歌曲是捍卫劳动者权利最好的武器

92 歌曲是捍卫劳动者权利最好的武器

THIS IS AMERICA - September 3, 2001: Labor¹ Movement SongsBy Carolyn Weaver² and Jerilyn Watson

VOICE ONE:
Labor Day is an American holiday that (1)honors working people. It is (2)celebrated each year on the first Monday of September. I'm Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Bob Doughty³. Today we play some songs from the American labor movement on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
The labor (3)movement in the United States has been very successful. It has won many rights for American workers. The (4)struggle for these rights was long and difficult. Yet few people remember the (5)battles. Americans know about them mostly through music. For music was an important part of the (6)campaign for workers' rights. The songs are stories of struggle and (7)pride. Struggle to win good pay and working conditions. Pride in work that is well done. Some of the songs tell of working long hours for little pay. Some tell of the bitter, sometimes violent, struggle between workers and business owners.
VOICE TWO:
Union activists⁴ knew that songs could be (8)weapons. The music was a way to help people feel strong and united. So most labor songs express the workers' hope that a (9)union could make life better.
The people who wrote labor songs were workers and activists, not (10)professional musicians. Usually they did not write new music. They wrote new words to old songs.
One example is the song "We Shall Not Be Moved." It uses the music and many of the same words of an old (11)religious song. Here is folksinger Pete Seeger.
((TAPE CUT 1: "We Shall Not Be Moved": CDP 4998)) VOICE ONE:
Many of the best labor songs came from workers in the (12)coal mines of the southern United States. Coal mining was perhaps the most dangerous job in America. There were few health or safety rules to protect workers. The labor movement demanded action. But mine owners bitterly (13)opposed miners⁵' unions. In some areas, there was open war between labor activists and coal companies.
VOICE TWO:
Once in Harlan County⁶, Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They went to the home of one man. They did not find him there. So, they waited outside for several days. The coal miner's wife, Florence Reece, (14)remained inside with her children. She wrote this song, "Which Side Are You On?" Again, here is Pete Seeger.
((TAPE CUT 2: "Which Side Are You On?? CDP 338A))
VOICE ONE:
Joe Hill was probably the most famous labor song writer in America. He was born in Sweden and came to the United States in the early Nineteen-Hundreds. He worked as an unskilled laborer⁷.
Joe Hill joined a labor union called the I-W-W, the Industrial Workers of the World. More than any other union, the I-W-W used music in its campaigns. It told its members to "sing and fight."
One of Joe Hill's best-known songs is "Casey Jones." It uses the music from a song about a train (15)engineer. In the old song, Jones is a hero. He bravely keeps his train running in very difficult conditions.
In Joe Hill's (16)version, Casey Jones is no hero. His train is unsafe. Yet he continues to operate it after other workers have called a strike against the railroad⁸ company. Pete Seeger and the Song Swappers sing "Casey Jones The Union Scab".
((TAPE CUT 3: "Casey Jones The Union Scab" CDP 2833A))
VOICE TWO:
When labor organizer and songwriter Joe Hill was thirty-three years old, he was (17)accused of (18)murder. Some historians¹⁰ believe that police falsely accused him of murder to stop his labor activities. Others say there was strong (19)evidence that he was (20)guilty.
Joe Hill was (21)executed in Nineteen-Fifteen in the state of Utah. Reports say these were his last words: "Do not waste time feeling sad about my death. Organize the workers." The song "Joe Hill" was written by Earl Robinson and Alfred Hayes. It is sung here by Joan Baez.
((TAPE CUT 4: "Joe Hill" CDP 13025))
VOICE ONE:
Labor historian⁹ and musician Joe Glazer¹¹ says the unofficial song of America's labor movement is the song called "(22)Solidarity¹² (23)Forever." It was written in Nineteen-Fifteen by Ralph Chaplin. He was a poet and organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World union.
Ralph Chaplin wanted to write a song of (24)revolution. He said it should show that workers would always unite to claim their rights.
Here is Solidarity Forever,?sung by the Whiteville (25)Choir. These singers are members of a clothing workers union in Whiteville, North Carolina.
((TAPE CUT 5: "Solidarity Forever" CDP 21989))
VOICE TWO:
To most Americans today, labor songs are part of the past. One reason is that labor unions have gotten smaller. Another reason is that American culture has changed. People do not sing in group meetings as much as they once did.
Still, many workers enjoy hearing and singing labor songs. One popular historical song is called Bread and Roses.? Clothing workers used these words to (26)describe their movement in Nineteen-Oh-Eight. That year, one-hundred-twenty-eight women died in a factory fire in New York City. Fifteen-thousand women (27)marched to protest¹³ unsafe conditions in the factory.
VOICE ONE:
Four years later, the words Bread and Roses appeared on a flag carried by (28)textile workers during a (29)strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. That gave a member of the International Workers of the World the idea for a song. James Oppenheim wrote the song Bread and Roses.? Pat¹⁴ Humphries sings it.
((TAPE CUT 6: "Bread and Roses? CDP 22858))
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Carolyn Weaver and Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Keith Holmes. I'm Bob Doughty.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.

