VOA慢速英语--请不要抵制我们！

Please Don't Boycott¹ Us! 请不要抵制我们！

From VOA Learning English, this is Words and Their Stories.

Each week we report on words and expressions commonly used in American English. We explain their meanings, their roots and how they are currently used.

Today we talk a word that comes to English through the Irish. That word is boycott.

Boycott can be used as both a noun and a verb. As a verb, boycott means to refuse to do something as a form of protest. People who boycott something are often looking for social, economic or political change.

As a noun, the word boycott has a somewhat different meaning. People stop using goods or services during a boycott until changes are made.

In fact, that is just how the word entered the English language. It began with a man’s name.

In the mid-1800s, a young man named Charles Boycott (1832-1897) served in the British army. After retiring, he worked as a land agent for the owner of a large country estate in Ireland.

At that time, Ireland was under British rule. It was Boycott’s job to collect money from tenant² farmers who grew crops on the estate.

The farmers demanded lower rents. Boycott refused. Not only did he refuse to lower their rents, he evicted⁴ some farmers, meaning he kicked them out of their homes.

All these issues – evictions, high rents and absentee landlords -- caused a dispute between Boycott and the local community. In particular, Boycott clashed with a man named Michael Davitt.

In 1879, Davitt founded a group called the Land League. The league organized Irish resistance to absent and abusive landlords. It sought to help tenant farmers by securing fair rents and other rights of occupancy.

Davitt suggested to the farmers that instead of attacking Captain Boycott, they should simply refuse to do business with him.

This form of protest proved very effective. Boycott’s workers and servants refused to carry out his orders. The crops in his fields went bad -- they rotted on the vine -- because nobody would harvest them. Reports even say some businesses would not take his money. The community turned their back on the Boycott family and they were forced to move.

By the end of 1880, some British newspapers began using Boycott’s name when reporting on a protest of unfair methods or actions. The usage quickly spread.

The term boycott crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed in American newspapers. By the late 1880s, The New York Times was reporting on boycotts⁵. The word was generally used to describe labor⁶ protests against businesses.

These days, consumers are able to use their buying power to boycott businesses they consider unethical or abusive. Companies found to be mistreating their employees, breaking labor deals or polluting the environment can quickly find themselves in the middle of a boycott.

The origin of the word “boycott” serves as a reminder⁷: treat people fairly. Otherwise, your last name may become a word people use when they protest.

And that brings us to the end of Words and Their Stories. If you did not like this subject, please do not boycott the program.

Simply go to our website, learningenglish.voanews.com, and leave your suggestions in the Comments section.

Words and Their Stories

evict³ – v. to put (a tenant) out by legal process : to force (someone) to leave a place

absentee – adj. a proprietor⁸ that lives away from his or her estate or business

particular – adj. used to indicate that one specific person or thing is being referred to and no others

turned their back – phrase to stop being involved with someone or something

buying power – phrase to acquire possession, ownership, or rights to the use or services of by payment especially of money :  purchase

unethical – adj. following accepted rules of behavior : morally right and good

1 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

2 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

3 evict   

vt.驱逐，赶出，撵走

参考例句：

• The lessor can evict the lessee for failure to pay rent.出租人可驱逐不付租金的承租人。
• The government always says it's for the greater good when they evict farmers from their land.当政府把农民从他们的土地赶出去的时候，总是号称是为了更大众的利益。

4 evicted   

v.（依法从房屋里或土地上）驱逐，赶出( evict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• They had evicted their tenants for non-payment of rent. 他们赶走了未交房租的房客。

5 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

6 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。

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。