(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Barbara Klein. And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about a writer who helped influence modern culture. Her name was Susan Sontag. Susan Sontag was considered one of the most influential liberal thinkers in the United States during the twentieth century. She wrote seventeen books. They have been translated into thirty languages. They include novels, short stories, essays and film scripts. She was also a filmmaker, playwright and theater director. And she was a human rights and anti-war activist. She was said to own fifteen thousand books in her personal library in her home.
She was born Susan Rosenblatt in New York City in nineteen thirty-three. Her father, Jack Rosenblatt, was a trader in China. Susan's mother spent most of her time in China with her husband. Family members raised Susan and her younger sister, Judith, when they were very young. When Susan was five, her father died of tuberculosis. Her mother returned from China and moved the girls to Tucson, Arizona. There, Missus Rosenblatt met Nathan Sontag. The couple married and the family moved to Los Angeles, California.
Susan Sontag was an extremely intelligent child. She could read by age three. She finished high school at the age of fifteen. Two years later, Susan completed her college education at the University of Chicago in Illinois. While at the university, she attended a class taught by Philip Rieff.
He was a twenty-eight year old expert on human society and social relationships. The two were married in nineteen fifty, ten days after they first met. Susan was seventeen years old. The couple moved to Boston, Massachusetts. In nineteen fifty-two, they had a son, David. He grew up to become a writer and the editor of his mother's works.
Susan Sontag completed two master's degrees from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The first was in English; the second was in philosophy. She also began a doctorate program in religion at Oxford University in England. However, she never completed that program.
Susan and Philip ended their marriage in nineteen fifty-eight. Several months later, Susan moved with her son to New York City. She held several jobs teaching at universities and writing. Susan Sontag began her professional life writing creative literature. She published her first book in nineteen sixty-three. It was an experimental novel called "The Benefactor." It examined dreams and how people think. Four years later, she published her second novel, called "Death Kit." The story included sharp criticism of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
Sontag wrote several books of creative literature. Yet, she became famous for her critical essays that examined different kinds of social and artistic issues. She wrote serious studies about popular art forms. She wrote essays about books, movies and photography. She also wrote essays about sickness. In nineteen sixty-four, she wrote an essay called "Notes on Camp." It was an immediate success that made her famous. Camp is a form of art or popular culture that is humorous because it is purposely bad, false or common. In the essay, Sontag argued that a piece of art may be bad yet considered good if it creates emotional feelings in the person looking at it. The essay also included the idea about popular culture that something can be "so bad it is good." "Notes on Camp" is still widely read today. In nineteen sixty-nine, Susan Sontag wrote "The Style of Radical Will." It explored modern culture including drugs, film and music. She once said it took between nine months to a year to write one thirty-page essay. Her collection of six essays about photography as an art form took five years to write.
"On Photography" was published in nineteen seventy-seven. It received the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. Her essays explored the value of the photographic image and the act of picture taking in modern culture. Photographs, she wrote, have shaped how people see the world. She wrote that photographs make us unable to sympathize with human suffering. In the nineteen-seventies, Susan Sontag learned she had breast cancer. Doctors did not expect her to survive. However, she went through a series of difficult treatments and she survived. Her experience with the disease became the subject of one of her most famous works. "Illness as Metaphor" was published in nineteen seventy-eight. A metaphor is a word or phrase that usually means one thing and is used to mean another thing. "Illness as Metaphor" is a critical study of modern life. Sontag argued that modern culture creates myths or stories about sickness. She also criticized the language that people use when they talk about sickness – such as "battling a disease" or "the war on cancer." Sontag felt these terms made sick people feel responsible for their condition. Her book gave readers the power to demand more information from doctors.
Ten years later, she extended her opinions to the disease AIDS. Her short story "How We Live Now" was published in nineteen eighty-six in the New Yorker magazine. Her book "AIDS and its Metaphors" was published two years later. It was about the social and personal effects of the disease. Susan Sontag was also politically active. During the late nineteen eighties, she served as president of the American group of an international writers' organization. She led a number of campaigns to support oppressed and imprisoned writers around the world. In her later life, Susan Sontag grew tired of writing essays and critical studies. In nineteen ninety-two she wrote a historical love story. The novel, called "The Volcano Lover," spent two months on the New York Times list of best-selling books. The story is about an eighteenth century British diplomat in Italy, his wife and her famous lover.
