(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the life and writings of Ayn Rand.
Although she died more than twenty-five years ago, many Americans still argue about Ayn Rand. More than twenty million copies of her books have been sold around the world. Many people say her books are written poorly. But people still buy hundreds of thousands of copies of them each year. People also continue to talk about her ideas and her interesting life.
In nineteen-oh-five, Alisa Rosenbaum was born in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. As a young child, Alisa loved books. She began to write her own stories when she was only seven years old.
When the Russian Revolution began in nineteen seventeen, the Rosenbaum family fled to the Russian state of Crimea. This experience was important in Alisa's life. It started her hatred of collectivism. Collectivism is the system of ownership and control of the means of production by the people collectively, usually under the supervision of a government.
After the revolution, Alisa returned to Saint Petersburg, now called Petrograd, to attend college. She took classes in politics, history, law, and writing. In nineteen twenty-six, she traveled to the United States to visit family members.
Soon after she arrived in the United States, Alisa decided she would never leave. She also decided to change her name to "Ayn Rand." She said "Rand" was taken from the Russian alphabet spelling of "Rosenbaum." She said she chose "Ayn" after the name of a writer from Finland.
Newly named, Rand moved to Hollywood, California to work in the movie business. She met and married actor Frank O'Connor in nineteen twenty-nine. Throughout the nineteen thirties, O'Connor acted and Rand wrote. She published two books during these years, but did not earn much critical or popular recognition.
Then, in nineteen forty-three, Rand's famous book "The Fountainhead" was published. It took her seven years to write the novel. Twelve publishers rejected the book. However, a man named Archibald Ogden loved the story and convinced the Bobbs-Merrill company to publish it. "The Fountainhead" became a huge success around the world. It has sold more than six million copies. It continues to sell about one hundred thousand copies each year.
"The Fountainhead" tells the story of a young building designer named Howard Roark. Roark wants to build interesting, modern-looking buildings. However, most people only want to see traditional designs. Roark loves designing and building more than anything in the world. But he refuses to compromise and make buildings he hates. Several people work against Roark and his goals. But in the end, Roark succeeds.
"The Fountainhead" is an unusual novel for many reasons. It is more than seven hundred pages long, far longer than most books people read for entertainment. It also includes discussions of philosophy, which are not usually found in popular books. In addition, the book criticizes collectivism and religion in a way that many people have found insulting.
Most critics did not like "The Fountainhead." But readers loved it. In nineteen forty-nine it was made into a popular movie. Rand wrote the screenplay. Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal starred in the movie.
After the movie was released, Ayn Rand and Frank O'Connor moved to New York City. They started having weekly meetings for friends in their apartment. Soon, the gatherings became more serious. The members discussed philosophical ideas and began writing about them. The group decided to call itself "the Collective." The name was meant to be a joke, because all of the members hated collectivism. Alan Greenspan, who would later become chairman of the Federal Reserve, was part of this group.
The Collective worked together to form the details of Rand's philosophy, which they called "Objectivism." Objectivism is about the importance of the individual and reasonable thought. Rand believed that people must choose their values and actions through reason. She believed that the individual has a right to exist for his or her own self. The Collective also helped Rand edit her book "Atlas Shrugged," which was published in nineteen fifty-seven.
"Atlas Shrugged" is set in the near future. The American economy and society are starting to collapse under the influence of big government. The United States is a nation of failing businesses, closed factories and angry citizens.
A small group of thinkers, artists, scientists and industrial leaders disappears from society. They flee to a hidden valley in Colorado. Here they establish a new community based on capitalism without government control.
The heroine of the book is Dagny Taggart who owns a large railroad company. She struggles to keep her business alive and save the country while society is collapsing around her. "Atlas Shrugged" is more than one thousand pages, one of the longest novels ever written.
Ayn Rand said that "Atlas Shrugged" fully defined her philosophy of Objectivism. She wrote at the end of the book: "My philosophy... is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."
Rand thought "Atlas Shrugged" was the most important book ever written. The critics did not agree. Most gave the book bad reviews. In the National Review, a conservative political magazine, Whittaker Chambers wrote a long, angry article about "Atlas Shrugged." He said it was a stupid book with dangerous ideas.
As with "The Fountainhead," the public disagreed with the critics. "Atlas Shrugged" went on to sell millions of copies around the world. Ayn Rand and her ideas quickly became well known, especially among students and other young people. Later, she wrote books about economics, politics, love and other subjects.
