المحادثات اليومية لمتعلّمي اللغة الانجليزية: قضاء يوم في منزل أحد الرؤساء [تسجيل صوتي]

تدور هذه السلسلة من “المحادثات اليومية” بين أفراد أسرة عن تجاربهم خلال رحلة يقومون بها إلى الولايات المتحدة الخمسين. شاركهم التجربة خلال جولاتهم حيث يكتشفون ثقافة الولايات المتحدة وتاريخها، ويطلعون على مزايا كل ولاية. تستهدف هذه المحادثات متعلمي اللغة الإنجليزية من المستوى المتوسط أو أعلى.

في هذه المحادثة، يذهب أفراد العائلة إلى مونتيتشلو، بولاية فيرجينيا، مزرعة ومنزل الرئيس الثالث للولايات المتحدة توماس جفرسون.

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 his presidency. 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 the antebellum 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.

والآن فلنراجع المفردات الانجليزية المستخدمة في محادثة اليوم:

Thomas Jefferson (توماس جفرسون) was the third president of the United States.

Monticello (مونتيتشلو) was the home of Thomas Jefferson.

A presidency (الرئاسة) is the period of time a person is president.

To bury (دفن أو قبر أو وأد) someone means that a person who is no longer alive is placed in a grave (a hole in the ground that is covered with dirt after the body is placed in it).

The land around a large building is called the grounds (الحديقة أو الفناء).

A plantation house (المنزل الرئيسي في مزرعة واسعة مترامية الأطراف) is the main house of a plantation. A plantation is a large area of land where crops (such as cotton or wheat) are grown. During a period of time in the southern United States, plantation owners used slave labor to do the farming and other work on the plantation.

Antebellum (ما قبل الحرب) means “before the war.” In the U.S., it refers to the time before the American Civil War. (For more information on the Civil War, see our Pennsylvania Everyday Conversation.)

To draft (يكتب أو يصيغ مسودة) a written document means to write the first version of it, before writing the final version of the document.

The Declaration of Independence (إعلان الاستقلال) is a document that stated the 13 colonies in America were independent from Great Britain. It took effect on July 4, 1776. July 4 is a national holiday (called the Fourth of July and Independence Day) in the U.S.