THIS IS AMERICA - Pulitzer Prizes

THIS IS AMERICA
–
April 22, 2002: Pulitzer Prizes

By Jerilyn Watson

19 Apr 2002, 16:45 UTC
VOICE ONE:

Every year, Pulitzer Prizes are given for the best newspaper reporting, books, drama, poetry and music in the
United States. These awards for excellence¹ were announced earlier this month. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. We tell about the Pulitzer Prize winners in our report today on the VOA Special English

program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((THEME)
)
VOICE ONE:
Columbia University in New York City has awarded Pulitzer Prizes every year since Nineteen-Seventeen. The

newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer established the prize. Mister Pulitzer was born in Hungary in Eighteen-
Forty-Seven. He moved to the United States and settled in Saint Louis, Missouri. He became a newspaper
reporter.

Then he began buying newspaper companies. In Eighteen-Eighty-Three, Joseph
Pulitzer bought the New York World. He soon changed it into one of the most
important newspapers in the United States. It sold more copies than any other
newspaper in the country.

Mister Pulitzer became very rich. He left two-million dollars to Columbia
University when he died in Nineteen-Eleven. Part of the money was to establish a graduate school of journalism²
to train reporters. The rest of the money was to be used as prizes for the best writing in the United States.

This year, Columbia University gave fourteen awards to newspapers and reporters for excellence in journalism
during Two -Thousand -One. The judges also honored seven people for their work in the arts --for books, a play,
poetry and music.

VOICE TWO:

The most important news event last year happened on September eleventh. On that day, Islamic militants³
attacked the United States. They crashed hijacked⁴ airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and
the Defense⁵ Department headquarters near Washington, D.C. Passengers on another hijacked plane apparently⁶
crashed the plane to prevent more destruction. The attacks killed about three-thousand people.

Eight of the Pulitzer Prizes awarded to newspapers were for stories about the terrorist attacks and events that
followed. Pulitzer officials said no other news event was ever so widely represented in the competition. Unlike
other years, all the journalism winners were major newspapers.

VOICE ONE: The New York Times won a record seven Pulitzer Prizes for its work last year. In the past, no
newspaper has received more than three of these awards in the same year. Six of the seven awards involved the
attacks and the United States-led war on terrorism in Afghanistan. For example, New York Times writers won
the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory writing. Their winning stories told about terrorists and their activities around
the world.

The New York Times also won the public service award. The prize honored a part of the newspaper called “A
Nation Challenged.
”
These pages told what happened after the attacks. Every day, the section contained a full
page with short stories about the people who died in the attacks. “A Nation Challenged”
also reported the
progress of the war on terrorism.


Barry Bearak of the New York Times won the international reporting prize. He was honored for his stories about
conditions and life in Afghanistan.New York Times writer Thomas L. Friedman won the Pulitzer Prize for
commentary --reports that express opinion. Mister Friedman wrote about the effects of the terrorist threat on the
world. Mister Friedman won two earlier Pulitzer Prizes for his international reporting from the Middle East.

VOICE TWO:

Pictures in the New York Times also received awards. Its photographers won the Pulitzer Prize for pictures of
news events in progress. The winning pictures showed how the destruction of the World Trade Center affected⁷
New York City. Pulitzer Prize judges also honored New York Times photographers for feature pictures of people
in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The judges said the winning pictures showed the people ’s suffering and their

strength.

New York Times writer Gretchen Morgenson won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting a very different subject. She
was honored for her business reporting. She told about stock market experts who advise investors⁸. Mizz
Morgenson showed that some of these experts do not provide complete and honest information to investors.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times each won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism. Bob Woodward
and seven other Washington Post writers won the national reporting prize. Their stories explored the war on
terrorism.

Three other Washington Post reporters shared a Pulitzer Prize. Scott Higham, Sari Horwitz and Sarah Cohen
were honored for investigative reporting. They wrote about the deaths of two-hundred-twenty-nine children in the
District of Columbia. The children were under the legal protection of the city when they died. The reporters
showed how courts and social agencies failed to protect these children.

Barry Siegel of the Los Angeles Times won the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The Pulitzer judges praised his
reporting about a man found guilty of carelessness that led to the death of his son. The man killed himself. Mister
Siegel also wrote about the judge in the case.

Editorials express a newspaper’s opinions on issues. Two Los Angeles Times writers, Alex Raksin and Bob
Sipchen, wrote prize-winning editorials. They told about the problems facing mentally sick people who are
homeless and live on the streets.

VOICE TWO:

The Wall Street Journal won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting events as they are happening. Its award-winning
story told about the destruction of the World Trade Center. The attack also damaged the offices of the Wall Street
Journal across the street. Reporters had to write about the events from a temporary headquarters. The newspaper
still has not returned to its offices.

A cartoonist from the Christian⁹ Science Monitor in Boston, Massachusetts, won the Pulitzer Prize for political
cartooning. Twenty drawings by Clay Bennett won for their social comment. For example, one drawing protests
the heightened security measures that followed the terrorist attacks.

Justin Davidson of Newsday in New York won the criticism prize. He was honored for his comments about ten
classical music events. They included Metropolitan¹⁰ Opera productions and a New York Philharmonic Orchestra
concert. The concert was held to gain money for the families of victims of the World Trade Center attack.

((MUSIC BRIDGE))

VOICE ONE:

Columbia University also gave Pulitzer Prizes to honor a play, poetry, books, and music. Suzan -Lori Parks
became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Her play, “Topdog/Underdog
”
,
is about the tense yet loving relationship between two African American brothers who live together.Carl Dennis


won the poetry award for “Practical Gods.
”
Mister Dennis is a professor at the State University of New York
in Buffalo¹¹. Critics have praised his work as wise and often deeply emotional.

David McCullough won the Pulitzer Prize for biography, the story of a person ’s life. His book, ”John
Adams”, tells about America’s second president. It describes the marriage of John and Abigail Adams. It also
tells about Mister Adams’s great skills as a diplomat¹².

VOICE TWO:

Louis Menand won the Pulitzer Prize for history. His book is called “The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas
in America.
”
It tells about several young people in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who met to discuss their ideas in
Eighteen-Seventy-Two. The group did not last long. But it established beliefs that guided Americans in the early
Twentieth Century.

A book by Richard Russo called “Empire Falls”
won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It is about a single father
who operates an eating place in a town in Maine that used to have several factories. The town represents the
hopes of its citizens.

Diane McWhorter won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. Her book tells about the civil rights movement in
one city in the American South. It is called “Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of
the Civil Rights Revolution.
”

Henry Brant won the Pulitzer Prize for music for his composition, “Ice Field.
”
Mister Brant is a creator of
Twentieth Century spatial¹³ music. In spatial music, performers are placed in different areas in the theater. The
work was performed for the first time by the San Francisco Symphony last December.

((THEME))

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. I’m Sarah Long.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA
Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

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1 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

2 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。

3 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

4 hijacked   

劫持( hijack的过去式和过去分词 )； 绑架； 拦路抢劫； 操纵（会议等，以推销自己的意图）

参考例句：

• The plane was hijacked by two armed men on a flight from London to Rome. 飞机在从伦敦飞往罗马途中遭到两名持械男子劫持。
• The plane was hijacked soon after it took off. 那架飞机起飞后不久被劫持了。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 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。

10 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

11 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 spatial   

adj.空间的，占据空间的

参考例句：

• This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。