yoshino trees -- are blooming. Yoshino cherry trees are one of 12 types of cherry trees in Washington. Peak bloom lasts several days each year.

 

Experts begin making peak bloom predictions in February. Visitors make their travel plans to Washington based on these predictions.

 

Some years, the early guesses are correct. Last year, officials correctly predicted the peak bloom six weeks in advance.

 

But this year, unpredictable weather in March in Washington has made guessing the “peak bloom” difficult. “Peak bloom” dates have changed many times.

 

“We use a combination of natural indicators - we look at the trees, what are the trees telling us - we look at the historic record, but primarily what we are looking at is the forecast temperatures as we go from February and into March. This year the forecasts were sort of all over the place, which caused us to change considerably.”

 

Carl Feasley and his family visited the Tidal Basin one day before the 2016 peak bloom was set to begin on March 23. It was his first time to see the cherry blossoms.

 

“We’re coming from Buffalo, New York, where it’s been winter for, even a mild winter this year, but winter for the past 5 months or so, or so it seems. It’s just nice to be out in the sunshine and see evidence of spring all over.”

 

Virginia Walsh is a Washington, DC local. She said she comes down to the Tidal Basin several times every spring to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

 

“I always try to come early, the peak, and then a couple days later. It’s normally three times a year. I just love this place.”

 

The cherry blossoms may signal the start of spring in Washington. But they have also become a worldwide symbol of Washington itself.

 

Bo Wen moved to Washington from China seven years ago. He comes to the Tidal Basin every year during the Cherry Blossom Festival.

 

“It’s just famous. Everywhere you can see like Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival, on like Twitter and Instagram. In the world everywhere, people just know that.”  


Words in This Story

 

festival - n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something

 

peak - adj at the highest point or level​

 

bloom - n. a time period in which a plant has many open flowers

 

unpredictable - adj. not capable of being known before happening 

 

indicator - n. a sign that shows the condition or existence of something

 

all over the place (idiomatic) - not well organized or carefully considered

 

considerably - adv. by a large amount or to a large extent; greatly.

 

(责任编辑:v365)
最新新闻
  1. 网传日月光Q4产能利用率降至70%
  2. 新型存储器已经开始增长,到20
  3. 市场人士透露:联发科在汽车芯片
  4. 【VOA在线闲聊】三星收购Arm会步英
  5. Nikola召回迄今为止生产的93辆Nik
  6. 蚂蚁数科两项区块链专利完成一对
  7. 蔚来申请注册“NIO CERTIFIED 蔚来官
  8. 获小米超千万投资 改装车公司工
  9. 法拉第未来首款电动汽车FF 91再次
  10. 消息称LG显示计划明年生产920万块
  11. 宝马面向欧洲市场推出最小的跨界
  12. 美国副总统哈里斯承诺就电动汽车
  13. 知情人士透露称马斯克和推特CE
  14. 因苹果缩减订单 台积电或修改明
  15. LG推出一项新技术,以开放局域网
  16. 小米13正式上线:骁龙8Gen2发布1
  17. 米家3 KG迷你洗衣机售价699元
  18. 苹果公司官方非常兴奋:印度将生
  19. 中国广电在全国31个省区开通广电
  20. 华为 Mate 50 Pro国外上市:售价远高
  21. 特斯拉柏林超级工厂回收工厂发生
  22. 华为 Mate 50原价4999
  23. iPhone 14销售比上一代下降了11%
  24. 2021至2025中国台湾将投350亿元新台
  25. 华为Mate50Pro预定5 G芯片,苹果公司
  26. 锐龙7000核显性能实测 单核及多核
  27. 索尼PS5最新更新:6 nm制程功率与
  28. 华为会议马上就要开始了!一种全
  29. 小米再次成为了冠军!该系列产品
  30. 还能吸收病毒?!戴森首个产品也
  31. 小米又推出了一款新产品,售价
  32. Imagination携手百度飞桨创建Model
  33. 奔驰要不要再加价?2024将发布
  34. TikTok在英国或被罚款2900万美元 被
  35. iPhone15PM改用 ULTRA:笔记本和 iPa
  36. 因库存不断提升存储芯片持续降价
  37. 预计小米Civi2将推出五款新产品
  38. 可靠商务桌面电脑推荐:联想M4
  39. 受飓风影响:NASA撤回阿尔忒弥斯
  40. 《三体》影迷们疯狂了!
  41. 4090设计实在是太离谱了!
  42. Meta试图Facebook和Instagram账户添加到
  43. 苹果公司在技术上遭受重大挫折,
  44. 我国成功发射遥感三十六号卫星,
  45. 骁龙8Gen2+120 W快速充电!小米13系
  46. 屏幕下手机价格大跌,灵动岛安卓
  47. 亚马逊宣布下月举办新会员促销活
  48. 酷睿i9-13900K预告片,5.8 GHz稳定!
  49. 美国流媒体巨头Netflix宣布在芬兰
  50. 外科手术机器人 商业化将加快世