VOA慢速英语2011--American History: The 1960s, a Decade That Changed a Nation

THE MAKING OF A NATION - American History: The 1960s, a Decade That Changed a Nation

 

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

Today, we tell about life in the United States during the nineteen sixties.

(MUSIC)

The nineteen sixties began with the election of the first president born in the twentieth century -- John Kennedy. For many Americans, the young president represented a spirit of hope for the nation. When Kennedy was murdered in nineteen sixty-three, many felt that their hopes died, too. This was especially true of young people, and members and supporters of minority groups.

A time of innocence¹ and hope soon began to look like a time of anger and violence. More Americans protested to demand an end to the unfair treatment of black citizens. Many more protested to demand an end to the war in Vietnam. And many protested to demand full equality for women.

By the middle of the nineteen sixties, it had become almost impossible for President Lyndon Johnson to leave the White House without facing protesters against the war in Vietnam.

Hippies gather in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in June 1967 to celebrate the start of summer. Here they keep a large ball, painted to represent a world globe, in the air.

In March of nineteen sixty-eight, Johnson announced that he would not seek another term in office.

In addition to President Kennedy, two other influential² Americans were murdered during the nineteen sixties. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, in nineteen sixty-eight. Several weeks later, Robert Kennedy -- John Kennedy's brother -- was shot in Los Angeles, California. He was campaigning to win his party's nomination³ for president.

The two murders resulted in riots⁴ in cities across the country. The unrest and violence affected⁵ many young Americans. The effect seemed especially bad because of the time in which they had grown up.

By the middle nineteen fifties, most of their parents had jobs that paid well. They expressed satisfaction with their lives. They taught their children what were called middle class values. These included a belief in God, hard work and service to their country.

Later, many young Americans began to question these beliefs. They felt that their parents' values were not enough to help them deal with the social and racial difficulties of the nineteen sixties. They rebelled by letting their hair grow long and by wearing unusual clothing. Their dissatisfaction was strongly expressed in music.

Rock and roll music had become very popular in America in the nineteen fifties. Some people, however, did not approve of it. They thought it was too sexual⁶. These people disliked the rock and roll of the nineteen sixties even more. They found the words especially unpleasant.

The musicians themselves thought the words were extremely important. As singer and song writer Bob Dylan said, "There would be no music without the words." Bob Dylan produced many songs of social protest. He wrote anti-war songs before the war in Vietnam became a violent issue in the United States.

One was called "Blowin' in the Wind."

(MUSIC)

In addition to songs of social protest, rock and roll music continued to be popular in America during the nineteen sixties. The most popular group, however, was not American. It was British -- the Beatles -- four rock and roll musicians from Liverpool.

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The Beatles' song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" went on sale in the United States at the end of nineteen sixty-three. Within five weeks, it was the biggest-selling record in the country.

(MUSIC)

Other songs, including some by the Beatles, sounded more revolutionary. They spoke⁷ about drugs and sex, although not always openly.

(MUSIC: "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds")

In the nineteen sixties, "do your own thing" became a common expression. It meant to do whatever you wanted, without feeling guilty.

(MUSIC: Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock)

Folk singer Joan Baez sits at the corner of Haight and Ashbury streets in San Francisco in September 1967during the "Summer of Love"

Five hundred thousand young Americans did their own thing at the Woodstock music festival in nineteen sixty-nine. They gathered at a farm in New York state. They listened to musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and Joan Baez, and to groups like The Who and Jefferson Airplane.

(MUSIC: "Volunteers"/Jefferson Airplane)

Woodstock became a symbol of the young peoples' rebellion⁸ against traditional values. Many young people called themselves hippies. Hippies believed there should be more love and personal freedom in America.

In nineteen sixty-seven, poet Allen Ginsberg helped lead a gathering⁹ of hippies in San Francisco. No one knows exactly how many people considered themselves hippies. But twenty thousand attended the gathering.

Another leader of the event was Timothy Leary.

