2016-05-29

【Aiden in English】

        Pittsburgh is a great city in Pennsylvania that is commonly overshadowed by the great Philadelphia. Come to think of it, the City of Champions is just as good if not better than the City of Brotherly Love. Pittsburgh has fabulous architectures and spectacular skyline, as well as the old money and natural resources. Not to mention sports teams that actually are meant to play in the major leagues. In fact, every team in Pittsburgh holds a strong force in its sports league, such as the Steelers who have won six Super Bowls, the Penguins who have qualified for five Stanley Cup Finals, and the Pirates who have a victorious percentage over 0.500 in the World Series. Much better than what our Eagles, Flyers, and Phillies have. Pittsburgh, although a great city of sports, also has a very intriguing location in the US.

        Sitting next to the Appalachian Mountains, the City of Bridges is a gateway to the rest of North America. At the confluence of both Allegheny River and Monongahela River, the Ohio River is formed as the largest tributary. It drains through the city, which then connects to the Mississippi River and the rest of the continent. This place was where Louis and Clark set off their expedition. The area also has many natural resources like lumber, iron ore, coke, and petroleum. Such evidence can be found in the second Industrial Revolution where Pittsburgh was transformed into a town of steel mills, hence the name “Steel City”. The pollution of the time was horrendous, hospitalizing many people as well had been lethal to a few. Nevertheless, money was pouring through the city, and our tour guide George referred to it as “old money” that made Pittsburgh the third wealthiest city on earth back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Pittsburgh, believe or not, is much richer than Philadelphia, since the old money has been carried over and gone unspent for half a century. Many landmarks were built off of this money, such as Carnegie Science Center, Heinz Field, PNC Park, etc. The mangers can buy and sign good players, and with a good team, they require good stores. Our trip included a quick stop at a famous Pittsburgh sports shop, Yinzers in the Burgh, where literally anything you can buy has a Pittsburgh team logo printed on it. Shelves containing cards, mugs, sweaters, t-shirts, caps, water bottles, earbuds, computers, fans, pencils, notebooks, gloves, skateboards, and guitars lined the stone walls, and stepping around became a hazard. The store even had a restroom with many sports legends, such as Jerome Bettis. As we approached the check-out, George engaged in a conversation with the cashier. Apparently, about an hour before we arrived, the store was so packed that many had to wait outside. Unfortunately for the waiters, it started raining. The time of the thundershower was right at the scenic view of our tour. After being trolleyed up a hill by Duquesne Incline, we had a gorgeous look over the Golden Triangle. Of course, the typical mischievous storm cloud blocked the background valleys. I guess Mother Nature was trying to “steal” our fun.

        Pittsburgh is certainly better than it seems. With a large fan base behind a great city of sports, as well as a great view over three rivers, it can surprise many people. The Birthplace of America is our home, but the Steel Nation has many attractions that we will never have.

【紅霞譯文】

        匹茲堡是賓夕法尼亞州僅次於費城的第二座大城市，這個“冠軍之城”一點不比“友愛之城”遜色，建築美景都市奇葩可謂觸目皆是，同時還富含世襲財產及自然資源，其球隊屢屢闖入北美職聯總決賽，各個實力雄厚，鋼人隊業已贏得六屆“超級碗”橄欖球冠軍稱號，企鵝隊曾經五次摘取“史坦利杯”冰球總決賽桂冠，海盜隊在棒球“世界大賽”上獲勝率超過一半，讓我們家鄉的老鷹隊、飛人隊和費城人隊無地自容。匹茲堡的體育輝煌固然提高了其知名度，但得天獨厚的地理位置確實為自身發展奠定了殷實基礎。

        “山勢縈迴水脈分，水光山色翠連雲。”匹茲堡緊鄰阿巴拉契亞山脈，不僅享有“橋梁之城”的美譽，而且是通往北美其它地區的門戶。阿勒格尼河和莫農加希拉河經此交匯並形成全國最大的支流俄亥俄河，俄亥俄河穿過城區，最後併入密西西比河，進而連通與河岸各地的交往，劉易斯與克拉克遠征便從這裡開始。匹茲堡自然資源豐富，盛產木材鐵礦砂焦炭石油，在第二次工業革命中大力發展冶金工業，成為遐邇聞名的“鋼鐵之城”，當時空氣污染嚴重，人們深受其害，住院就醫的數量急劇增加，甚至造成幾起死亡事件。儘管如此，大量金錢還是源源不斷湧入匹茲堡，我們的導遊喬治稱之為“世襲財產”，正因為雄厚資本，自十九世紀末至廿世紀初，匹茲堡躍居世界第三位富裕城市。不管你相信不相信，匹茲堡真比費城闊氣，憑藉這些“世襲財產”，它可以吃香的喝辣的，悠哉游哉享受大半個世紀美好時光，不少標誌性高樓大廈就是依賴這筆財富建築而成，諸如卡內基科學中心、亨氏足球場、匹茲堡國民銀行棒球場等等。球隊經理能夠出資招徠值錢的球員，而牛氣的球隊肯定要開設自己的品牌商店，我們的行程同樣包括造訪當地一家著名小賣部──“匹茲堡體育用品專賣店”，裡面陳列的每樣東西都印有匹茲堡球隊徽章，沿牆貨架上擺滿了卡片、杯子、秋衣球褲、汗衫、帽子、水瓶、耳塞、計算機、風扇、鉛筆、筆記本、手套、滑板以及吉他，出入這家商鋪隨時都有交互碰撞的危險。店內有一間廁所，四壁天花板到處都是像吉羅姆·百茲之類的傳奇式人物留下的親筆簽字。我們手持禮品正準備付款，其間恰好聽到喬治與收銀員聊天，原來在我們抵達之前一個鐘頭，店裡店外擠滿了遊客，可天公不作美，忽然下起了雷陣雨，不能不令服務生大失所望，當時我們正在觀光途中。乘坐杜肯電纜車爬上山坡，眼前金三角景致秀美，而遠處山谷則烏雲密布，我覺得大自然試圖“竊取”我們的快樂。

        匹茲堡看上去要比想象中好得多，如此非凡的體育之城必定離不開眾多球迷支持，如此別致的都市風情自然少不了三條河點綴，所及這些無一不令世人嘆為觀止。我們以“美國發源地”自居，其實“冶金家族”許多獨到之處都是我們可望而不可及的。