SC-L28 The Many Faces of Rolling Hills

The Many Faces of Rolling Hills by Richard Stull 《Rolling Hills 的多種面貌》作者：Richard Stull

Do you know Rolling Hills?你知道 Rolling Hills 嗎？ It's a small town near High Falls Park, about twenty miles outside the city.它是一個靠近 High Falls Park 的小鎮，離城市外大約二十英里。 I had hardly given the place a thought until last month.直到上個月以前，我幾乎沒有想過這個地方。 That's when Mom and I went there to visit my aunt.那時候我和媽媽去那裡拜訪我的阿姨。

One great thing about our visit was the peach cobbler that my aunt made.我們這次拜訪有一件很棒的事，就是阿姨做的桃子酥餅。 Another great thing was what I learned about Rolling Hills.另一件很棒的事，是我學到關於 Rolling Hills 的事情。 It gave me a whole new *viewpoint* on the area.這讓我對這個地區有了全新的*觀點*。 It also made me think differently about the places where people live.這也讓我用不同的方式去思考人們居住的地方。

@@@

My aunt moved to Rolling Hills three months ago.我的阿姨三個月前搬到 Rolling Hills。 Her house looks brand-new.她的房子看起來全新。 In my mind, the whole town looks brand-new.在我心中，整個小鎮看起來也都很新。 The streets are lined with houses, so I guess a lot of families live there.街道兩旁排著一棟棟房子，所以我猜有很多家庭住在那裡。 I saw kids playing together in the yards and cycling along the streets.我看到孩子們在院子裡一起玩，也在街上騎腳踏車。 It's a great place to live.這是一個很適合住的地方。

@@@

I was in my aunt’s yard when I noticed an old building in the distance.我在阿姨的院子裡時，注意到遠方有一棟老建築。 Its walls had fallen down.它的牆已經倒塌了。 I asked my aunt what the old building was doing in a new neighborhood like Rolling Hills.我問阿姨，像 Rolling Hills 這種新社區裡，怎麼會有那棟老建築。

My aunt told me that Rolling Hills had not always been like it is now.阿姨告訴我，Rolling Hills 並不是一直都像現在這樣。 She said that all of the land around there had previously been a farm.她說那附近所有的土地以前都是農場。 I was amazed.我很驚訝。 I couldn’t believe that all the houses and yards were built on what had once been farmland.我不敢相信，所有的房子和院子竟然是蓋在以前的農地上。

@@@

I asked my aunt about other aspects of Rolling Hills that used to be different.我問阿姨，Rolling Hills 還有哪些地方以前也不一樣。 Of course, she told me to visit a library to find out.當然，她叫我去圖書館查一查就知道。 Aunts are always like that.阿姨們總是這樣。 Still, I did as she suggested.不過，我還是照她說的去做。

The local librarian helped me find newspaper stories about Rolling Hills.當地的圖書館員幫我找到一些關於 Rolling Hills 的新聞報導。 Sure enough, it had once been a big farm with a farmhouse and a barn.果然，那裡曾經是一座大農場，有農舍和穀倉。 Cattle grazed in fields where houses now stand.牛群曾在現在蓋著房子的田地裡吃草。

@@@

Then I got to thinking about what the whole area had been like before it was a farm.接著，我開始想：在變成農場之前，整個地區又是什麼樣子呢？ This time the librarian pointed out several books about the history of the county.這次圖書館員指給我看幾本關於這個郡歷史的書。 From my reading, I learned that two hundred years ago, Rolling Hills was not a farm at all.從閱讀中我知道，兩百年前 Rolling Hills 根本不是農場。 It was all forest.那裡到處都是森林。 There was no park nearby, and there was no city.附近沒有公園，也沒有城市。 The library wasn't here, either.圖書館也不在這裡。

Settlers came here, **surveyed** the land, and decided that they were the only people around.移民來到這裡，**勘測**土地，並認為周圍只有他們這些人。 Of course, they were wrong.當然，他們錯了。

@@@

American Indians lived in the area.美洲原住民住在這個地區。 They had lived here for hundreds of years before the settlers arrived.在移民到來之前，他們已經在這裡住了好幾百年。 Back then, all the land in these parts was a thick forest.那時候，這一帶的土地都是茂密的森林。 The people lived here for centuries without changing the land.人們在這裡住了好幾個世紀，卻沒有改變這片土地。

The Indians hunted in the forest and fished in the streams.原住民在森林裡打獵，也在小溪裡釣魚。 The summers were probably very pretty.夏天可能非常美麗。 The winters were most likely quite harsh.冬天很可能相當嚴酷。

@@@

I know it's hard to believe that this busy town was once completely rural.我知道很難相信，這個熱鬧的小鎮曾經完全是鄉下。 It's true, though.但這是真的。

So far, I've discovered that Rolling Hills is way more interesting than I would have believed, and I've researched only what the area was like a few hundred years ago.到目前為止，我發現 Rolling Hills 比我原本以為的還要有趣得多，而我也只研究了這個地方在幾百年前是什麼樣子。

I wonder what it was like a thousand years ago, or ten thousand years ago.我很好奇，一千年前，或是一萬年前，這裡又是什麼樣子呢？

There might have been different kinds of trees.那時候可能有不同種類的樹。

The hills might not have been as steep.這些山丘可能沒有現在這麼陡。

Maybe musk oxen and mastodons lived here.也許麝牛和乳齒象曾經住在這裡。

Perhaps there were even saber-toothed tigers, too!說不定這裡甚至也有劍齒虎呢！

@@@