VOA慢速英语2020--图书馆组织列出了反对意见最多的书籍

The American Library Association (ALA) released its list of the 100 books that have been censored² the most in the United States. The ALA calls it the list of most "challenged books." The list includes books from writers Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winner, John Green, Harper Lee and Margaret Atwood.

Sherman Alexie's prize-winning "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" came in at No. 1. It was followed by Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" picture books and Jay Asher's young adult novel "Thirteen Reasons Why." Parents' criticisms of these book included descriptions of illegal drug use and suicide. Offensive language was also one of the reasons.

A lot of the books on the list show that parents are questioning "books by people of color and books from the LGBTQ community," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone. She is the director of the library association's Office for Intellectual Freedom.

Examples include Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," about a Black girl raped³ by her father; Alex Gino's "George," about a transgender child; and Justin Richardson's and Peter Parnell's picture book about two gay penguins⁴, "And Tango Makes Three."

The list was announced this week as the library association prepares for its yearly Banned Books Week.

The ALA explains that an attempt to censor¹ a book is a "written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness." The list comes from news reports and from documents from libraries and others in the local community.

The ALA also said that many attempts at censorship are not reported. The association does not count the number of times books are removed from a library or from a school reading list.

The list over the past 10 years includes popular books such as Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." It also includes newer works, such as Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games." "The Hunger Games" has been accused of being anti-family and celebrating violence. Others included were Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" and J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye."

Most of the books are fiction, but the list also includes such nonfiction works as Jeanette Walls' story about her childhood "The Glass Castle," and "Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl." Frank died in a Nazi⁵ concentration camp. In the book, she wrote about her growing sexual feelings as she and her family hid from the Nazis⁶ in Amsterdam during World War II.

"There are actually two lines of objections to the Anne Frank diary," Caldwell-Stone said. One of the criticisms was about Anne's growing interest in a boy. The other is that "it was inappropriate for someone 12 years old to learn about the Holocaust⁷. It was too much of a downer."

Words in This Story

censor– v.to examine books, movies and other media to find out if there are things considered offensive, immoral⁸, or harmful to society

challenged–adj. something that has been challenged or objected to

underpants– n.the clothe worn closest to the skin underneath⁹ pants or shorts

LGBTQ – adj. acronym¹⁰ for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, queer

appropriate– adj. right for some purpose or situation

transgender– adj. related to people who feel their true nature does not match their sex at birth

penguins– n. black and white flightless birds that swim and live in the southern half of the world

fiction– n.written stories about people and events that are not real

objection– n. a reason for disagreeing with or opposing something

downer – n.something that is unpleasant or depressing

1 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

2 censored   

受审查的，被删剪的

参考例句：

• The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
• The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。

3 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

4 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 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。

6 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》

7 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。

8 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

9 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

10 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。