纯正地道美语 第78期(外教讲解):International Worke

The Weekend - International Workers Day (C0078)

A: Alright everyone settle down. Let’s get started.As you know, an important aspect of becoming a good citizen is understanding the genesis of our legal system. It is not enough to simply memorize our laws, it is necessary that we comprehend why and how they were formed. This brings me to our topic for today. Does anyone know what we celebrate on May first?

B: Cinco de mayo?
A: No, that’s May fifth in Spanish, James, no wonder you are failing my Spanish class. No, May first is International Workers’ Day.
B: Do we get a day off from school then?
A: No! It is not considered to be a national holiday here in the US, but in other countries it is.
B: Aww, man!

A: In the nineteenth century, working conditions were appalling¹, with workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day. Support for the eight-hour work day movement was growing rapidly, despite the indifference² and hostility³ of many union leaders, and by April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.
Previous legislative⁴ attempts to improve working conditions had failed, so labor⁵ organizers took drastic measures. They passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work. And, on May First 1886, the resolution took effect.

B: Cool! Is that why we only work eight hours now?
A: Yes! But the happy ending came at a high price.On May third, 1886, police fired into a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper⁶ Works Factory,killing four and wounding many. A mass meeting was called for the next day to protest the brutality⁷.

B: And then what happened?
A: Well, as we say, the rest is history...
 

1 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

2 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• 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。

6 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

7 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• 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