VOA慢速英语2009年-THIS IS AMERICA - 40 Years Later, Taking S

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. Part of the cultural history of the baby boomers, the generation of Americans born after World War Two, is Woodstock.

(MUSIC)

The Woodstock Music and Art Fair took place forty years ago this month. More than four hundred thousand people came from around the country to a farm in Bethel, New York. The event was advertised as "an Aquarian Exposition" and "Three Days of Peace and Music."

(MUSIC)

That was Country Joe McDonald and the Fish with a song protesting the Vietnam War, a big issue in nineteen sixty-nine. In all, about thirty acts performed at Woodstock, ranging from Arlo Guthrie to Jimi Hendrix to Ravi Shankar. The opening act was Richie Havens¹.

(RICHIE HAVENS - "FREEDOM")

Much has been said about Woodstock, real or imagined. After all, the influence of drugs at the concert led to the saying that if you can remember Woodstock, you weren't there.

This much is true: The organizers named the event after Woodstock, New York, a town known for the arts. They wanted to hold it there but could not find a place. Instead, the festival was held eighty kilometers away on a milk farm owned by a farmer named Max Yasgur.

How it got there is the subject of the book "Taking Woodstock" by Elliot Tiber. He helped secure the deal, which faced objections from a rural community unprepared for huge crowds.

Now, a lighthearted film based on the book and directed by Ang Lee is about to be released.

(SOUND)

MOVIE: "The word is getting out that maybe we'll have a few more guests than we originally thought. The New York State Thruway has been backed up all the way from the George Washington Bridge. It's basically a parking lot."

VOICE ONE:

The Newseum, a museum of news in Washington, D.C., has an exhibit called "Woodstock at 40: The Rise of Music Journalism³." Woodstock is described as a moment when the news media first recognized music and entertainment as a cultural and commercial force.

But it was also a news event as hundreds of thousands of young people flooded into the area. News stories told of concertgoers sharing food, meeting new people and feeling part of a group.

Not everything was beautiful, though. Food and water were in limited supply. Rain interrupted the festivities. People lived in tents in the mud. Two deaths were confirmed. And hundreds of people were treated for bad drug reactions.

Still, the Woodstock experience added up to what Time magazine called "History's Biggest Happening."

READER:
　
Woodstock concertgoers

"What the youth of America — and their observing elders — saw at Bethel was the potential power of a generation that in countless⁴ disturbing ways has rejected the traditional values and goals of the U.S. Thousands of young people, who had previously⁵ thought of themselves as part of an isolated⁶ minority, experienced the euphoric sense of discovering that they are, as the saying goes, what's happening."

(CANNED HEAT - "GOING UP COUNTRY")

VOICE ONE:

And this was how the New York Times described Woodstock:

READER:

"Bethel townspeople gazed in awe⁷ at the streams of hippies, but they murmured 'PEACE' to the visitors, offered free water and returned smiles. Everyone arrived to find the whole show was free. As the weekend went on, the miracles kept coming — the kindness of the scattered⁸ police, the 'food-drop' by an Army helicopter, and flowers from the sky. ...

Before it became the greatest hippie demonstration⁹ of unity², the music was the focus of the festival. Friday was the folk night but the playing was plagued by rain and delays. … Joan Baez closed the evening in the rain ... "

(JOAN BAEZ - "JOE HILL")

VOICE ONE:

On the second day, Saturday, more people arrived. They brought more cars to the roads and more tents to the fields. The Times reported that the closing series that day "must be one of the great shows of rock and roll history."
　
Janis Joplin

It was the Grateful Dead, Credence¹⁰ Clearwater Revival¹¹, Sly and the Family Stone, the Who, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin.

(JANIS JOPLIN - "BALL AND CHAIN")

The music ended on Sunday night -- or, rather, the early hours of Monday, August eighteenth.

READER:

"The strength of the crowd seemed strongest in the hard rain on Sunday afternoon. To the banging of the cans, dancing hippies gave all of themselves. Instead of despairing at the discomfort¹² of rain and mud, the crowd rejoiced in its power to resist the weather..."

(MUSIC)

READER:
　
Jimi Hendrix

"What began as a symbolic¹³ protest against American society ended as a joyful¹⁴ confirmation¹⁵ that good things can happen here, that Army men can raise a "V" sign, that country people can welcome city hippies. One of Hendrix's last numbers was "The Star Spangled Banner." Yes, most everything happened up on the farm."

(JIMI HENDRIX - "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER")

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁶. Our readers were Faith Lapidus and Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts¹⁷, MP3s and podcasts of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. We hope you join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

2 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

3 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

7 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

8 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

9 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。

10 credence   

n.信用，祭器台，供桌，凭证

参考例句：

• Don't give credence to all the gossip you hear.不要相信你听到的闲话。
• Police attach credence to the report of an unnamed bystander.警方认为一位不知姓名的目击者的报告很有用。

11 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

12 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

13 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

14 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

15 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

16 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。

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句