专业英语-圣马科斯堡.docVIP

The Castillo de San Marcos (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: This is Steve Ember. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And this is Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Our story today tells of ships, explorers, pirate attacks and wars. It is the story of an old military base, the Castillo de San Marcos. It was built in the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States -- Saint Augustine, in the southern state of Florida. (MUSIC) STEVE EMBER: To reach the Castillo de San Marcos you must drive through part of the city of Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine is in northeastern Florida near the Atlantic Ocean. You drive on a small, narrow road with vehicles slowly going both ways. On one side of the road is water. On the other side is the city. You pass businesses, eating places, stores and hotels. And then you see it, just as the road turns to the left. It looks like a hill of rock rising out of the ground. It seems fierce. And it looks very foreign. There can be no mistake about what it is. It is a very old military base -- the kind that is called a fort. It looks like it should be in some European country, not on the coast of Florida. SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Near the entrance is an area to leave your car. A large sign says National Park Service, Castillo de San Marcos. In English the name means the Castle of Saint Mark. A National Park Service worker sells us a ticket to enter the old fort. It only costs a few dollars. Slowly we make our way across a wide, water-filled area called a moat. STEVE EMBER: Passing through the huge walls of the fort is a little like walking back in time. Sounds from the street and the city of Saint Augustine do not reach inside. The fort is very much like it was when its builders completed most of it in sixteen ninety-five. There are ancient guns here. Most of the huge cannon are made of bronze. They are a green color because of their great age. Some have deep marks showing the gun was made by the royal weapons factory in Spain. Others ar