(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
Every week at this time, the Voice of America tells about someone important in the history of the United States. This week we tell about Jacob Riis. He was a writer who used all his energy to make the world a better place for poor people.
In the spring of eighteen seventy, a young man traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. The young man came from Denmark. His name was Jacob Riis. He was just twenty-one years old.
His first years in the United States were difficult, like those of most immigrants at that time. It was difficult to get a job. Jacob Riis went from place to place seeking work. He did any kind of work he could find: Farming, coal mining, brick-making. He even tried to earn money as a peddler. He went from house to house selling things. Many times he slept wherever he could.
Soon he was beginning to lose hope. He decided to leave New York. He started to walk north. After a time, he arrived in the Bronx, the northern part of New York City. His feet burned with pain. And he was hungry.
"I had not eaten a thing since the day before. I had no breakfast, and decided to have a swim in the Bronx River, instead. But that did not help. I was just as hungry when I came out of the water.
"Then I walked slowly to Fordham College, which was not far from where I was. The doors to Fordham College were open, and I walked in, for no reason. I was just tired and had nothing else to do.
"Fordham is a Catholic college. And an old monk came to me and asked in a kind voice if I was hungry. I still remember in my dreams at night the beautiful face of that old monk. I was terribly hungry, and said I was, although I did not mean to do so. I had never seen a real live monk before. My own religious education as a Lutheran did not teach me to like Catholic monks.
"I ate the food that was brought to me. But I was troubled. I was afraid that after giving me food, the churchman would ask me to change my religious beliefs. I said to myself: 'I am not going to do it.' But when I had eaten, I was not asked to do anything. I was given more food when I left, and continued on my way. I was angry with myself for having such bad thoughts about the Catholic churchmen at Fordham College. For the first time, I learned something about how to live with people of different religious beliefs."
Later, Jacob Riis learned more about liking people, even if they are different. This time, it happened while he was working on a railroad with men who did rough work and looked rough.
"I had never done that sort of work, and it was not the right job for me. I did my best to work like the other men. But my chest felt heavy, and my heart pounded in my body as if it were going to explode. There were nineteen Irishmen in the group. They were big, rough fellows. They had chosen me as the only 'Dutchman' -- as they called me -- to make them laugh. They were going to use me as part of their jokes.
"But then they saw that the job was just too hard for me. This made them feel different about me. It showed another side to these fun-loving, big-hearted people. They thought of many ways to get me away from the very rough work. One was to get me to bring water for them. They liked stronger things to drink than water. But now they suddenly wanted water all the time. I had to walk a long way for the water. But it stopped me from doing the work that was too hard for me. These people were very rough in their ways. But behind the roughness they were good men."
At last, Jacob Riis got a job writing for a newspaper in New York City. This was his chance. He finally had found a profession that would lead to his life work -- making the world a better place for poor people.
The newspaper sent him to police headquarters for stories. There he saw life at its worst, especially in a very poor part of New York which was known as Mulberry Bend.
"It was no place for men and women. And surely no place for little children. It was a terrible slum -- as such places are called -- where too many are crowded together, where the houses and streets are dirty and full of rats. The place began to trouble me as the truth about it became clear. Others were not troubled. They had no way of finding out how terrible the lives of people were in Mulberry Bend. But as a newspaper reporter, I could find the truth. So I went through the dark dirty streets and houses, and saw how the people suffered in this area. And I wrote many stories about the life there."
"I did good work as a police reporter, but wanted a change. My editor said, 'no'. He asked me to go back to Mulberry Bend and stay there. He said I was finding something there that needed me."
The words of Jacob Riis' editor proved to be very true. Riis started a personal war against slum houses, the sort he saw in Mulberry Bend. He learned to use a camera to show the public clearly what the Mulberry Bend slum was like. The camera in the eighteen eighties was nothing like it is today. But Riis got his pictures.
"I made good use of them quickly. Words could get no action to change things. But the pictures did. What the camera showed was so powerful that the city's health officials started to do something. At last I had a strong partner in the fight against Mulberry Bend -- my camera."
Jacob Riis continued the fight to clean up the slums for many years. There were not many people to help him. It was a lonely fight. But his camera and fighting words helped to get a law passed which would destroy the Mulberry Bend slum. Finally, the great day came. The slum housing was gone. The area had become a park.
"When they had fixed the ground so the grass could grow, I saw children dancing there in the sunlight. They were going to have a better life, thank God. We had given them their lost chance. I looked at these dancing children and saw how happy they were. This place that had been full of crime and murder became the most orderly in the city.
