The “Mother Road(母亲之路)” was what John Steinbeck called it in “The Grapes of Wrath(约翰·斯坦贝克的小说，描写大萧条时期移民潮)”; the Joads drove west from Oklahoma in search of a better life in California. Nat King Cole sang that it was where you “get your kicks(寻欢作乐、寻求刺激)”. It gave its name to a popular network TV show(热播电视节目) in the 1960s and inspired the plot and setting of Pixar’s “Cars”, an animated film(动画电影) from 2006. It is the path of one of America’s most popular road trips.
约翰·斯坦贝克在《愤怒的葡萄》中称之为“母亲之路”；乔德一家从俄克拉荷马驾车西行，在加州寻找更好的生活。纳京·科尔唱道，那是你“寻欢作乐”的地方。20世纪60年代一部热播电视剧以其命名，并启发了2006年皮克斯动画电影《汽车总动员》的情节和背景。它是美国最受欢迎的公路旅行路线之一。
Route 66 became the most famous highway in the world partly due to good timing(由于时机恰当). Its heyday(全盛时期) coincided with(与……同时发生) America’s cultural and geopolitical(地缘政治的) rise and the emergence of car culture. This year the route turns 100. And though the modern interstate is more efficient, it is far less colourful. America is turning 250 in a divided, uneasy time. The best antidote(解药，对策) for the birthday blues(生日忧郁) is to drive all 2,400 miles (3,860km), from Chicago to Santa Monica, on the Mother Road.
66号公路成为世界上最著名的公路，部分原因是时机恰到好处。它的全盛时期与美国文化及地缘政治崛起、以及汽车文化的兴起相伴相生。今年这条公路迎来了百年诞辰。尽管现代州际公路更高效，但它远没有那么丰富多彩。美国即将迎来250岁生日，正值分裂不安的时代。对付“生日忧郁”的最佳解药，就是沿着母亲之路，全程驱车2400英里（3860公里），从芝加哥到圣莫尼卡。
Though it began as a motley stitching(拼凑，大杂烩) of state and local roads—not until 12 years after its inauguration did it become the first fully paved American highway(直到开通12年后，它才成为第一条全面铺装的美国公路。)—it quickly became the main route west, passing through eight states. Farmhands used it to flee the Dust Bowl(逃离沙尘暴地区); so did workers, many of them African-Americans from Texas and Oklahoma, who flocked to(蜂拥而至) California’s booming industrial base after the second world war; merry holidaymakers travelled along it to Los Angeles. During Route 66’s early years, more people got behind the wheel(开车，驾驶), thanks to Henry Ford’s affordable Model T(亨利·福特推出的低成本T型车). Services for drivers flourished(繁荣，兴旺), including petrol stations, diners and motels, as did the small towns through which the route passed.
尽管它最初只是州道和地方公路的拼凑——直到开通12年后才成为第一条全面铺装的美国公路——但它很快成为西行的主要路线，穿过八个州。农场工人用它逃离沙尘暴；工人同样如此，其中许多是非裔美国人，来自得克萨斯州和俄克拉荷马州，二战后涌向加州蓬勃发展的工业基地；欢乐的度假者沿着它前往洛杉矶。在66号公路早期，由于亨利·福特推出的廉价T型车，更多人开上了汽车。服务于司机的设施蓬勃兴起，包括加油站、餐馆和汽车旅馆，沿途的小镇也随之繁荣。
