VOA标准英语2013--达拉斯博物馆纪念肯尼迪总统的传奇

 

Dallas Museum Honors President Kennedy’s Legacy¹ 达拉斯博物馆纪念肯尼迪总统的传奇

DALLAS, TEXAS — The assassination² of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, put the Texas School Book Depository building on the map of history.  Despite several efforts to tear down the notorious structure over the decades, the old warehouse³ is now both a museum about the tragedy, and a memorial to the slain⁴ president.

The shots that rang out over Dealey Plaza⁵ in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, lasted just under six seconds. It brought an end to Kennedy’s  life, but marked the beginning of a decades-long struggle for a city to come to terms with its role in one of the most infamous⁶ moments in American history.

“That really cast a shadow on it," said Dallas deputy sheriff Gene⁷ Boone,  who was one of the first law enforcement officers to react to the shooting.  The city lost more than just a president that day, Boone said.

“We were almost afraid to go outside the community and let anybody know we were from Dallas.”

City leaders have long struggled to balance the reality of the assassination with the way it negatively - and unfairly - reflected on the city, said Southern Methodist University History Professor Jeffrey Engel.

“The event was really a source of great shame for Dallas, which I think Dallas is still dealing⁸ with 50 years later. For most Dallas residents of this time, they’ve essentially⁹ been trying to get out from under that shadow and tell the rest of the world, 'this is not who we are, this is not how we want to be remembered, and this is frankly¹⁰ not the image we want to present to the world,'” Engel said.

Helping¹¹ to put the stigma¹² on Dallas in perspective is the Sixth Floor Museum, located on the 6th floor of the former Texas School Book Depository. According to police, this is where Lee Harvey Oswald fired at the president’s motorcade.

Now it is a museum filled with exhibits which executive director Nicola Longford said is meant to objectively explain what happened.

“Part of the role of the Sixth Floor Museum is to create a neutral territory in the original space to help people understand what went on in 1963 and why this still has lasting¹³ impact today," Longford said.

The Sixth Floor Museum opened in 1989 and is now a top tourist destination in North Texas, attracting over 350,000 people a year.

“All generations, people from all over the world," she said. "And so we feel that we’re still trying to stay relevant and helping to put into context why this subject is so fascinating to so many people.”

Jim Tague was the only bystander in Dealey Plaza who was wounded in the shooting.  He still believes there was a conspiracy¹⁴ to kill Kennedy.

“It’s a good history of Kennedy, but it doesn’t go into the assassination," Tague said.

"I find fault with that.”

Despite Tague's belief that Oswald did not act alone, Longford said the museum is a place where all aspects of the assassination are explored.

“Many of the conspiracies¹⁵ can be debunked¹⁶ very easily, but there are a lot of unanswered questions that will always make this fascinating for generations to come.”

Fifty years later, Gene Boone now proudly tells people he was born and raised in Dallas, thanks in part to the efforts of the Sixth Floor Museum.

“If you come here and see it and hear the story, you can really fully¹⁷ come to realize that it could happen anywhere, at anytime," Boone said.

But fortunately a presidential assassination is not an event that has happened since, making a visit to the 6th Floor Museum a truly unique experience. 

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

3 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

4 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

5 plaza   

n.广场，市场

参考例句：

• They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
• The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。

6 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

7 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

10 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

13 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

14 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

15 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

16 debunked   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His theories have been debunked by recent research. 最近的研究揭穿了他的理论的真相。
• Some advertising slogans should be debunked. 某些夸大的广告用语应予揭露。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。