美国国家公共电台 NPR Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez On Creating A Superhero For Puerto Rico
时间：2019-01-17 作者：英语课 分类：2018年NPR美国国家公共电台9月
ROBERT GARCIA, HOST:
What's up, everybody? Please - just heads up. There may be some strong language in this episode - ooh (ph).
ADRIAN BARTOS, HOST:
Some bad words.
EDGARDO MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I identified in a funny way with Spiderman because he was - he had brown hair like me. So I thought he was Puerto Rican. Everybody that had brown hair when I was growing up I thought was Puerto Rican...
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...You know?
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: Yo, yo, yo, mi gente. It's Stretch Armstrong.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BARTOS: Que bueno?
GARCIA: (Speaking Spanish) Bobbito Garcia A.K.A. Kool Bob Love A.K.A (speaking Spanish).
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Welcome...
GARCIA: He wasn't ready for that.
BARTOS: Welcome to WHAT'S GOOD...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
BARTOS: Hey. hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...
GARCIA: (Speaking Spanish) Chill. We don't talk that.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Laughter).
BARTOS: Come on. This is NPR.
GARCIA: Silence his mic, please.
BARTOS: This is NPR. You're stepping over boundaries here.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Laughter).
GARCIA: Today, we are talking with a friend, a homeboy, a seriously talented graphic 1 novelist, Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez - boricua from New York or, if you don't know what that means, Puerto Rican from New York - wrote for Marvel 2 and DC before creating the popular graphic novel series called "La Borinquena."
BARTOS: Yeah. "La Borinquena" is a fierce, environmentally conscious superhero who uses her superpowers to help her people, which is actually a lot like Edgardo. He put together a comics anthology called "Ricanstruction." One-hundred percent of the proceeds go to rebuilding Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma and Maria, which devastated 5 the island last year. He blends art and activism in a really cool way. And he's here with us today. Stay tuned 6. We'll be right back with Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: And we are back joined in the studio with graphic novelist Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez. Welcome to WHAT'S GOOD, my man. That's you.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: You need a script?
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Take two - Edgardo, welcome to the show.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Line - line - line, Michelle - Michelle, line. What's up? What's up? Everything is very well. I'm very happy to be here with family. It's a very surreal moment. Growing up with you guys - I've known Bob for like 29 years when I was a freshman 7 at Colgate. But it's something beautiful to actually be able to share this set of work I'm doing with actual family. And it starts with history.
GARCIA: Edgardo, I mean, you know, we know you dearly. But for our audience, how would you self-describe who Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez is in 2018?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I look at myself as a culmination 8 of many things. First and foremost, I see myself as a father and husband. I'm raising two boys in Brooklyn with my wife. My oldest son Keyan (ph) has autism and has never held him back. And I've learned to become an advocate and an activist 9 for his life based on my experience as a younger activist. I think the 20-plus years of living in New York City as a culture warrior 10 has taught me to be where I am in my career now.
I've been working for myself for close to 20 years, running my own design studio, Somos Arte. But prior to that, I was an activist working with El Puente, the National Congress For Puerto Rican Rights, being mentored 11 by Iris 12 Morales, the late Richie Perez, many activists 13 who are known for their work particularly in the Puerto Rican community around police brutality 14, around fair housing. And it's kind of like a long title to fit in on a business card. You know what I mean?
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: But I just see myself as an activist that really is engaging a larger audience through the arts.
BARTOS: Ed, you just referred to yourself as a cultural warrior. But you've also been described as an art-ivist (ph).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: That's a weird 15 word (laughter).
GARCIA: I've never heard that before.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I've heard that. And I've heard many people call me an art-ivist and such. I like to actually use terminology 16 that kind of, like, can appeal to a larger audience because oftentimes art-ivist is such a very niche 17 kind of, like, adjective. But I definitely consider myself one that actually does bring in the arts with my advocacy because I see it as a real tool to engage. And it's what really woke up my consciousness when I was a high school student. It was actually like Little Stevie from the E Street Band when he pulled together the "Sun City" initiative, which was everyone from Ruben Blades to Run-D.M.C. to Kurtis Blow, Afrika Bambaataa, U2 - and they created a whole movement to boycott 18 South Africa.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUN CITY")
ARTISTS UNITED AGAINST APARTHEID: We're rockers and rappers, united and strong. We're here to talk about South Africa. We don't like what's going on. Tell it. It's time for some justice. It's time for the truth. Speak it. We've realized there's only one thing we can do. We got to say I, I, I, I ain't going to play Sun City.
BARTOS: And we should say Sun City refers to the resort in apartheid South Africa that came to represent apartheid.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And that went from, like, music to young people boycotting 19 Nike to boycotting all these companies that were not divesting 20 in South Africa. So that kind of, like, sparked my consciousness. And in college, Ruben Blades, listening to his music, "Buscando America," that kind of like tied it in and balanced me as a Latin growing up in New York City.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BUSCANDO AMERICA")
RUBEN BLADES: (Singing) Te estoy buscando a America, y terno no encontrarla. Tus huellas se han perdido, entre la oscuridad.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: So that was kind of like the foundation that made it easy for me to say, I think this is the perfect opportunity for me to do my part and do it in the way that I can because I'm a nerd. I've always read and collected comics. But to a point, I think we're looking at comic books now as kind of like critical mass. It's everywhere. And it literally 21 is synonymous with corporate 22 branding. But I really thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to use it as social justice activation 23, as opposed to just - as opposed to only corporate branding.
