PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Paul Robeson Pt. 1
时间:2018-12-07 作者:英语课 分类:People in America
PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Paul Robeson Pt. 1
By Shelley Gollust
Broadcast: Sunday, January 04, 2004
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember with the V-O-A Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about Paul Robeson [ROBE a son]. He was a singer, actor, and civil rights activist 1. In the Nineteen-Thirties, he was one of the best known and most widely honored black Americans. Later in his life he was condemned 2 for supporting communism and the Soviet 3 Union.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
Paul Robeson was born in Princeton, New Jersey 4 in Eighteen-Ninety-Eight. His father was a former slave who became the religious leader of a Protestant church. Paul was an excellent student and athlete. Rutgers University in New Jersey gave him money so he could study there. He played four different sports while at Rutgers. He also was the top student in his class. Members of his class believed Paul Robeson would become the leader of black people in America.
Paul Robeson graduated from Rutgers in Nineteen-Nineteen. He attended law school at Columbia University in New York City. He was only the third black person to attend Columbia Law School. On the weekends, he earned money by playing professional football. He also acted in plays. He married Eslanda Cordoza Goode while he was in law school. After he graduated in Nineteen-Twenty-Three, he got a job with a group of lawyers in New York. However, he left when he experienced unfair treatment because he was black. He decided 6 not to work as a lawyer. Instead, he wanted to use his ability in theater and music to support African-American history and culture.
VOICE ONE:
Robeson became a professional actor. He joined the Provincetown Players, an acting 7 group linked to American playwright 8 Eugene O'Neill. Robeson was the star in two famous productions by Eugene O'Neill in the Nineteen-Twenties. They were "All God's Chillun Got Wings" and "The Emperor Jones." Critics praised his performances. Robeson became the most recognized black actor of his time.
VOICE TWO:
In London, he earned international praise for his leading part in William Shakespeare's great tragic 9 play, "Othello." That was in Nineteen-Thirty. Thirteen years later, he played "Othello" on Broadway in New York. It was very popular. In "Othello," Robeson played an African general in ancient Venice. He is married to a young white woman. Othello kills his wife after being tricked into believing that she loves someone else. This is how Paul Robeson sounded in "Othello."
(MUSIC: "MONOLOGUE 10 FROM "OTHELLO")
VOICE ONE: Paul Robeson also was famous for appearing in the popular American musical play "Show Boat." He performed the play in London in Nineteen-Twenty-Eight and on Broadway four years later. He played a riverboat worker. Jerome Kern wrote the music for "Show Boat." Paul Robeson sang the song "Ol' Man River."
(MUSIC: "OL' MAN RIVER")
VOICE TWO:
Graphic Image
Paul Robeson appeared in eleven movies in the Nineteen-Twenties and Nineteen-Thirties. However, he realized that his acting was limited by the small number of parts for black actors. He criticized the American movie industry for not showing the real lives of black people in America. He stopped making movies and decided to sing professionally instead.
Robeson sang many kinds of music. He sang folk music from many countries. He sang songs to support the labor 11 and social movements of his time. He sang songs for peace and justice. And, he sang African-American spiritual music. One of his famous songs was this spiritual, "Balm in Gilead."
(MUSIC:"BALM IN GILEAD")
VOICE ONE:
Paul Robeson was recognized around the world for his fight for civil rights for black Americans. Separation of black people and white people was legal in the United States. Black people did not have the same rights as white people. They were not treated equally. For example, Robeson could not be served in some eating places in the United States. Violence against black people was common. Angry mobs 12 of whites sometimes killed black people, especially in the southern United States.
VOICE TWO:
In the late Nineteen-Thirties, Paul Robeson became involved in national and international movements that sought peace and better labor conditions. He also supported independence for African colonies from their European rulers. He learned the languages and folk songs of other cultures. He said these folk songs expressed the same feelings that were in African-American music. He learned to speak, write and sing in more than twenty languages.
VOICE ONE:
Robeson traveled a great deal in Europe during the Nineteen-Thirties. He found that black people were treated better in Europe than in the United States. He met members of liberal political organizations, socialists 13 and African nationalists. He also met many working people and poor people.
For many years, he performed in concerts in many countries. The songs he sang supported the struggle for racial justice for black Americans, and for civil rights and economic justice for people around the world. He refused to perform at concerts where the people were separated by race. He said, "The idea of my concerts is to suggest that all men are brothers because of their music."
VOICE TWO:
In Nineteen-Thirty-Four, Paul Robeson made the first of many trips to the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, he said, he was treated as an equal of whites for the first time in his life. He declared his friendship for the Soviet Union. And he spoke 14 about the need for peaceful co-existence between the United States and the Soviet Union. Conservative 15 groups in the United States strongly opposed his friendship with the Soviet Union and his support for other liberal issues.
VOICE ONE:
Paul Robeson went to Spain in Nineteen-Thirty-Eight during the Spanish Civil War. He sang for Spanish civilians 16. And he sang for the Loyalist forces fighting for the Spanish republic. One of the songs he sang was this Spanish Loyalist song, "The Four Insurgent 17 Generals."
(MUSIC: "THE FOUR INSURGENT GENERALS")
VOICE TWO:
In the Nineteen-Forties, many people in the United States were strongly opposed to Paul Robeson's political beliefs. They said he was too liberal or extreme. Next week, we will tell you about how opposition 18 to his political beliefs affected 19 the last part of his life.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This PEOPLE IN AMERICA program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Lawan Davis.
- 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。
- Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
- Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。
- He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
- They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
- 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。
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
- Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
- During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
- Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
- The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。
- The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
- Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
- The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
- He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。
- We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
- He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
- There was a raid on a bank by armed mobs yesterday. 昨天发生了一起武装暴徒抢劫银行的事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The following day mobs seized the Parliament building. 第二天暴徒占领了议会大厦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
- The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后,就把其政治信条弃之不顾。
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
- He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
- The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。
- the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
- At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后,至少有300名平民下落不明。
- Faruk says they are threatened both by insurgent and government forces.法鲁克说,他们受到暴乱分子和政府军队的双重威胁。
- The insurgent mob assembled at the gate of the city park.叛变的暴徒聚在市立公园的门口。
- The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
- The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。