Babe Ruth,1895-1948: America’s Greatest Baseball Player
时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2011年VOA慢速英语(三)月
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: I'm Shirley Griffith.
DOUG JOHNSON: And I'm Doug Johnson with the Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Every week we tell about a person important in the history of the United States. Today, we tell about Babe Ruth, America's greatest baseball player. Some say he was the greatest sports hero of all time.
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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: George Herman Ruth was born in Baltimore, Maryland in eighteen ninety-five. George's parents owned a bar where people came to drink alcohol 1. His mother died when he was very young. His father was killed in a street fight.
Young George was forced to live on the streets of Baltimore. He stole things. He fought with other children. He got into trouble. At the age of eight, he was sent to live at Saint 2 Mary's industrial school for boys. Catholic 3 religious workers operated the school. The religious workers helped George to act better. And they taught him how to play baseball.
Babe Ruth
DOUG JOHNSON: By the age of eighteen, George was an excellent baseball player. In nineteen fourteen, a teacher at the school wrote to a friend of his, Jack 4 Dunn. Dunn was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles minor 5 league baseball team. He was the one who decided 6 who would play for the team. The teacher invited Dunn to see the young player.
Dunn watched George pitch the baseball. He offered the young left-handed pitcher 7 a job playing baseball for six months. He said the Baltimore Orioles team would pay George six hundred dollars.
Jack Dunn had to take responsibility for the boy or George could not leave the school. Dunn decided to become George's legal parent.
Jack Dunn and his new player arrived at the Orioles' baseball park. The older Orioles' players joked about the new young player. They called him, "Dunn's babe. " The young baseball player became known forever as Babe Ruth.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: That year, the Boston Red Sox baseball team bought the right to make Babe Ruth a player for their team. Ruth pitched for the Red Sox teams during the next two years. He became the best pitcher in the American baseball league. Then the Red Sox discovered that he could hit the ball even better than he could throw it. So Ruth became an outfielder instead of a pitcher. In nineteen nineteen, he hit the ball out of the baseball park twenty-nine times. He hit more home runs than any other player that year.
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DOUG JOHNSON: In nineteen twenty, the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth's contract to the famous New York Yankees baseball team. That year, Babe Ruth hit fifty-four home runs. This was more home runs than any other American League team hit that season. The next year, he hit fifty-nine home runs. Babe Ruth's baseball skill and friendly nature made him famous across the country and around the world.
Babe Ruth batting in 1920
Many people came to the Yankee games just because they wanted to see Babe Ruth play. He helped the team earn a great deal of money. The Yankees built a new baseball stadium in nineteen twenty-three. It was known as "The House that Ruth Built. "
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Baseball fans loved Babe Ruth because he was what some people called "larger than life. " Sports writer Paul Gallico wrote that Babe Ruth played ball in the same intense 8 way that he lived his life. Gallico said that whenever Ruth hit a ball out of the baseball park the fans would become so excited that they were ready to break the seats. It was impossible to watch Ruth swing his bat without experiencing a strong emotion. In fact, in nineteen twenty, a man reportedly died of excitement while watching Babe Ruth hit a home run.
The name of Babe Ruth appeared so often in the newspapers that sports writers thought up new names for him. They called him "The Sultan of Swat." "The King of Clout 9." "The Babe. " They called him "Bambino." Sometimes they shortened 10 that name to "Bam. "
DOUG JOHNSON: Babe Ruth led the New York Yankees to seven championships, including four World Series titles. He hit more home runs than any other baseball player. In nineteen twenty-seven, he hit sixty home runs. During his lifetime, he hit a total of seven hundred fourteen home runs. Before he became a power hitter, he had been among the best pitchers 11 of his time. All these skills made Babe Ruth the greatest player baseball has ever had.
In nineteen thirty, Ruth earned eighty thousand dollars. This was more money than the president of the United States, Herbert Hoover, earned that year. Reporters asked Ruth why he should be paid more than President Hoover. Ruth reportedly said: "Why not? I had a better year than he did."
Ruth also earned money by permitting his name to be used on many products. A candy bar was named after him. "Baby Ruth" candy bars still are popular today.
