(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Mary Tillotson. And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we finish telling about the life of Langston Hughes, known as the poet voice of African Americans. He was one of the most important writers of the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes was born in nineteen-oh-two. His parents separated when he was little. Langston grew up with his grandmother who told him stories about their family's fight against racial injustice. He developed a love of reading books as a way to deal with loneliness and a feeling of rejection from his parents. His love for reading grew into a desire to write.
As a young man, Langston traveled to Europe and Africa working on ships. He wrote poems and short stories during his travels. A few of the writings he sent home were published, which helped establish him as a professional writer.
By nineteen twenty-five, Langston Hughes had returned to the United States and was living in Harlem in New York City. This was during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of great artistic creativity among blacks who lived there.
Hughes discovered a new way of writing poetry, using the rhythms of jazz and blues to support his words. His first collection of poetry, called the "Weary Blues," was published in nineteen twenty-six. Hughes wrote poetry about the common experiences of black people. People said they could see themselves in the words of his poetry.
Hughes had worked many different jobs, but wished to make a living as a writer. Wealthy white supporters of the Harlem Renaissance helped Hughes until he could support himself. Critic Carl Van Vechten had helped to get the "The Weary Blues" published. Van Vechten was one of the first to recognize the new styles of the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and their importance in African American literature. Another supporter of the arts, Amy Spingarn, gave Hughes money to complete his education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.
Missus Charlotte Mason began supporting Hughes in nineteen twenty-seven. In nineteen thirty, he published a novel, "Not Without Laughter," that made him very famous. His relationship with Missus Mason ended about the time the book appeared. After that, Hughes sank into a period of intense personal unhappiness.
In the early nineteen thirties, Langston Hughes traveled to Cuba and Haiti. He later traveled across the southern United States, doing poetry readings and trying to sell his books. Hughes was likeable and gained many readers during his visit to the South.
He also began to write many different short stories that were published in magazines. In these, he was able to discuss ideas related to black pride, racism and other issues of black life.
In nineteen thirty-two, Hughes traveled to the Soviet Union. He became an active supporter of communism. He believed communism was fairer to minorities. During this time, his writing also became more militant. Several of his poems expressed support for social and political protests.
Later, his writings began to examine the unfairness of life in America. He wrote about people whose lives were affected by racism and sexual conflicts, violence in the southern United States, Harlem street life, poverty, racism, hunger and hopelessness.
Hughes wrote one of his most important works in nineteen twenty-six, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." It spoke of black writers and poets who want to be considered as poets, not black poets. Hughes thought this meant they wanted to write like white poets. He argued there was a need for race pride and artistic independence:
"We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they aren't, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too...If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, as strong as we know how. And we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves."
As his success as a writer grew, Langston Hughes began to explore other ways to spread his message. He wrote children's stories and several plays. By nineteen forty, he had opened black theater groups in Harlem, Chicago and Los Angeles.
While writing for a black newspaper, Hughes created someone called "Jesse B. Semple." The name "Jesse B. Semple" represented Hughes's writing style: Just Be Simple. Semple was a common man of the people who "tells it like it is." His experiences help other people understand the world in a clearer light.
Langston Hughes was known to be very supportive of young writers and poets. Some said his willingness to help young writers was a result of his unhappy childhood. Wherever he went, from the Caribbean to Africa to Russia, he connected with writers and gave them support. He also translated some of their writings into English and included them in collections he produced.
Not everyone praised Hughes' work. Some critics said his writings were too simple and lacked depth. Some blacks condemned his informal writing style and honest descriptions of black life. They also criticized his use of blues and jazz in his poetry and his expressions of sympathy for working people.
However, his supporters praised his straightforward writing style. They said he demonstrated that writing does not have to be complex to be great.
In nineteen fifty-one, Hughes wrote one of his most successful collections of jazz poetry called, "Montage of a Dream Deferred." The poems are expressions of everyday life in Harlem. They take the reader through one complete day and night in Harlem.
