VOA慢速英语2014 Celebrating the Life of Abraham Lincoln 纪念亚伯拉罕·林肯时期的生活

 

Celebrating the Life of Abraham Lincoln 纪念亚伯拉罕·林肯时期的生活

From VOA Learning English, welcome to This is America.  I'm Steve Ember.  Today we tell about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.

“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance¹ can spare one or another of us. The fiery² trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We – even we here – hold the power and bear the responsibility.”

That was actor Henry Fonda, speaking the words of President Lincoln.  This recitation is part of “A Lincoln Portrait,” a work by American composer Aaron Copland.

Today, we tell the story of this great American president.  Come along with us.

 

The words we just heard were part of a speech President Lincoln gave to the United States Congress in 1862.  At the time, he was leading the nation during the Civil War.  This was the most serious crisis in American history.  Lincoln spoke³ to lawmakers a month before he signed the Emancipation⁴ Proclamation.  The document declared the freedom of slaves in states controlled by rebel forces.

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky on February 12th, 1809.  He grew up in Illinois.  His family was poor and had no education. Abraham Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know.  He became a lawyer.  He served in the Illinois state legislature and in the United States Congress.  In 1860, he was elected to the country's highest office.

President Lincoln helped end slavery in the nation.  And he helped keep the American union from splitting apart during the Civil War.  Lincoln believed that democracy can be a lasting⁵ form of government.

In 1863, the president gave what became his most famous speech.  Union armies of the north had won two great victories that year.  They defeated the Confederate armies of the south at Vicksburg, Mississippi and at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Ceremonies were held to honor the dead soldiers on the Gettysburg battlefield.

President Lincoln spoke at Gettysburg for only about two minutes.  But his speech has never been forgotten.  Historians say it defined Americans as a people who believed in freedom, democracy and equality.  The speech began:

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth⁶ on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated⁷ to the proposition that all men are created equal.

“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live.”

Abraham Lincoln wrote some of the most memorable⁸ words in American history.  Lincoln was assassinated⁹ in 1865.  He was shot at Ford’s Theater in Washington while he and his wife were watching a play.  He died a few days after the Civil War ended.  Yet his words live on.

In 1942, orchestra conductor Andre Kostelanetz asked three leading American composers to write musical portraits of famous Americans.  One of the three was Aaron Copland.  His compositions were often based on traditional American music.  In a conversation recorded at the Library of Congress in 1975, on his 75th birthday, Copland recalled:

“I picked Lincoln.  And after I decided¹⁰ to do a musical portrait of Lincoln, I began looking around at some of the biographies of him, and I found a very interesting one by an English lord, a man called Lord Charnwood, of all things, and it was in there  that I found some of the quotes that I used in the work itself.”

Aaron Copland wrote “A Lincoln Portrait” for speaker and symphony orchestra.  The speaker recites words taken from Lincoln’s speeches, letters, and the Gettysburg Address.  In our conversation in 1975, Copland remembered the very first speaker.

“It was Carl Sandburg, the great biographer of Lincoln, so that one had full confidence that he knew what he was talking about.

And, did Copland have a favorite speaker over the many years “A Lincoln Portrait” had been performed?

“I’ve heard it done by so many different people, in so many different ways, that it’s hard for me really to decide, in my own mind, who has the perfect way.  Obviously, if you get someone with Sandburg’s personality, whom one connects with Lincoln in some way or other, that helps a great deal.”

Copland added a “Note for the Speaker” to the score for “A Lincoln Portrait.”  It reads that “the words are meant to be read simply and directly, without a trace of exaggerated sentiment.  It is the composer’s wish that the speaker depend for his effect not on his “acting” ability, but on his complete sincerity¹¹ of manner.”

In 1968, Copland led the London Symphony Orchestra, with Henry Fonda speaking the words of Lincoln – in just the way the composer preferred.

“Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.”  That is what he said. That is what Abraham Lincoln said: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history.  We of this Congress and this administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves.  No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us.  The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation.  We – even we here – hold the power and bear the responsibility…” 

He was born in Kentucky, raised in Indiana, and lived in Illinois. And this is what he said. This is what Abe Lincoln said: 

“Dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate¹² to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.  As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves and then we shall save our country.”

When standing¹³ erect¹⁴, he was six feet four inches tall, and this is what he said. He said:

“It is the eternal struggle between two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world. It is the same spirit that says ‘You toil¹⁵ and work, and earn bread, and I’ll eat it,’ no matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation, and live by the fruit of their labor¹⁶, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race. It is the same tyrannical principle.”

Lincoln was a quiet man.  Abe Lincoln was a quiet and a melancholy¹⁷ man.  But, when he spoke of Democracy, this is what he said. 

He said: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.  This expresses my idea of Democracy.  Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of these United States, is everlasting¹⁸ in the memory of his countrymen, for on the battleground at Gettysburg this is what he said:

He said: “That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion: that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” 

Henry Fonda with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer in Aaron Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait.”   

And that’s our program honoring a great American president in his birthday month.  I’m Steve Ember, inviting¹⁹ you to join us again next week for another This Is America program from VOA Learning English.

1 insignificance   

n.不重要；无价值；无意义

参考例句：

• Her insignificance in the presence of so much magnificence faintly affected her. "她想象着他所描绘的一切，心里不禁有些刺痛。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• It was above the common mass, above idleness, above want, above insignificance. 这里没有平凡，没有懒散，没有贫困，也没有低微。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 emancipation   

n.（从束缚、支配下）解放

参考例句：

• We must arouse them to fight for their own emancipation. 我们必须唤起他们为其自身的解放而斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They rejoiced over their own emancipation. 他们为自己的解放感到欢欣鼓舞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

8 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

9 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

12 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

15 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

16 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

17 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

18 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

19 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。