“兄弟之愛之城”與“豆豆城”

Almost all American cities have nicknames. They help establish a city’s identity. They can also spread unity and pride among its citizens.

Two east coast cities—Philadelphia and Boston—were both important in the early history of the United States. Philadelphia is best known as “The City of Brotherly Love.”

In 1681， King Charles the Second， of England， gave William Penn a large amount of land to establish a colony. The King named the colony Pennsylvania in honor of Penn’s father. William Penn was a Quaker. He brought his beliefs about equality， religious freedom and brotherly love to this new land. Penn was also an expert in Latin and Greek. He established a city and named it Philadelphia， which is Greek for “brotherly love.” An ancient city called Philadelphia was also noted in Christianity’s holy book， the Bible.

Philadelphia became the social， political and geographical center of the American colonies. In the late 1700s， many events that took place in Philadelphia gave birth to the American Revolution and independence. For example， the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed in the city. Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the new nation from 1790 to 1800.

Some of Philadelphia’s other nicknames are “The Quaker City，” “The Cradle of Liberty” and “The Birthplace of America.” Philadelphia is a long name. So many people just call it “Philly.”

Boston is another important city. It is one of the oldest cities in the United States. In 1630， Puritan settlers from England established Boston in what would become the state of Massachusetts.

Several major events took place in Boston before and during the American Revolution. You may have heard of the Boston Massacre， the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

So， like Philadelphia， Boston is called“The Cradle of Liberty.” Another nickname is “The Cradle of Modern America.”

However， Boston’s most famous nickname is “Beantown.” But it was not because the city grew a lot of beans. In the 1700s， Boston was a major trading center. It received a lot of sugarcane from the West Indies. Beans baked in molasses—a sugar product—became a favorite food in the city. Today， no companies there make Boston baked beans. Restaurants in Boston rarely serve it. But many Americans eat this tasty dish at home.

費城（Philadelphia）位于美國東海岸的賓夕法尼亞州（Pennsylvania），是美國第五大城市，歷史上曾是美國的首都，是美國最具歷史意義的城市。費城的別稱是“兄弟之愛之城”，關于這個別稱的來歷，還要追溯到1681年。當時英國國王查爾斯二世（King Charles the Second）送給威廉·佩恩（William Penn）大片土地建立殖民地。為了紀念佩恩的父親，國王將這塊殖民地命名為賓夕法尼亞。佩恩將自己的信條——平等、宗教自由和兄弟之愛帶到了這片新的土地上，他建立了一個命名為Philadelphia的城市，在希臘語中的意思就是“兄弟之愛”。

費城成為當時美國殖民地的社會、政治和地理中心。18世紀末期，在費城發生的許多事件催生了美國的革命和獨立。1774至1775年兩次大陸會議在費城召開，并通過了《獨立宣言》；1787年制憲會議舉行，誕生了第一部聯邦憲法。

由于Philadelphia這個名字太長，所以很多人用Philly來表示費城，它還有其他的別稱，包括：“貴格城（Quaker City）”（威廉·佩恩是尊崇和平主義、人人平等的基督新派貴格會教徒，他在費城廣傳貴格會的教義）、“自由的搖籃（The Cradle of Liberty）”和“美國的發源地（The Birthplace of America）”。

波士頓（Boston）是美國馬薩諸塞州（Massachusetts）的首府和最大城市，位于美國東北部大西洋沿岸，是美國最古老、最具文化價值的城市之一。17世紀30年代，來自英格蘭的清教徒建立了波士頓。18世紀中后期，英國人嘗試全面控制在美國的13個殖民地，促使波士頓人發動了美國革命，波士頓屠殺、波士頓傾茶事件以及早期的幾個戰役——萊克星頓和康科德戰役、邦克山戰役和波士頓圍城戰都發生在波士頓及其附近地區。因此，波士頓也和費城一樣被稱為“自由的搖籃（The Cradle of Liberty）”，還有“現代美國的搖籃（The Cradle of Modern America）”的別稱。

此外，波士頓還有一個著名的別稱叫做“豆豆城（Beantown）”，但是這并不是因為這里盛產豆子，而是因為這里有一種名叫糖漿烤豆子的美食。