As the capital of the United States, Washington DC is not one of the 50 states. It's a "federal district," hence "District of Columbia," shortened to "D.C."

作为美国的首都，华盛顿特区并不在美国的50个州之内。它是一个"联邦特区"，因此，"哥伦比亚特区"缩写成为"D.C."。

But that could soon change, as they are currently bidding for statehood. If that happened, Washington DC would become the 51st state, and its leaders would give it an entirely¹ new name.

不过，这一情况可能很快就会发生变化了，因为其目前其正在致力于获得州的地位。一旦成功，华盛顿特区将成为第51个州，而它的州长也将授予它一个全新的名字。

That name could quite likely be "New Columbia," an old name that was approved by voters in a 1982 referendum in which Washington DC tried for statehood. It originates from Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, who is obviously a critical part of U.S. history.

这个名字很有可能是"新哥伦比亚州"，是在1982年华盛顿特区想要升格为州的全民公投中，被批准的一个老名字。它起源于意大利探险家克里斯托弗·哥伦布，而他显然是美国历史上关键的一部分。

Of course, some long time DC residents are anxious about the name change. Columbus' reputation as a hero has undergone quite a sea-change since the 1980s, with many seeing him as a brutal² conqueror³ rather than a noble explorer.

当然，长时间以来特区居民一直对名字的改变充满担忧。自上世纪80年代以来，哥伦布作为一个英雄的美名经历了翻天覆地的改变：很多人将他视作野蛮的侵略者，而非高尚的探险家。

According to Matthew Green, an associate professor of politics at Catholic University in Washington DC, "It's hard to come up with a name that would honor the city's political, living and symbolic⁴ dimensions equally."

据华盛顿特区天主教大学的副教授马修·格林表示："现在很难找出一个能与这座城市的政治、生活和其他象征性维度相匹配的名字。"

People are joining in the conversation on social media, adding in their opinion about the name change and possible statehood.

更名和升州事宜引起了网友们在社交媒体上的热烈讨论，很多人分享了他们的观点。

#NewColumbia? You've gotta be kidding me!! Please stick to Washington DC. Capital City!— Roro Tetreault

网友Roro Tetreault说：#新哥伦比亚州？别开玩笑了！还是华盛顿特区好，首都好！

Presumptive Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton supports the change along with Bernie Sanders, but nothing is set in stone yet. The statehood issue will probably be debated at the Democratic National Convention in July. Until then, we'll just have to sit tight and see what happens.

此外，民主党候选人希拉里·克林顿和伯尼·桑德斯都支持这个方案，但是没有什么是一成不变的。获得州地位的问题极有可能会在七月的民主党全国大会上商议。在此之前，我们就静观其变吧。