美妙的世界堪萨斯州(二)

Amazing World Kansas

美妙的世界堪萨斯州

Jazz

Kansas City is also renowned for its jazz.It all started more than 80 years ago and continues today. One of the best things to have come out of Kansas City jazz is the jazz jamsession. In the past, many musicians would get to gether after a concert to experiment with new methods of playing. The best musicians would take part in these jam sessions that lasted all night and into the next day. If you are interested in hearing a real jam session or even playing in one, the Mutual Musicians Foundation is open on weekends for all-night jam sessions. You might also try the Club at Plaza III, the Phoenix Piano Bar & Grill and the Blue Room for some great jazz.

Sports

Kansans are sports fanatics and are very loyal to their two major teams, the Kansas City Chiefs(American Football) and the Royals(baseball). There are also college sports teams that everyone is passionate about. These games can get really crazy, maybe even crazier than football games in Europe. Check out a game and experience one of America’s favorite pastimes.

Another popular sport is the barbecue eating contest. For this contest, five to ten overweight men (and sometimes women) pig out on ribs. It’s quite a sight because they are all covered from head to toe in barbecue sauce. But I’ve never figured out why they bother wearing the bibs.

The Countryside

As you leave Kansas City, you feel like you’ve taken a step back in time. The big city is gone and in its place are small towns and crop fields. During spring time all you can see for miles and miles is green grass, cattle and little farm houses. This is the true Mid-West. It’s here in the country that the famous image of the Wild Westcomes to life. Go to Dodge City and you can see a recreation of a gunfight on the dusty streets of the town. Or you can experience frontier life first-hand by taking a wagon ride across the prairie like the pioneers did.Or take part in a pow-wow and feel the rhythmic dance music of the Native American Indian tribes.

Kansans are serious about their history.And you can find a museum for just about anything. In Atchison there is amuseum dedicated to Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Abiline has a museum for its home-town hero President Dwight D.Eisenhower. And don’t forget all the Native American museums.

But there are lots of really weird museums too, such as the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum with over 2,000 varieties of barbed wire.

The People

As you enter the countryside, you’ll notice a change of attitude in the people too. Compared to people from Kansas City, it feels like they have all the time in the world.You will always receive a smile and a “howdy” when you walk down the street. When driving in a small town, you can be assured that you will receive a few “hello honks” from farmers driving their pick up trucks. In the summer these people sit on their porches, drink lemonade or beer and listen to the insects sing.

In fact, the best time to visit Kansas is in the summer. In the city there is always an outdoor festival or a cultural activity, and in the country there’s always a porch to sit and relax on. It looks like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz was right. There’s no place like home...- when it’s Kansas. So pack your cowboy hat and head on over.

GLOSSARY

a jam session n

an improvised concert 摇滚爵士乐的即兴演奏会

to pig out phr vb

to eat a lot of food very quickly 大吃大喝；狼吞虎咽

it’s quite a sight exp

it’s incredible to watch 奇观

to take a step back in time exp

to go back in time; to experience the past 回到过去

the prairie n

a large area of flat land in the US （尤指北美的）大草原

a pioneer n

one of the first people to do something—in this case, to cross the US from east to west 先锋；先驱者

a pow-wow n

a meeting or conference of Native American Indians 美国土著印第安人的聚会

barbed wire n

circles of metal wire with sharp pieces on them for protection 带刺铁丝网

howdy exp

hello 你好

a hello honk n

a sound produced with a car horn as a way of saying hello 鸣笛打招呼

a pick up truck n

a large car with a lot of space at the back for transporting goods 货车

a porch n

a raised area outside a house and around the house that is covered. People often sit there 门廊