GARCIA: You were a mentee of Luis Garden Acosta.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Yes.
GARCIA: A former Young Lord who founded El Puente High School in Williamsburg at a time when that community had the highest murder rate and the highest high school dropout 24 rate in all of the five boroughs 25 of New York City. You created the very first curriculum in the world - to my knowledge, I remember The Source magazine writing about it...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, that was crazy.
GARCIA: ....that incorporated hip-hop. So you've been pulling and using popular culture, knowing what would attract the youth. What sparked that back then, you know, beyond the clear influence of your mentors 26?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I think the true answer to that is growing up poor in New York City, growing up with a single mother, growing up in tenements 27, literally living in buildings for less than a year because as soon as the rent would go up, we would move out because we just couldn't afford to stay. That actually taught me and gave me firsthand experience of the injustices 29 that existed.
And as a child, I was always drawn 30 to comics because I loved the escapism, but I also loved the narratives 32 that were focused around combating injustices. One of my earliest childhood memories, I was possibly like a kindergartener or first grader, and my brother was walking us across a vacant lot because there were many in the South Bronx because so many of these buildings were torched down.
GARCIA: Your brother Axel?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: My brother Axel. Yeah, you remember Axel.
GARCIA: (Laughing) I love that dude.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And we're taking - (laughing) He was like, yo, Egg. My nickname is Eggy. So he's like...
GARCIA: I call Eggy. (Laughter) I told Stretch - Stretch is like, what do we call - I'm like, yo, just call him Eggy.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Exactly. (Laughter) Eggy, we're going to take a shortcut 33 through this lot. And I'm like, brother, I don't need a shortcut, my hair's already short. That's how young I was. I wasn't even familiar with vernacular 34.
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And we're taking this shortcut, and we get jumped. We just get jumped by knuckleheads who just want to mess with us for no reason because we got nothing to offer.
BARTOS: (Laughter) I wasn't the only one.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Laughter) We had nothing to offer, and I recall telling them you're in so much trouble because I'm reading comic books now, and I'm learning about my superpowers. I literally said that.
BARTOS: (Laughter) Wow.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And that was my way of saying I'm going to combat this injustice 28, as weird as that was. You see what I'm saying? But it was kind of like my existence, you know what I mean?
GARCIA: So did they stop at that moment and look at you...
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: They kind of looked at me and was like, what? There was a moment when they kind of - (speaking Spanish) what did he just say? You know?
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Hey, Bob, you mentioned the Young Lords. And I don't know if you could speak on that briefly 35 because I think a lot of our audience would not know who or what the Young Lords are.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Sure. Well, the Young Lords actually came from Chicago. There was this young brother named Cha Cha Jimenez at the time who was incarcerated 36 with Fred Hampton. While they were incarcerated, Fred Hampton schooled him.
GARCIA: And Fred Hampton was a member of the Black Panthers.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Fred Hampton, original member the Black Panthers, right? And he was, like, saying, you need to come out of this institution better than you came in, but not only for yourself, but especially for your community. And when he came out, he transformed his gang, the Young Lords, into what would become the Young Lords Organization. And he actually inspired a group of college students here in New York City to actually create a New York City chapter, and they took it to a whole other level. And they created it as the Young Lords Party. And they rocked the purple berets. They opened up abandoned storefronts as kitchens for breakfast programs. And mind you, this is like before New York City was offering free lunches, free breakfast.
GARCIA: Yeah.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: That's so, like, common. But there was an era in New York City where if you were poor, you just didn't have any food to go to school with, and you didn't have any food when you came home. And the Young Lords stepped in and created these programs. And they also didn't just provide food, they provided clothing. They provided programs where they were literally decolonizing minds to help young people and families understand what their rights were. And they were doing this from 1969 into the early 1970s. And they're very, very progressive. They stood for gay rights. They stood for women's rights. They're a very, very historically progressive group of Puerto Ricans. I called them the original Avengers, you know.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: You mentioned your early love affair with comics as a kid, which may or may not have gotten you out of getting stomped 37 out.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BARTOS: What was...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: That actually led to being stomped a couple of times.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
BARTOS: Who were some of the characters that you most identified with?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I identified in a funny way with Spiderman because he was - he had brown hair like me, so I thought he was Puerto Rican. Everybody that had brown hair when I was growing up I thought was Puerto Rican, you know?
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And at the time in the '70s, like, we had we had, like, Freddie Prinze on TV. And I'm like, oh, Peter Parker got to be, like, short for, like, Pedro Parqueo (ph) or something like that.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: So it was actually Spiderman. And I loved Batman for his character design and such. But I wasn't too, kind of, like, keen on the, you know, I'm a billionaire so I'm going to save the world because that doesn't really happen.