"The murders and crimes disappeared when they let sunlight come into the Bend. The sunlight that shone upon children who had, at last, the right to play. That was what the Mulberry Bend Park meant. So the Bend went. And I was very happy that I had helped to make it go."
That was not Riis' last battle to make life cleaner and better for many people. He had great energy. And his love for people was as great as his energy.
He started a campaign to get clean water for the state of New York. He showed that water for the state was not healthy for people. State officials were forced to take actions that would clean the water.
He also worked to get laws against child labor, and made sure that these laws were obeyed. In those days, when Riis was a fighting newspaper reporter, laws against child labor were something new. People did not object to making young children work long hours, in places that had bad air and bad light. But in the United States today, child labor is not legal. It was because of men like Jacob Riis that this is so.
He was also successful in getting playgrounds for children. And he helped establish centers for education and fun for older people.
His book, "How the Other Half Lives," was published in eighteen ninety. He became famous. That book and his newspaper reports influenced many people. Theodore Roosevelt, who later became president of the United States, called Riis the most useful citizen in New York City.
Riis continued to write about conditions that were in need of major reform. His twelve books, including "Children of the Poor," helped improve conditions in the city. The books also made him popular as a speaker in other cities. Jacob Riis's concern for the poor kept him so busy writing and speaking around the country that he ruined his health. He died in nineteen fourteen.
重点解析
1.from place to place到处
A nomad is the member of a trible that wanders from place to place.
游牧民是一个到处流浪、居无定所的部落的成员。
2.do my best尽我所能
I do my best to create titles for my articles that balance these various needs.
我尽我所能为我的文章取最好的标题，同时还有平衡各种需求。
3.all the time一直
It’s there all the time –we have to be able to see it.
事实上，机会一直就在我们身边，我们必须有发现它的能力。
4.go through经历；穿过
“Although we are in the process of healing and recovery from the disastrous recession that we went through, we’re not yet where we want to be,” Obama said.
他说：“虽然我们正在从刚刚经历过的灾难性的衰退中复原和复苏，但我们尚未达到我们希望的程度。”
5.make good use of充分利用
Lyonnais waited for us in defence and we kept possession and made good use of our chances to score.
里昂一直偏重防守没有向前压上，我们保有控球率，充分利用了我们的机会去得分。
6.take action采取行动
So, while countries can take actions today, they need to be flexible for the future, as well.