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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Sometimes, Babe Ruth got into trouble on the baseball field. He often arrived late. He got angry often. He hit a baseball umpire. He had many disputes 12 with the chief baseball official.
In nineteen twenty-one, the Yankees' manager suspended 13 Ruth from playing. The next year, Ruth did the worst thing a baseball player could do. He left the field during a game to chase 14 a fan who said something he did not like. He had to pay five thousand dollars for violating 15 the rules.
DOUG JOHNSON: Babe Ruth also got into trouble off the baseball field. He was a very large man who liked to have a good time. He ate too much. He drank too much alcohol. He played cards and lost money. He went to nightclubs. He drove his car too fast.
Some people were unhappy about the way he acted. In nineteen twenty-two, New York State Senator 16 Jimmy Walker appealed to Babe Ruth at a dinner of the baseball writers association 17. Mr. Walker asked the great baseball star to be a better example to the children of America. Babe Ruth stood up with tears running down his face. He promised he would be a better person. He kept his promise. He was never in trouble again.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Yet Babe Ruth continued to eat too much. In nineteen twenty-five, he was returning on a train from baseball spring training in the South. He became hungry. He stopped at a train station. He reportedly ate twelve hot dog sandwiches. He drank eight bottles of soft drink.
Ruth developed severe stomach problems. He was taken to a hospital in New York. Babe Ruth was so sick that doctors had to operate on him. He was in the hospital for seven weeks. Many Americans worried about him until he got well.
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DOUG JOHNSON: Babe Ruth loved children. In nineteen twenty-six, a child named Johnny Sylvester lay in a hospital bed. He was very weak after an operation. His doctor thought that a visit from Johnny's hero might help the boy get better. So Babe Ruth came to the hospital. He wrote his name on a baseball and gave it to Johnny. He promised to hit a home run that afternoon for the boy. Babe Ruth kept his promise. In fact, he hit three home runs that day.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: There are many stories about Babe Ruth and his life. Experts do not agree about which ones are true. The most famous story about him concerns the nineteen thirty-two World Series championship game. The Yankees were playing the Chicago Cubs 18 in Chicago. Ruth was at bat getting ready to hit. The Cubs and their fans were trying to make Ruth angry. They insulted 19 him. Ruth swung his bat and missed the first pitch. The crowd laughed at him. Ruth swung and missed the second pitch. The crowd made more noises. Then Ruth pointed 20 his bat at the seats past the center field of the ball park. He showed the crowd where he would hit the next ball. And that was exactly where he hit the ball out of the park.
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DOUG JOHNSON: Ruth stopped playing baseball in nineteen thirty-five. The next year he was one of the first five players to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. After he retired 21 as a player, he wanted to be manager of a baseball team. But no such position was offered to him. Ruth died in nineteen forty-eight of throat cancer. He was fifty-three years old.
Babe Ruth is buried near New York City. People still come to visit his burial place. They leave things there: A Yankees baseball hat. A small American flag. A baseball. Americans leave these things to show that they have not forgotten the Babe.
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SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Shirley Griffith.
DOUG JOHNSON: And I'm Doug Johnson. Listen again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
- The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
- The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。
- The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
- She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。
- 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。
- The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
- I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
- 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。
- He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
- Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。
- Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
- The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。
- The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权,但无真正的政治影响力。
- He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。
- She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长,工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句
- Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里,他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
- Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖:投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。
- a legalistic approach to family disputes 死抠法律条文解决家庭纠纷的方法
- a party riven by internal disputes 由于内部分歧而四分五裂的政党
- A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。
- 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。
- The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
- Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了,你会来追吗?
- Ignorance of a law does not excuse a man for violating it. 一个人不懂法律不构成犯法的理由。
- It was sued by the U.S. federal government for violating antitrust law. 它被美国联邦政府指控违反了反托拉斯法。
- The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
- The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。
- Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
- I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。
- a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
- Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I have never been so insulted in my life! 我一生中从未被如此侮辱过!
- These boys insulted a girl by spitting at her. 这几个男孩向一个女孩吐口水侮辱她。