美国国家公共电台 NPR Migrant Workers Leave Behind Clues To Depression-Era Lifestyle

 

STEVE INSKEEP: In recent years in Delta¹, Pa., if you went just past the edge of town to a wooded area by an old railroad trestle, you'd find people digging - archaeologists excavating² a bit of very modest history. They weren't sifting³ through the ruins of some old mansion⁴ but rather the remains⁵ of a migrant worker camp.

DANIEL SAYERS: What we focus on typically are the things that people often just aren't paying as much attention to.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Daniel Sayers of American University says the archaeologists were exploring what was once called a hobo jungle. During the Great Depression, men wandered by road or rail to where the jobs are like a quarry⁶ in Delta. In the place where they lived, scholars found pieces of a board game and a mandolin pick all hand-carved from slate⁷.

SAYERS: It's the stuff that we leave behind. It's the garbage. It's the things of daily use. It's the places we create. And the places we make reflect ourselves.

INSKEEP: Humble⁸ as this camp was, archaeologists look at the remains and see a domestic community.

SAYERS: I think when we start looking at these marginalized communities, we see different ways of existing emerge, different forms of community organization, different ways that people help one another out. And it's not that basic relationship of, I work for you for X amount, and you take what I produce and sell it yourself to make more money than you're paying me.

GREENE: Yeah. Justin Uehlein of American University says he wanted to dig up signs of the workers' humanity.

JUSTIN UEHLEIN: Because these aren't animals. These aren't insects. These aren't demons⁹. These are real people that have the same kinds of struggles in life that that we all have, arguably much, much harder struggles.

GREENE: And the researchers have already identified several other sites for excavation¹⁰.

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

3 sifting   

n.筛，过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• He lay on the beach, sifting the sand through his fingers. 他躺在沙滩上用手筛砂子玩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was sifting the cinders when she came in. 她进来时，我正在筛煤渣。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

7 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。