In some of the poems, Hughes uses a new kind of jazz played in Harlem at the time, called "Be-Bop." The poems deal with the problem of being black in America.
There were difficult times for Langston Hughes. Conservatives in the United States were suspicious of his ties to extremist movements, his activism, and his support of the Soviet Union for its treatment of minorities. In nineteen-fifty-three, he was forced to appear before Senator Joseph McCarthy's committee on subversive activities to explain his interest in communism. Under pressure during the nineteen fifties, Hughes softened the voice of his poems and rejected his militant past. He was criticized later by some black activists for not being militant enough.
Hughes continued to write and publish throughout the nineteen fifties and sixties. And he won several important awards during that time. He also taught at Atlanta University and the University of Chicago.
Hughes died of cancer in nineteen sixty-seven in Harlem, New York. His home on One Hundred Twenty-Seventh Street has been made a national landmark.
Experts say Langston Hughes helped to change the sound of American literature. They say he wrote poems the world will always know.
重点解析
1.establish as使成为...
By then she was established as a star.
那时她作为明星的地位已经确立。
2.make a living维持生活
If I can't make a living at painting, at least I can teach someone else to paint
如果我不能靠画画谋生，至少我可以教别人画画。
3.sink into陷入；沉入
I was about to sink into the quicksand of sin
我就要陷入罪孽的深渊了。
4.be supportive of支持
You've been so supportive of me and my dream for music.
你总是支持我和我的音乐梦想。
5.deal with处理；做生意
When I worked in Florida I dealt with British people all the time
在佛罗里达工作时，我总与英国人有生意往来。
6.related to与...有关
Light industry is closely related to agriculture.
轻工业和农业密切相关。
参考译文
我是玛丽·蒂落森，我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们继续讲述兰斯顿·休斯的故事，他一直被称为非裔美国人的诗人之声。他是哈莱姆文艺复兴时期最重要的作家之一。
兰斯顿·休斯于1902年出生。在他小的时候父母就分开了。兰斯顿和他的祖母在一起长大，祖母给他讲述了他们家庭与奴隶制作斗争的故事。他爱上了读书，以此作为一种方式来应对孤独和一种被父母抛弃的感觉。他对阅读的爱逐渐成为一种写作的欲望。
