VOA慢速英语--照片让埃塞俄比亚作家了解战争期间隐藏的妇女故事

Photographs Lead Ethiopian Writer to Hidden Story of Women During War

Before writing her most recent novel, Maaza Mengiste began researching the Ethiopian resistance¹ in the 1935 invasion² by Italian forces. She discovered photographs of women dressed in military clothing with weapons over their shoulders. She organized them by date and location. Mengiste soon began to gain an understanding of the conflict she never learned³ about in school.

"These women decided⁴ to join in the front lines," she told VOA. "I had never heard that story. And this is what really inspired me to continue this, because if I didn't know it, and if a lot of other Ethiopians weren't speaking about it, this means maybe that nobody really had been paying attention to this."

Mengiste found photographs of Ethiopian girls taken by Italian soldiers. Some photos were used to persuade men to join the conflict. Others were much darker and showed the horror⁵ of war.

"They were taken by soldiers for fun, and they were passed around as jokes and as postcards to send home. And that was the side of war also that I wanted to show," she said.

The research led to her 2020 book, "The Shadow King." It tells the story of Hirut, a mistreated girl who becomes the personal guard for a person claiming to be the exiled⁶ Ethiopian ruler Haile Selassie. The novel has won worldwide praise and was a top competitor for the Man Booker Prize. However, the honor⁷ went to another book.

Mengiste's book revisits part of forgotten history, said Lee Child. He is a writer of 24 novels and one of the judges for the 2020 Booker Prize.

"The story is important, really, the opening shots of the Second World War, but rarely told before," Child said in a video discussing the novel. "Its place on the shortlist merely confirms its status as one of the great novels of the year."

Mengiste was born in Ethiopia in 1971. Her family left the country when she was 4 years old. They lived in Nigeria and Kenya before moving permanently⁸ to the United States.

As a girl, she remembered moments of her first years in Ethiopia. But it was not until she was much older that she considered writing them down.

"I'm surprised I kept those memories, because I was very young," she said. "But I think that the shock of what I experienced⁹ both in Ethiopia but also the migration¹⁰ was so intense¹¹ and so deep that everything froze for me and stayed inside. And so, I would keep coming back."

Mengiste's parents did not immediately welcome her decision to become a writer. But she felt she had stories to tell. She believes other Ethiopians feel the same but may not have a way to share their stories with the world.

Mengiste said that history and literature across East Africa is told through spoken word.

"I think all of us remember those moments when we are sitting around at a dinner table or sitting having a meal and someone starts a story. And the entire room moves in that direction. Everyone is laughing, or people are crying. That's a book inside a human being. And my inspirations¹² came from my relatives. Some of them didn't go to school."

Now, Mengiste wants to help new authors. She has helped produce a collection of stories by 14 Ethiopian writers called Addis Ababa Noir. She believes there is a lot of talent that could be shared with more people with the help of translators and publishing companies.

Words in This Story

frontlines – n. an area where soldiers are fighting

inspired – v. caused someone to want to do something

novel – n. a long written story usually about imaginary¹³ characters and events

postcards – n. cards on which a message may be sent by mail without an envelope and that often has a picture on one side

talent – n. a special ability that allows someone to do something well

1 resistance   

n.抵抗力，反抗，反抗行动；阻力，电阻；反对；adj.抵抗的

参考例句：

• Very little resistance was put up by the enemy.敌人没怎么进行抵抗。
• An aircraft has to overcome the resistance of the air.飞机须克服空气的阻力。

2 invasion   

n.入侵，侵略，侵犯

参考例句：

• They are ready against the possible invasion.他们防备可能的入侵。
• It is our duty to shield our country from invasion.保卫祖国不受侵犯是我们的责任。

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation.公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

6 exiled   

adj. 流亡的，放逐的 动词exile的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• diehard supporters of the exiled king 顽固支持流亡国王的人
• The king exiled one of his official for murder. 国王因他的一个大臣犯谋杀罪而将他放逐。

7 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

8 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。

9 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

11 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

12 inspirations   

n.灵感( inspiration的名词复数 )；鼓舞人心的人[事物]；启发灵感的人（或事物）；突然想出的好主意

参考例句：

• Understanding God's big picture can turn irritations into inspirations. 明了神的蓝图，将使你的烦躁转为灵感。 来自互联网
• He had little respect for the inspirations of other artists. 他不太尊敬其他画家的创意。 来自互联网

13 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。