【英语听和读】库尔特·冯内古特

 Amber¹: Hello, I’m Amber Barnfather and you’re listening to bbclearningenglish.com.

In Entertainment today, we learn about one of the outstanding writers of

modern American literature, Kurt Vonnegut, who died on the 11th of April,

aged² 84.

We hear extracts from an interview with Dr Sarah Churchwell who teaches

American literature at the University of East Anglia. She talks about why

Vonnegut’s work is so admired, and why you might like to read it.

Kurt Vonnegut was initially³ considered to be a Science Fiction writer but the

world of literature really began to sit up and take notice in 1969 when he

published Slaughterhouse Five. This novel combines time travel fantasy with

Vonnegut’s own experiences in the German city of Dresden during the Second

World War – he was a captured American solider when Dresden was destroyed.

Like many of Vonnegut’s novels, Slaughterhouse Five, contains a repeated

phrase: ‘so it goes’ – it’s an expression of resignation, of accepting something

you don’t like but cannot change, and it helps convey a quiet but very powerful

belief in the utter pointlessness of war.

Slaughterhouse Five is Vonnegut’s best-known book, although he wrote 14

novels and many essays and short stories. Here’s Dr Sarah Churchwell

describing Vonnegut’s impact and ‘legacy⁴’ (his lasting⁵ importance) in

American literature. 

Entertainment © BBC Learning English 2007

Page 2 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

As you listen, try to catch the plural⁶ noun Sarah uses for something that you

say or write which shows your admiration⁷ for someone. She says these are

‘springing up all over the place right now’ for Vonnegut - they are appearing

quickly and in large numbers, like flowers in spring.

Dr Sarah Churchwell

‘I think there’s no question that he influenced a great many of the people who are writing

today – they’ve testified to that fact in, you know, numerous tributes that are springing up all

over the place right now, very rapidly. I saw, earlier today, that his Wikipedia entry had over

250 edits since he died so people are really jumping in to talk about him – there’s no question

how much he influenced people.

I think that his legacy was probably that he brought a certain kind of American satire⁸ back

into fashion and that he reminded America that an important part of democracy was to

criticise⁹ your government.’

Amber: Did you catch it? Sarah says that many (‘numerous’) ‘tributes’ are being

written for Vonnegut. For example, people are writing about him in Wikipedia,

a free online encyclopaedia¹⁰ which is written by users.

Listen again and try to catch the expression Sarah uses twice to emphasise¹¹ her

view that Vonnegut was an influential¹² writer.

Dr Sarah Churchwell

‘I think there’s no question that he influenced a great many of the people who are writing

today – they’ve testified to that fact in, you know, numerous tributes that are springing up all

over the place right now, very rapidly. I saw, earlier today, that his Wikipedia entry had over

250 edits since he died so people are really jumping in to talk about him – there’s no question

how much he influenced people.

I think that his legacy was probably that he brought a certain kind of American satire back

into fashion and that he reminded America that an important part of democracy was to

criticise your government.’

Amber: Sarah says ‘there’s no question …’ that Vonnegut was an influential writer.

She also explains that his ‘legacy’ was that he made a certain kind of ‘satire’,

of criticising things in a humorous way, popular again – he brought it ‘back 

Entertainment © BBC Learning English 2007

Page 3 of 3

bbclearningenglish.com

into fashion’. She says he also ‘reminded America that an important part of

democracy was to criticise your government.’

Now Sarah talks about why Vonnegut is such a clever writer, an inventive

and ingenious writer. She says he’s more than just a Science Fiction writer –

he’s ‘certainly not limited to Science Fiction’.

As you listen, notice the expression ‘a throwaway thought’ which Sarah

uses to explain that amazing thoughts came easily to Vonnegut.

Dr Sarah Churchwell

‘Everybody acknowledges his incredible inventiveness. In one of his novels, there’s this

fabulous¹³ idea that the Chinese are shrinking and shrinking and shrinking and eventually

everybody starts inhaling¹⁴ them and everybody gets allergies¹⁵, and I mean, it’s such an amazing

idea right there, and that’s a throwaway thought for Vonnegut, so I think that his ingenuity¹⁶

leant itself to Science Fiction but it was certainly not limited to Science Fiction.’

Amber: Now here’s a list of the language we focussed on in the programme today.

 

an expression of resignation

legacy

springing up all over the place

numerous tributes

Wikipedia

there’s no question …

satire

to bring something back into fashion

a throwaway thought

1 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。

7 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

8 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

9 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

10 encyclopaedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• An encyclopaedia contains a lot of knowledge.百科全书包含很多知识。
• This is an encyclopaedia of philosophy.这是本哲学百科全书。

11 emphasise   

vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重

参考例句：

• What special feature do you think I should emphasise? 你认为我该强调什么呢？
• The exercises heavily emphasise the required readings.练习非常强调必须的阅读。

12 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

13 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

14 inhaling   

v.吸入( inhale的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was treated for the effects of inhaling smoke. 他因吸入烟尘而接受治疗。 来自辞典例句
• The long-term effects of inhaling contaminated air is unknown. 长期吸入被污染空气的影响还无从知晓。 来自互联网

15 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

16 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。