英语杂谈：83 Children's Story: "John Henry" 1

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Today we tell a traditional American story called a “tall tale.” A tall tale is a story about a person who is larger than life. The descriptions in the story are exaggerated¹ – much greater than in real life. Long ago, the people who settled in undeveloped areas of America first told tall tales. After a hard day’s work, people gathered to tell each other stories.

Each group of workers had its own tall tale hero. An African-American man named John Henry was the hero of former slaves and the people who built the railroads³. He was known for his strength.

Railroads began to link the United States together in the nineteenth century. The railroads made it possible to travel from one side of the country to the other in less than a week. Before then, the same trip might have taken up to six months.

Railroad² companies employed thousands of workers to create the smooth, flat pathways required by trains. John Henry was perhaps the most famous worker. He was born a slave in the southern United States.  He became a free man as a result of America’s Civil War. Then, he worked for the railroads.

Confirming details of John Henry’s life is not possible. That is because no one knows or sure if he really lived. This is one of the things that makes his story interesting. However, John Henry is based, in part, on real events. Many people say he represents the spirit of growth in America during this period.

Now, here is Shep O’Neal with our story.

(MUSIC)

People still talk about the night John Henry was born. It was dark and cloudy. Then, lightening⁴ lit up the night sky. John Henry’s birth was a big event. His parents showed him to everyone they met. John Henry was the most powerful looking baby people had ever seen. He had thick arms, wide shoulders and strong muscles. John Henry started growing when he was one day old. He continued growing until he was the strongest man who ever lived.

John Henry grew up in a world that did not let children stay children for long. One day, he was sitting on his father’s knee. The boy picked up a small piece of steel and a workman’s tool, a hammer. He looked at the two objects, then said, “A hammer will be the death of me.”

Before John Henry was six years old, he was carrying stones for workers building a nearby railroad. By the age of ten, he worked from early in the morning until night. Often, he would stop and listen to the sould of a train far away. He told his family, “I am going to be a steel-driver some day.”

Steel-drivers helped create pathways for the railroad lines. These laborers⁵ had the job of cutting holes in rock. They did this by hitting thick steel drills, or spikes⁶.

By the time John Henry was a young man, he was one of the best steel-drivers in the country. He could work for hours without missing⁷ a beat. People said he worked so fast that his hammer moved like lightening.

(MUSIC)

John Henry was almost two meters tall. He weighed more than ninety kilograms. He had a beautiful deep voice, and played an instrument called a banjo. John Henry married another steel-driver, a woman named Polly Ann. They had a son.

John Henry went to work as a steel-driver for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, or C-and-O. The company asked him to lead workers on a project to extend⁸ the railroad into the Allegheny Mountains. The workers made good progress on the project until they started working near Big Bend Mountain in West Virginia.

The company’s owners said the mountain was too big to build a railroad around it. So the workers were told they had to force their drills through it. This meant creating a tunnel more than one-and-one half kilometers long.

The project required about one thousand laborers and lasted three years. Pay was low and the work was difficult. The workers had to breathe thick black smoke and dust. Hundreds of men became sick. Many died.

John Henry was the strongest and fastest man involved in the project. He used a hammer that weighed more than six kilograms. Some people say he was able to cut a path of three to six meters a day.

 

1 exaggerated   

adj.言过其辞的

参考例句：

• Inevitably, the press exaggerated the story. 新闻界照例又夸大了这件事。
• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated. 他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。

2 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

3 railroads   

n.铁路，铁道( railroad的名词复数 )；铁路系统v.铁路，铁道( railroad的第三人称单数 )；铁路系统

参考例句：

• Water transportation was outmoded by railroads and good pikes. 水上运输已因铁路和良好的税道而变得过时了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A severe snowstorm blocked up railroads. 一场暴风雪使铁路中断。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 lightening   

n.发光v.使（某物）更明亮( lighten的现在分词 )；变得更光明

参考例句：

• The lightening splintered a tree. 闪电把一棵树劈开了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I saw the lightening split the clouds and heard the thunders following. 我看到闪电撕开云层，听到随之而来的雷声。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

5 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

6 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

8 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。