美国国家公共电台 NPR U.S. Returns Balangiga Church Bells To The Philippines After More Than A Century

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It has been more than a century since American soldiers seized three church bells from a town in the Philippines. That was back during the Philippine-American War in 1901. Today, those bells are being returned. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been following the odyssey¹ of the bells and watched as they returned. And she joins us now to tell us this story. Hey, Julie.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE²: Hi there.

MARTIN: Can you just start off by telling us why these bells were taken in the first place?

MCCARTHY: Well, it's 1901. Picture this - the United States is the colonial power in the Philippines, but the Filipinos fight for independence. And before long, you've got a full-blown U.S.-Philippine War on your hands, where 200,000 people are dead. Now, in this small place called Balangiga, the U.S. occupiers start jailing the men, abusing the women, destroying the food supply. And what do the locals do? They stage a revolt. And what do they do to use a signal to launch it all? The bells of St. Lawrence the Martyr³ Church. The local fighters end up killing⁴ two-thirds of the American unit, arguably the worst loss in the U.S.-Philippine War. The U.S. retaliates⁵. They're told to turn the place into a howling wilderness⁶. They do, and they carry off the bells as they go as booty.

MARTIN: Wow. So what do these bells represent for the Philippines?

MCCARTHY: Well, I guess you can imagine after a tale like that, the bells of Balangiga come to be seen as a symbol of resistance - the struggle for independence. They signaled a revolt against the imperial Americans, who ended up being slaughtered⁷. And certainly for President Duterte - Rodrigo Duterte - these are, no question, a symbol of resistance. He has sort of staked out a claim, resisting the American administration where he can. And he has made this a point of owning these bells. He said last year in his State of the Union that, I want these bells back. We should demand them to come back. And a historian said to me, he's the winner out of all of this. Now, it's hoped that this will also smooth relations by bringing the two sides closer, but for how long really is the question.

MARTIN: Right. But I imagine this was an incredible scene. I mean, what was it like when the bells came home?

MCCARTHY: Oh, it was really wonderful. It was full of emotion and joy and pride. And it was full of history. The bells were flown in a cargo⁸ plane - the Spirit of Macarthur, the general who commanded the troops who liberated⁹ the Philippines during World War II. The U.S. had taken the bells when they were the colonial power and when the Philippines was battling for them for independence. So these bells sort of track the whole relationship, really, in some ways - or the start of that relationship.

And in anticipation¹⁰ of their arrival, things got even more charged when these burly servicemen couldn't break into the crates¹¹. And when they finally broke into them and then hoisted¹² them into the public view, there was a big round of applause. They are in great condition, by the way. And yeah, and the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim, said that lot of people had had a hand in bringing these bells, from the highest levels of government to scholars to retired¹³ U.S. personnel. And he talked about how it reflected the U.S.-Philippine relationship. Here he is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

SUNG KIM: Our shared history is enduring and deeply personal. It is my great honor to be here at this closing of a painful chapter in our history.

MARTIN: A painful chapter, but Julie, just real quick - why'd take so long?

MCCARTHY: Well, as one Navy captain who was very involved in this said to me, it takes a long time to change the sentiments and attitudes. And people had fierce feelings about this. Everybody was bound up in a sense of valor¹⁴ on their own side, as they described it.

MARTIN: NPR's Julie McCarthy with a remarkable¹⁵ story. Thank you so much for sharing that, Julie. We appreciate it.

MCCARTHY: Thank you.

1 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

2 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。

3 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 retaliates   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln suggests Si Tan pauses, the letter that writes acrimonious of a content retaliates that fellow. 林肯建议斯坦顿，写一封内容尖刻的信回敬那家伙。 来自互联网
• If it does not, and the US imposes tariffs and China retaliates, what then? 如果它不让步，而美国开征关税，中国加以报复，接下来会怎样？ 来自互联网

6 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

9 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

10 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

11 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

12 hoisted   

把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He hoisted himself onto a high stool. 他抬身坐上了一张高凳子。
• The sailors hoisted the cargo onto the deck. 水手们把货物吊到甲板上。

13 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

14 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。