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: That doesn't really happen. But what I also liked about Spiderman that he came from a single-parent household. He was raised by his aunt. He grew up in Queens, so he was working-class poor. He didn't have the billions to have all these gadgets 38 or a secret lair 39. And he literally hand-made his own costume and such. So that was actually one of the characters that I loved the most, and also because of his sarcasm 40. I was never an athletic 41 cat. I was never a - whatcha-ma-call-it (ph) - a vertically-enhanced individual (laughter). I was a scrub.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And I would always get picked on. And oftentimes, I turned to sarcasm to kind of like, you know, get myself out of, like, situations, you know. And oftentimes, it did.
GARCIA: Clearly, you know, you're growing up. Your brain is wide open on Marvel. You're now working there. That's got to be like a kid who likes basketball, and one day, he's a teammate with Michael Jordan.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Oh, my gosh. Imaginate. That would be - that was a - it was an amazing moment. And it's kind of like - Joe Quesada and the previous editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso, were the only Latinos who were actually working at Marvel. And the first, like, two Latinos back-to-back, they were editor-in-chief at Marvel. So an idea I came up with about 10 years ago was to actually curate an exhibition, which at that point, had never been done.
And I just found that, like, remarkable 42. I was like, why would no one actually curate an exhibition of comic book art? That's crazy. And I curated Joe Quesada's first solo art show, "Santerians," the art of Joe Quesada. And I recall him telling me, I've never had my work in an art show. I've had, like, maybe one or two pieces, but never a whole exhibition about my actual career.
And then a couple of years later, Axel Alonso reached out to me and said, you should do another show. And so I did Marvelous Color, which was a tribute to Marvel's superheroes of color. Because of that, I was actually able to bring D.M.C. from Run-D.M.C. into the doors at Marvel and able to use that kind of connection to help us start what would become "Darryl Makes Comics!", the imprint 43 that D.M.C. and I started.
And that actually led to actual writing for Marvel. And Darryl loosely came up with an idea of pairing Groot and Thing. And I took that idea, and I developed it into a full-blown script. And it was an opportunity to kind of, like, write for Marvel in a way that Marvel inspired me, but also to kind of reflect what New York City really was to me. So when I was writing a story and I got to write with - about Groot and The Thing, I was like, well, Thing is probably the most authentic 44 New York City character out there. Like, he's literally LES. But...
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...The Thing's Lower East Side is really Jack 45 Kirby's Lower East Side, which is, like, early 1900s - literally. So I'm thinking like, well, if it's now and he's like - and The Thing is, like, a 30-something-year-old character, that means he grew up in the '80s. So if he grew up in '80s in the Lower East Side, then he grew up around a lot of Puerto Ricans.
GARCIA: That's right.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: He grew up with a lot of black folks. So his connection with the Lower East Side has to reflect that. It can't reflect this kind of, like, pseudo kind of, like, frozen-in-time Jewish experience when that doesn't actually exist anymore. So I wrote the story, and I actually tapped into the projects on Avenue D. I'm like, they're going to fly in on a ship. It's going to crash land in East River. They're going to walk right through the projects. And people are going to pull out their phones.
And I was, like, very clear with the artists. We're going to throw in as many brown and black faces in the crowd because that's what the crowd looks like in that part of the neighborhood. And the coolest thing that came out of the comic book was actually having some Spanish in there and actually getting permission from the editors to have Groot say, yo soy Groot.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And that - honestly, that was the jump-off for "La Borinquena" because I just thought that was going to be kind of, like, the first of many things I would do with Marvel. And then the buzz started exploding from that one little story that I wrote for them. I recall going to the comic book shop. And my wife was like, let's take a picture with you and your first issue with Marvel. And, you know, I'm, like, cheesing with it. And I post it on my social media.
And the next thing I know, my cousin in Puerto Rico's like, (speaking Spanish). And I'm like, I'm in the papers? What are you talking about? And I Google myself. And there I was. My selfie was in Primera Hora, one of Puerto Rico's newspapers. And all of a sudden, everyone's proudly talking about this Puerto Rican writer working for Marvel. And all these, like, groups start reaching out to me.
GARCIA: And wait. Were you freelance? Were you a work for hire?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I was on contract. No, I was on contract.
GARCIA: Oh, you was...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I signed a contract with them.
GARCIA: ...Official?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. I was an official writer for them.
GARCIA: OK. OK.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: But the way that - you know, the way that - the way Marvel works is, like, you sign with them. And you kind of, like, have this open contract with them, so you got to still pitch them stuff. So even though you're in the system, you still have to consistently - constantly pitch and get rejected. You know what I'm saying?
So I made - I recall doing one pitch, got rejected. And I was like, (speaking Spanish). This is going to be how it's like? And all this buzz started happening. And one institution that reached out to me was the National Puerto Rican Day Parade. And they were like, we want to honor you and give you a sash. And I was like, that's a little premature 46. I've only written, like, one story for Marvel.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: You know? I'm like, you got so many people in the industry.
