(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about movie star Marilyn Monroe. She died many years ago, yet still is one of the best known American women.
Her name at birth was Norma Jean Baker. Her life as a child was like a bad dream. She lived with a number of different people, and often was mistreated. At age sixteen Norma Jean married a sailor. But she soon ended that marriage. She changed her hair color from brown to shining gold. And she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.
She wanted to be an actress. And she succeeded. She appeared in a number of Hollywood movies. Millions of people went to see them. By the time Norma Jean had reached the age of twenty-six, her beautiful face and body earned her a place as one of America's leading movie stars. But success and fame were not enough to make her happy. The troubles of her childhood days stayed with her. She drank too much alcohol. She took too many drugs. At the age of thirty-six, she took her own life. She has been dead since nineteen sixty-two. Still, her fame continues to grow. People born long after she died are watching her movies on television. Objects that belonged to her bring huge prices at public sales. People continue to talk about what they feel is her strange death. Some people believe she was murdered. Two investigations showed that she died as the result of too many drugs.
Why is the public still so interested in a woman who died so many years ago? A number of reasons. Her exciting but tragic life. Her connections with well-known people. And her image as an especially desirable woman. In the nineteen fifties, many Americans believed sex was a very private subject. People often severely judged those who were sexually appealing. Into this atmosphere burst Marilyn Monroe. As one critic said, her body was round in all the right places. She wore her clothes like skin. When she walked, she moved her lower body in a way that few other actresses had done. Her voice was soft and breathy. She soon became America's golden girl.
The story of Marilyn Monroe begins on June first, nineteen twenty-six. Norma Jean was born that day in the West Coast city of Los Angeles, California. Her birthplace was not far from the Hollywood movie studios where she would someday be a star. Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from mental problems. Often the mother had to be treated in a hospital for long periods of time. Her daughter was sent to live with a number of different people. The actress later would describe her stays with these foster families as sometimes very unhappy. During the worst experiences, she would go to a movie theater. There the young Norma Jean escaped into the make-believe world of movies. By the time she was seventeen, Marilyn was trying very hard to be a movie actress. She finally was able to get an actors' agent to help her. He got Twentieth Century Fox Company to give Marilyn parts in some movies it produced.
Marilyn may have worked more to improve her appearance than to improve her performance in acting classes. Some people at Twentieth Century Fox said she did not like to work at all. She appeared in only one movie. And she had only one line to speak in that. The Fox movie company dismissed her. Soon, however, her agent got her a job at Columbia Pictures. She appeared in a movie called "Ladies of the Chorus. " She sang two songs. Several critics praised her performance. But Columbia dismissed her. Marilyn did not stop struggling. She next won a small part in a movie called "Love Happy." It was a comedy starring the famous Marx Brothers. Critics said it was not one of their better efforts. Marilyn, though, earned praise for simply taking a short walk in the movie. The movie called for her to say, "Some men are following me. " Groucho Marx answered that he did not understand why. As he said that, he watched Marilyn walk her famous walk. His eyes opened very wide. That short scene in the movie made many people in Hollywood talk about Marilyn Monroe.
Marilyn got her first major chance when director John Huston invited her to act in a movie called "The Asphalt Jungle. " Huston said her performance as a criminal's girlfriend was good. It gained Marilyn her dream of a long-term agreement with Twentieth Century Fox, the company that had dismissed her earlier. Now its officials gave her a part in "All About Eve." The movie, released in nineteen fifty, was about a movie star. She played a golden-haired woman who did not have much intelligence -- "a dumb blonde." In nineteen fifty-two, Marilyn again appeared as a dumb blonde in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." This performance at last won her widespread fame. Huge successes now followed.
Between nineteen fifty-three and nineteen fifty-nine she appeared in lead parts in many popular movies: "How To Marry a Millionaire." "The Seven Year Itch." "Bus Stop." "Some Like it Hot." Her part in "Some Like it Hot" showed that she was very good at making people laugh. Marilyn's picture appeared on the front cover of many magazines and the front pages of many newspapers. She began to earn more money.
Life should have been good. But Marilyn was not happy. She was being asked to repeat her part as a dumb blonde in movie after movie. She wanted to be accepted as a good actress. She went to the Actors' Studio school in New York City with many serious actors. She thought she could change the way people thought of her. What I'd like to do, that is, what I would like to accomplish, I would like to be a good actress. And it's not a matter of being on top because I think some of the best actors and actresses perhaps aren't on the top. So that's not the thing. I’m terribly grateful for everything that's happened because I remember when things weren't like this at all. But you do miss sometimes just being able to be completely yourself and some place and people just know you as another human being.
