VOA慢速英语20060515b

THIS IS AMERICA - American Sociological Association Names Top Protest SongsBy Lawan Davis

Broadcast: Monday, May 15, 2006

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ANNOUNCER:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein. This week we bring you some of the most important protest songs of the past century.

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VOICE:

Music is a way to express thoughts, feelings and ideas. People have written protest songs to speak about political and social issues. Protest songs have denounced slavery, war, poverty and inequality. They have supported peace and civil rights.

The American Sociological Association has made a list of the most important protest songs in America during the past century. The list of fourteen songs was published in the journal Contexts. We will tell about eight of those songs.

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During the civil rights movement of the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties, African-Americans protested for equal rights. The American Sociological Association says two songs were probably sung the most during that time. They are We Shall Overcome and Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round. Both songs are versions of traditional spiritual songs sung by black people.

The organization also named another song from the civil rights movement on its list of important protest songs. The song is Lift Every Voice and Sing. It was written by brothers James Weldon Johnson and J. Rosamond Johnson in the early nineteen hundreds. The words of the song came from a poem James Weldon Johnson wrote. He had been asked to speak at a birthday celebration in his hometown in Florida for former President Abraham Lincoln. The song later became know as the national song of praise for African-Americans. Singer Kelli Williams recorded Lift Every Voice and Sing.

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Music experts say the song Strange Fruit is one of the greatest protest songs ever. It condemns² the hanging of African鈥揂merican men in the American South. Abel Meeropol wrote a poem about this subject in nineteen thirty-seven. He was a school teacher in New York City. He showed the poem to blues³ singer Billie Holiday who turned it into a song.

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Florence Reece wrote the song Which Side Are You On? in the nineteen thirties during the labor⁴ struggles of coal miners in the state of Kentucky. The group Peter, Paul and Mary sings about the need to organize workers into labor unions.

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Bob Dylan has written and sung many protest songs that condemn¹ war or support civil rights. The American Sociological Association says it was difficult to choose just one of his famous protest songs. They include Blowin' in the Wind Only a Pawn⁵ in Their Game and Masters of War. However, the organization chose this song, The Times They Are A-Changin'.


Bob Dylan

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Sometimes the reason for protest is a very personal one. Otis Redding wrote this song. Soul singer Aretha Franklin asks the man in her life to honor her, to show her some Respect.

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In hip-hop music, rappers have also made calls for social change. In nineteen eighty-nine, the hip-hop group Public Enemy sang about equal rights and freedom of speech in the song Fight the Power.

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Singer John Lennon wrote and sang several protest songs. He wrote the song Imagine in the late nineteen-sixties to call for peace during the Vietnam War. Experts say the message of the song remains⁶ important today. It calls on people all over the world to live in peace and unity⁷.


Photographed by Bob Gruen, with skyscrapers⁸ behind him, John Lennon wears a New York City T-shirt (1974)

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We leave you now with the song We Shall Overcome. This song has been sung around the world for many different causes, including civil rights, human rights and workers' rights.

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Our program was written and produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Barbara Klein. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 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。

5 pawn   

n.典当，抵押，小人物，走卒；v.典当，抵押

参考例句：

• He is contemplating pawning his watch.他正在考虑抵押他的手表。
• It looks as though he is being used as a political pawn by the President.看起来他似乎被总统当作了政治卒子。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。