美国国家公共电台 NPR In 1968, Arthur Ashe Made History At The U.S. Open

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, if you were watching men's singles 50 years ago, you would have seen Arthur Ashe become the only African-American man to win the U.S. Open. Karen Grigsby Bates of our Code Switch team reports on a player who grew much larger than tennis.

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, BYLINE¹: Back in 1968 at the U.S. Open, pretty much everything on the court was white except Arthur Ashe.

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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Arthur Ashe 15 days ago won the National Amateur title in Boston. Now he's trying to win the Open.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: 30-15.

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: And his first of what I'm sure will be many aces².

BATES: Ashe and his powerful serve would go on to defeat Tom Okker of the Netherlands. He was released from the Army after two years as a data processor, and former Lieutenant⁴ Arthur Ashe Jr. soon turned pro³. Raymond Arsenault, author of the new biography "Arthur Ashe: A Life," says 1968 was a watershed⁵ for Ashe.

RAYMOND ARSENAULT: He did great things before 1968, was one of the greatest players in the world already. But as a human being, as someone who transcended⁶ sports, it begins in '68.

BATES: 1968 was a tumultuous year. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated⁷. Protests against the Vietnam War had escalated⁸. Early on, Arthur Ashe Sr. had warned his son to, quote, "stay away from that civil rights mess." And for a time, Arthur Jr. did. But he began to speak out about black athletes' responsibility to their communities, and he criticized the war that he said was costing so many young black and brown men their lives. Here's Ray Arsenault.

ARSENAULT: I mean, he was never an agitator⁹. He was very unemotional in his advocacy and his activism. But he was absolutely determined¹⁰ to have an impact on the broader world.

BATES: After he retired¹¹ in 1980, Ashe wrote several books and op-eds about athletes and race. He pressed to dismantle¹² apartheid in South Africa and defended the rights of Haitian refugees. He started inner-city tennis clinics for black children here and abroad. But Ashe was considered a hero far beyond sports. When Nelson Mandela, freshly released from prison, came to the United States in 1990, Ray Arsenault says...

ARSENAULT: He said, the first person I want to meet is Arthur Ashe.

BATES: Their friendship would last for the remainder of Ashe's life. His busy life as an author, lecturer, op-ed writer and social activist¹³ began to slow in the late '80s when Ashe had surgery for a suspected brain tumor¹⁴. Four years later, he made this pained announcement to stunned¹⁵ reporters.

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ARTHUR ASHE: I have known since the time of my brain operation in September 1988 that I have AIDS. It was transmitted through a blood transfusion¹⁶ after one of my open-heart bypass operations.

BATES: Far from the shunning¹⁷ he feared, though, Ashe was embraced as he added AIDS advocacy to his social justice portfolio¹⁸. Even in his last days Ashe persisted.

ARSENAULT: You know, he's literally¹⁹ on his deathbed. And he asked them to call the new president, you know, Bill Clinton, and to make sure that he appointed a really strong civil rights advocate for attorney general.

BATES: Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. died on February 6, 1993, of AIDS-related pneumonia²⁰. He was 49 years old. Since that time, many memorials have been erected²¹ in his honor, including Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the U.S. Open has been played since 1997. Karen Grigsby Bates, NPR News.

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1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 aces   

abbr.adjustable convertible-rate equity security (units) 可调节的股本证券兑换率；aircraft ejection seat 飞机弹射座椅；automatic control evaluation simulator 自动控制评估模拟器n.擅长…的人( ace的名词复数 )；精于…的人；（ 网球 ）（对手接不到发球的）发球得分；爱司球

参考例句：

• The local representative of ACES will define the local area. ACES的当地代表将划定当地的范围。 来自互联网
• Any medical expenses not covered by ACES insurance are the sole responsibility of the parents. 任何ACES保险未包括的医疗费用一律是父母的责任。 来自互联网

3 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

5 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

6 transcended   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的过去式和过去分词 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• He wanted assurance that he had transcended what was inherently ambiguous. 他要证明，他已经超越了本来就是混淆不清的事情。
• It transcended site to speak to universal human concerns. 它超越了场所的局限，表达了人类共同的心声。

7 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

8 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

9 agitator   

n.鼓动者；搅拌器

参考例句：

• Hitler's just a self-educated street agitator.希特勒无非是个自学出身的街头煽动家罢了。
• Mona had watched him grow into an arrogant political agitator.莫娜瞧着他成长为一个高傲的政治鼓动家。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 dismantle   

vt.拆开，拆卸；废除，取消

参考例句：

• He asked for immediate help from the United States to dismantle the warheads.他请求美国立即提供援助，拆除这批弹头。
• The mower firmly refused to mow,so I decided to dismantle it.修完后割草机还是纹丝不动，于是，我决定把它拆开。

13 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。

14 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

15 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

16 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

17 shunning   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My flight was more a shunning of external and internal dangers. 我的出走是要避开各种外在的和内在的威胁。 来自辞典例句
• That book Yeh-yeh gave me-"On Filial Piety and the Shunning of Lewdness"-was still on the table. 我坐下来，祖父给我的那本《刘芷唐先生教孝戒淫浅训》还在桌子上。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

18 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

19 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。

20 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

21 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。