But she did not succeed. People thought of Marilyn Monroe as "that blonde bombshell." Few people thought of her as a serious actress. She also failed in her attempts at marriage. She admitted that she got married the first time only to escape from being forced to live in a group home for children without parents. In nineteen fifty-four she married again. Her husband was the famous New York Yankee baseball player, Joe Di Maggio. They were together for only a few months. Later, she tried again. She married Arthur Miller, a famous writer of plays. That marriage ended unhappily in nineteen sixty-one, after five years. Marilyn returned to Hollywood. But things were different now. Friends said she was drinking too much alcohol. They said she was taking too many drugs. She seemed to always be in trouble with the movie company. She had gained too much weight. Or, she had not learned what she was to say in the movie. Or she had arrived late for the filming.
By nineteen sixty-two, Marilyn's problems were threatening her work in the movies. She was to appear in the Twentieth Century Fox movie called "Something's Got to Give." She lost weight for her part. She tried to arrive on time for the filming. She reportedly knew her part. However, she became sick several times and missed work. Fox company officials dismissed her.
On August fourth, nineteen sixty-two, Marilyn Monroe died alone in her home. She was thirty-six years old. Reports said taking too many drugs killed her. But people who knew her said failed marriages, and the failure of her latest movie also led to her death. Many people said Marilyn Monroe never escaped her past. She continued to suffer from the early, sad life of a little girl named Norma Jean.
重点解析
1.tragic 悲剧
There was a tragic accident on the highway yesterday.
昨天公路上发生了一起很惨的事故。
2.desirable 可取的, 值得拥有的, 合意的
My desire for a desirable house will come true in the near future.
我要买一幢称心如意的房子的愿望在不久的将来会实现。
3.appealing 有魅力的;动人的; 吸引人的; 有感染力的; 令人感兴趣的
I find his manner very appealing.
我发现他的举止非常有吸引力。
4.Two investigations showed that she died as the result of too many drugs.
as the result of 由于…的结果
He is paralyzed as the result of a would-be assassin's bullet years ago.
几年前有人对他行刺未遂, 但子弹使他瘫痪了。
5.Her mother, Gladys Baker, suffered from mental problems.
suffer from 因…而受罚（苦, 损）; 因...而更糟; 受...之苦
Sometimes I still suffer from these weaknesses.
有时我还是在吃这些弱点的苦头。
6.She seemed to always be in trouble with the movie company.