 

(1) honor[ 5CnE ]n.尊敬, 敬意, 荣誉, 光荣vt.尊敬, 给以荣誉
(2) celebrate[ 5selibreit ]v.庆祝, 祝贺, 表扬, 赞美, 举行
(3) movement[ 5mu:vmEnt ]n.运动, 动作, 运转, 乐章
(4) struggle[ 5strQ^l ]n.竞争, 努力, 奋斗vi.努力, 奋斗, 挣扎vt.尽力使得, 使劲移动
(5) battle[ 5bAtl ]n.战役(指大规模会战), 战争vi.作战, 战斗, 搏斗, 斗争
(6) campaign[ kAm5pein ]n.[军]战役, (政治或商业性)活动, 竞选运动vi.动,
(7) pride[ praid ]n.自豪, 自尊(心), 骄傲, 傲慢vt.使自豪, 使自夸
(8) weapon[ 5wepEn ]n.武器
(9) union[ 5ju:njEn ]n.联合, 合并, 结合, 联盟, 协会
(10) professional[ prE5feFEnl ] n.自由职业者, 专业人员, 职业运动员, 职业艺人adj.
(11) religious[ ri5lidVEs ]adj.信奉宗教的, 虔诚的, 宗教上的, 修道的, 严谨的n.
(12) coal[ kEul ]n.煤v.加煤
(13) oppose[ E5pEuz ]vt.反对, 使对立, 使对抗, 抗争vi.反对
(14) remain[ ri5mein ]vi.保持, 逗留, 剩余, 残存
(15) engineer[ 7endVi5niE ]n.工程师, 技师, 火车司机, 轮机员, 工兵
(16) version[ 5vE:FEn ]n.译文, 译本, 翻译
(17) accuse[ E5kju:z ]vt.控告, 谴责, 非难
(18) murder[ 5mE:dE ]n.谋杀, 凶杀vt.谋杀, 凶杀v.谋杀
(19) evidence[ 5evidEns ]n.明显, 显著, 明白, 迹象, 根据, [物]证据, 证物
(20) guilty[ 5^ilti ]adj.犯罪的, 有罪的, 心虚的
(21) execute[ 5eksikju:t ]vt.执行, 实行, 完成, 处死, 制成, [律]
(22) solidarity[ 7sCli5dAriti ]n.团结
(23) forever[ fE5revE ]adv.永远, 永恒, 永久, 常常, 始终
(24) revolution[ 7revE5lu:FEn ]n.革命, 旋转
(25) choir[ 5kwaiE ]n.唱诗班, 唱诗班的席位
(26) describe[ dis5kraib ]vt.描写, 记述, 形容, 形容v.描述
(27) march[ mB:tF ]n.行军, 步伐, 进行曲vi.进军, 前进vt.使行军, 使行进n.(March)
(28) textile[ 5tekstail ]n.纺织品adj.纺织的
(29) strike[ straik ]n.罢工, 打击, 殴打vt.打, 撞击, 冲击, 罢工, 打动, 划燃, 到达,

 

1 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。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 miners   

矿工( miner的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The coal miners have come out for about two weeks. 煤矿工人已罢工约两周了。
• The roof of the cave dropped in on the miners, trapping them. 洞穴的顶部坍了下来，砸在矿工身上。

6 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

7 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

8 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

9 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

10 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

11 glazer   

n.上釉工人，加光工人

参考例句：

• There's no set figure from the Glazer family [for transfers]. 格拉泽家族没有设置限制。 来自互联网
• The Glazer family have insisted that Manchester United are not for sale. 格雷泽家族已经强调曼彻斯特联是非卖品。 来自互联网

12 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

13 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

14 pat   

n.轻拍，拍打声；vt.轻拍，拍打；vi.轻跑，轻击；adv.适时，彻底；adj.油腔滑调的，恰好的，合适的

参考例句：

• Could you hear the pat?你能听到轻轻的拍击声吗？
• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。