年轻的时候，兰斯顿在船上工作，旅行去了很多国家。在旅行中，他写作了诗歌和短篇小说。他寄到家里的一些作品被出版了，这帮助他成为一个职业的作家。
1925年，兰斯顿回到了美国，生活在纽约市的哈莱姆区。当时正处在哈莱姆文艺复兴时期，那是居住在那里的黑人艺术创作的鼎盛时期。
休斯发现了一种写诗的新方法，他用爵士和布鲁斯的节奏来支撑自己的文字。他的第一本诗集名为《疲倦的布鲁斯》，出版于1926年。休斯写作关于黑人的普遍经历。人们说他们在休斯的文字中看到了自己。
休斯做过很多不同的工作，但是他想作为一名作家来谋生。哈莱姆文艺复兴的富有的白人支持者帮助休斯，直到他能够养活自己。评论家卡尔·范·维克顿帮助出版了《疲倦的布鲁斯》。范·维克顿是最早认可哈莱姆文艺复兴作家的新写作方式和它们在非裔美国文学的重要性的人之一。另一位艺术的支持者艾米·斯宾加恩资助休斯在宾夕法尼亚州林肯大学完成学业。
夏洛特·梅森夫人开始在1927年支持休斯。1930年，他出版了一本小说《不无欢笑》，这使他非常有名。大约在这本书出版的时候，他和梅森夫人的关系结束了。那之后，休斯陷入了一段强烈的不快乐的时期。
在20世纪30年代初，兰斯顿·休斯去了古巴和海地。后来，他游历了美国南部，做诗歌朗诵，并试图卖掉自己的书。休斯在访问南方期间很受欢迎，赢得了许多读者。
他还开始写许多不同的短篇小说，并在杂志上发表。在这些书中，他谈论了关于黑人的骄傲、种族歧视和其他黑人生活议题的观点。
1932年，休斯去了苏联。他成为了共产主义的支持者。他认为共产主义对少数族裔更加公平。在此期间，他的写作也变得更加激进。他的一些诗歌表达了对社会和政治抗议的支持。
后来，他的作品开始检查美国社会的不公。他描写了那些生活受到种族主义和性冲突、美国南部暴力、哈莱姆街头生活、贫困、种族主义、饥饿和绝望影响的人们。
休斯于1926年写了他最重要的作品之一《黑人艺术家和种族山》。它说的是黑人作家和诗人，他们希望被视为诗人，而不是黑人诗人。休斯认为这意味着他们想像白人诗人一样写作。他认为有必要存在种族骄傲和艺术独立。
“我们这些年轻的黑人艺术家，现在的创作意图是表达我们个体的黑皮肤的自我，而不感到恐惧或羞耻。如果白人喜欢，我们会很高兴。如果他们不喜欢，没有关系。我们知道自己是美丽的。也有丑陋的方面...如果有色人种喜欢我们很高兴。如果他们不喜欢，也没有关系。我们为明天建造我们的庙宇，就像我们所知道的那样坚固。我们站在山顶，内心自由。”
兰斯顿·休斯作为一个作家越来越成功，他开始探索其他方式来传播他的思想。他写儿童故事和几部戏剧。到1940年，他在哈莱姆、芝加哥和洛杉矶开设了黑人剧团。在为一家黑人报纸写作时，休斯创造了一个叫“杰西·B·森普尔”的人。“杰西·B·森普尔”这个名字代表了休斯的写作风格：简单。森普尔是那种“实话实说”的普通人。他的经历帮助其他人更清晰地理解世界。
众所周知，兰斯顿·休斯非常支持年轻作家和诗人。有人说，他愿意帮助年轻作家是因为他不幸的童年。无论他走到哪里，从加勒比海到非洲再到俄罗斯，他都与作家保持联系，并给予他们支持。他还把他们的一些作品翻译成英语，并把它们收录到自己的作品集中。并不是所有人都称赞休斯的作品。一些评论家认为他的作品过于简单，缺乏深度。一些黑人谴责他不拘形式的写作风格和对黑人生活的真实描述。他们还批评他在诗歌中使用蓝调和爵士乐，以及他对工人阶级的同情。
然而，他的支持者称赞了他坦率的写作风格。他们认为，休斯证明了写作不一定要复杂才称得上伟大。
1951年，休斯写了他最成功的爵士诗集之一，叫做《迟到的梦的蒙太奇》。这些诗表达了哈莱姆区的日常生活。他们带领读者在哈莱姆度过了一个完整的日日夜夜。
在一些诗歌中，休斯使用了当时在哈莱姆演奏的一种新的爵士乐，叫做“比波普”。这些诗涉及美国黑人的问题。
兰斯顿休斯经历了一段艰难的时期。美国的保守派怀疑他与极端主义运动的关系，他的激进主义，和他支持苏联对待少数民族的政策。1953年，他被迫出现在参议员约瑟夫·麦卡锡的颠覆活动委员会解释他对共产主义的兴趣。迫于20世纪50年代遭受的压力，休斯软化了他的诗歌的态度，丢弃了自己激进的过去。后来，一些黑人活动人士批评他不够激进。
休斯在五六十年代继续写作和出版。在那段时间里，他赢得了几个重要的奖项。他还在亚特兰大大学和芝加哥大学任教。
休斯于1967年因癌症在纽约哈莱姆区去世。他位于127街上的家已经成为了一个国家地标。
专家称，兰斯顿·休斯帮助改变了美国文学的声音。他们称世界总会记得休斯写的诗歌。
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