GARCIA: Yo soy Groot.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: You know? I mean, like, shout out to George Perez, who was, like, one of the first Puerto Ricans in the industry who has created close to 70 characters for Marvel and DC, including Marvel's first Puerto Rican hero, White Tiger. So when they hit me up, I said, you know what? Let me get back to you. I got an idea. And I started working out this idea, these sketches 47. And I came to them with this proposal. And I said, you know what? I want to debut 48 this new comic book that I'm working on called "La Borinquena."
And then I didn't think that "La Borinquena" was going to be this big thing. I just thought it was going to be at the parade. They'd gave me a platform to talk about the debt crisis affecting Puerto Rico. And then that was that. But then it exploded. And I've been so busy with "La Borinquena," like, literally, independently producing and then publishing myself, that I've never even pitched or even went back to Marvel with anything because the last thing I expected was my own stuff to end up being bigger than anything that I could actually do at Marvel. But, you know, that's the way the universe works.
BARTOS: I was never into comics as a kid. I'm a little bit...
GARCIA: Where's the eject button?
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: Yeah. I know you were into comics as a kid, right?
GARCIA: Oh. I had - I was - I just moved recently. But I had a stack of "Silver Surfers" from the '60s and '70s...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Oh my god.
GARCIA: ...And "Daredevils." Those are my two favorites.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I remember you texted me a photo of you holding, like, a...
GARCIA: "Man Thing."
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah - like, an old picture. And you were, like, studiously looking at this comic and such.
BARTOS: So I'm just curious, as an outsider, right? - I read recently - I think I was reading about - maybe on Pete Rock's Twitter feed - he was talking about African-American comic book characters. And I'm not really aware of how much diversity has been in the comic book realm.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I think of it as a chocolate chip cookie. Is the whole cookie dark brown, or do you just see a couple of, like, little brown specks 49 on it? And just because you see a couple of, like, you know, brown specks doesn't mean the entire cookie is going to be, like, a dark chocolate experience. And that's really the case with diversity. And there is backlash also because there are, like, purists that don't want their characters to intermingle with anyone that isn't, you know, Aryan.
And recently, there was an attempt by the previous editor-in-chief to very much diversify 50 the roster 51. And like, Kwame - hip-hop artist and producer Kwame Holland - I like quoting him a lot. It was the comic book industry's attempt to dip in chocolate. And they took a lot of established characters and re-introduced them as characters of color. They did that with Iron Man. They re-introduced her as an adolescent black woman. They took Captain America. And they took Falcon's costume off and made him Captain America. The publishing side of Marvel - their sales started to decline. Even though they're still leading, they weren't leading as well as they were probably the year before, you know, previously 52 - the previous year. So there has been the diversity, but that just isn't enough.
You have a character like mine. And there have been maybe a couple of, like, Latino characters. But none of them have ever been unapologetically patriotic 53. You know, they kind of - like, the first Marvel superhero that's Puerto Rican is White Tiger. But he was actually, like, steeped in Eastern mythology 54. It was nothing Puerto Rican about the character except for his, like, horrendous 55, like, Spanglish. You read the old comic book - (speaking Spanish) - like, really, like, poorly, like, written in terms of the Spanish. But there it was. And that is the history of that.
GARCIA: We're going to get into your character La Borinquena. But first, let's talk about "La Borinquena," the Puerto Rican national anthem 56.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA BORINQUENA")
FANIA ALL STARS: (Singing in Spanish).
BARTOS: You guys aren't going to sing along?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I don't like this version. There are actually two different versions of "La Borinquena." And this is actually the second version that was created. The original version was actually written by Lola Rodriguez De Tio, a woman. And the second version was written by a Spaniard that was commissioned to rewrite...
BARTOS: Oh, so different lyrics 57?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...The original version - completely different lyrics.
BARTOS: Wow. And what's the consensus 58? Which one is the one that gets...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Well...
BARTOS: ...Gets sung?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...There's a history to that. Like 70 years ago - literally, to this year - there was - the U.S. gag law was introduced to Puerto Rico which - it literally outlawed 59 the Puerto Rican flag. And prior to that, the Puerto Rican flag was actually created in New York City in 1895 by a group of Puerto Ricans living here in Chelsea in exile. So they got together with a bunch of other...
GARCIA: And also in solidarity 60 with Cubans.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: That's exactly - they were meeting with Cubans who were also living here in exile. That's why the two flags...
BARTOS: You guys are giving me goosebumps.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And that's why the two flags are so similar. That's actually the same poet - Lola Rodriguez De Tio - wrote the original lyrics to "La Borinquena" - also wrote a poem saying that Cuba (speaking Spanish) Puerto Rico (speaking Spanish)...
GARCIA: (Speaking Spanish).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish) - right? - Cuba and Puerto Rico are two wings of the same bird. And the original anthem of Puerto Rico had lyrics that were very revolutionary. They were very much about liberty. They were very much about fighting for what's yours. And then this new anthem is introduced which is pretty much saying, wow, Christopher Columbus is so awesome 61 for discovering us.
