2007年VOA标准英语-Dolls Reflect Kennedy Presidency

By George Dwyer
Washington, D.C.
05 July 2007

A collection of more than 70 dolls from around the world has gone on display in Washington D.C. All of them once belonged to Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline. As VOA's George Dwyer reports, these artifacts from a brief moment in American history tell us something about the U.S., but much about the rest of the world as well.

The Kennedy home movies

Pictured to the right is a home movie frame from March 1963 showing America's 35th president and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy with their two young children: John John, age 3, and Carolyn, then age 6. Just eight months after these scenes were taken, America's youngest-elected president would be assassinated¹, and the Kennedy years in the White House would, suddenly and tragically², be history.

But the Decatur House Museum in Washington is recalling³ the Kennedy years in an exhibit⁴ featuring Carolyn Kennedy's White House doll collection.

Katherine Malone-France is Director of Collections at Decatur House. She says the artifacts on display here can be looked at from a variety of perspectives⁵.  "The dolls in this collection were given to Caroline Kennedy by both private citizens and world leaders," says Malone-France.  "They are also more than dolls. In each case they have a lot to say about the cultures from which they come."

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The Girl Scout doll from Canada

Among the more than 70 dolls on display here are dolls from Austria and Poland, Indonesia and Japan, Greece, and Norway, and a Girl Scout doll from Canada (pictured right). Each and every doll here has a unique story behind it.

"One of the most interesting dolls in the collection is the Pathan doll that you see here,” says Malone-France about the doll pictured on the left. “In March of 1962, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy went to both India and Pakistan in one trip. While she was in Pakistan she went to Peshawar and then was taken to the Khyber Pass.

"When she returned to Peshawar she was given this doll. The Pathans, of course, were living in southern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. She was given this doll by the children of the American community in Peshawar, Pakistan."

Director Katherine Malone-France and the Pathan Doll

Also on display is the playhouse bought for Caroline Kennedy by Jacqueline de Gaulle, wife of French President Charles de Gaulle, and presented to the presidential couple on their 1961 visit to Paris.

"It says Caroline on the front and it has a little window with a flower box and polka dotted curtains and roses on the other side. And it was placed in Caroline Kennedy's bedroom at the White House and then, I understand that, it was used by her children as well."

Jacqueline Kennedy, who died in 1994, was the guiding force in assembling⁷ this collection. Now, once again -- for the first time in more than 40 years -- it has come back to Washington, D.C.

1 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

2 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

3 recalling   

回忆起( recall的现在分词 )； 使想起； 使想到； 勾起

参考例句：

• I was afraid recalling the past would only hurt you. 我不愿给你唤起往事。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• The company said it was recalling one of its drugs. 这个公司说正在召回他们生产的一种药。

4 exhibit   

vt.展览，展出，陈列；n.展览品；陈列品

参考例句：

• Next week those goods will exhibit in that shop. 下个星期，这些货物将在那家商店展出。
• The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.9月份，经济继续呈现出衰退的迹象。

5 perspectives   

n.透视( perspective的名词复数 )；透视图；观点；全景

参考例句：

• We suggest that it is possible to reconcile these apparently opposing perspectives. 我们认为这两个看似对立的观点是可以调和的。 来自辞典例句
• These countries loom big in the perspectives of European writers. 这些国家在欧洲作者们的心目中是庞大逼人的。 来自辞典例句

6 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

7 assembling   

n. 装配(结构) adj. 装配的(组合的)

参考例句：

• The instructions for assembling the toy are very clear. 如何装配玩具的说明非常清楚明了。
• Simple directions for assembling the model are printed on the box. 盒上印有装配模型的简要说明。