VOA标准英语2008年-France Commemorates May '68 Protests

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
09 May 2008

France is commemorating¹ this month the tumultuous events of May 1968, when a wave of student and worker protests swept the country - profoundly changing it, many say, forever. From Paris, Lisa Bryant has more on the 40th anniversary and the legacy² of May 1968.

May 1968 was a watershed³ month for France. University students in Paris occupied the area of Sorbonne and Nanterre universities and clashed violently with police. Workers occupied factories and walked off their jobs. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to protest heavy handed police treatment, with students in particular calling for the government of then president Charles de Gaulle to resign.

The protesters came from different backgrounds but shared similar goals: A desire to shake up traditional French society and - for some - to express their opposition⁴ to the Vietnam war.

France is now marking May 1968 with exhibitions, seminars, movies and articles.

And with demonstrations⁶. In recent weeks French high school students have been protesting plans by the center-right government to cut more than 11,000 teaching posts.

Jean-Baptiste Prevost, the head of the French student union UNEF, says young people today view the events of May '68 very positively⁷. But they don't want to copy what took place. They want to write their own history.

The debate is on here about the legacy of the riotous⁸ 1968 month. Researcher Jacques Capdevielle, who recently co-authored a book on May 1968, said there is no doubt it profoundly changed the country.

"Especially in the cultural dimension," he said. "But... in the labor⁹ system as well. In May '68, France jumped from the 19th to the 21st century and things are very different today. ...Before May, the unions had no legal existance...that was different from England or Germany or the States, of course. That was one great change. And the school system changed as well. And the relationship between men and women, sexual behavior and cultural dimensions."

But journalist and author Jean-Paul Cruse believes the impact of May '68 was more limited. Cruse took part in the demonstrations, as a 20-year-old high school student.

Cruse believes the main change that May 1968 brought was a political one: it helped usher¹⁰ the fall of President de Gaulle - who retired¹¹ a year later - and of communism which was popular in post-war France. But he says other issues often associated with May '68, like sexual freedom and gender¹² equality, were unrelated.

Not everyone looks back on May '68 with nostalgia¹³. That includes France's current president, Nicolas Sakozy.

During his election campaign last year, Mr. Sarkozy vowed¹⁴ to 'liquidate¹⁵ the heritage of May '68,' which he suggested robbed France of its morals and values.

Some believe the reason May '68 resonates so strongly here right now is because France is troubled. President Sarkozy's popularity ratings have plummeted¹⁶ in the year since he took office, and French workers and students have demonstrated against unpopular government reforms. Researcher Capdevielle believes young people are particularly discontented.

"Young people are quite angry," he said. "It's difficult for them to get a job. Unemployment among young people is quite high in France - higher than in Germany and in England."

At a student demonstration⁵ in Paris earlier this week, 17-year-old Wafa Salem sharply criticized the government plans to cut teaching positions.

Wafa, who goes to high school in the Paris suburb of Bondy, said having 20 students per class was already difficult. If more teachers were cut, she believes, class size would grow to 30.

The high school protests are only the latest in a series of actions by French youths against the conservative establishment. In 2005, the deaths of two young Africans in the Paris suburbs sparked nationwide riots. A year later, young people protested against a new labor contract that was subsequently scrapped¹⁷. Last year, they took to the streets again, against government plans to partially¹⁸ privatize French universities.

The bread-and-butter concerns of 2008 - high unemployment, job insecurity and overcrowded schools - may be very different from the more idealistic causes of May 1968. But, activists¹⁹ like Prevost of the UNEF student union say, young people today are as eager for change as 40 years ago.

Prevost says French youths are anxious. They are worried about their future. They think President Sarkozy has not offered the answers to their problems.

1 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

2 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

3 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

6 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 riotous   

adj.骚乱的；狂欢的

参考例句：

• Summer is in riotous profusion.盛夏的大地热闹纷繁。
• We spent a riotous night at Christmas.我们度过了一个狂欢之夜。

9 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。

10 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

13 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

14 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

15 liquidate   

v.偿付，清算，扫除；整理，破产

参考例句：

• A unanimous vote was taken to liquidate the company.全体投票一致通过停业清理公司。
• They have not hesitated in the past to liquidate their rivals.过去他们曾毫不犹豫地铲除对手。

16 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

18 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

19 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》