TIMOTHY LEARY: “Now, energy comes … ”

He was a former university professor and researcher. Leary urged the crowd in San Francisco to "tune¹⁰ in and drop out." This meant they should use drugs and leave school or their job. One drug that was used in the nineteen sixties was lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD. LSD causes the brain to see strange, colorful images. It also can cause brain damage.

(MUSIC: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds")

Some people say the Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was about LSD.

(MUSIC: “The Andy Griffith Show”/Andy Griffith)

As many Americans were listening to songs about drugs and sex, many others were watching television programs with traditional family values. These included "The Andy Griffith Show" and "The Beverly Hillbillies." At the movies, some films captured the rebellious¹¹ spirit of the times.

These included “The Graduate” and "Doctor Strangelove.”

DOCTOR STRANGELOVE (PETER SELLERS): “Deterrence is the art of producing, in the mind of the enemy, the fear to attack. And so, because of the automated¹² and irrevocable decision-making process, which rules out human meddling¹³, the Doomsday Machine is terrifying and simple to understand, and completely credible¹⁴ and convincing.”

GENERAL BUCK¹⁵ TURGIDSON (STERLING HAYDEN): “Gee, I wish we had one of them Doomsday Machines.”

(MUSIC: "Goldfinger"/Shirley Bassey)

Others offered escape through spy adventures, like the James Bond films.

Many Americans refused to tune in and drop out in the nineteen-sixties. They took no part in the social revolution. Instead, they continued leading normal lives of work, family, and home. Others, the activists¹⁶ of American society, were busy fighting for peace, and racial and social justice.

(MUSIC: “I Am Woman”/Helen Reddy)

Women's groups, for example, were seeking equality with men. They wanted the same chances as men to get a good education and a good job. They also demanded equal pay for equal work.

A widely popular book on women in modern America was called “The Feminine¹⁷ Mystique.” It was written by Betty Friedan and published in nineteen sixty-three. The idea known as the feminine mystique was the traditional idea that women have only one part to play in society. They are to have children and stay at home to raise them. In her book, Ms. Friedan urged women to establish professional lives of their own.

In the early nineteen sixties, a committee was appointed to investigate the condition of women. It was led by Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a former first lady. The committee's findings helped lead to new rules and laws. The nineteen sixty-four Civil Rights Act guaranteed equal treatment for all groups. This included women. After the law went into effect, however, many activists said it was not being enforced. The National Organization for Women -- NOW -- was started in an effort to correct the problem.

The movement for women's equality was known as the women's liberation¹⁸ movement. Activists were called "women's libbers." They called each other "sisters." Early activists were usually rich, liberal white women. Later activists included women of all ages, women of color, rich and poor, educated and uneducated. They acted together to win recognition¹⁹ for the work done by all women in America.

(MUSIC)

You can find our series online with transcripts²⁰, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voanews.cn. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember, inviting²¹ you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
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Contributing: Jerilyn Watson

1 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

2 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。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 riots   

n. 暴乱, 骚乱, 暴动 vi. 骚乱, 闹事

参考例句：

• the instigators of the riots 煽动骚乱的人
• The riots are a clear manifestation of the people's discontent. 骚乱清楚地表明了人们的不满情绪。

5 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。

6 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

7 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。

8 rebellion   

n.造反，叛乱，反抗

参考例句：

• The next year they rose up in rebellion.第二年他们就揭竿起义了。
• The new government quickly suppressed the rebellion.新政府迅速把叛乱镇压下去。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

11 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

12 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

13 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

14 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

15 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

16 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 feminine   

adj.女性的，女子气的

参考例句：

• He has a very feminine voice.他的声音非常像女人。
• She was a very feminine person.她是个很有女性气质的人。

18 liberation   

n.解放，解放运动（为获得平等权利和地位的行为）

参考例句：

• We should help those who are still struggling for liberation.我们应当帮助那些仍在为独立而斗争的人们。
• Many people died during famines every year before liberation.解放前每年有许多人在饥荒中死亡。

19 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

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

21 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。