“山姆大叔”的由来

张超

Uncle Sam is well known as the nickname of the United States. The name of Uncle Sam and its image can be seen in many newspapers， magazines and books in America. Uncle Sam is usually described as a serious elderly man who has white hair， a goatee1， and a top hat and wears a swallow-tailed coat2.

众所周知，“山姆大叔”是美国的绰号。在美国，许多报纸、杂志和书籍上经常可以看到山姆大叔的名字及其形象。山姆大叔通常被描绘成留着白发，蓄着山羊胡，身穿燕尾服，头戴一顶高礼帽，神情严肃的老人形象。

Uncle Sam， the nickname of America came into being during the American-British War of 1812. At that time， there was an inspector3 of army supplies named Sam Wilson in New York City. He was honest and hard-working. The local people all liked him a lot and called him “Uncle Sam”. Sam was in charge of marking the food， which was provided for the army， with the mark of “E.A.-U.S.”.

“山姆大叔”这一绰号出现在1812年的美英战争时期。当时在纽约市有一个名叫山姆·威尔逊的军队供应品的检验员。他为人诚实，做事勤快，当地人都非常喜欢他，称他“山姆大叔”。山姆负责在供应军队的食品上戳上“E.A.-U.S.”的标志。

One day when a governor4 visited Sams factory， he saw the mark and asked what it stood for. One of the workers explained， “‘E.A. is the abbreviation5 of a businessmans name， and ‘U.S. refers to ‘the United States.” Then the worker added just for kidding， “‘U.S. is also the abbreviation of ‘Uncle Sam！” Since then， more and more American people got to know “Uncle Sam”.

一天当州长参观山姆的工厂时，他看到了“E.A.-U.S.”的标记，便问是什么意思。一个工人解释说，“‘E.A.是一个承包商的名字，‘U.S.是美国的缩写。”接着这个工人开玩笑地说，“‘U.S.也是‘山姆大叔的缩写！”从那以后，“山姆大叔”名声大振。

In 1961， the American Congress6 accepted Uncle Sam as the national symbol of the United States.

1961年，美国国会同意了将“山姆大叔”作为美国的象征。

1. goatee n. 山羊胡子

2. swallow-tailed coat 燕尾服

3. inspector n. 检查员

4. governor n. 州长；省长；总督

5. abbreviation n. 省略，缩写

6. congress n. 国会；代表大会