In two thousand, Sontag was accused of copying the work of someone else in her final book, called "In America." She strongly denied the accusations. "In America" is based on the life of a nineteenth century Polish actress. The actress moves to the United States and tries to establish a perfect community in California. The novel received a National Book Award. Public reaction to Sontag's writings was often divided. At times, her essays angered readers. For example, she once praised the communist societies of Cuba and North Korea. Years later, she denounced communism as a form of oppression. After the terrorist attacks against the United States in two thousand one, Sontag wrote an article in the New Yorker magazine critical of American policies. She wrote that the terrorist attacks were the result of some American alliances and actions. She also wrote that the attackers should not be considered weak because they were willing to die. Many people criticized the article. Sontag later apologized for her comments.
Her last book was "Regarding the Pain of Others," published in two thousand three. It was a long essay on the imagery of war and disaster. One of her last published essays was called "Regarding the Torture of Others." She wrote it in two thousand four in reaction to the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by Americans at Abu Ghraib prison. Susan Sontag received many awards in the United States and from other countries. Israel, Germany and Spain honored her with awards. In two thousand four, two days after her death, the mayor of Sarajevo announced the city would name a street after her. The mayor called her a writer and a humanist who actively took part in the creation of the history of Sarajevo and Bosnia. Susan Sontag was different from other social critics and intellectuals. She often appeared on television. She made public statements. She appeared in films and in advertisements. Susan Sontag died of leukemia in New York City in two thousand four. She was seventy-one years old. One critic praised Susan Sontag's writing even though he said he often disagreed with what she wrote. He said, "She showed you things you had not seen before. She had a way of reopening questions."
重点解析
1.influential 有影响的；有势力的
He had been influential in shaping economic policy.
他在制定经济政策方面曾起过很大作用。
2.extremely 非常，极其
Three of them are working extremely well.
他们中的3个人工作极其出色。
3.publish 出版；发表
They publish reference books.
他们出版参考书。
4.involvement in 介入；参与
The statement by the military denied any involvement in last night's attack.
军方发表声明称其和昨晚的袭击无任何关系。
5.sympathize with 同情…；与…产生共鸣
Some Europeans sympathize with the Americans over the issue
一些欧洲人在该问题上对美国人表示理解。
6.survive 幸存；生还