BARTOS: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And look how beautiful these beaches are. It was a completely different song. And what happened is we're indoctrinated with this song. I remember as a child in New York City that was one of the songs. It was the national anthem, "Lift Every Voice And Sing," and "La Borinquena" - the second version. And I thought that was the only version. And when I learned its history, I was like, oh, my gosh. That is crazy.
There's a really great singer. His name is Danny Rivera. He actually sang a different version of "La Borinquena." And he sings the original version, which is (singing in Spanish). Now, you know, refrain from the high note at the end because I don't want to crack.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA BORINQUENA")
DANNY RIVERA: (Singing in Spanish).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: But that was the original version.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: You've got your homework cut out for you. Seriously, I want to hear you do that by this time next year.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I'll do the hip-hop version of that.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: (Imitating musical beat).
BARTOS: So Puerto Rico's current flag is dark blue, but the original flag is light blue. Do you see young active people donning the original Puerto Rican flag with the light blue?
GARCIA: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
BARTOS: Yeah.
GARCIA: There's also a whole other flag that represents Puerto Rico, El Grito de Lares.
BARTOS: So there's a third flag.
GARCIA: Well, there's - a flag predates the...
BARTOS: Right. Of course. Sure.
GARCIA: ...the light blue one, which was in solidarity with la Republica Dominicana. And it looks like the Dominican flag. But basically, there was a rebellion in the town of Lares, September 23, 1868. And they created a flag to commemorate 62 the - at that point, we weren't colonized 63 by the United States. We were a colony of Spain.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And I actually incorporate a lot of that into the comic I wrote because the character's costume actually comes from the original Lares flag itself because I wanted to kind of figure out how to tie in real history to connect that to a new generation because that history has been lost. It's completely - And if there's no context to kind of revisit that history, nobody will have any interest to even discuss that history.
And that's really why a lot of the work I do goes into the book, and it's really kind of like - it's a lot of visual representation of historical moments and a narrative 31 that has kind of like a contemporary feel and swing to it, by bringing in a younger character, who's literally like more than half my age, you know. Marisol Rios De La Luz, my character, is a...
GARCIA: Great choice on the stereotypical 64 super long-ass name...
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: ...of Boriqua people. I saw that. I was like, oh, he nailed it. I got mad cousins like that.
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And I also like - but even her name, I intentionally 65, like, selected it because it translates into like sea and sun, rivers of light. It's kind of crazy to talk about it, but the first book came out in December of 2016. That's when the first book comes out. Hurricane Maria happens nine months later, right? But the first book ends with her just getting her powers, and then the island is hit with a massive tropical storm that leaves it in a blackout...
GARCIA: Crazy.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...and she flies across the island to help people in Aguadilla when the storm is first hitting. And as she's helping 66 them by actually creating, you know, a dam from some of the fallen trees, they see her in her red, white and blue, and automatically start singing the national anthem, but they're singing both national anthems 67 to her. So it's kind of like this fusion 68 of both, and they are actually the ones that name her La Borinquena. Because she just called herself Marisol. But when they see her, they go oh, my - La Borinquena. La Borinquena.
BARTOS: All the comic books, 100 percent of the comic books I've ever read in my life feature a Latina superhero. I've only read one.
(LAUGHTER)
BARTOS: And that's "La Borinquena" Number 2. I actually really enjoyed it.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Oh, thank you, bro.
BARTOS: What I found intriguing 69 about it was how she's not fighting a villain 70, right? She's dealing 71 - she's focusing her energies on actual real-world issues like climate change and gentrification and whatnot. I thought that was really intriguing and different from I suspect most - most characters.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Well, I'm a dude. We're all dudes here. And when I was writing this, I didn't want to fall into the traps of writing from a position of patriarchy because it's super easy and comfortable to do that. And I thought to myself, I've been mentored by a lot of incredibly strong women - my mother, my cousin Lillian (ph), Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Iris Morales. And I thought to myself, they've done wonders to kind of undo 72 this patriarchy that I've been raised in and give it - and infused me with a sense of matriarchy. So I thought to myself, how could I write this book and undo the patriarchy that's synonymous with comic book storytelling or storytelling in general?
For the most part, comic book storytelling is almost like the complete wish-fulfillment, the complete personification of male fantasy - incredible super-muscular bodies, punching out bad guys, et cetera, et cetera, right? And I thought to myself, well, the women that I was raised and mentored by, there was never a clear and present threat. There was never a bogey 73. There was never that villain. And I thought to myself, if I'm going to create a character, then I'm not going to follow that formula that predated this, as well.
And also, most characters in comics are always defined by their rogues 74' gallery. And I thought to myself, she's not going to be defined by her villains 76. She's going to be defined by her people. She's going to be defined by her heritage, by her culture. That's intentionally why I wrote it that way. And a lot of times, you have so many tropes that are kind of like persistent 77 and prevalent in storytelling, like these kind of corporate entities 78, these big governments and such like that. But when you're talking about Puerto Rico, that's not a trope. That's a reality.
