VOA慢速英语2009年-THIS IS AMERICA - Maurice Sendak's Books h

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:
　
Maurice Sendak

And I'm Mario Ritter. This week on our program, we tell about Maurice Sendak, an award winning writer and illustrator of more than one hundred children's books.

His stories "Where the Wild Things Are" and "In the Night Kitchen" have helped redefine children's literature. Sendak has also worked on many theater and opera productions. For over sixty years, Sendak's artistic¹ skill has brought to life richly imaginative worlds filled with children, animals and magical creatures.

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VOICE ONE:

Maurice Sendak was born in nineteen twenty-eight in the Brooklyn area of New York City. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland who met in New York. Maurice was often sick as a child. As a result, he stayed home and read books and drew pictures to entertain himself.

Sendak's stories are often dark and intense. For example, "Outside Over There" is about a baby who is kidnapped by goblin creatures while her older sister is not paying attention. The sister must leave the safety of home to rescue the baby from a strange and dream-like world.
　
A drawing for “Outside Over There” by Maurice Sendak

Sendak has said that the idea for "Outside Over There" came from a famous kidnapping. In nineteen thirty-two, the child of the famous American pilot Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped and later killed. Maurice Sendak was only a small child at the time. But he always remembered his fear as he listened to the radio broadcasts about this tragic² event.

VOICE TWO:

Maurice grew up with continuous reminders³ about death. When he was sick, his grandmother dressed him in white clothes she thought would help him avoid death. Many of Sendak's family members in Europe were killed by the German Nazis⁵ in death camps during World War Two. He remembers his mother screaming and crying each time she learned that another family member had been killed. Sendak's parents would sometimes talk about the dead family members, especially children, who were not lucky enough to survive like Maurice had.

VOICE ONE:

These influences help explain an important part of Sendak's books. They often show children overcoming evil forces and other complex situations. Many of his stories are about a child trying to survive while facing difficult emotions such as fear. In his books, Sendak skillfully combines an adult's point of view with a child's point of view. His books are magical for all age groups.

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VOICE TWO:
　
A drawing for “A Kiss for Little Bear” by Else Minarik

One of the first books Sendak worked on as an artist was "A Hole is to Dig: A First Book of First Definitions." To write the book, Ruth Krauss asked very small children how they would define words like "face," "dog" and "party." Published in nineteen fifty-two, this book brought wide public attention to Sendak's art work. A few years later, he drew pictures for the first "Little Bear" books, written by Else Minarik.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen sixty-two he published the "Nutshell Library." These are four little books in a box measuring about seven by ten centimeters. The books are "Alligators⁶ All Around," "One Was Johnny," "Chicken Soup with Rice" and "Pierre."

"Pierre" is a funny story about a little boy who behaves badly. His answer to every question from his parents is "I don't care." Then he is eaten by a hungry lion. But the story has a happy ending. Pierre changes his behavior when he is reunited with his parents.

READER ONE:

One day his mother said

When Pierre climbed out of bed

Good morning, darling boy, you are my only joy.

Pierre said- I don't care!

What would you like to eat?

I don't care!

Some lovely cream of wheat?

I don't care!

Don't sit backwards⁷ in your chair

I don't care!

VOICE TWO:

Maurice Sendak's drawings are very expressive⁸. His little boys show their emotions in funny and recognizable ways. His monster creatures are more loveable than they are frightening. And his landscapes are very detailed⁹ and beautiful.

In nineteen sixty-three Sendak published "Where the Wild Things Are." It tells about the adventures of a rebellious¹⁰ young boy named Max, who wears clothing to make him look like a wolf. One evening, his mother sends him to his room without dinner as punishment for misbehaving. Max enters an imaginary world of large, frightening creatures. These Wild Things make him their ruler. But he becomes lonely and wants to return home.