One young person became interested in Ayn Rand's ideas long before "Atlas Shrugged" was published. His name was Nathaniel Branden. After reading "The Fountainhead," he wrote a letter to Rand. He wrote that he wanted to discuss the relationship between psychology and Rand's ideas. Branden and his wife Barbara soon became friends with Rand and joined the Collective. Rand and Branden began to have a sexual relationship even though they were married to other people.
They called themselves the experts on all of the ideas of Objectivism. They wrote many papers and made speeches all over the United States. However, some people criticized the Objectivists and their followers.
They said people honored Rand and Branden as if they were religious leaders without ever questioning their beliefs. Rand rejected this criticism. She wrote that "a blind follower is ...what my philosophy condemns and what I reject. Objectivism is not a mystic cult."
Things changed in nineteen sixty-eight when Rand discovered Branden having a sexual relationship with a younger student. Rand became very angry and forced Branden to leave the Objectivists and never speak to her again.
After the end of her relationship with Branden, Ayn Rand's life slowed down. She lived quietly in New York City until she died in nineteen eighty-two. At her funeral, one of her followers left a gift. It was a two-meter tall flower arrangement in the shape of a dollar sign. This gift was meant to represent Rand's ideas about capitalism as the most moral economic system.
Ayn Rand's books continue to be extremely popular. "Atlas Shrugged" has been named in several opinion studies as one of the best and most influential books of the twentieth century. Reports from Hollywood, California say that several actors, writers and producers are working on a movie version of "Atlas Shrugged."However, many people are still opposed to Ayn Rand's books and ideas. More than one hundred years after her birth, Ayn Rand's books, thoughts, and actions continue to be important to many people. She is still one of the most loved, and hated, American thinkers.
重点解析
1.argue about争论
Philosophers argue about whether or not such a creature could exist in theory, and on the whole they are pretty undecided about it.
哲学家们为这种物质在理论上是否存在而争论，但最终还是没有达成一致共识。
2.work against反对
For the first time, the Arab world stood with Israel in condemning terror and promising to work against it.
这是阿拉伯世界和以色列第一次站在一起谴责恐怖行为，承诺联手反对它。
3.in the end最后
However I have my English improved in the end.
不过最后我的英语真的有所提高了。
4.In addition另外
In addition, you can elect to share your files with others.
另外，您可以决定与其他的用户共享您的文件。
5.based on基于...
Your price should be based on the actual situation of our customers.
你们的价格应该是基于我们的客户群的实际情况。
6.slow down减速
Sometimes we can't help but slow down because everybody is slowed down in front of us, we have no choice.
有时我们不得不慢下来因为前方,每个人都已减速，我们别无选择。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔，我是芭芭拉·克莱因，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述安·兰德的故事。
