VOA慢速英语--传奇艺术家约瑟芬·贝克入葬法国先贤祠

American Singer, Activist¹ Josephine Baker² Honored in France

American-born singer and activist Josephine Baker became the first American and first Black woman to receive France's highest honor on Tuesday.

Baker became a French citizen in 1937 after marrying a French man.

Baker was honored at a ceremony outside the Pantheon in France.

The Pantheon is a building that has the remains³ of famous French people, including Marie Curie, Victor Hugo and Voltaire.

Baker was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906. She moved to Paris in 1925 to get away from racism⁴ and segregation⁵ in the United States.

She was famous around the world as a singer in the 1930s. But she also became known for joining the resistance to Nazi⁶ Germany in France during World War II.

Later, she supported the American civil rights movement in the 1960s. She spoke⁷ at the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.

Earlier in 2021, French President Emmanuel Macron decided⁸ to honor Baker because she was an "exceptional figure" who "embodies⁹ the French spirit."

Baker's remains will stay in Monaco where she lived at the end of her life. However, a burial container containing soil from the U.S., France and Monaco will be placed at the Pantheon.

Baker was honored Monday in a ceremony at the place where she is buried in Monaco.

Rosemary Phillips is a performer and the co-owner of the park Baker created in southwestern France. She said Baker was a "superstar," and the "Rihanna of the 1920s." Rihanna is one of today's most famous female singers.

Pap Ndiaye is a French scholar who studies minority rights movements in the U.S. He said: "the simple fact to have a Black woman entering the pantheon is historic."

Baker was famous for dancing in short skirts and was popular in Paris theaters. But Ndiaye said people disagreed over her performances. He said, at the time she was singing in Paris, France had colonies in Africa.

Baker was one of many famous Black Americans who lived in France during the years after the World Wars. Ndiaye said they had "a better life overall" than if they had stayed in the U.S. French racism, he said, was "more subtle."

Words in This Story

segregation – n. the policy of keeping people of different races, religions or ethnic¹⁰ groups separate from each other

exceptional – adj. not usual : unusual or uncommon¹¹

figure –n. a person who has a specified¹² status or who is regarded in a specified way

subtle – adj. hard to notice or see

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

12 specified   

adj.特定的

参考例句：

• The architect specified oak for the wood trim. 那位建筑师指定用橡木做木饰条。
• It is generated by some specified means. 这是由某些未加说明的方法产生的。