BARTOS: So, Eggy, out of all this came your idea to make a comics anthology called "Ricanstruction." The full name is "Ricanstruction: Reminiscing & Rebuilding Puerto Rico." What does reminiscing mean to you? Why did you use that word?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Because it's important to know where you come from to know where you need to go. It's important to acknowledge the history, whether you agree with it or not, whether it upsets you or not, whether it inspires you or not, to kind of like take that and move from there, so that you don't make mistakes again. And it also is to remind people that there is a history, a very rich and diverse history, infused with literature, infused with struggle, infused with music, infused with arts, infused with resilience. And that's why the alliteration 79 exists in the titling.
And the concept of the book came to me literally two weeks after Hurricane Maria when I was at the New York Comic Con 3, already overwhelmed with the majority of people who were coming to my table crying, asking me about my family because they had not heard from their family. And then the co-publisher of DC Comics approached me because his fiance is a fan of my work. And he's online. And I'm thinking to myself, oh, snap. This is one of the big two publishers right now physically 80 coming to me.
GARCIA: Yeah.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: And he's looking through my book. And he's telling me, wow. This looks really beautiful. It's really great. And I respond by saying, what are we going to do for Puerto Rico? And out of that came this conversation that he and I continued to have through the course of the rest of that week and an agreement that led me to using any character I wanted, any of their talent that I wanted...
GARCIA: Nice.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...To produce this anthology so that 100 percent of the proceeds could go back to Puerto Rico. And my wife, Kyung, came up with the idea of developing a grants program. So she and my friend Nicole Rodriguez (ph) came together and created this program where we invited grassroots organizations on the island to apply. And then we're going to literally funnel 81 small grants. And we'll be in Puerto Rico this September to personally award these grants from the money that we raised from the sales of "Ricanstruction." And it's not just to kind of, like, give them their money, and then there's that. It's just kind of, like, to use the buzz and exposure that I'm getting through my work to raise awareness 82 to the work that these institutions are doing so that people can see that Puerto Ricans are lifting themselves up, working alongside each other to truly reconstruct the island.
GARCIA: My dude - I'm getting emotional here. Where do you see your comic books fitting in terms of the chamber 83 of Puerto Rican activism, which you are part of a long legacy 84 of at this point?
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I see this, honestly, as an evolution of the work that the Young Lords Party did in the '60s and '70s. I see this as an evolution of the work that Pedro Albizu Campos did in Puerto Rico. I see this as an evolution of the threads that Mariana Bracetti used to create the first flag of (speaking Spanish), you know? I see it as that. And just - I just feel that, given the world that we live in now, I think that in order to truly create a sustainable revolution, you need to invoke 85 an evolution. And that's where the comic book comes in, you know?
GARCIA: Mic drop.
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: Well, I think it's time for the Impression Session. Let's go for a quick break. Why don't you grab some water? And we'll come right back.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: That means one thing it's time for the Impression Session.
GARCIA: Word up. So we basically going to play a track each. And you just respond to it however you wish - cool?
BARTOS: Yes, sir.
GARCIA: All right. Stretch, you go up front.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOGETHER FOREVER")
RUN-DMC: (Rapping) No way to rock me, no way to stop me. This seems quite shocking to those that mock me. And that's not all. MCs have the gall 75 to pray and plan for my downfall. But I'm not running. I'm just stunning 86 - smart not stupid 'cause I'm so cunning. MCs regretting - I'm upsetting. My recitals 87 take titles, and dollars I'm betting.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: So Run-D.M.C.'s - what? - "Live From Hollis" - I think that's what that joint 88 was called. The funny thing about that phone was being on the road with D for the last couple of years when we were touring Comic Cons 4 across the U.S. promoting our graphic novel series "Darryl Makes Comics" - it literally kind of, like, having a constant behind-the-scenes of my childhood. Like, there was this one cool moment. There was a DJ at an event. And they started playing, like, Public Enemy - "Rebel Without A Pause." And the two of us are like, (rapping) yes, the rhythm, the - and I'm, like, thinking to myself, I'm, like, rapping along with D...
GARCIA: Right, right.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...Like just some regular, dude, you know? And so he told - and so one of the things I think about that song when I hear it is how he tells me that they recreated the live scene, you know, because they were such students of hip-hop...
GARCIA: (Unintelligible).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...Such students of the live - well, hip-hop was never vinyl. Hip-hop was never recorded. So they literally recreated that. And I remember thinking that that actually was a live song, and they were like...
BARTOS: I thought it was live when I first heard it, too.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Yeah. And he was like...
BARTOS: Oh, you're so silly.
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
GARCIA: What's the official title of that song, Stretch?
BARTOS: It's "Together Forever (Krush-Groove...)"
GARCIA: One?
BARTOS: (...No. 3 or 4.)"
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: In parentheses 89 - yeah - in parentheses - yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
BARTOS: It's a lot of Krush-Grooves...
GARCIA: Yeah.
