AMERICAN STORIES - Wanderlust

AMERICAN STORIES - Wanderlust
By Charles Kuralt

Broadcast: Saturday, November 13, 2004

Now the VOA special English program -- American Stories.

Our story today is called "Wanderlust". It was written by American reporter Charles Kuralt. It is from his book "A Life on the Road". The word "wanderlust" means¹ a strong desire to travel. For many years Mr. Kuralt traveled across America, telling interesting stories about Americans. His reports were broadcast on the CBS television network. In the beginning of his book there is a poem by Scottish² writer Rubber Lewis Stevenson. It describes Mr. Kuralt's Wanderlust. It says "Wealth, I ask not; hope, nor love; nor a friend to know me. All I ask, the heaven above and the road below me." In the following story Charles Kuralt tells how he began his traveling life.

Before I was born I went on the road. The road was highway seventeen. It went from the city of Jacksonville to the city of Wilmington in North Carolina. That is where the hospital was. My father backed the car out of his place in the barn³. He helped my mother into the front seat. It was 1934. My father made the trip to Wilmington in little more than an hour. He hardly slowed down for stop signs in the towns along the way. I was born the next morning with traveling in my blood. I had already gone 80 kilometers.

We lived on my grandparents' farm for a while during the Great Economic Depression⁴ of the 1930s. There was a sandy road in front and a path through the pine trees behind. I always wondered where the roads went. After I learned⁵ that the one in front went to another farm, I wondered where it went from there. In back, playing among pine trees I once surprised some wild turkeys. They went flying down the path and out of sight. I remembered wanting to go with them. My mother was a teacher. My father had planned to become a big business man, but he became a social worker instead. He helped poor people. He got a job with the state government. His job took us from one town to another. I loved every move. I began to find out where the roads went.

Since my mother was busy teaching⁶ school, somebody had to take care of me. The answer to the problem caused a little trouble for my father, I imagine, but it was perfect in my opinion. He took me with him on his trips. As we rode along the country roads, my father told me stories. We stopped in the afternoons to fish for a few minutes in little rivers turned black by the acid⁷ of cypress⁸ trees. We stopped in the evenings to eat meals of pork, sweet potatoes and grains. Then we rode on into the night, looking for a place to sleep. Just the two of us, rolling on in a cloud of friendly company and smoke from his cigar. I wanted never to go home from these trips.

Charles Kuralt's story continues with memories of his early travels.

I entered contests that promised travel as a prize. When I was twelve I won one of these competitions. It was a yearly⁹ baseball writing contest organized by a newspaper. The prize was a trip with the Sharlat Honits, the local baseball team. Another boy and I traveled with the team to games in Ashfel, North Carolina and Noxfel, Tennessee. I loved being away from home in places I had only heard about. I loved being with the players and listening to them talk. Best of all, I loved writing about the game on an old typewriter I had borrowed from someone in my father's office. I was only 12, but I tried to sound like I had been doing this for years. After that summer I wrote about basketball and football games for the school newspaper. I became, in my imagination, an experienced¹⁰ traveling reporter. I was not old enough to drive a car to the games. Sometimes I had to ride in the backseat of my parents' car where the children always sat. I accepted the situation by making up stories there in the backseat. I imagined I was really flying across an ocean in an airplane, looking over my notes for a big story while on the way to Constantinople or Khartoum.

When I was 14, I won another contest and got another trip. This time it was a speaking contest called the Voice of Democracy¹¹. As one of four winners from the United¹² States, I got to give my speech in Williamsburg Virginia, the capital of Virginia when Virginia was still a British colony¹³. From Williamsburg we went to Washington¹⁴ to meet President Harry¹⁵ Truman at the White House. Mr. Truman treated us like adults for which I was thankful. But I knew I was not really a White House reporter yet, because the woman holding my arm and smiling nervously¹⁶ was my mother. I could not wait to grow up and be off on my own.

On the dirt roads near our house I learned to drive a car. My father sat beside me again in the passenger's seat this time. I was not old enough to get the official document that would permit¹⁷ me to drive by myself. I asked my parents to tell state officials that I was older. "We could go to jail¹⁸ for that." my father said. I said, "Nobody would ever find out." In the end my father agreed. It was the only real lie he ever told. So I had my driver's license¹⁹. Naturally the first thing I did was plan a trip. My friend and I got an old car. Someone had repaired it with parts from different kinds of cars. It was a mix, a kind of Shavie Ford²⁰ mobile²¹. We got an old radio, too. It would not fit in the normal place on the control board, so we hung it from a wire underneath²². That summer with parts clashing²³ and radio swinging we had it for California²⁴.

Our idea was to explore the Rocky²⁵ Mountains and west coast, perhaps go north into Canada and end up at North Western University in Illinois. I was supposed to attend a summer writing program for high school students at the university. We traveled slowly to save fuel and because we had promised our worried parents that we would not drive fast. We quickly learned that we had overestimated²⁶ everything: the ability of our vehicle²⁷, the distance we could travel in a day, the amount of money we needed and our desire to be away from home. We thought that we would never make it to California.

