[by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The United States is full of odd roadside attractions. [00:05.28]Route 66 is home to some of the oldest [00:09.16]– and arguably most bizarre [00:11.84]– roadside attractions of them all. [00:14.96]Here are 10 attractions you should see along the Mother Road: [00:20.00]1. Paul Bunyan and a Hot Dog [00:29.76]Route 66 travelers pass by many fiberglass giants right along the road. [00:37.40]These giants were a popular form of advertising in the 1960s. [00:43.72]Many of them stood in front of service stations. [00:48.20]They held car parts, such as mufflers. [00:52.32]The collection of Route 66 giants became known as "Muffler Men." [00:58.48]Businesses hoped the strange statues would get travelers' attention. [01:05.04]The first fiberglass giant was a "Paul Bunyan" figure, [01:09.20]built in the early 1960s. [01:12.36]Paul Bunyan is a famous lumberjack in American folklore. [01:16.72]It originally advertised the Paul Bunyan Cafe [01:21.44]on Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona. [01:25.76]There, the Paul Bunyan statue held an axe. [01:29.72]But in 1965, a man in Illinois bought the statue and brought it to his state. [01:37.48]He used the giant Paul Bunyan to advertise his restaurant in Cicero, Illinois. [01:44.76]He also replaced the axe with something very different: a hot dog. [01:52.64]The statue was moved again in the early 2000s, [01:56.96]this time to Atlanta, Illinois. [01:59.68]Paul Bunyan still stands there today, [02:02.36]nearly six meters tall, with one giant hot dog in hand. [02:08.28]2. Crown Candy Kitchen and Jamaica Ray [02:16.76]Crown Candy Kitchen has been serving Route 66 travelers from the very beginning. [02:23.96]It is just a few short blocks from the 66 path through St. Louis, Missouri. [02:30.44]The family-run soda fountain shop opened more than 100 years ago, [02:36.72]and has been making candies, malts, and meals ever since. [02:42.68]On weekends, people sometimes wait in line for a table at Crown Candy for over an hour. [02:49.64]Luckily there is free entertainment right outside. [02:54.40]Jamaica Ray, a local folk artist, creates unusual sculptures. [03:01.16]Jamaica Ray was born in St. Louis, Missouri, but was raised in Jamaica. [03:06.60]When he returned to his birth city a few years ago, [03:10.96]he brought with him a unique style of art. [03:15.20]Jamaica Ray creates very life-like sculptures out of cloth, [03:20.20]plastic and other materials he finds. [03:23.88]And he plays music for customers on his homemade steel drums. [03:29.68]3. The World's Largest Rocking Chair [03:38.72]Fanning, Missouri, is home to one of the strangest Route 66 attractions. [03:46.12]Just off the road sits an almost 13-meter-tall rocking chair. [03:53.56]The structure was completed in 2008 on the first of April, or April Fools Day. [04:02.12]The same year, the Guinness Book of World Records [04:05.72]awarded it the title of "World's Largest Rocking Chair." [04:11.40]At one time the chair actually rocked. [04:15.20]But officials decided it had to be permanently still to be safe. [04:21.20]People are not permitted to climb the chair. [04:24.96]We suspect, however, that it probably happens [04:28.64]once in a while when no one is watching. [04:32.12]4. Big Texan's Steak Challenge [04:37.92]Few places better represent the common expression [04:42.20]"Everything's Bigger in Texas" than the Big Texan Steak Ranch. [04:48.56]Since 1960, it has appealed to travelers with big appetites -- and a big love of beef. [04:57.24]It is hard to miss the huge yellow restaurant [05:00.52]-- or the giant cow statue that sits out front. [05:04.80]The cow advertises Big Texan's special deal, [05:09.28]and what has made this steak ranch famous: [05:13.00]a "free" 72-oz -- or 2 kilogram -- steak. [05:19.80]There is one trick: the steak is only free if you can eat the entire thing in one hour. [05:28.60]A special table is in the middle of the restaurant [05:32.00]for the daring diners who accept the challenge. [05:36.36]Since 1990, more than 9,000 diners have eaten the entire 2-kilogram steak. [05:44.48]5. Cadillac Ranch - A Colorful Burial Ground for Cars [05:56.20]Of all the strange attractions along the Mother Road [06:00.56]the best known is in Amarillo, Texas: Cadillac Ranch. [06:06.48]There, ten Cadillac cars are partly buried, front first, in the hard, flat earth. [06:16.08]Their back ends, several with iconic tail fins, [06:21.08]point toward the big Texas sky. [06:25.12]A group of artists called Ant Farm created the installation in 1974. [06:32.64]It is on private land but the owner has always left the area open for visitors. [06:39.24]The installation is meant to represent the golden age of cars. [06:45.48]Huge numbers of tourists visit Cadillac Ranch every day. [06:50.56]Many bring along cans of spray paint. [06:54.04]Visitors