环球英语 — 273：Hero Poets

　　Voice 1
Hello. I’m Rachel Hobson.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Whom do you respect? Whom do you admire? Some people love famous sports players. Other people like singers and actors. And some people admire royalty³. But is there someone that your whole country loves? Does your country have a hero?
Voice 2
In the country of Nicaragua, poets are the heroes. In today’s Spotlight we tell the story of two Nicaraguan poets - Ruben Dario and Alfonso Cortes. We tell how their poems have influenced Spanish poetry. And we tell how their words continue to encourage the people of Nicaragua today.
Voice 1
Nicaragua is called the ‘pais-poeta’ - the country of poets. In Nicaragua people use poems to express their feelings about many different subjects. These poems are often about social wrongs. Or they may condemn⁴ political⁵ ideas. They are also about love, nature and different theories. Some of the poems are very funny. Everyone, from workers to top officials, has a deep love for poetry.
Voice 2
Many people write their own poems. Newspapers publish these poems from the public. And newspapers also publish poems by famous poets every week. People read the poems with great care. They study them, and think about them. They trust the poets. In fact, in Nicaragua the word ‘poet’ has come to mean ‘friend’ or ‘brother.’
Voice 1
In schools teachers develop this love of poetry in children. They often divide children into teams to read and learn poems. The first poems they study are usually by Ruben Dario. The children often learn the words from his poem ‘Sonatina’
: ‘The princess is sad. Her mouth has lost its laughter⁶, lost its colour.’
Voice 2
Ruben Dario was born in 1867. As a child he lived with his grandfather in Leon. Leon is an important city in Nicaragua. It has produced many of Nicaragua’s great poets.
Voice 1
Dario was an extremely⁷ intelligent child. He started writing at an early age. Newspapers published his first poems when he was around thirteen [13] years old. So people called him ‘El Nino Poeta’ - the child poet.
Voice 2
When Dario was twenty-one [21], he put together a very important collection of his poems. He called this book of poems ‘Azul’ - ‘Blue’. At the time, his poems were very different from any other poems in the Spanish language. He moved away from the traditional writing methods of the past. He used new modern methods. His writing began the modernist movement in Spanish poetry. Dario’s work changed the way other poets wrote, especially in Latin⁸ America.
Voice 1
Dario became very famous. And he lived an exciting life. He travelled to many different countries in Latin America and Europe. He had interesting jobs. He wrote for newspapers. He worked as an ambassador⁹ for his country. And he wrote books. But, poetry remained his first love.
Voice 2
Dario encouraged poets to get involved in public service. He believed that community was very important. And he was extremely proud of his culture. Dario wrote several poems that talked about this. They talked about his pride in his Latino roots.
Voice 1
But not everything went well for Dario. After the death of his wife, he experienced¹⁰ depression¹¹. He drank too much alcohol¹². And he lived a troubled life. In the last year of his life, he returned to his hometown of Leon. Nicaragua celebrated¹³ his return. Everyone was happy to see him. But Dario was sick. And he knew that he was near death. During this time, he wrote the poem ‘Eheu’:
Voice 3
‘I stopped and cried out, As if in the middle of a desert, And I thought the sun was dead, And I burst¹⁴ into tears.’
Voice 1
Soon afterwards he died. The year was 1916.
Voice 2
Eleven years later, another poet was ready to follow Dario. He was also from Leon. And, he moved into the very same house that Ruben Dario grew up in. This man was Alfonso Cortes.
Voice 1
Cortes was greatly influenced by Spanish modernist poetry. He experimented with language as Dario had. He was particularly interested in the subjects of time and space. And he questioned the church, religion and the world around him. He wrote about self-knowledge and the nature of existence, God and reality. These are metaphysical ideas. And many people consider Cortes to be the only true metaphysical poet in the Spanish language.
In his poem ‘The Song of Space’ he says:
Voice 4
‘Time, where are we, you and I, since I live in you and you do not exist?’
Voice 2
But Cortes had a mental condition called schizophrenia. He suffered terrible periods of being very sick. There is even a story that tells how his mental sickness started. It says that he was in his bedroom - the same bedroom that Ruben Dario used years before. He could not sleep. He was troubled. And late at night he went insane¹⁵.
Voice 1
Sometimes Cortes was calm and could think clearly. Other times he became violent¹⁶ and angry. During these times, he was chained to his bedroom window - he was attached¹⁷ there with metal chains. The chains kept Cortes from hurting himself. But they also kept him from moving around freely¹⁸. He spent much of the year attached to the window. Finally Cortes went to a hospital for insane people.
Voice 2
In hospital Cortes was mostly sick. But sometimes he improved. And during those times he played songs on a guitar. He translated the poems of famous poets. And he wrote his own poems. Often he wrote his poems on the sides of newspapers. And his writing was so small that the words were difficult to read.
Voice 1
Cortes had two important friends. They were both famous poets. And they saved his poems, including the ones on the sides of newspapers. One of his friends, Ernesto Cardenal, published a book of Cortes’ poems. He described the poem ‘The Detail’ as the most beautiful poem in the Spanish language. One line says,
Voice 4
‘A mark of blue has more intensity¹⁹ than all the sky.’
Voice 2
Sadly, Cortes was in hospital for twenty-five [25] years. He died in 1969. He did not achieve the same level of fame as Ruben Dario. But his work is widely respected.
Voice 1
Dario and Cortes lived very different lives. One travelled the world and met many important people. The other was very sick for much of his life. But both men greatly changed Spanish poetry. Both men are heroes in their country. And they will be remembered by generations to come.
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

4 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

5 political   

adj.政治上的，政党的，政略性的，政治的

参考例句：

• He was forced to leave his homeland for political reasons.因为政治原因他被迫离开自己的祖国。
• In ideas those two political parties are worlds apart.那两个政党在思想上有巨大分歧。

6 laughter   

n.笑，笑声

参考例句：

• I don't know how my story caused so much laughter.我不知我的故事怎么引起如此大笑。
• The audience gave way to uncontrollable bursts of laughter.听众忍不住发出一阵阵笑声。

7 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

8 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

9 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

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 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。

12 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

14 burst   

vi.（burst，burst）爆炸；爆破；爆裂；爆发；vt.使…破裂；使…炸破；n.突然破裂；爆发

参考例句：

• We all held our breath till the bomb burst.我们屏住呼吸直到炸弹爆炸。
• She suddenly burst into song.她突然唱起歌来。

15 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

16 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

17 attached   

附加的

参考例句：

• The lease entitles the holder to use the buildings and any land attached thereto.本租约持有人有权使用此建筑物以及所附属的土地。

18 freely   

adv.自由地，随便地，无拘无束地

参考例句：

• She was unable to keep back her tears,and wept freely.她抑制不住泪水，痛痛快快地哭了起来。
• A liquid flows freely and has no fixed shape.液体能自由流动，无固定形态。

19 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。