英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 14 The Victory of Jeans

[00:03.53]The Victory of Jeans

[00:06.35]A twenty year old immigrant, Levi Strauss,

[00:10.80]came to the United States in 1850 to seek his fortune

[00:14.36]in the gold fields. But strangely enough,

[00:17.65]this man made his fortune on heavy canvas

[00:20.21]that he found suitable for working clothes.

[00:22.55]Strauss' jeans were particularly

[00:25.61]good for prospectors 1 and cowboys.

[00:27.81]In the early days of jeans,

[00:30.06]this man couldn't have guessed that his pants,

[00:32.80]made only for rough work, would become so popular

[00:36.01]at all levels of society. Yes, this is a fact:

[00:39.48]jeans have become fashionable in our society.

[00:42.73]Furthermore, these pants have come to

[00:45.20]symbolize 2 changes in social attitude.

[00:47.28]In the last decade or two we have seen movements

[00:50.28]toward equality as well as defiance 3 of authority.

[00:53.64]Jeans, now worn by everybody,

[00:56.14]can be said to symbolize these changes for the better.

[00:59.08]In the past, only men wore jeans,

[01:01.24]and these men were at the bottom-socially and economically.

[01:05.12]Jeans were worn by truck drivers, farm and factory workers.

[01:09.33]Today, jeans no longer are looked down upon.

[01:12.45]They are worn by both men and women,

[01:14.68]by both skilled and unskilled workers,

[01:17.14]by both employees and employers.

[01:19.92]This common way of dressing 4 symbolizes 5

[01:22.57]respect for individuality,

[01:24.48]no matter what your occupation or sex.

[01:26.92]In the fight against authority,

[01:29.86]young people have been the leaders.

[01:31.31]So it is natural that the teenagers

[01:33.61]would defy parents and school administrators 6

[01:36.09]over the right to wear jeans to class—and win.

[01:39.08]Jeans are the typical dress of civil rights marchers,

[01:42.85]fans at rock concerts,

[01:44.56]“hippies” returning to nature,

[01:46.60]and serious college students.

[01:48.69]Because everyone can be comfortable in them,

[01:51.32]the blue-jeans invented for the use of workers

[01:53.78]are now accepted almost anywhere, anytime.

[01:56.66]This is true not only in the United States,

[01:59.23]but in many other countries in the world.

[02:01.99]I strongly agree with the following statement:

[02:04.78]“Old or new, glorified 7 or plain,

[02:07.71]jeans are likely to be around for a long time to come.

[02:11.13]Already they have succeeded where statesmanship has failed.

[02:15.19]Although unable to speak the same language,

[02:17.86]the inhabitants of this embattled planet

[02:20.78]have at least agreed to wear the same pants.”