所以，各国在今天采取行动的同时，他们也需要对未来保持灵活性。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲思，我是雷·弗里曼，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。
每周，我们都会讲述一位美国历史上重要的人物的故事。今天我们讲述雅各·里斯的故事。他是一个作家，他用毕生的精力让穷人的世界变得更美好。
1870年春天，一个年轻人横渡大西洋来到纽约。这个年轻人来自丹麦。他的名字叫雅各·里斯。他当时只有21岁。
和当时大多数移民一样，他在美国的第一年很艰难。当时很难找到工作。雅各·里斯四处寻找工作。他会做任何他能找到的工作：农民，矿工，制砖工人。雅各·里斯甚至想当小贩挣钱。他挨家挨户地推销东西。很多次，他随便找个地方就睡了。
不久，雅各·里斯开始失去希望。他决定离开纽约。他开始向北走。过了一段时间，他来到了纽约市北部的布朗克斯区。他的脚痛得发烫。他饿了。
“从前一天起，我就没吃过东西。我没有吃早饭，而是决定去布朗克斯河游泳。但这无济于事。当我从水里出来的时候，我也很饿。
然后我慢慢地走到离我不远的福特汉姆学院。福特汉姆学院的大门敞开着，我毫无理由地走了进去。我只是太累了，没有别的事可做。
福特汉姆大学是一所天主教大学。一个老僧过来问我是不是饿了。我仍然记得在夜里的梦中那个老僧那张美丽的脸。我饿极了，我说我饿了，虽然我不是故意的。我以前从未见过真正的僧侣。我作为路德会教徒接受的宗教教育并没有教会我喜欢天主教僧侣。
我吃了他给我带来的食物。但是我很苦恼。我害怕在给我食物之后，这个天主教教徒会要求我改变我的宗教信仰。我对自己说：我不会改变自己的信仰的。但当我吃完后，却没有人要求我做任何事情。当我离开时，我得到了更多的食物，并继续自己的旅程。我很生自己的气，因为我对福特汉姆学院的天主教徒有这么坏的想法。我第一次学会了如何与不同宗教信仰的人相处。
雅各布·里斯学会了如何更多地喜欢别人，即使他们是不同的。有一次，这个事情就发生了，当时他和一群粗野的人一块在铁路上干着粗活。
“我从来没有做过这种工作，我不是适合做这种工作。我尽力像其他人一样工作。但我的胸部感到沉重，我的心在我的身体里砰砰直跳，好像要爆炸了。这群工人中有19个爱尔兰人。他们是又高大又粗野的家伙。他们选我作为唯一的“荷兰人”，用来逗他们笑。他们想把我用在他们笑话的一部分。”
“但是后来他们发现这份工作对我来说太难了。这改变了他们对我的感觉。这展示了这些爱玩乐、心胸开阔的人的另一面。他们想出了许多使我摆脱这非常艰苦工作的办法。一个方法是让我给他们带水。之前他们喜欢喝比水更烈的东西。但是现在他们突然想要一直喝水。我不得不走很长的路去取水。但是这样的话，我就不用去做那些对我来说太难的工作。这些人的生活方式很粗野。但在粗野的背后，他们是好人。”
最后，雅各·里斯在纽约一家报社找到了一份写作的工作。这是他的机会。他终于找到了一份可以让他终生为之奋斗的职业——让穷人的世界变得更美好。
报纸派他到警察总局去采访。在那里，他看到了最糟糕的生活，尤其是在纽约一个非常贫穷的地区，那里被称为桑本德。
“那不是男人和女人待的地方。当然也不是小孩子待的地方。这是一个可怕的贫民窟——这类地方被称为贫民窟——太多的人挤在一起，房子和街道肮脏不堪，到处都是老鼠。随着事情的真相逐渐明朗，这个地方开始使我感到不安。其他人没有受到困扰。他们不知道桑本德人的生活有多么可怕。但作为一名报社记者，我可以找到真相。于是我穿过黑暗肮脏的街道和房屋，看到了这个地区的人们是如何受苦受难的。我写了很多关于那里生活的故事。”“作为一名警察记者，我干得不错，但我想要改变。我的编辑说，不。他让我回到桑本德，待在那里。他说我在那里找到了需要我的地方。”
雅各·里斯的编辑的话被证明是非常正确的。里斯发动了一场针对贫民窟的个人战争，就像他在桑本德看到的那样。他学会了用摄像机清楚地向公众展示桑本德贫民窟的样子。十八世纪八十年代的照相机和今天的完全不同。但是里斯拍到了他要的照片。
我很快就能很好的使用照相机了。我知道言语无法改变一切。但是照片可以。摄像机拍出的照片是如此强大，以至于该市的卫生官员开始采取行动。最后，我有了一个强有力的伙伴——我的相机——来对抗桑本德贫民窟。
雅各·里斯多年来一直在为清除贫民窟而斗争。当时没有很多人帮助他。这是一场孤独的战斗。但他的镜头和激烈的言辞帮助通过了一项法律，该法律将摧毁桑本德贫民窟。最后，伟大的一天到来了。贫民窟的房子不见了。这个地区变成了一个公园。
“当他们把地修好，让草长起来的时候，我看到孩子们在阳光下跳舞。感谢上帝，他们会有更好的生活。我们给了他们失去的机会。我看着这些跳舞的孩子，看到他们是多么快乐。这个曾经充满了犯罪和谋杀的地方成了这个城市里最井然有序的地方。
当阳光照射进来的时候，谋杀和犯罪就消失了。阳光照耀着那些终于有权利玩耍的孩子们。这就是桑本德公园的意义。于是贫民窟就没有了。我很高兴我帮助它走了。
这并不是里斯为让许多人的生活更清洁、更好而进行的最后一场战斗。他精力充沛。他对人的爱就像他的能量一样多。
他发起了一项为纽约州争取清洁用水的运动。他证明国家的水对人们是不健康的。州政府官员被迫采取行动净化水源。
他还致力于制定禁止童工的法律，并确保这些法律得到遵守。在那些日子里，当里斯还是一名战斗的报社记者时，禁止童工的法律还是新鲜事物。人们不反对让小孩子长时间在空气不好、光线不好的地方工作。但是在今天的美国，童工是不合法的。这是因为有像雅各·里斯这样的人。
他还成功地为孩子们建造了游乐场。他还出力为老年人建立了教育和娱乐中心。
他的书《另一半的生活》于1890年出版。他变得有名起来。那本书和他的报纸报道影响了许多人。后来成为美国总统的西奥多·罗斯福称里斯是纽约市最有用的公民。
里斯继续撰写关于需要进行重大改革的地方的文章。他的十二本书，包括《穷人的孩子》，帮助改善了城市的条件。这些书也使他在其他城市作为演说家而受欢迎。雅各·里斯关心穷人，他在全国各地忙着写作和演讲，这毁了他的健康。他死于1914年。
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