in trouble with 与…发生纠纷
I'm in trouble with the police over drugs.
我因毒品事落入警方手中。
参考译文
我是雪梨·格里菲思。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述电影明星玛丽莲·梦露的故事。她已去世多年，至今仍是最知名美国女演员之一。
她出生时的名字叫作诺玛·简·贝克。她的童年是一场噩梦。她和各样的人生活在一起，经常遭到虐待。16岁时，诺玛·简嫁给了一个水手。但是她很快便结束了这场婚姻。她将自己的头发由棕色染成闪亮的金黄色。她还将自己的名字改成了玛丽莲·梦露。
她想成为一名女演员，并且她成功了。她出演了一些好莱坞电影。数百万人前来观看。诺玛·简26岁的时候，她漂亮的脸蛋和身体让她成为了美国电影女主角之一。但是成功和名利不足以令她开心。童年的噩梦一直伴随着她。她开始酗酒、嗜药。36岁时，她夺走了自己的生命。虽然她在1962年就去世了，但她的名望有增无减。她死后很多人还在电视上看她的电影。属于她的物件以大价格进行拍卖。人们还在谈论她的离奇死因。一些人认为她是被谋杀的。两起调查表明她死于药物过量。为什么公众对一个死了那么多年的女人如此感兴趣呢？原因有很多：她刺激而又悲惨的一生她和知名人士之间的关联以及她非常性感的形象。
1950年代，许多美国人都认为性是一个非常私密的主题。性感的人常遭人非议。在这种氛围中，玛丽莲·梦露出现了。正如一名评论家所说，她的身体圆润丰满，恰到好处，她穿的衣服像薄纱一样。她走路的时候，扭着下半身，很少女演员能够做到。她的声音温柔且带着气息声。她很快便成为美国的黄金女郎。
玛丽莲·梦露的故事开始于1926年6月，这一天诺玛·简出生于加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的西海岸市。她的出生地离好莱坞电影工作室不远，她将会成为好莱坞明星的地方。她的母亲，格兰戴丝·贝克患有精神方面的问题。她需要经常去医院接受长时间治疗。她的女儿被送去和不同人住在一起。这位女演员后来描述说和寄宿家庭待在一起的时光非常不开心。在这些最糟糕的日子里，她都会去一家电影院。在那里，诺玛·简能够逃进虚幻的电影世界中。
那时她17岁，玛丽莲非常努力的要成为一名电影女演员。她得到了一名电影经纪人的帮助。他介绍玛丽莲出演了一些20世纪福克斯公司出品的电影。玛丽莲更注重改善自己的外貌而非是自己的演技。二十世纪福克斯工作人员表示她一点都不喜欢工作。她只出演了一部电影。并且电影中她仅有一句一句台词。福克斯电影公司解雇了她。但很快她的经纪人就为她在哥伦比亚电影公司找到了一份工作。她出演了电影《热女郎》，还唱了两首歌。一些影评人赞扬她在电影里的表演，但是哥伦比亚电影公司解雇了她。玛丽莲没有放弃努力。接下来她在电影《快乐爱情》演了一个小角色。这部电影是由马克思兄弟主演的一部喜剧。影评人称这并不是他们最好的电影。玛丽莲只在电影里散了个步就获得一片赞誉。电影中她说，“一些人在跟着我。”格劳乔·马克斯回答说自己不明白为什么。如他所说，他看着玛丽莲走路，那段著名的走路表演，他的眼睛睁的老大。
电影中的那一小段场景让很多好莱坞人讨论玛丽莲·梦露。玛丽莲获得了第一次出演主角的机会，约翰·休斯顿导演邀请她出演《夜阑人未静》休斯顿说，她在剧中饰演一名罪犯的女友，她的表演很好。这部电影为她赢得了梦寐以求的二十世纪福克斯长期合同，就是那家早前解雇了她的公司。公司官员让她出演《彗星美人》。这部电影上映于1950年，讲述的是一个电影明星的故事。她在电影里演一名无知的金发女郎——金发傻妞。1952年，玛丽莲在《绅士爱美人》中再次出演一名金发傻妞。这次的演出最终让她家喻户晓。
巨大的成功接踵而至。1953年至1959年间，她在很多电影中担任主演：《愿嫁金龟婿》、《七年之痒》、《巴士站》、《热情如火》。在《热情如火》中的表演展现出她非常擅长引人发笑。玛丽莲的照片刊登在许多杂志的封面和报纸的头版上。她开始赚取更多的钱。
生活本应该不错，但玛丽莲并不开心。在随后的电影中，她一次又一次的被要求出演金发傻妞。她希望作为一名好的女演员而被接受。她和许多认真的演员进入了纽约戏剧学院。她认为她可以改变人们对她的看法。
我想做的，即我想要去完成的，就是做个好的女演员。这并不是是否要站在巅峰的问题，因为我认为最好的演员或许是到不到巅峰的。所以这并不是重点。我感激一切发生的事情，因为我记得所有美好的事情。但是有时确实会去怀念那些做自己的时光和地点，人们认识的你只是另一个人。
但是她没有成功。人们仍认为玛丽莲·梦露是“那个金发美女”。几乎没人认为她是一名认真的女演员。她在婚姻方面也很失败。她承认起初她结婚是为了逃避那个孤儿收容所。1954年她再次结婚。她的丈夫是著名纽约扬基队的棒球运动员—乔·迪马吉奥。他们在一起仅几个月。随后她再次结婚。她嫁给了著名的戏剧作家阿瑟·米勒。五年后的1961年，他们的婚姻不愉快的结束了。玛丽莲重返好莱坞。但是事情变得不同了。朋友说，她酗酒嗑药。她似乎总深陷电影公司的麻烦中。她变得很胖，也记不住台词。要么就是迟到。1962年，玛丽莲的问题已威胁到了她的电影工作。为出演二十世纪福克斯电影《濒于崩溃》她开始减肥、尝试准时到达片场。但是她多次患重病并错过了工作。福克斯公司官员解雇了她。
1962年8月4日，玛丽莲·梦露孤独地死于家中，那时她36岁。报道称她死于过量服药。但是认识她的人说，失败的婚姻和最近电影的失败也导致了她的死亡。许多人说玛丽莲·梦露从没有逃离过去的经历。她一直遭受早期诺玛·简的悲惨童年。
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