are encouraged to leave their marks on the colorful cars. [06:59.24]6. Beautiful Blue Swallow [07:10.32]Some of the most treasured attractions on Route 66 are motels. [07:16.44]Bright neon motel signs transport the traveler back in time. [07:22.32]These motor court-style motels became popular as the automobile rose to importance in the U.S. [07:31.28]The small, independent motels remain a symbol of the American road trip. [07:38.00]Along Route 66 today, the majestic Blue Swallow Motel [07:43.64]in Tucumcari, New Mexico, stands out. [07:48.00]The Blue Swallow opened in 1940. [07:51.72]It has been renovated and modernized. [07:54.60]But it still has many of motel's classic and original features. [08:00.92]A vintage car still sits out front. [08:05.00]Blue Swallow's sign, though, is what makes it so special. [08:10.20]The photogenic neon sign features a swallow -- a type of bird -- with a leaf in its beak. [08:17.88]The bird's lights blink on and off. [08:22.12]Route 66 travelers today can still stay the night in one of Blue Swallow's 12 rooms. [08:30.00]It remains one of the most famous motels along the route. [08:34.84]7. What is a Wigwam? [08:43.97]Some of Route 66's motels are just kooky. [08:49.36]The Wigwam Village in Holbrooke, Arizona, is an example. [08:54.68]Wigwam villages are motels built in America beginning in the 1930s. [09:01.96]They were designed to look like traditional Native American homes. [09:07.92]Each room is actually a separate building, tall and cone-shaped. [09:14.44]However, that kind of Native home is actually called a tipi. [09:21.36]Native wigwams are short and round like a dome. [09:26.04]The builders may have gotten the name wrong, [09:29.72]but visitors loved the motels anyway. [09:33.12]And the Wigwams remain a popular Route 66 attraction. [09:38.65]8. Take It Easy on One Famous Corner! [09:47.44]Winslow, Arizona, is home to a relatively new attraction along Route 66. [09:54.16]It honors a popular old song. [09:57.44]The American group the Eagles released "Take it Easy," in 1972. [10:04.32]It goes: "I'm standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona [10:09.76]and such a fine sight to see." [10:13.40]In 1999, Winslow officials opened a small public park [10:18.96]that honors the song that made the town famous. [10:24.04]A statue of a man holding a guitar was put up on the corner of 2nd and Kinsey streets. [10:31.64]A large painting on a brick wall behind the statue [10:35.88]also depicts a line of the song [10:38.72]with the words Winslow Arizona painted above. [10:42.76]9. Flagstaff's Lively Museum Club [10:48.56]The Museum Club in Flagstaff, Arizona, is a honky tonk right along Route 66. [10:56.84]If you are wondering what a honky-tonk is, we will get to that later. [11:02.72]First we will tell you about the business' original purpose. [11:08.52]It opened in the 1930s. [11:11.96]The owner, Dean Eldredge, built it to be the biggest log cabin in the world. [11:19.08]Mr. Eldredge was in the taxidermy business. [11:23.28]He placed the animals he stuffed along the walls and beams of the business, and called it a museum. [11:31.68]Later, the museum became a place to gather and drink. [11:37.44]It also became a popular spot for travelers along Route 66. [11:44.00]The business added country-western music and dancing. [11:48.04]Over the years, the club got wilder and rougher. [11:52.36]"Bar brawls" were not uncommon. [11:56.04]That is how the Museum Club earned its title as a honky-tonk. [12:01.52]A honky-tonk is a bar that features country-music, [12:06.08]low-cost drinks and wild behavior. [12:10.96]Today, the Museum Club again is respectable, but still lively. [12:16.92]And the heads of animals still hang in the club. [12:22.28]10. Hollywood in the Desert: El Trovatore [12:30.96]The El Trovatore Motel in Kingman, Arizona, [12:34.84]opened in the late 1930s. [12:37.64]It was once the one of the most modern and expensive motels along Arizona's stretch of Route 66. [12:46.08]It was the state's first air-conditioned motel. [12:50.20]The area around Kingman was once a popular place to film western movies. [12:56.48]So, Hollywood actors stayed in the area during filming. [13:01.24]El Trovatore's past guests include Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable and James Dean. [13:10.32]And El Trovatore's connection to Hollywood still remains strong today. [13:15.21]Many of the motel rooms celebrate a different Hollywood celebrity. [13:20.56]Guests can choose to stay in a Marilyn Monroe room, [13:25.24]an Elvis Presley room, or a John Wayne room. [13:30.04]Another famous El Trovatore attraction? [13:32.80]It is now home to the world's longest Route 66 map. [13:37.78](Music) [13:45.92]I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver. [13:49.24]Join us next week for a fun report on the food of Route 66. [13:54.52](Music)更多听力请访问51VOA.COM