VOA慢速英语-THIS IS AMERICA - In 1968, Americans Kept Wondering:

Remembering a year that included the murders of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, antiwar protests, political surprises, and riots at the Democratic convention in Chicago. Transcript² of radio broadcast:
23 June 2008

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. This week on our program, we look back forty years, to a year that shook American society.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:
　

U.S. Army helicopters and South Vietnamese ground troops attack a Viet Cong camp near the Cambodian border in March 1965

Nineteen sixty-eight began with America at war in Southeast Asia, to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam.

Many people thought the conflict would end soon. Americans had been told that the forces of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong were losing. Americans called it the Vietnam War; Vietnamese called it the American war.

The end of January was the time for the Vietnamese to celebrate Tet, the lunar new year. But the communists launched attacks throughout South Vietnam.

The Tet Offensive was a military failure. Yet in America it became a turning point in public opinion. It raised questions about whether the war could be won, and at what cost.

VOICE TWO:

Supporters of the war said the United States was fighting to prevent the spread of communism. Opponents said it was a civil war and that the United States was wrong to intervene.

Antiwar protesters of all ages marched and demonstrated in major cities. In New York, Columbia University halted classes in the spring because of student protests and clashes with police.

Government officials and some influential³ journalists denounced the antiwar protests. They said open dissension with government policy would only lengthen⁴ the war.

The president was Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat¹ who sent more troops to Vietnam. Johnson was formerly⁵ vice⁶ president. He became president when John Kennedy was shot in Dallas in nineteen sixty-three. Johnson was then elected the following year.

He was expected to seek re-election in nineteen sixty-eight. But on March thirty-first, as antiwar protests grew, Lyndon Johnson made an announcement.
　

President Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, at a signing ceremony for a bill at the White House on July 26, 1968

LYNDON JOHNSON: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination⁷ of my party for another term as your president."

VOICE ONE:

Americans were still reacting to President Johnson's announcement when another shock followed a few days later.

ROBERT KENNEDY: "Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis…. Martin Luther King dedicated⁸ his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort."

VOICE TWO:

Senator Robert Kennedy broke the news to a crowd in Indianapolis, Indiana. The crowd, mostly black, had been waiting for Kennedy to give a campaign speech. He had served his brother John as attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official. Now the young senator was an antiwar candidate for president.

But on this night, he was appealing for calm.
　

Martin Luther King Jr., center, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 3, 1968, a day before he was shot dead there. He stands between aides Jesse Jackson Jr., left, and Ralph Abernathy.

Martin Luther King Junior was in Memphis, Tennessee, to show support for city trash collectors who were on strike. A bullet hit him as he stood on the second-floor balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. The date was April fourth, nineteen sixty-eight.

The murder of the civil rights leader led to fiery⁹ riots in African-American neighborhoods in many cities. There were no riots, though, in Indianapolis where Robert Kennedy spoke¹⁰.

VOICE ONE:

The following March, a white man named James Earl Ray, an armed robber who had escaped from prison, pleaded guilty to the murder. He did so as part of an agreement to avoid a death sentence and instead receive ninety-nine years in prison.

But within three days of his guilty plea, Ray withdrew his admission and asked for a new trial. No, said the courts. For the next thirty years, he would say that he was not the killer¹¹ and had been tricked into a plot. A congressional investigating committee found his excuses "not worthy¹² of belief." In the end, Ray developed liver disease. He died in nineteen ninety-eight.

VOICE TWO:
　

Robert Kennedy holds two fingers up in a victory sign on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles shortly before the presidential candidate was shot

In the early morning of June fifth, nineteen sixty-eight, more gunshots rang out -- this time, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The victim was Robert Kennedy. He had just won the California primary, and seemed likely to win the Democratic nomination. He died the next day.

A hotel worker was found guilty of the murder and sentenced to life in prison. Officials said Sirhan Sirhan, a Palestinian, was angry that Kennedy supported Israel. Sirhan Sirhan has always said he cannot remember the shooting.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

In late August of nineteen sixty-eight, the Democratic Party held its presidential nominating convention. Delegates gathered in Chicago. Also gathered in Chicago were thousands of antiwar protesters and civil rights activists¹³.
　

Before the events of 1968, hippies gathered in San Francisco, California, in 1967 for what became known as the ''Summer of Love''

The crowds included hippies. These mostly young people rejected the values and morals of the establishment, of general society. In other words, the values of their parents. Hippie culture had its own ideas about things like drugs and sex.

