美国国家公共电台 NPR--Remembering author Kurt Vonnegut, who would have turned 100 on Friday

Remembering author Kurt Vonnegut, who would have turned 100 on Friday

Transcript¹

On what would've been Kurt Vonnegut's 100th birthday, Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep shares a memorable² interview he did with the writer in 2006. Vonnegut died in 2007.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The novelist Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born 100 years ago today. He's the author of many books, among them "Slaughterhouse-Five." It's the story of an American who'd been taken prisoner in World War II and survived the firebombing of Dresden, Germany. This was a story Vonnegut himself had experienced in real life.

His son once said that Kurt Vonnegut lived the rest of his days with undiagnosed post-traumatic stress. He came home from the war and worked regular jobs until his odd, sometimes science fiction-ish novels built a huge following. He became the kind of writer some kids are assigned in school - not all kids. His books are sometimes banned.

But I first read one of his stories when I was attending high school in Vonnegut's home state of Indiana. I eventually read every Vonnegut book I could find. And not long before his death, I got to interview him. I think about this conversation all the time. So on this anniversary, I'd like to play some of it for you. His political references ranged from socialism to the Sermon on the Mount. And though the interview is 16 years old, much of it feels current.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

KURT VONNEGUT: You know, Karl Marx got a bum³ rap, as all he was trying to do was to figure out how to take care of a whole lot of people. Of course, socialism is just evil now. It's completely discredited⁴, supposedly, by the collapse⁵ of the Soviet⁶ Union. But I can't help noticing that my grandchildren are heavily in hock to Communist China now, which is evidently a whole lot better at business than we are. You know, you talk about the collapse of communism or Soviet Union. My goodness, this country collapsed⁷ in 1929. I mean, it crashed big time. And capitalism⁸ looked like a very poor idea.

INSKEEP: Mr. Vonnegut, you're fortunate and rare in a way, in that more than a half a century ago, you began writing novels, some of which were classified as science fiction or seemed to be a kind of cockeyed forecast of the future. And then you've had time to look back and see if any part of those predictions came true. I'm thinking of your first published novel "Player Piano," where...

VONNEGUT: Well, I was working for General Electric back then as a publicity⁹ man. Incidentally, it was a great company, General Electric was then, as I saw America - industry at its best.

INSKEEP: Well, you wrote about a world in which things were still being produced, but they were being done automatically. So there weren't jobs for most people, and they were just given allowances and reduced to being nothing but consumers. People didn't exist to do anything except buy consumer products and keep the economy going. Has any of that turned out to be true?

VONNEGUT: All of it. Where have you been? No - when I worked for General Electric - again, this was soon after the Second World War - you know, I was keeping up with new developments. And they showed me a milling machine. And this thing worked by punch cards. That's where computers were at that time. And everybody was sort of sheepish about how well this thing worked because, in those days, machinists were treated as though they were great musicians, as they were virtuosos¹⁰ on these machines. And after that demonstration¹¹, everybody was thinking, what's going to happen to these wonderful men who have been so useful to us? We have to give people something to do with life.

INSKEEP: There was another novel that you wrote called "Slapstick." And part of that novel was that the United States had Balkanized. It had become a series of feudal¹² societies. The Duke of Oklahoma was fighting wars against the King of Michigan. And obviously, that hasn't literally¹³ happened. But is there any way that metaphorically¹⁴ it has happened?

VONNEGUT: Well, we are terribly divided politically, yes. And, you know, I don't mean to intimidate¹⁵ you and your listeners, but I have a master's degree in anthropology¹⁶ from the University of Chicago.

INSKEEP: I'll try to get over my awe¹⁷. Please, continue.

VONNEGUT: So did Saul Bellow¹⁸, incidentally, from the same department.

INSKEEP: OK. Now I'm intimidated¹⁹. Go ahead.

VONNEGUT: But anyway, it was obvious throughout the human experience that extended families and tribes are terribly important. We can do without an extended family as human beings about as easily as we can do without vitamins or essential minerals. With - where you can see tribal²⁰ behavior now is in this business about teaching evolution in a science class, and intelligent design. It's - the scientists themselves are behaving tribally²¹ because...

INSKEEP: How are the scientists behaving tribally?

VONNEGUT: They say, you know, about evolution, it surely happened, as the fossil record shows that. But look, I - my body and your body are miracles of design. The scientists are pretending they have the answer. It's how we got this way, when natural selection couldn't possibly have produced such machines.

INSKEEP: Does that mean that you would favor teaching intelligent design in the classroom?

VONNEGUT: Look, it's what we're thinking about all the time. If I were a physics teacher or a science teacher, it'd be on my mind all the time, is how the hell we really got this way. It's a perfectly²² natural human thought. And, OK, if you go into the science class, you can't think this? Well, all right. As soon as you leave, you can start thinking about it again without giving aid and comfort to the lunatic fringe of the Christian²³ religion. Also, I think that, you know, if it's tribal behavior, I don't think that Pat Robertson, for instance, doubts that we evolved. He is simply representing a tribe.

INSKEEP: There are tribes on both sides here, in your view?

VONNEGUT: Yes.

INSKEEP: May I ask what tribes, if any, you have belonged to over the years?

VONNEGUT: Well, it's an ancestral tribe. And these were immigrants from north of Germany who came here about the time of the Civil War. But anyway, these people called themselves freethinkers. They were impressed, incidentally, by Darwin. They're called humanists now, people who aren't so sure that the Bible is the word of God.

INSKEEP: Who are denounced by some religious people as secular²⁴ humanists.

VONNEGUT: Well, that's exactly what I am. The trouble with being a secular humanist is that we don't have a congregation. We don't meet. So it's a very flimsy tribe. But I - well, there's a wonderful quotation²⁵ from Nietzsche. Nietzsche said, only a person of deep faith can afford the luxury of skepticism. It's - something perfectly wonderful is going on. I do not doubt it. But I - the explanations I hear do not satisfy me.

INSKEEP: Our 2006 conversation with Kurt Vonnegut. This weekend, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis is holding events to mark his birth 100 years ago. His birthday is today, November 11, Veteran's Day, the name of which Vonnegut never liked. He preferred the old name Armistice²⁶ Day, marking the end of World War I, a day of peace.

(SOUNDBITE OF ELIZABETH COTTON'S "VASTOPOL")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

4 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 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。

8 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

9 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

10 virtuosos   

n.艺术大师( virtuoso的名词复数 )；名家；艺术爱好者；古董收藏家

参考例句：

• Like all virtuosos, Fermi had a distinctive style. 像所有的艺术家一样，费米有他自己的独特风格。 来自互联网
• In terms of musical performance, there are many very good French musicians, but few virtuosos. 从音乐演出来看，优秀的法国音乐家不少，可是缺乏演奏大师。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

15 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

16 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

17 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

18 bellow   

v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道

参考例句：

• The music is so loud that we have to bellow at each other to be heard.音乐的声音实在太大，我们只有彼此大声喊叫才能把话听清。
• After a while,the bull began to bellow in pain.过了一会儿公牛开始痛苦地吼叫。

19 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

21 tribally   

部落的，部族的； 种族的

参考例句：

• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities. 那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。
• Vincent's father is a tribal chief. 文森特的父亲是一个部落的酋长。

22 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

23 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

24 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

25 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

26 armistice   

n.休战，停战协定

参考例句：

• The two nations signed an armistice.两国签署了停火协议。
• The Italian armistice is nothing but a clumsy trap.意大利的停战不过是一个笨拙的陷阱。