美国国家公共电台 NPR--The revamped tour of Virginia's executive mansion doesn't mention slavery

The revamped tour of Virginia's executive mansion¹ doesn't mention slavery

Transcript²

Before Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was elected, years of work went into updating the executive mansion tour to include the lives of enslaved people. His redesigned tour doesn't recognize slavery.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

In Virginia, historians and descendants of enslaved people have spent years reworking the tours of the governor's mansion, the executive mansion. They want it to focus on slavery that was practiced in that house in its early decades. Then Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin moved in, and the tour has changed. VPM's Ben Paviour took it.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Welcome.

GLENN YOUNGKIN: Good morning, everybody.

BEN PAVIOUR, BYLINE³: It's been eight months since Glenn Youngkin traded his famous red fleece vest for a black suit and moved into Virginia's executive mansion. On a recent Friday, he invited the public to tour what he calls the people's house for the first time since the pandemic shut it down.

G YOUNGKIN: We continue to be so humbled⁴ when we wake up in the morning and we think about this home that we have the great privilege to live in.

PAVIOUR: The mansion, built in 1813, is the oldest continuously occupied governor's residence in the country. The first lady, Suzanne Youngkin, says she selected artwork designed to get visitors to think about the state's history.

SUZANNE YOUNGKIN: What was really exciting, what was really not as pleasant - we really wanted to inspire people to think.

PAVIOUR: But there's one big omission⁵ on this tour - slavery. Enslaved people worked and lived here through the end of the Civil War, when Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. With the Youngkins, though, slavery only comes up after the tour when I bring it up with the first lady. She says a future online tour will get into that, and she said she plans to make the former slave quarters and a garden that honors them handicapped-accessible so more people can see them.

S YOUNGKIN: It is a place of reflection and reverence⁶ that I humbly⁷ think has been ignored.

PAVIOUR: Outside the mansion's gates, Youngkin supporters say he's shown up for Black Virginians. He's pushed for more funding for historically Black colleges and launched a new partnership⁸ with the mostly Black city of Petersburg. He announced the project last month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

G YOUNGKIN: Whether it's increased access to health care facilities, increased opportunities for mobility⁹, expanded education options - you all spoke¹⁰, and we listened.

PAVIOUR: But Don Scott, the top Democrat¹¹ in Virginia's House of Delegates, isn't buying it.

DON SCOTT: If it's a mostly white conservative audience, he'll try to raise white grievance¹² towards Black people. When he's with Black audiences, he'll say, we're going to teach all of the history.

PAVIOUR: Still, Youngkin is a coveted¹³ speaker for GOP candidates across the country this fall. That's fueled speculation¹⁴ that he may have his eyes on a new home, the White House.

For NPR News, I'm Ben Paviour in Richmond.

1 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

5 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

6 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

7 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• 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。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

13 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。