“大快活”和“罪恶之城”

许多城市都有有趣的别名，这有助于树立一个城市的形象，还能激发当地民众的自豪感。本期的《小词大义》将给大家介绍美国城市新奥尔良（New Orleans）和拉斯维加斯（Las Vegas）的别名。

New Orleans， Louisiana probably has more nicknames than any other American city. One web site lists more than twenty nicknames. The most famous is “The Big Easy.” It describes the gentle， slow and easy-going way of life in New Orleans.

So how did the city get this nickname？ In the early 1900s there was a dance hall in New Orleans called “The Big Easy.” But the nickname did not become famous until the early 1970s. That was when a Louisiana newspaper writer began calling New Orleans by this name. She compared the easy-going way of life there to the hurried pace of life in New York City.

In 1970， James Conaway wrote a crime novel called “The Big Easy.”The story was set in New Orleans. In 1987， that book was made into a film which made the nickname even more popular.

New Orleans has other nicknames.

One of them is “The Crescent City.” During the 19th century， new neighborhoods expanded out from what is now known as the French Quarter. These areas followed the great curve of the Mississippi River， giving New Orleans the shape of a crescent.

Another nickname is “The Birthplace of Jazz，” because that kind of music started in New Orleans. It is also called “Mardi Gras City” for the wild celebrations and parades that take place there every year. And， there is a nickname that uses the short way to write New Orleans and Louisiana. If you do not want to use the complete name， you can call the city “NOLA.”

One of Americas most exciting cities is Las Vegas， Nevada. There you can play games of chance all night long. The citys nightclubs are also open all night for eating， drinking and dancing. So it is not surprising that Las Vegas is called “The Gambling Capital of the World”and “The Entertainment Capital of the World.”

Another nickname for Las Vegas is “Sin City” because you can find many kinds of adult entertainment there. Many people who come to Las Vegas in hopes of winning lots of money do not know when to stop gambling. They may lose a great deal of their hard-earned money. So the city is also called something that sounds like Las Vegas—“Lost Wages.”

In 1964， Elvis Presley starred in a movie called “Viva Las Vegas.”Here he sings the title song from that movie.

新奥尔良（New Orleans）是北美洲最独特、文化最多元的城市之一，位于密西西比河畔、路易斯安那州南部，建立于1718年。新奥尔良是路易斯安那州一个重要的港口城市，也是美国仅次于纽约的第二大港城，以爵士乐和法国殖民地文化闻名。

“大快活”（The Big Easy）是新奥尔良最为人熟知的别称，早在法国殖民地时期，这里就是贵族阶层最奢靡腐化、日夜笙歌的快活之地。20世纪初，在新奥尔良出现了一家名叫“大快活”的夜总会，直到20世纪70年代，路易斯安那州的一名报社记者将“大快活”用于称呼新奥尔良，这个表现其悠闲自如生活方式的昵称才广为流传至今，正好与纽约大都市紧张的生活节奏形成鲜明的对比。

1970年，James Conaway出版了犯罪小说《大出意外》（The Big Easy），1987年被改编成同名电影，故事发生的背景就设定在新奥尔良，使得“大快活”这个别称更为大众所知。

“新月城”（The Crescent City）这一别称则是源于新奥尔良的地理位置。19世纪，新的社区沿着密西西比河大弯曲的河岸线从如今的法国街开始延伸，形成了一个新月形的轮廓，新奥尔良“新月城”的别称便由此而来。

19世纪末20世纪初，一种根基来自布鲁斯（Blues）和拉格泰姆（Ragtime）的音乐形成——爵士乐（Jazz）在新奥尔良流行开来，这里也因此被称为“爵士乐的诞生地”（The Birthplace of Jazz）。二战后期，爵士乐成为美国黑人消遣的一种方式，如今逐渐发展成为主流音乐之一，世界爵士乐的一代宗师Louis Armstrong就是土生土长的新奥尔良人。

当地一年一度的传统盛会马蒂瓜狂欢节（Mardi Gras Day）始于法国殖民地时期。Mardi Gras是一个法语词汇，意思是“盛大的星期二”。根据天主教的传统，自星期三圣庆日至复活节前6周为纪念耶稣受难的斋戒期，因此这之前的星期二人们就大吃一顿，这是天主教国家中比较普遍的一个节日，其中新奥尔良的狂欢节可谓是最为盛大，因此也被誉为“狂欢之都”（Mardi Gras City）。

新奥尔良人亲切地将这个城市称为“诺拉”（NOLA），这是“New Orleans， Louisiana”的缩写形式。

拉斯维加斯（Las Vegas）是美国内华达州的最大城市，以赌博业为中心的庞大的旅游、购物、度假产业而闻名于世。拉斯维加斯在短短数十年间脱胎换骨，从一个巨型游乐场到一个活色生香的都市，从一个小村庄演变成为世界闻名的旅游城市。

拉斯维加斯是全球四大赌城（The Gambling Capital of the World）之一，同时也是个不夜城，这里的夜总会彻夜开放，提供娱乐活动，被称为“世界娱乐之都”（The Entertainment Capital of the World）也就不足为奇了。

拉斯维加斯也被称为“罪恶之城”（Sin City），因为在这里你可以找到各种各样的成人娱乐活动。很多希望在拉斯维加斯依靠博彩大赢一把的人不知道该何时收手，有时候可能会输掉自己辛苦赚来的钱，因此也有人将拉斯维加斯称为“工资输光光”（Lost Wages），这正好是Las Vegas的谐音。