Instead we crossed the Mississippi River with our money and our spirits running low. We were having arguments about small things. We were having a crisis²⁸ of inexperience. We made it to Chicago. My friend got a job selling hot dogs to pay for his trip home alone. I got a room and waited for the start of my class. At last came the day when I took the train to the university. I remembered not one thing I might have learned in the next 6 weeks of the writing program. I do remember walking on the college grounds and watching sail boats in the distance on the blue waters of Lake Michigan. I remembered a coffee shop where students talked and laughed. The streets and walks and grass and buildings of the university seemed to me a Hollywood²⁹ version³⁰ of a college. And I seemed to myself a big boned boy from the South, a country boy after all.

I wanted to gain at least a little of the social experience I saw all around me. But I did not know where to begin. Then the summer ended and it was too late. I took the train part way home. Then I stood on the side of the road, trying to catch a ride, the rest of the way. One day I got a ride in the back of a truck. I returned the wave of a man who stood up from his work in his vegetable garden to watch us pass. I saw a woman hanging wet cloth on a rope to dry in the sun. The road passed under and away from me, kilometer after kilometer. I was perfectly³¹ happy.

In one sleepy town the truck driver stopped. I went into the court house to find a toilet. I looked into offices and saw people at work at typewriters and adding machines. I felt terribly sorry for them. They were going to work there at their desks all that day and the next and the next and half a day on Saturday. They would return to those same desks and office machines on Monday morning. I walked out of the building, climbed into the back of the truck again and left the town behind. The sun was shining and I could feel the wind in my hair.

You have just heard the story "Wanderlust" by Charles Kuralt. It is from his book "A Life on the Road" published by GP Parten Sons in 1990. It was adapted for Special English by Christine Johnson. Our storyteller was Rich Clinfelt. This is Surligrapid.

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 Scottish   

adj.苏格兰(人)的；n.苏格兰(人)；苏格兰语

参考例句：

• My husband and I are scottish.我和我丈夫是苏格兰人。
• Scottish life in London centres round this spot.苏格兰人在伦敦的生活区集中在这一带。

3 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

4 depression   

n.压抑，抑制，沮丧；萧条，衰退

参考例句：

• During a depression money circulates slowly.在商业萧条时期，货币流通滞缓。
• He suffers from acute depression.他患有严重的忧郁症。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

7 acid   

n.酸；酸性物质；adj.酸的，酸性的

参考例句：

• Handle with care,or the acid may get out.小心轻放，否则酸会溢出来。
• The acid has been eating away the sides of the container.酸腐蚀着容器的四壁。

8 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

9 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

10 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

11 democracy   

n.民主政治，民主制度；民主精神，民主作风

参考例句：

• Democracy is based on good will and mutual understanding.民主建立在善意和相互理解的基础上。
• Did democracy have its beginnings in Athens? 民主制度是创始于雅典吗？

12 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

13 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

14 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

17 permit   

n.许可证，许可，执照；vt.允许，容许；vi.容许

参考例句：

• The doctor will not permit mother up until her leg is better.在母亲的腿好些之前,医生不允许她起床。
• The soldiers had orders to permit no stranger through.士兵们接到命令不许任何陌生人通过。

18 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

19 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

20 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

21 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

22 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。

23 clashing   

n.冲突, 抵触, 撞击声 vt.使 ... 发出撞击声 vi.引起冲突

参考例句：

• A gong, clashing faintly in the distance, seemed to be in another world. 外面送来锣鼓声，隐隐约约的，好像隔了一个世界。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• These clashing perspectives permeated the Middle East dispute and prevented any real bargaining. 这些互相冲突的观点浸透在中东的纠纷之中，并防害了任何真正的谈判。

24 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

25 rocky   

adj.岩石的，像岩石的；多岩石的

参考例句：

• She drives carefully up the rocky lane.她驾车小心地从这条很多石头的小路上驶过去。
• There is only one port along this rocky coast.这个多岩石的海岸只有一个港口。

26 overestimated   

对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They overestimated his ability when they promoted him. 他们提拔他的时候高估了他的能力。
• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。

27 vehicle   

n.车辆，交通工具，运载工具；媒介，表现手段

参考例句：

• Air is the vehicle of sound.空气是声音传播的媒介。
• The power plant burns used vehicle tyres as fuel.这家电厂用废弃轮胎作燃料。

28 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

29 Hollywood   

n.好莱坞；美国电影业

参考例句：

• She dreamed of becoming a Hollywood screen goddess.她梦想成为好莱坞的银幕女神。
• The film has a Hollywood happy ending.那部电影有一个好莱坞式的美满结局。

30 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

31 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。