托马斯•杰弗逊的故居叫蒙蒂塞洛（意大利语“小山”之意）。它位于弗吉尼亚州的夏洛茨维尔（Charlottesville ）。(Csetzer/Creative Commons)

每日对话围绕一家人在美国50个州的旅行见闻展开。请来跟随他们一起体验地方风情和历史。这个对话系列适于中级或中级以上英语水平的学生使用。

今天他们来到弗吉尼亚州 (Virginia)的蒙蒂塞洛（Monticello），参观美国第三任总统托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）的故居。

声频

Sam: Did Thomas Jefferson live at Monticello when he was president?

Paul: No. He, like all other U.S. presidents, lived at the White House during hispresidency. The only exception is George Washington.

Claudine: So he lived here before and after he was president?

Paul: That’s right. And he loved this place. Jefferson designed the house and was even buried on the grounds here.

Gina: And it was built as a plantation house. Remember, this was during theantebellum period, and this was part of the South.

Claudine: So Jefferson had slaves?

Gina: Yes. He had several hundred slaves during his lifetime.

Paul: But while we were in Pennsylvania, we learned that he drafted the Declaration of Independence. And that document states “that all men are created equal.” How could he have slaves and still think all men are equal?

Gina: That is a great question. Perhaps we’ll learn more about him today at Monticello that will help answer your question.

让我们复习一些词语：

Thomas Jefferson : 托马斯·杰斐逊，第三任美国总统

Monticello ：蒙蒂塞洛，杰斐逊总统故居的名称

A presidency ：这里指总统任职时期

To bury ：埋葬，安葬

Grounds ：宅地

A plantation house ：种植园主宅第。A plantation：种植园（作物可包括棉花、小麦等）。历史上，美国南方的种植园主用奴隶从事种植园的农活和其他劳务。

Antebellum ：战前的；美国南北战争（Civil War）以前的（相关内容可见在宾夕法尼亚州的每日对话）

To draft : 起草（文件等）

The Declaration of Independence :《独立宣言》，宣告北美洲13个殖民地脱离英国独立的文献。《宣言》于1776年7月4日生效，故7月4日是美国国庆节，即7月4日独立日（Fourth of July and Independence Day） 。