美国国家公共电台 NPR USPS Honors Beloved Children's Book With New 'Snowy Day' Stamps

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

If you went to the post office this past week, you might have noticed something new - a forever stamp collection featuring illustrations from the children's book "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack¹ Keats.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) One winter morning, Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.

MARTIN: When "The Snowy Day" was published in 1962, it made history thanks to the protagonist².

ANDREA DAVIS PINKNEY: That adorable child, Peter, the African-American boy in that gorgeous red snowsuit.

MARTIN: That's a children's book author Andrea Davis Pinkney. One of her books, "A Poem For Peter," is about Ezra Jack Keats and the significance of "The Snowy Day."

PINKNEY: It was the first mainstream³ book to feature an African-American child who was doing something that was universally joyful⁴, and that is, simply enjoying a day in the snow.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) Crunch⁵, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow. He walked with his toes pointing out like this. He walked with his toes pointing in like that.

PINKNEY: I loved "The Snowy Day." In fact, I probably slept with that book because that's how much comfort it brought me. It made me feel so happy. And I still feel that way today. It just brings such comfort and joy in what is now a very complex world.

MARTIN: The world was complex back when "The Snowy Day" first came out, too.

DEBORAH POPE: This was a time of ferment⁶ in this country. It was a time of social change. It was growing - height of the civil rights movement.

MARTIN: Deborah Pope is the executive director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. She says that even though the book had a big social impact, that was not the author's intention.

POPE: He was thinking about the fact that in all the books he had ever illustrated⁷, he had never seen any African-American children. And yet, they were everywhere around him. And so he determined⁸ he would write a book that featured an African-American child because it should be visible.

MARTIN: And with these stamps, Peter will have another opportunity to share feelings of joy and community even in an age of texting and emails. Once again, Andrea Davis Pinkney.

PINKNEY: I love the idea that Peter on a stamp is going to be the transmitter of love letters, of cards, of good wishes. And I think that is also the power of "The Snowy Day" stamps with Peter on the front.

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UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Reading) The snow was still everywhere. New snow was falling. After breakfast, he called to his friend from across the hall, and they went out together into the deep, deep snow.

MARTIN: "The Snowy Day" stamps are available now.

(SOUNDBITE OF GURTY BEATS' "COLD SNAP")

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• 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。

2 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！

3 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

4 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

5 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

6 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

7 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。