名人轶事:Remembering Five Special People Who Died This Ye

Remembering Five Special People Who Died This Year

Hear about the lives of Robert Altman, Ann Richards, R.W. Apple, William Styron and Ruth Brown.

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about five special people who died during the past year. We start with the movie director Robert Altman. During his fifty-year career, he made some of the most influential¹ movies of modern times.

(MUSIC from "Nashville")

VOICE ONE:

Robert Altman  

Robert Altman's films were different from the usual methods of Hollywood movie storytelling. He started his film career in the nineteen forties directing industrial movies in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. Later, he moved to Hollywood, California to make television shows.

His first major film, "MASH²", was released in nineteen seventy. It tells about a group of American medical workers in a temporary military hospital in Korea during the Korean War in the nineteen fifties. The movie was a great success. It questions the rules of the military establishment in a way that was sharply funny and intelligent.

Robert Altman continued to make movies with strong political and social commentary. His next major movie, "Nashville," came out in nineteen seventy-five. This movie provides a complex look at changes in the country music industry.

VOICE TWO:

Robert Altman's movies have a very special style. Often, his actors speak so naturally it is hard to believe they are performing. Altman liked his actors to be free to make up their own lines. He often layered different recordings⁴ of actors talking at once. Altman wanted to copy the way people talk and act in real life. And he was willing to fight with movie studio businessmen to make sure he had total creative control over his work.

Even as an old man, Robert Altman continued to make movies. Many of his thirty-three films were nominated for Academy Awards, including "The Player" and "Gosford Park." Robert Altman died in November in Los Angeles, California. He was eighty-one years old.

(MUSIC: "Deep in the Heart of Texas)

VOICE ONE:

Ann Richards  

Ann Richards was a famous Democratic party politician from the southern state of Texas. She served as the governor of Texas for four years. Richards was known for her big white hair, big smile, and sharply funny comments. She was also known for forming what she called a "New Texas" during her time as governor. She created a government in which women, Hispanics, and African-Americans played important roles.

Ann Richards did not always have a career in public service. As a young woman, she worked as a teacher and raised four children. She and her husband were very involved in local politics. Richards began working hard to help Democratic Party candidates win seats in the Texas legislature.

VOICE TWO:

Then one day, she decided⁵ to run for office herself -- and she won. She served first as country commissioner⁶, then as Texas state treasurer⁷. In nineteen ninety she was elected governor. She fought for equal rights, environmental protection and laws to restrict guns. After losing a second term as governor to George W. Bush, Richards worked in public relations.

She died in September at the age of seventy-three. At her funeral service, leaders from around the country gathered to celebrate her life. Former President Bill Clinton spoke⁸ at the service. He said Ann Richards helped create a world where young girls could be scientists, engineers and police officers. He said she was a great woman with a big heart and big dreams.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

R. W. Apple     

The journalist R.W. Apple, known as Johnny, wrote about many subjects, from politics and war to food and drink. During his forty-three years writing for the New York Times newspaper, he enjoyed a rich and eventful career. He was the paper's chief reporter in cities like London, Moscow, Lagos and Nairobi. He covered events such as the Vietnam War, the Iranian revolution and the Gulf⁹ War. He reported on ten presidential elections. And, Johnny Apple's opinions on fine food, travel and the world's best restaurants were very influential.

VOICE TWO:

Raymond Walter Apple was born in nineteen thirty-four in Akron, Ohio. His father owned several food stores and wanted his son to take over the business. But the young man fell in love with journalism¹⁰ instead. He began as a reporter for his high school and then college newspaper. He later wrote news stories for the Wall Street journal and the NBC news television network. But it was his years at the New York Times that established him as one of the greatest political and cultural writers of his time.

VOICE ONE:

Johnny Apple died in October at the age of seventy-one. Earlier this month his friends and family gathered in Washington, D.C. for a large memorial service. Famous writers, politicians, and cooks told about his warm personality, sharp intelligence, and extraordinary energy. After the service, guests enjoyed fine foods provided by some of the best cooks in the area.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

William Styron   

William Styron wrote intense books about tragic¹¹ periods in history. His stories are filled with rich language and complex moral questions. Many of his books try to understand the evil actions of people. His first novel, "Lie Down in Darkness," was published in nineteen fifty-one when he was only twenty-five. It is about a troubled young woman who kills herself. It established him as a great new voice in American literature. The book received the Rome Prize, which required him to live in Italy for a year. He soon became friends with many famous American writers including James Baldwin and Norman Mailer.

VOICE ONE:

William Styron was born and raised in Newport News, Virginia. He quit college to join the Marines during World War Two. He later continued his studies in English literature. After briefly¹² working in publishing, he started to write.

Styron wrote "The Confessions¹³ of Nat Turner" in nineteen sixty-eight. It told about a nineteenth century slave revolt in the southern state of Virginia. Critics praised the book and it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. But African American writers strongly criticized the story.

VOICE TWO:

Styron's book "Sophie's Choice" won the American Book Award in nineteen eighty. It is a tragic story about a woman and her children who are sent to a Nazi¹⁴ death camp in Poland during World War Two. The book was made into a movie starring Meryl Streep.

Later in life William Styron suffered from severe depression. After recovering, he wrote honestly and bravely about his experience in "Darkness Visible: A Memoir¹⁵ of Madness." He received great praise for educating people about the difficulties of mental illness. William Styron died in November at the age of eighty-one.

(MUSIC: "Lucky Lips")

VOICE ONE:

Did you recognize that powerful voice? It is Ruth Brown singing "Lucky Lips." Brown recorded many rhythm and blues¹⁶ hits in the nineteen fifties. Her popular songs helped build the Atlantic Records company.

Ruth Brown     

Ruth Brown was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in nineteen twenty-eight. She learned to sing traditional music at her Christian¹⁷ religious center. But she liked the popular jazz and rock music of the time even more. She left home at a young age to build a career in music. One night the jazz expert and broadcaster Willis Conover heard her perform in Washington, D.C. He helped her meet the owners of Atlantic Records. By nineteen forty-nine she was recording³ albums. Soon, she became known as "the girl with the tear in her voice" because of her emotional way of singing.

VOICE TWO:

In the early nineteen sixties Brown married and led a more private life. But by the nineteen seventies and eighties, she started singing again in musicals and performed on television and in movies. She also started to fight for musicians' rights. Many musicians recorded hit songs that made their record companies very rich. But the musicians themselves rarely received fair payment later.

Ruth Brown worked hard to make these companies change their policies. In nineteen eighty-eight, Atlantic Records agreed to pay her and thirty-five other musicians the money they owed them for using their songs for twenty years. Ruth Brown continued performing for the rest of her life. She died in October.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this report on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English
 

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 treasurer   

n.司库，财务主管

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith was succeeded by Mrs.Jones as treasurer.琼斯夫人继史密斯先生任会计。
• The treasurer was arrested for trying to manipulate the company's financial records.财务主管由于试图窜改公司财政帐目而被拘留。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

10 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

11 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。

12 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

13 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

15 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

16 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。

17 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。