美国国家公共电台 NPR Dr. Seuss Museum Provides Glimpse Into Life Of Beloved Author

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Dr. Seuss, the best-selling children's author in the world, finally has his own museum curated in part by his own children. Theodor Seuss Geisel died in 1991. Now his hometown of Springfield, Mass., is letting visitors learn about the life of the man who wrote the stories. Charlene Scott of New England Public Radio has more.

CHARLENE SCOTT, BYLINE²: Dr. Seuss' new home is in what used to be the Connecticut Valley Historical Society.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: Oh, that's cool.

SCOTT: Inside, the walls are alive with the colors and characters that filled his pages. "Horton The Elephant" studies the Who sitting on his trunk. "The Cat In The Hat" balances a number of objects on his paws and tail. And rushing down the stairs with a plate of green eggs and ham is "Sam-I-Am."

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Reading) Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.

SCOTT: In Seuss's boyhood bedroom which has been recreated, children can draw on a touchscreen, mimicking³ artwork done on the walls by the young Seuss and his sister Marnie.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Wait. Hold on. We need the tail. I see that.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: You need the tail.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #2: Yeah.

SCOTT: John Simpson designed the exhibition and created the murals and wall drawings.

JOHN SIMPSON: We tried to show how these little family experiences contributed to his imagination - so his relationship with his sister Marnie and then his relationship with his mother with the bakery which is downtown here and then with his father fishing at McElligot's Pool.

SCOTT: Family played a major role in the creation⁴ of the new museum starting in 2002 with a memorial sculpture garden full of favorite Seuss characters. The author's stepdaughter, sculptor⁵ Lark⁶ Grey Dimond-Cates, says she and her husband spent six and a half years working on the garden, so she says she was not happy with the public reaction on opening day.

LARK GREY DIMOND-CATES: I stood there, and I watched children and adults road test the hell out of that memorial. They were pulling on posies. They were climbing up on "Horton's" head, swinging from the fork in "Green Eggs And Ham." But all these years later, the memorial has survived all of that love and attention. It looks pretty good.

SCOTT: Kids are still crawling all over the statues. Cates and her sister have made significant contributions to the new museum. Lea Grey Dimond says she just about emptied out her own house in order to recreate the rooms where her stepfather spent most of his time.

LEA GREY DIMOND: This is his chair. He would lean back in the chair, and he would look at what he was doing. The room was lined with bulletin⁷ boards. And he would pace out the book on pale yellow paper, and he would work the room over and over. And then he'd kick back in his chair with his feet up, and then he would throw the chair forward. His hair would come forward, and he'd be working at the desk.

SCOTT: Until 5 p.m., when Dimond says her stepfather would have a gin and tonic⁸ complete with a kumquat from the yard. The two stepdaughters have also contributed drawings, photographs and personal notes that have never been seen by the public.

DIMOND: He would drop little notes on your bed or put them in your coat pocket.

SCOTT: Ted¹ Geisel began his artistic⁹ career as an illustrator and cartoonist. During World War II, he published some anti-Japanese cartoons which are not on display here. That's drawn¹⁰ fire from critics who say the museum has a responsibility to tell the whole story. But Dimond points out her stepfather eventually renounced¹¹ the cartoons.

DIMOND: Of course he evolved and changed. I'm very careful not to put words in his mouth, but the man I knew did not have any type of racism¹² or prejudice. We never heard any type of talk ever.

SCOTT: But Dimond says the family did hear his opinions about social and political issues, which he often included in his books. "Yertle The Turtle" is an allegory about Hitler. "The Lorax" focuses on the environment.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE LORAX")

BOB HOLT: (As The Lorax) Mister...

EDDIE ALBERT: (As Narrator) He said with a sawdusty sneeze.

HOLT: (As The Lorax) I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.

SCOTT: In addition to selling more than 6 million books, Dr. Seuss saw his work produced on television, in feature films and on Broadway. Now 16 years after his death, he has his own museum, and Dimond says he would have loved it.

DIMOND: He would be absolutely at ease here. And to know that he's going to be here permanently¹³, safe, protected, it's perfect.

SCOTT: Or, as Dr. Seuss might have said...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: That is super stupendous, stumendous (ph), sturoarus (ph).

SCOTT: For NPR News, I'm Charlene Scott in Springfield, Mass.

[POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: We incorrectly say that the Dr. Seuss museum is opening 16 years after his death. It's actually 26 years.]

 

(SOUNDBITE OF LES POMMES DE MA DOUCHE SONG "TROMPETTES DE LAS RENOMMEE")

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

4 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

5 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

6 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

7 bulletin   

n.小报，会刊，简明新闻，新闻快报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• The radio bulletin warned of the typhoon.收音机新闻快报发布了台风警报。

8 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

9 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 renounced   

v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃

参考例句：

• We have renounced the use of force to settle our disputes. 我们已再次宣布放弃使用武力来解决争端。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Andrew renounced his claim to the property. 安德鲁放弃了财产的所有权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。