尽管她在25年前就去世了，但许多美国人仍然在为安·兰德争论不休。她的作品在全世界的销量超过了2000万本。许多人称她的作品写的不好。但是人们仍然购买成千上万本她的作品。人们仍在谈论她的思想和有趣的生活。
1905年，艾丽莎·罗森鲍姆出生在俄罗斯的圣彼得堡。艾丽莎小时候很喜欢读书。在年仅7岁的时候，她就开始创作自己的故事。
1917年俄国革命爆发的时候，罗森鲍姆一家逃到了俄罗斯的克里米亚。这次经历对艾丽莎的生活很重要。它开启了艾丽莎对集体主义的仇恨。集体主义是指在政府的监督下，由人民集体拥有和控制生产资料的制度。
革命结束后，艾丽莎回到圣彼得堡，现在叫列宁格勒，去上大学。她学习政治、历史、法律和写作。在1926年，她前往美国探亲。
在抵达美国后不久，艾丽莎就决定永不离开。她还决定把自己的名字改为“安·兰德”。她说“兰德”这个词是从俄罗斯字母“罗森鲍姆”(Rosenbaum)演变而来的。她说她选择的“安”是芬兰一位作家的名字。
刚改名字的兰德搬到了加利福尼亚的好莱坞，在电影行业工作。她在1929年遇到并嫁给了演员弗兰克·奥康纳。在整个30年代，奥康纳表演而兰德写作。她在那些年出版了两本书，但是并没有获得什么重要的或大众的认可。
然后，1943年，兰德的著名作品《源泉》出版了。她花了七年的时间写这本小说。12家出版商都拒绝出版这本书。然而，一位叫阿奇博尔德·奥格登的人喜欢这个故事，并说服了博布斯-梅里尔公司出版了它。《源泉》在世界范围内取得了巨大的成功。这本书的销量超过了600万本。它继续以每年10万册的销量销售。
《源泉》讲述了一位名为霍华德·洛克的年轻设计师的故事。洛克想建造有趣的现代的建筑。但是，大多数人只想要按传统的设计建造。洛克最喜欢的就是设计和建造。他拒绝妥协和建造他讨厌的建筑。有几个人反对洛克和他的目标。但是，最后洛克成功了。
《源泉》是一部不同寻常的小说，原因有很多。这本书长达700多页，比大多数人们为消遣读的书长的多。书中还包括哲学的讨论，这在通俗书籍中是不常见的。另外，这本书还以许多人觉得侮辱的方式批评集体主义和宗教。
很多评论家不喜欢《源泉》这本书。但是读者喜欢。1949年，它被改编成一部受欢迎的电影。兰德为电影创作了剧本。加里·库珀和帕特里夏·尼尔主演了这部电影。
电影上映后，安·兰德和弗兰克·奥康纳搬到了纽约市。他们开始在自己的公寓里每周与朋友聚会。不久，聚会变得更加严肃了。成员们讨论了哲学思想并开始写关于它们的文章。该团体决定称自己为“集体”。这个名字本来是个玩笑，因为所有的成员都讨厌集体主义。艾伦·格林斯潘是这个组织的一份子，他后来成为了美联储的主席。
这个集体一块努力使详细的兰德哲学得以诞生，他们称之为“客观主义”。客观主义表现了个体和理性思维的重要性。兰德认为，人们必须通过理性思考选择他们的价值观和行动。她认为个体有权利为自己而存在。团体也帮助兰德编辑了她的书《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》，该书出版于1957年。
《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》的时间设定在不远的未来。在大政府的影响下，美国的经济和社会开始崩溃。美国是一个企业倒闭、工厂关闭、民众愤怒的国家。
一小群思想家、艺术家、科学家和工业领袖从社会中消失了。他们逃到科罗拉多州一个隐蔽的山谷。在这里，他们在没有政府控制的资本主义基础上建立了一个新的社会。
书中的女主人公达格尼·塔格特拥有一家大型铁路公司。她奋力维持自己的生意，拯救这个国家。然而社会开始崩溃。《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》长达1000多页，它是有史以来最长的小说之一。
安·兰德说《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》完全定义了她的客观主义哲学。她在书的结尾写道：“我的哲学...就是把人看作英雄，把自己的幸福当作人生的道德目标，把生产成就当作最高尚的活动，把理性当作唯一绝对的东西。”
兰德认为《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》是有史以来最重要的书。评论家不同意她的观点。大多数人给了这本书差评。在保守派政治杂志《国家评论》上，惠特克·钱伯斯写了一篇关于《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》的愤怒长文。他说那是一本愚蠢的书，书中有危险的思想。
跟《源泉》一样，公众不同意评论家的观点。《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》在世界范围内继续销售了数百万本。安·兰德和她的观点很快为人熟知，尤其是学生和其他年轻人。后来，她写了一些关于经济、政治、爱情和其他主题的书。
早在《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》出版之前，一个年轻人就对安·兰德的想法产生了兴趣。他叫纳撒尼尔·布兰登。读完《源泉》后，他给兰德写了一封信。他写道，他想讨论心理学和兰德思想之间的关系。布兰登和妻子芭芭拉很快就和兰德成为了朋友，并加入了兰德的团体。兰德和布兰登开始发生性关系，尽管他们已经结婚了。
他们自称是所有客观主义思想的专家。他们写了很多论文，并在全美国发表演讲。但是，一些人批判了客观主义者及其追随者。
他们说，人们尊敬兰德和布兰登，就像他们是宗教领袖一样，从不质疑他们的信仰。兰德驳斥了这种批评。她写道，“盲目的追随者是...我的哲学谴责和拒绝的人。客观主义不是神秘的邪教。”
1968年，兰德发现布兰登发现布兰登和一个年轻的学生发生了性关系，事情就发生了变化。兰德非常生气，并强迫布兰登离开客观主义者团体，永远不要再和她说话了。
和布兰登的关系结束后，安·兰德的生活慢了下来。她平静地生活在纽约市，直到1982年去世。在她的葬礼上，她的一个追随者留下了一个礼物。它是一个两米高的美元形插花。这个礼物代表了兰德的资本主义是最道德的经济制度的观点。
安·兰德的书继续非常地受欢迎。在一些专业研究中，《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》被列为20世纪最好的和最有影响力的书之一。加利福尼亚好莱坞报道称，一些演员、作家和制片人正在致力于制作电影版本的《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》。但是，很多人仍然反对安·兰德的书和观点。在出生一百多年后，安·兰德的作品、思想和行动仍对很多人很重要。安·兰德仍是最受人们喜爱和讨厌的美国思想家之一。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