BARTOS: ...That evidently came before this.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: OK.
BARTOS: Yeah. It's funny. I was asked to interview D.M.C. in front of a live audience at (unintelligible)...
GARCIA: In Dubai.
BARTOS: So DXB in Dubai. And literally like I asked him one question, and then he went for an hour and told the most compelling, entertaining and just, you know, really b-side stories about the evolution of Run-D.M.C. that I had never heard before.
GARCIA: I would have my jaw 90 open.
BARTOS: I mean, look, D, you're doing comic books, but I need the autobiography 91.
GARCIA: (Laughter).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: He's amazing. Me and my wife Kyung always call it the greatest hits because we went on tour with him, so we heard a lot of his stories. But he really truly is such an incredibly humble 92 down-to-earth dude. An incredibly surreal, like, experience for me.
BARTOS: It's a trip. It's a trip. I mean, listen.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: I used to wear Run-D.M.C. Adidas gear in high school. That's how surreal that is, man. (Laughter).
BARTOS: I mean, Run-D.M.C., that's the pinnacle 93 for me. In terms of groups? That's it.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: They are the group.
BARTOS: It's beautiful to see D in such a good space right now, it really is. He deserves it.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: What is amazing about seeing D right now is hearing D right now because his voice is back. And I've been working with D for the last five years, when his voice was just starting to come back, and to see how - and I literally mean his voice. For the listeners who don't understand, D.M.C. literally lost his voice for a while, and there was an entire Run-D.M.C. album that was created where he did not perform once because he did not have the voice to perform. And Run was doing all these duets with everyone from Kid Rock to anyone else on this album. And D was in the album as samples. You know, so to hear D's voice actually come back as the D.M.C. that we grew up...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: ...It's just powerful and beautiful, yeah.
GARCIA: All right. We're going to get to the next track.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TOSCA'S INTRO")
PEDRO ALBIZU CAMPOS: (Speaking Spanish).
(APPLAUSE)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Cuando la tirania es ley, la revolucion es orden. (Translating) Because when tyranny is law, revolution is order. (Speaking Spanish).
GARCIA: That's a Tony Touch song off his album "Piece Maker 95." You gave that speech to Tony to use for the album.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Tony and I have a beautiful history, too. I recall...
BARTOS: DJ Tony Touch.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Tony Toca (Speaking Spanish).
(LAUGHTER)
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: He was still living in Bushwick at the time. And that's actually a song that was like very close to me because I literally saw the song literally being created in front of my eyes. And I recall at some point, one of the items that I got from Aguevoni (ph) was the biography of Albizu Campos, and I recall - this was actually on a time when Bob was coaching basketball at El Puente, and I handed over to you one of my - my only copy of Albizu's biography. And you were like, why are you giving this to me? I was like, because I want you to read this. I think it's important. I'm like, what's the whole point of me having this if I can't share this and so that you can share this? And I knew you had a much larger platform than I did.
GARCIA: Yeah, well, you know, growing up, we had a poster of Pedro Albizu Campos in our living room. And I had no idea of the significance of his work, both as a humanitarian 96 as well as a leader for the independence and sovereignty of Puerto Rico. When you gave me that book, you told me something very profound. And you said, knowledge kept - I forgot what - you said...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Knowledge kept is knowledge lost.
GARCIA: Knowledge kept is knowledge lost. And you handed me the book. And from there, that book has stayed with me. I probably should give it to somebody...
(LAUGHTER)
GARCIA: ...At some point. Because I...
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Knowledge kept, Bob.
GARCIA: ...Because I've read it and, you know, it's - But thank you for that. And thank you for giving Tony Touch, when he was making his "Tommy Boy" album, you know, the Pedro Albizu speech. You have been a conduit of knowledge and pride and cultural affinity 97 for, you know, beyond Puerto Ricans. Now Stretch has read this book, "La Borinquena." Stretch knows about Puerto Rican history now. This is incredible. You know? He and I went to the island for the first time together in December.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Oh, Wow.
GARCIA: Three months after Hurricane Maria.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: Wow.
GARCIA: And we DJ'd together in San Juan. Cats were coming up to us like yo, we needed this. We needed music. We needed to escape the island. You brought us back to New York. It was like this surreal bond going on that night that music was the platform for. So anyway, so thank you for all that you've done. Eggy, I love you. (Speaking Spanish).
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
GARCIA: And you've been a real friend, bro.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
BARTOS: Well, that's our show. This podcast was produced by Michelle Lanz, edited by Jordana Hochman and N'Jeri Eaton. And our executive producer is Abby O'Neill.
GARCIA: If you like the show, you can hear more at npr.org. And bonus video content on Spotify on Fridays. Thanks to Spotify for their support. Please go to Apple Podcasts and rate, review and subscribe 98. That's how we know you're listening.
MIRANDA-RODRIGUEZ: You can follow us on Twitter @stretchandbob or Instagram @stretchandbobbito.
BARTOS: Hasta la proxima.
GARCIA: Hasta la proxima. Hey, Stretch, that was good. (Laughter).
