VOA慢速英语 2008 0211b

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week on our program, we tell about two skillful writers who tell stories about people living in the American West. Cormac McCarthy has been writing intense stories about love, life and death for over forty years.

 
Thomas McGuane
Many of Thomas McGuane’s intelligent and often funny novels take place in the western state of Montana. Join us as we tell about both writers and their books. We will also have a chance to talk with Mister McGuane.

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VOICE ONE:

Cormac McCarthy is considered one of the most important American writers alive today. Critics often compare his writing to the works of the American writers William Faulkner and Herman Melville. Mister McCarthy writes dark and intense stories that are often set in the southwestern states of Arizona and New Mexico. Some stories takes place in Mexico, or in his home state of Tennessee. Mister McCarthy’s language is very simple and direct. But each carefully chosen word is powerful and sometimes even heartbreaking in its effect on the reader.

Mister McCarthy is also known for being a very private person who does not talk to the media very often. He has said that a writer should spend his or her time writing books rather than talking about them.

VOICE TWO:

Charles McCarthy, Junior was born in nineteen thirty-three in the state of Rhode Island. His Irish aunts gave him his nickname¹, Cormac, which is “Charles‿ in Gaelic. Cormac studied at the University of Tennessee before joining the United States Air Force. While he was stationed in the state of Alaska he discovered literature and began reading seriously. Later, he began working on his first novel, “The Orchard² Keeper,‿in Chicago, Illinois while working part-time in a car repair shop. The book was published in nineteen sixty-five.

VOICE ONE:

 
Cormac McCarthy as seen in the jacket photo for 'All the Pretty Horses'
Cormac McCarthy traveled through Europe with grant money from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Rockefeller Foundation.  In nineteen sixty-seven he returned to the United States. The next year, he published “Outer Dark,‿followed by “Child of God‿five years later. 

One of Cormac McCarthy’s most popular novels, “All the Pretty Horses,‿was published in nineteen ninety-two. It is a story about John Grady Cole, a young cowboy who travels with his friends from Texas to Mexico. The story is set in the late nineteen forties.  Yet Mister McCarthy’s descriptions of the landscapes of Texas and Mexico give the story a timeless quality.

It is an unforgettable story about loyalty⁴, bravery and love. This novel received a National Book Award as well as a National Book Critics Circle Award. It was later made into a movie.

“All the Pretty Horses‿was the first story in a three-part series called “The Border Trilogy.‿The two other books in the series are “The Crossing‿and “Cities of the Plain.‿nbsp; Another Cormac McCarthy book, “No Country For Old Men,‿was published in two thousand five. It was made into a popular movie last year.

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VOICE TWO:

Cormac McCarthy won a Pulitzer Prize last year for his most recent novel, “The Road.‿It is about a father and a son who struggle to survive in a destroyed America. They travel under grey skies and burnt landscapes in an attempt to find safety. The story describes a horrible world as it might be after a nuclear war. But the most emotional part of the story is the father’s fierce and deep love for his son.

Mister McCarthy says the idea for the book came to him several years ago when his son was four years old. Mister McCarthy and his son were in the town of El Paso, Texas staying at a hotel. Late at night while his son was sleeping, the writer looked out his window and imagined what the town might look like in a hundred years.

He thought about his son and imagined the town with fires in the distance and everything destroyed. He wrote down these thoughts. Then, several years later he realized there was a novel to be written from this idea.

VOICE ONE:

When Cormac McCarthy is not writing, he likes to spend time at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico. This organization gathers researchers and scientists from around the world to work on important issues such as economics⁵, technology and the environment. Cormac McCarthy says he has always been interested in the way things work. And, he says talking with researchers at the Institute helps him to think.

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“Before they reached the edge of the stream the sun was upon them. There was no bank as such, just the end of the wild roses and an uplifted ridge⁶ of thorn⁷ trees where magpies⁸ squawked at the intrusion. But they could hear the stream, which emanated⁹ not far away from a series of blue spring holes at a water temperature that stayed constant, winter and summer. Frank loved to arrive at a stream he knew as well as this one. You could strike it at any point and know where you were, like opening a favorite book at a random¹⁰ page.‿/I>

VOICE TWO:                             

That was Thomas McGuane reading from his book “Nothing But Blue Skies‿ published in nineteen ninety-two. The story tells about Frank Copenhaver, a man whose life starts to fall apart after his wife leaves him. In the passage you just heard, Frank is out fishing with his daughter in the beautiful countryside of Montana where they live. In the book, Frank has many unusual adventures and gets into some trouble as he works on understanding what he wants from life.