READER TWO:

And when he came to the place where the wild things are they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws til Max said "BE STILL!" and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes with out blinking once…

VOICE ONE:
　
This year, "Where the Wild Things Are" became a major motion picture

At first, Sendak wanted to make the story about wild horses. But he could not draw horses very well. Instead, he drew the creatures to look like his family members in Brooklyn. Some critics thought the book was too frightening for some children. However, "Where the Wild Things Are" became an extraordinary success. It is still extremely popular with children and their parents. A movie version of "Where the Wild Things Are" comes out October sixteenth.

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VOICE TWO:

When Maurice Sendak began his career, many children's books showed a happy and perfect world. Sendak wrote books that were honest and sometimes very serious. He was revolutionary in widening the subjects considered acceptable for children's books.
　
Maurice Sendak's "In the Night Kitchen"

In nineteen seventy Sendak published "In the Night Kitchen." It tells about a little boy named Mickey who enters the dream world of a night kitchen. He falls into a large container of cake batter¹¹ being mixed by three fat cooks. Mickey builds an airplane out of uncooked bread and flies around the kitchen. This book was also very successful. However, some critics were upset that Sendak drew the young boy Mickey wearing no clothes.

READER THREE:

Where the bakers¹² who bake till the dawn so we can have cake in the morn mixed Mickey in batter, chanting: Milk in the batter! Milk in the batter! Stir it! Scrape it! Make it! Bake it! And they put that batter up to bake a delicious Mickey-cake. But right in the middle of the steaming and the making and the smelling and the baking Mickey poked¹³ through and said: I'm not the milk and the milk's not me! I'm Mickey!

VOICE ONE:

Over the years, Maurice Sendak has also worked on many plays and operas. He helped make "Where the Wild Things Are" into an opera. He also created set designs for "The Nutcracker" ballet by Tchaikovsky and "The Magic Flute¹⁴" opera by Mozart.

In two thousand three, Sendak worked with the playwright¹⁵ Tony Kushner on a picture book called "Brundibar." The book is based on a children's opera by the Jewish Czech composer Hans Krasa. It is about two poor children who must buy milk for their sick mother. They try to raise money from the people in their town by singing on the street. But a mean man named Brundibar chases them away. With the help of a group of children and some talking animals, they raise the money needed to buy milk.

VOICE TWO:

This opera was first performed in nineteen forty-two at a center for Jewish children without parents in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Then Krasa and the children were sent to a Nazi⁴ death camp, along with most of the other Jews of Prague. Krasa directed the children performing the opera fifty-five times at the camp before they were sent to their deaths by the Nazis.

Sendak has said that "Brundibar" represented the sadness he felt about losing family members during the Holocaust¹⁶. He thought that the book might help him move on from always thinking about his family's past. Sendak and Kushner worked together to stage their own version of "Brundibar" as an opera for children. It has been performed in several cities.

VOICE ONE:

Maurice Sendak has won many awards including the "Living Legend" honor from the American Library of Congress. He has also won every major award for children's literature. The Rosenbach Library in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a collection of more than ten thousand drawings by Maurice Sendak. The writer began giving early versions of his books and drawings to the library beginning in the nineteen seventies.

In May two thousand seven, the Rosenbach Library opened a travelling exhibit called "There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak." It is now at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, California. Visitors can see many of Maurice Sendak's extraordinarily¹⁷ detailed drawings and learn more about the imaginary worlds he has created.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. Our readers were Doug Johnson, Steve Ember and Jim Tedder¹⁸. I'm Mario Ritter.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Our programs are online with transcripts¹⁹ and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

3 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

4 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

5 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

7 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

8 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

11 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

12 bakers   

n.面包师( baker的名词复数 )；面包店；面包店店主；十三

参考例句：

• The Bakers have invited us out for a meal tonight. 贝克一家今晚请我们到外面去吃饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bakers specialize in catering for large parties. 那些面包师专门负责为大型宴会提供食品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

15 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

16 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

17 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

18 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

19 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句