- The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
- Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。
- The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
- The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。
- We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
- The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。
- The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
- His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。
- The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
- The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
- He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。
- The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
- It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。
- He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
- He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
- The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
- A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。
- They had a fantastic dean who really mentored a lot of people. 那儿的教务长非常出色，的确为许多人提供了指导。 来自互联网
- The famous professor mentored him during his years in graduate school. 那位著名的教授在他读研究生期间指导他。 来自互联网
- The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
- This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。
- His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
- Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
- a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军
- From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
- His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
- He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
- The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。
- Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
- The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。
- We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
- The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。
- They're boycotting the shop because the people there are on strike. 他们抵制那家商店，因为那里的店员在罢工。
- The main opposition parties are boycotting the elections. 主要反对党都抵制此次选举。
- Methods: The indication, methods and outcome of87 patients undergone laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery were analyzed. 方法对87例卵巢囊肿进行腹腔镜下剥出手术，严格把握操作要领。 来自互联网
- Conclusion The patients performed laparoscopic ovarian cyst divesting surgery had less complication and recovered soon. 结论腹腔镜下卵巢囊肿剥出术创伤小，术后恢复快并发症少，集诊断与治疗为一体，临床应用价值比较肯定。 来自互联网
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
- This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
- His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
- There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
- In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。
- London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
- Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。
- Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
- These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网
- Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
- The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句
- They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
- All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
- One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
- He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。
- All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
- Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
- He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
- Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
- Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
- This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。
- He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
- If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
- The house is built in a vernacular style.这房子按当地的风格建筑。
- The traditional Chinese vernacular architecture is an epitome of Chinese traditional culture.中国传统民居建筑可谓中国传统文化的缩影。
- I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
- He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
- They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
- I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白
- She stomped angrily out of the office. 她怒气冲冲，重步走出办公室。
- She slammed the door and stomped (off) out of the house. 她砰的一声关上了门，暮暮地走出了屋了。 来自辞典例句
- Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
- This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
- How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
- I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。
- His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
- She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
- This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
- He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
- That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
- Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。
- This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
- Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。
- I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
- He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
- It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
- The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。
- The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
- You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
- The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。
- Minutes later Brown spotted two specks in the ocean. 几分钟后布朗发现海洋中有两个小点。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
- Do you ever seem to see specks in front of your eyes? 你眼睛前面曾似乎看见过小点吗？ 来自辞典例句
- Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
- Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。
- The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
- The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。
- The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
- Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。
- His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
- The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。
- In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
- He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。
- He described it as the most horrendous experience of his life.他形容这是自己一生中最可怕的经历。
- The mining industry in China has a horrendous safety record.中国的煤矿工业具有令人不安的安全记录。
- All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
- As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。
- music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
- The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。
- Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
- What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？
- Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
- I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。
- They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
- The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。
- The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
- That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.
- This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
- We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。
- The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
- The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。
- Personas should be typical and believable, but not stereotypical. 人物角色应该是典型和可信赖的，但不是一成不变的。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
- Anything could be stereotypical, so I guess it could be criticism. 任何东西都可以变的老套，所以我猜那就是一种批评。 来自互联网
- I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
- The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
- They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网
- Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
- This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。
- These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
- It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
- The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
- This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
- His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
- His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
- I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。
- The universal bogey is AIDS.艾滋病是所有人唯恐避之不及的东西。
- Age is another bogey for actresses.年龄是另一个让女演员头疼的问题。
- 'I'll show these rogues that I'm an honest woman,'said my mother. “我要让那些恶棍知道，我是个诚实的女人。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
- The rogues looked at each other, but swallowed the home-thrust in silence. 那些恶棍面面相觑，但只好默默咽下这正中要害的话。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
- It galled him to have to ask for a loan.必须向人借钱使他感到难堪。
- No gall,no glory.没有磨难，何来荣耀。
- The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
- She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。
- Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
- The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。
- We chose alliteration on the theory a little vulgarity enhances memory.在理论上我们选择有点儿粗俗的头韵来帮助记忆。
- It'seems to me that in prose alliteration should be used only for a special reason.依我看，在散文里，头韵只能在一定的场合使用。
- He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
- Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
- He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
- I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。
- There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
- Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
- For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
- The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
- They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
- He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
- Let us invoke the blessings of peace.让我们祈求和平之福。
- I hope I'll never have to invoke this clause and lodge a claim with you.我希望我永远不会使用这个条款向你们索赔。
- His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
- The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。
- His recitals have earned him recognition as a talented performer. 他的演奏会使他赢得了天才演奏家的赞誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Her teachers love her playing, and encourage her to recitals. 她的老师欣赏她的演奏，并鼓励她举办独奏会。 来自互联网
- I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
- We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
- Irregular forms are given in parentheses . 不规则形式标注在括号内。
- Answer these questions, using the words in parentheses. Put the apostrophe in the right place. 用句后括号中的词或词组来回答问题，注意撇号的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
- A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
- He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
- His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。
- In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
- Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
- Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
- It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。
- The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
- A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
- He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
- A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。
- She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
- The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。
- I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
- It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。