VOA标准英语2010年-'The Play's the Thing' at Most Legitim

A theater that draws a million people a year is mighty¹ popular. Even more so when you consider that it offers only about 700 seats and that it's not a movie theater or some kind of arena².

It's strictly³ a legitimate⁴ theater, where live plays are performed. Good ones, too.

OK, this has been a bit of a trick. Only about one-fifth of the patrons come to see the PLAYS. The other 800,000 or so are actually visiting the BASEMENT as well as the auditorium⁵ - not to see a show but to see a large exhibit and the private box where one of the most tragic⁶ events in American history took place.

 
Library of Congress
This 1875 lithograph⁷ by Alexander Hay Ritchie shows the dying president, surrounded by friends and acquaintances, including some of his cabinet members.
 A lighthearted comedy called Our American Cousin was staged in this theater 145 years ago. And enjoying it was the man whom many consider to have been America's greatest president: Abraham Lincoln. He and his victorious⁸ army had restored the fractured Union in a long and bloody⁹ civil war.

That night, the actor and southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot and mortally wounded Lincoln. The president was carried across the street to a private residence, where he died before dawn.

Ford¹⁰'s Theatre closed immediately, and when owner John Ford tried to open it again, there were so many threats to burn it down that he ended up selling the theater to the Federal Government, which gutted¹¹ it and turned it into office space. There, in 1893, 22 government clerks were killed when the floors collapsed¹².

 
Carol M. Highsmith
The presidential box at Ford's Theatre where Abraham Lincoln was shot.
 It was not until 1968, 103 years after the assassination¹³, that the theater as well as the house across the street were re-dedicated as the Ford's Theatre Lincoln Museum.

Since then, both the theatre and the Lincoln exhibits below - including Booth's pistol and the president's blood-stained shirt - have been refurbished. Visitors can still see a play many nights a year, as well as the box where Lincoln was shot. The flag-draped balcony is decorated just as it was that evening.

Lots of the plays feature a Lincoln story and character. And truth be told, there aren't many comedies among them.

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

6 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

7 lithograph   

n.平板印刷，平板画；v.用平版印刷

参考例句：

• Lithograph was introduced from China to Europe.印刷术是从中国传入欧洲的。
• Cole printed 1,000 of the cards on a lithograph stone before having them hand-colored.科尔随即用石版印刷了1000张，之后又让人给这些卡手工着色。

8 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 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。

11 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

13 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。