VOICE TWO:

In addition to hippies there were Yippies -- members of the Youth International Party. Yippies protested everything. And they made threats, like a threat to put drugs into the Chicago water supply. The Yippies later said they were joking.

But Mayor Richard Daley and other Chicago officials were not laughing. The protesters tested the limits of even a traditionally Democratic city like Chicago. The city refused permission for a march by demonstrators.

VOICE ONE:
　

Chicago police officers break up a demonstration14 on August 29, 1968, outside the Democratic National Convention

There was a heavy presence of police and Illinois National Guard during the Democratic National Convention. Some protesters threw things at the police and shouted at them.

At one point, several thousand demonstrators were gathered near a hotel. Police suddenly moved into the crowd and beat the protesters with sticks. Many people were taken to hospitals. The police also beat and arrested some people who happened to be on the street.

VOICE TWO:

President Johnson ordered a federal investigation¹⁵ of the violence at the Democratic convention. The investigators¹⁶ said the Chicago police at times had been abused by protesters, but the report called the violence a "police riot."

Joel Havemann, now a Washington writer, reported on the convention for a Chicago newspaper. He remembers seeing police strike demonstrators for no reason. But he also believes that the demonstrations¹⁷ cost the Democratic Party the presidency¹⁸.

VOICE ONE:

Inside the convention hall, Eugene McCarthy, a senator who opposed the war in Vietnam, lost his campaign for the presidential nomination. Instead, the delegates chose Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey supported the war but promised to look for ways to end it.

VOICE TWO:
　

Richard Nixon raises his arms in victory after accepting the presidential nomination at the Republican convention in Miami Beach on August 8, 1968

The nineteen sixty-eight Republican National Convention took place in early August in Miami Beach, Florida. On the day it opened, Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for the party's nomination for president. But the Republicans nominated former vice president Richard Nixon. Nixon promised law and order in America and "peace with honor" in Vietnam.

Blacks in nearby Miami rioted during the Republican convention. But the convention was very different from what the Democrats¹⁹ experienced later in August in Chicago.

VOICE ONE:

In the November elections, Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey for the presidency. Nixon would withdraw the last American troops in March of nineteen seventy-three.

The war lasted two more years, until North Vietnam captured Saigon. The South Vietnamese capital was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

(MUSIC)

I'm hairy high and low,
Don't ask me why; don't know!
It's not for lack of bread
Like the Grateful Dead; darling

Gimme a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming ...

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen sixty-eight, there was a sense of rebellion not just in the streets but also on a New York stage. "Hair," the play known as "The American Tribal²⁰ Love-Rock Musical," moved from an off-Broadway theater to Broadway. It got a lot of attention, at least in part because it included performers wearing nothing but their long hair.

Long hair, on men and women, was a part of hippie culture. Female hippies wore flowers in their hair.

While peace activists talked about "flower power," the cast of "Hair" was singing about "the age of Aquarius."

(MUSIC)

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns²¹ with Mars,
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer²² the stars.
This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, the age of Aquarius, Aquarius …

VOICE ONE:

One of the most popular songs in America in nineteen sixty-eight was about "Revolution" -- in fact, that was the name of it. It was from the four-member British group the Beatles.

(MUSIC)

You say you want a revolution
Well you know
We all want to change the world …

VOICE TWO:

Nineteen sixty-eight was a year of protest and change around the world.

Today, some Americans say the energy of Barack Obama's presidential campaign reminds them of the student activism of forty years ago. Yet many of those former hippies grew up and joined the establishment.

Many are still socially active, though, but in less dramatic ways. Says one Chicago woman: "I finished college. I got married and had children. After that, I was too busy to rebel against society."

(MUSIC)

You say you got a real solution
Well you know
We'd all love to see the plan

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver²³. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

5 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 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。

8 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

9 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。

10 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。

11 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 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》

14 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

15 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

16 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

18 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

19 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

21 aligns   

使成一线( align的第三人称单数 )； 排整齐； 校准； 公开支持（某人、集体或观点）

参考例句：

• HASP SRM fully aligns with the software product lifecycle. HASPSRM完全遵循软件产品的生命周期。
• Significant employee aligns the interests of our employees and our shareholders. 员工大量持股可以使员工与股东的利益协调一致。

22 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

23 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。