名人轶事:Julia Ward Howe

By Shelley Gollust

Broadcast: February 27, 2005

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Ray Freeman.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Shirley Griffith with the Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA.

Every week we tell about a person important in the history of the United

States.

Today, we tell about Julia Ward¹ Howe. She wrote one of the great songs of the

American Civil War, the "Battle Hymn² of the Republic."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Marching soldiers ... no end to the lines of soldiers marching across the

land. They came from the northern states fighting to keep the Union together.

And they came from the southern states fighting for a separate Confederate

government that would protect their right to have slaves. In summer and

winter, the fighting continued. The sun burned like fire. The soldiers

marched on. The cold winter winds blew snow in their faces. The soldiers

marched on.

The United States was a nation cut in two by a bitter struggle over slavery

and a state's right to leave the Union. America's Civil War lasted four

years. It destroyed the land. And it destroyed the young men of the nation.

VOICE TWO:

Many stories have been told about the soldiers of the Civil War. They have

told of the soldiers’ fear and terror³. . .their great and heroic⁴ acts. .

.how they suffered and died. . .and how they sang before and after battle.

One song, more than any other, caught the spirit of the Union soldiers of the

North. The song is the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Here is the first part

of the song, sung by Odetta:

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The words are religious. They are like a hymn, a song of praise to God. This

is the story of the woman who wrote the song.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

The place was Washington, D.C. The year was eighteen sixty-one. It was a wet

winter night. There were thousands of soldiers in the city. The hospitals

were full. The field of battle was just across the Potomac River in the

southern state of Virginia.

A woman lay asleep in her hotel room. She had had a long, hard day. She had

come to Washington to visit the Union troops. The sight and sounds of the

soldiers gave her no rest. Even in her sleep she seemed to hear them. She

heard their sad voices as they sat beside their fires. She heard them

singing. They sang a marching song she knew. It was a song about John Brown,

an activist⁵ against slavery. The song told about how his body turned to earth

in the grave⁶. It told about how his spirit lived on.

VOICE ONE:

The woman's name was Julia Ward Howe. She was a writer and social reformer.

She was born in New York City in eighteen nineteen. Her father was a wealthy

banker. Julia married Samuel Gridley Howe. He was a reformer and teacher of

the blind. Julia and Samuel Howe moved to Boston. Missus Howe raised five

children. And she published several books of poetry.

VOICE TWO:

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

3 terror   

n.恐怖；可怖的人(事)

参考例句：

• We were in mortal terror of being found out. 我们非常害怕被发现。
• That guy is a proper terror. 那家伙真是讨厌。

4 heroic   

adj.英雄的，英勇的，崇高的

参考例句：

• Many people have heard of the man's heroic deeds.许多人都已经听说了这个人的英雄事迹。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

7 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

8 revolt   

n.叛乱，反抗，反感；v.叛乱，起反感，使...恶心

参考例句：

• The revolt was suppressed in a matter of hours.叛乱在几小时之内就平息下去了。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

9 treason   

n.叛逆，通敌，背叛，叛国罪

参考例句：

• The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason.国会有权宣布如何惩罚叛国罪。
• She was arraigned for high treason.她被控叛国罪。

10 executed   

v.执行（法令）( execute的过去式和过去分词 )；（按计划或设计）作成；履行；演（戏）

参考例句：

• He was executed for treason. 他因叛国罪被处死。
• He was executed in 1887for plotting to assassinate the tsar. 他因密谋暗杀沙皇在1887年被判处极刑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 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。

12 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！

14 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

15 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

16 swift   

n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He is swift to hear,but slow to speak.他听力敏锐，但不善言辞。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery.他康复得相当快。

17 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。