Of the six people injured in the crash, only two survived.
因这次撞车事故受伤的六人中，只有两人活了下来。
参考译文
我是芭芭拉·克莱恩。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们要讲述帮助影响美国现代文化的一位作家。她的名字叫做苏珊·桑塔格。苏珊·桑塔格被认为是美国20世纪最具影响力的自由主义思想家之一。她写了17本书。这些书被译成30种语言。其中包括小说、短篇故事、散文以及电影剧本。她也是一位电影制片人、剧作家兼戏剧导演。她也是一名人权兼反战积极分子。据称她家中的私人图书馆中有一万五千本书。
1933年，她出生于纽约，本名苏珊·罗森布拉特。她的父亲杰克·罗森布拉特在中国做贸易。苏珊的母亲大部分时间都和她的丈夫待在中国。家人抚养苏珊和她的妹妹朱迪思，当时她们都很小。苏珊五岁时，她的父亲因肺结核去世。她的母亲从中国回来，带着姐妹俩搬到了亚利桑那州图森。在那里，罗森布拉特夫人遇上了南森·桑塔格。两人结婚了，一家搬到了加利福尼亚洛杉矶。苏珊·桑塔格是一个非常聪明的孩子。她三岁就会读书，15岁读完高中。
两年后，苏珊从伊利诺斯州的芝加哥大学毕业。大学时，她选了菲力普·李夫教授的课。当时他28岁，是人类社会和社会关系学的专家。两人于1950年结婚，之前他们认识不过十天。苏珊当时17岁。两人搬到了马萨诸塞州波士顿。1952年，两人的儿子戴维出生。长大后，他成了一名作家，也是他母亲作品的编辑。苏珊·桑塔格在马萨诸塞州剑桥的哈佛大学拿到了两个硕士学位。第一个是英语硕士，第二个是哲学硕士。她还开始在英国牛津大学攻读宗教博士学位。但是，她没有读完这个课程。1958年，两人离婚。几个月后，苏珊带着儿子搬到纽约。她有几份工作：在大学教书和写作。苏珊·桑塔格开始了她的创造性文学写作职业生涯。1963年，她出版了自己的第一本书。这是一本实验性小说《The Benefactor》，这本书对梦想和人的想法进行了检测。十年后，她出版了第二本书《Death Kit》。这本书尖锐批评了美国参加越战。桑塔格写了几本创造性文学书籍。但她是以那些检测不同社会和艺术问题的批判性散文而出名。
她写过关于流行艺术形式的严肃研究，野火电影、书籍和照片的散文，还写过关于疾病的散文。1964年，她写了一篇名为《Notes on Camp》的散文。这篇散文一炮而红，她也因此而出名。坎普是艺术或流行文化的一种形式，这种形式很搞笑，因为它是蓄意破幻、假象或普通的。在这片散文中，桑塔格争论到，一件艺术品或许不好，但会被认为是好的，只要其中包含人们所寻找的情感。这篇散文还包含“坏即好”流行文化的想法。《Notes on Camp》传颂至今。1969年，苏珊·桑塔格写了《The Style of Radical Will》。其对现代文化进行探索，包括毒品、电影和音乐。她曾说写一篇30页的散文需要9个月到1年的时间。她的六篇关于照片的散文合辑，花了5年时间。《On Photography》出版于1977年。《On Photography》获得了全国图书评论奖。她的散文对摄影影像以及现在文化中的摄影艺术进行了探索。她写到，照片定义了人们如何看待世界。她写到，照片让我们无法和人类遭遇产生共鸣。
上世纪70年代，苏珊·桑塔格获知自己得了乳腺癌。医生说她活不了了。但是她进行了一系列治疗并活了下来。她患病的经历成为了她最著名作品之一的主题。《Illness as Metaphor》出版于1978年。暗喻指用一个事物指代另一件事物。《Illness as Metaphor》是对现代生活的批判性研究。桑塔格争辩道，现代文化创作出了关于疾病的谬论或故事。她还批评了人们谈论疾病时所使用的语言，比如“和疾病斗争”或是“癌症战争”。桑塔格认为这些说法会让病人感觉应对自己的疾病负有责任。她的作品给读者们向医生要求了解更多信息的力量。十年后，她将观点延伸至了艾滋病。她的短篇小说《How We Live Now》于1986年发表于《纽约客》。她的书《AIDS and its Metaphors》于两年后出版。这是一本关于疾病的社会和个人影响的书。
苏珊·桑塔格在政治上也很活跃。上世纪80年代末期，她成为了国际作家组织美国分支的主席。她领导了许多运动支持全球受压迫和被囚禁的作家。在生命后期，苏珊·桑塔格厌倦了写散文和批判性研究。1992年，她写了一篇历史爱情故事。这本小说是《The Volcano Lover》，只用了两个月就登上《纽约时代》畅销小说之列。这本书讲述了一位在意大利的18世纪英国外交官、他的妻子和她著名情人的故事。2000年，桑塔格被指控她的最后一本书《In America》抄袭了别人的作品。她强有力地否认这些指控。《In America》是根据一位19世纪波兰女演员生平改编的。这位女演员搬到了美国，并试图在加利福尼亚建立一个完美的社区。这本小说获得了国家图书奖。
公众对桑塔格的作品通常各有分歧。有时，她的作品会激怒读者。例如，她曾赞扬古巴和朝鲜的共产主义社会。多年后，她又谴责共产主义是一种镇压的形式。2001年，美国遭遇恐怖袭击后，桑塔格在《纽约客》发表文章批评美国政治。她写到恐怖袭击是一些美国联盟行动的结果。她还写到，袭击者不应被认为是懦弱的，因为他们乐意去死。
很多人批评这篇文章。之后桑塔格为她的言论道歉。她的最后一本书《Regarding the Pain of Others》出版于2003年。这是一本关于战争和灾难意象的长篇散文。她最后出版的几篇散文之一是《Regarding the Torture of Others》。2004年，美国人在阿布格莱布监狱虐待伊拉克囚犯事件后，她写了这篇散文。苏珊·桑塔格在美国和其他国家获得过很多奖项。以色列、德国和西班牙都授予了她奖项。2004年，在她去世两天后，萨拉热窝市长宣布该城市将有一条街道以她的名字命名。市长称她是一名作家，一名人道主义者，积极地参与萨拉热窝和波斯尼亚历史的创造。苏珊·桑塔格和其他社会评论家和知识分子不一样。她常在电视上露面。她还做公开演讲。她在电影和广告中露面。2004年，苏珊·桑塔格因白血病在纽约去世，享年71岁。一名评论家赞扬了苏珊·桑塔格的作品，即使他经常不赞成她的观点。他说，“她向你展示你从未见过的事物。她有一种让大家重新讨论这个问题的方法。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
