美国国家公共电台 NPR 'The Best Part Of The First Amendment': Dave Chappelle Accepts Mark Twain Prize

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Comedians² and musicians celebrated³ Dave Chappelle at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., last night. Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Tiffany Haddish all paid tribute to the comedian¹ as he picked up the prestigious⁴ Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE⁵: Dave Chappelle grew up near Washington, D.C. In his recent Netflix special, "Sticks And Stones," he told a story about asking his dad if he could go to a big dance at his middle school.

(SOUNDBITE OF NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL, "STICKS AND STONES")

DAVE CHAPPELLE: It costs $3 to get in. And my dad said, ooh...

(LAUGHTER)

CHAPPELLE: ...Sorry, Son. I don't have it. I was like, what the [expletive]? You don't have $3?

(LAUGHTER)

CHAPPELLE: Well, then how are we alive, Dad?

(LAUGHTER)

BLAIR: The Kennedy Center show was a family affair. Chappelle's wife and kids were there, and his fellow comedians, whether peers or proteges, like Tiffany Haddish, talked about him like he was kin⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TIFFANY HADDISH: Dave, you have always been a mentor⁷. You've been my mentor, my big brother. Every time I step onstage, every time, I think of you 'cause I always want to make you proud. 'Cause you're the greatest.

BLAIR: Chappelle's career took off in the early 2000s with "Chappelle's Show" on Comedy Central. The show obliterated⁸ boundaries. In the first episode, Chappelle played Clayton Bigsby, a blind, black, white supremacist.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "CHAPPELLE'S SHOW")

WILLIAM BOGERT: (As Kent Wallace) You refer to African Americans, what exactly is your problem?

CHAPPELLE: (As Clayton Bigsby) How much time you got, buddy⁹? Where would I start? Well, first of all, they're lazy, good-for-nothing tricksters, crack-smoking swindlers.

BLAIR: Chappelle famously walked away during the show's third season. Jon Stewart was also working at Comedy Central at the time, hosting "The Daily Show." Onstage, Stewart called "Chappelle's Show" a cultural phenomenon that Comedy Central would do anything to keep going.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JON STEWART: And they offered Dave $50 million to just give us one more. But Dave, at that moment, was conflicted because of the difficulty of how the show was to do because he wondered about its impact on the audience that he meant it for. And he wondered if the creative process wasn't right for it. And he walked away. And it was that moment that I remember thinking, Comedy Central has $50 million?

BLAIR: Eventually, Chappelle went back to doing stand-up, and he's taken some heat for making fun of just about everyone, which he addressed in his recent special.

(SOUNDBITE OF NETFLIX COMEDY SPECIAL, "STICKS AND STONES")

CHAPPELLE: If you're in a group that I'm making fun of then just know that I probably will only make fun of you if I see myself in you. I make fun of poor white people because I was once poor. And I know that the only difference between a poor black person and a poor white person is that a poor white person feels like it's not supposed to be happening to them.

(LAUGHTER)

BLAIR: Before receiving the Mark Twain Award, Chappelle told me stand-up is an American phenomenon.

CHAPPELLE: It's, like, the best part of the First Amendment¹⁰ to me, that I'm able to express myself this way and make a viable¹¹ living doing it. And it's not necessarily an easy living, but it's worth everything that I've been through, especially to get a night like tonight and have people that's recognized. It's not an easy thing to do, and it's humbling¹² to get an award.

BLAIR: Dave Chappelle. The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize will air on PBS stations in early January. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 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。

6 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

7 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

8 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

10 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

11 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

12 humbling   

adj.令人羞辱的v.使谦恭( humble的现在分词 )；轻松打败（尤指强大的对手）；低声下气

参考例句：

• A certain humbling from time to time is good. 不时受点儿屈辱是有好处的。 来自辞典例句
• It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-buildingexperience. 据说天文学是一种令人产生自卑、塑造人格的科学。 来自互联网