【英语语言学习】为自由言论而战

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Ari Shapiro.

This past week marked the 50th anniversary of the free speech movement at the campus of UC Berkeley in California. The movement launched massive sit-ins and protests that would help define a generation of student activism across the country.

NPR's Richard Gonzales explains the dispute that started over rules banning political activity at the University of California campus.

RICHARD GONZALES, BYLINE¹: Today in Sproul Plaza², thousands of students casually³ stroll past scores of information tables on everything from the fossil fuel debate to voter registration⁴. But 50 years ago, before the free speech movement, UC students were barred from distributing flyers about the major issues of the day. In 1964, it was a civil rights struggle.

LYNNE HOLLANDER: It was the passion that fueled the free speech movement.

GONZALES: Lynne Hollander was a senior at Berkeley in October 1964. She recalls that many students had spent the summer on voter registration drives in the South. Back at Berkeley, they set up information tables to tell other students about civil rights. When the administration tried to shut them down, the students were incredulous.

HOLLANDER: The tables were used to give out literature to recruit members. Nobody was interested in fighting with the administration. We had, you know, bigger fish to fry.

GONZALES: Hollander, short, spry, gray hair, is 75 now. As she gazes across Sproul Plaza, she recalls that day when a former math grad student, Jack⁵ Weinberg, arrested for distributing civil rights literature. He's thrown into a patrol car while thousands of curious students watch.

HOLLANDER: Well, somebody shouted, sit down. And students who were there to watch this happening sat down. And that police car did not go anywhere for 32 hours.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

STUDENTS: Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go.

GONZALES: As the students spontaneously chant "let him go," the free speech movement is ignited. Its leader is a mild-mannered but fiery⁶ orator⁷ who would become Lynne Hollander's husband. His name was Mario Savio.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARIO SAVIO: There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious⁸, makes you so sick at heart that you can't take part, you can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels.

GONZALES: That was Savio speaking in December 1964, weeks after the initial confrontation⁹ and just before a massive sit-in led to the arrest of 800 students. A reporter described the scene.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They grabbed one kid and pushed him down the steps, beating him on the back of the head with a kind of gauntlet. They're kicking them and throwing them down the stairs.

GONZALES: The confrontation proved too much for the University. The UC faculty¹⁰ voted to end all restrictions¹¹ on political activity. The student movement, ranging from young socialists¹² to young Republicans, was victorious¹³.

But if the students won their battle on campus, off campus was another story. Seth Rosenfeld is the author of "Subversives," a history of that era. He says a wave of conservative reaction against the Berkeley protest lifted a rising politician named Ronald Reagan.

SETH ROSENFELD: As he was testing the waters for an entry into the governor's race in 1965, everywhere he went people asked him about what he would do about those protests at Berkeley.

GONZALES: And as Reagan announced his candidacy for governor in 1966, he blasted both the Berkeley protesters and the administrators¹⁴, who he argued were coddling the disruptive students.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RONALD REAGAN: Will we allow a great University to be brought to its knees by a noisy, dissident minority? Will we meet their neurotic¹⁵ vulgarities with vacillation¹⁶ and weakness?

GONZALES: For decades, the university's administration refused to commemorate¹⁷ the pivotal events of 1964. But old wounds, if not healed, were soothed¹⁸ by time. After Mario Savio died in 1996, the steps of Sproul Hall were named for the charismatic orator. This year, the University's hosting a serious of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary with concerts, poetry readings, and lectures.

There's no doubt that many students today appreciate the activism that came before them. Freshman¹⁹ Marissa McConnell says it's still part of Berkeley's brand.

MARISSA MCCONNELL: Berkeley has a huge, like, history behind it. And being able to come here, it's such an honor 'cause you're walking in the footsteps of some really amazing, influential²⁰ people.

GONZALES: Back in Sproul Plaza, Lynne Hollander Savio reflects on what was accomplished²¹ 50 years ago.

HOLLANDER: We gave youth in America a sense that political and social action is something that you can and should be involved in, and you have power.

GONZALES: Students burdened by debt may have less time to be politically active today, says Hollander Savio. But their freedom to protest remains²². Richard Gonzales, NPR News.

1 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。

2 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。

3 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

4 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

5 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。

6 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

7 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。

8 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

9 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

10 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

13 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

14 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

15 neurotic   

adj.神经病的，神经过敏的；n.神经过敏者，神经病患者

参考例句：

• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。
• There are also unpleasant brain effects such as anxiety and neurotic behaviour.也会对大脑产生不良影响，如焦虑和神经质的行为。

16 vacillation   

n.动摇；忧柔寡断

参考例句：

• Vacillation is the cause of his failure.优柔寡断是他失败的原因。
• His constant vacillation made him an unfit administrator.他经常优柔寡断，这使他不适合当行政官员。

17 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

18 soothed   

v.安慰( soothe的过去式和过去分词 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• The music soothed her for a while. 音乐让她稍微安静了一会儿。
• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

20 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。

21 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。