VOICE ONE:

Thomas McGuane lives in Montana. Many of his characters and stories take place in this state, which is known for its expansive skies and beautiful environment.

Mister McGuane says he likes to explore the conflicts between his main characters and the world in which they live. Critics praise his books for their rich language, technical skill and often very funny situations.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas McGuane was born in nineteen thirty-nine. He attended Michigan State University then later continued his studies at Yale University in Connecticut. He has written nine novels including “Panama‿ “Ninety-Two in the Shade‿and “The Cadence¹¹ of Grass.‿He has also written two non-fiction books on subjects that are important to him. These include “The Longest Silence‿which is a collection of essays on fishing. In “Some Horses‿he explores the relationship between people and horses. Mister McGuane has also written screenplays for several movies.

We asked Thomas McGuane what influenced him to become a writer:

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“I wish I knew. I think maybe it was that my parents were readers. My father read a lot of adventurous¹², natural history books. And I think I associated writing with a sort of an adventurous life. That went away eventually. But I know for a boy that was a great attraction.  And I come from an Irish family. My parents and my grandparents are all Irish and my great grandparents are all Irish immigrants. And that’s sort of a linguistic¹³ tradition, especially comical linguistic tradition, but it’s a very verbal¹⁴ household culture. And all of those things kind of turned me toward writing.‿BR>
VOICE ONE:              

Mister McGuane’s latest book is a collection of ten short stories called “Gallatin Canyon¹⁵.‿The stories are all about the good, and sometimes bad, behavior of people going about their daily lives. Mister McGuane skillfully describes interesting details about human behavior and the natural world.

For example, in the short story “Ice‿ a young boy observes the behavior of a popular classmate in order to learn about bravery. Later, he decides to go ice-skating on a large lake. When night falls he gets very lost. But, he faces his fears and finds a way to get home. And, on the way back to safety, he makes a surprising discovery.

VOICE TWO:

In the short story “Cowboy‿Mister McGuane captures the local language and expressions of a man who works with cows and horses. As the cowboy spends years working for a ranching¹⁶ family, you understand his love of nature and hard work. And, you understand the difficult situation of being a cowboy who spends his life working on land he can never own.

VOICE ONE:

Thomas McGuane recently spoke¹⁷ at a literature event held by the Pen Faulkner organization in Washington, D.C. He praised the group for inviting¹⁸ writers to speak from all areas of the United States. Then he read two short stories. He also talked about what it was like to make movies. He talked about working with the actors Marlon Brando and Jack³ Nicholson for a movie he wrote called “Missouri Breaks.‿He said that when he worked on movies in the nineteen seventies, the industry was very different from what it is today.

Thomas McGuane is currently¹⁹ working on a new novel about a doctor who works in a hospital emergency room. And, it might not surprise you that the story takes place in Montana.

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. Our programs are online with transcripts²⁰ and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 

1 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

2 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

5 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

6 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

7 thorn   

n.刺，荆棘，带刺小灌木

参考例句：

• The little boy stepped on a sharp thorn.那小男孩踩着了一根尖刺。
• The dog had a thorn in its pad.这只狗的爪垫上扎了根刺。

8 magpies   

喜鹊（magpie的复数形式）

参考例句：

• They set forth chattering like magpies. 他们叽叽喳喳地出发了。
• James: besides, we can take some pied magpies home, for BBQ. 此外，我们还可以打些喜鹊回家，用来烧烤。

9 emanated   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Do you know where these rumours emanated from? 你知道谣言出自何处吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rumor emanated from Chicago. 谣言来自芝加哥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

11 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

12 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

13 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

14 verbal   

adj.口头的，用言辞的，用文字的，动词的

参考例句：

• Verbal statements are no guarantee.口说无凭。
• I delivered a verbal protest against their brutal acts.我对他们的暴行提出口头抗议。

15 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

16 ranching   

adj.放牧的

参考例句：

• They cleared large tracts of forest for farming, logging and ranching. 他们清除了大片的森林以经营农耕、采伐与畜牧。
• This is a trade center in a ranching and oil-producing region. 这是一个牧场与产油区的贸易中心。

17 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。

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

20 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句