(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I’m Shirley Griffith.
And I’m Doug Johnson with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about Katharine Graham. She was the owner and publisher of the Washington Post newspaper.
Katharine Meyer Graham was once described as "the most powerful woman in America." She was not a government official or elected representative. She owned and published the Washington Post newspaper. Under her leadership, it became one of the most important newspapers in the country.
Katharine Meyer was born in New York City in Nineteen-Seventeen. She was the daughter of Eugene and Agnes Meyer. Her father was a successful investment banker. He became an important financial official. Her family was very rich.
Katharine grew up in large houses in New York and Washington. Her parents were often away from home, traveling and working. Katharine was often lonely.
Katherine Meyer graduated from the University of Chicago in Illinois in Nineteen-Thirty-Eight. She got a job as a reporter for a newspaper in San Francisco, California.
In Nineteen-Thirty-Three, Eugene Meyer had bought a failing newspaper, The Washington Post. It was the least successful of five newspapers in Washington. Katharine returned to Washington and got a job editing letters to the editor of her father's newspaper. She married Philip Graham. He was a lawyer and former assistant to two Supreme Court justices. Mister Graham soon accepted a job at his wife’s father’s newspaper.
In Nineteen-Forty-Six, Eugene Meyer left the newspaper to become the first president of the World Bank. Philip Graham became publisher of The Washington Post.
Mister Graham improved The Washington Post. He bought Newsweek magazine and several television stations. He also established close ties with important political leaders. However, Mister Graham treated his wife badly. He made her feel unimportant. He had a sexual relationship with a young reporter.
For many years, Mister Graham suffered from mental illness. He killed himself in Nineteen-Sixty-Three.
Katharine Graham had four children to raise and a newspaper to operate. At first, she was concerned only with finding a way to keep control of The Washington Post until her sons were old enough to supervise it. She was an insecure person. She did not think she had the ability to do an important job. She had no training in business or experience in operating a large company. In those days, it was unusual for a woman to be the head of a business. Women were expected to supervise only their homes and children.
Katharine Graham met with officials of The Post. She told them the paper would not be sold. She said it would remain in her family. She was elected president of The Washington Post Company. She had no idea about how to operate a newspaper. So she decided to learn. She began by hiring Benjamin Bradlee. He later became chief editor. Mister Bradlee improved the newspaper. He hired excellent reporters and editors. They began doing important investigative reporting. In Nineteen-Sixty-Nine, Missus Graham became publisher as well as president of The Washington Post Company.
In the Nineteen-Seventies, the Washington Post became famous around the world because of two major successes. In Nineteen-Seventy-One, The New York Times newspaper started publishing secret government documents about American involvement in the Vietnam War. They were known as the Pentagon Papers. The administration of President Richard Nixon appealed to the courts to stop the publication of the documents. It said publication would endanger national security. A temporary restraining order from a federal judge stopped The New York Times from publishing the documents.
Washington Post reporters also got a copy of the Pentagon Papers. They also wanted to publish the documents. Missus Graham had to decide if the paper would publish the stories and risk possible punishment by the government. The newspaper’s lawyers advised her not to publish them. Yet she decided to publish the Pentagon Papers in the Washington Post. The Supreme Court finally decided the issue. They ruled against the judge’s order restraining publication of the Pentagon Papers. That ruling was considered a major success for freedom of the press.
The next year, in Nineteen-Seventy-Two, the Washington Post had another major success reporting on a different story. Five men had been arrested after breaking into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office building. Reporters at The Post began an intense investigation of the break-in. The Post published a series of stories by two young reporters, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
After much investigation, the reporters linked the Watergate break-in to President Nixon and his top advisers. Their stories proved that the Nixon administration directed a plot. Its goals were to illegally gather intelligence on the Democratic Party and dishonor opponents of the president.
Missus Graham supported her reporters and editors through the long Watergate investigation. The Post published the stories even though government officials threatened Missus Graham and her company. The newspaper was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for public service in Nineteen-Seventy-Three for its Watergate reporting. The next year, President Nixon resigned from office.
Katharine Graham was recognized around the world as an important leader in newspaper publishing. She was the first woman to head a major American company. She successfully expanded The Washington Post Company to include newspaper, magazine, broadcast and cable companies.
Katharine Graham played an important role in supporting women in the workforce. More women were employed at The Post and at Newsweek magazine. Missus Graham also was active in groups seeking to improve public education in Washington. She traveled around the country to make many public speeches about news media issues. She also traveled around the world to meet with foreign leaders.
Katharine Graham was well known for having dinner parties at her home in Washington. She invited the most important people in the city. An invitation to one of her parties was almost as valuable as an invitation to dinner at the White House. Missus Graham was a close friend of American and world leaders. Her friends included leaders in government, media, business and entertainment. They included presidents, prime ministers and princesses.
In Nineteen-Ninety-One, Donald Graham replaced his mother as publisher and the chief official of The Washington Post Company. At that time, the company was valued at almost two-thousand-million dollars.
When she was eighty years old, Katharine Graham wrote a book about her life. It was called "Personal History." She wrote about the struggles and tragedies of her life as well as the successes. She wrote about how she battled her own insecurities to move from a traditional job as homemaker to a position of power. Critics praised the book for its honesty. The book won a Pulitzer Prize for biography in Nineteen-Ninety-Eight. It was extremely popular.
Katharine Graham died of head injuries three years later after a fall. She was eighty-four. More than three-thousand people attended her funeral. They included many government and business leaders. Friends of Katharine Graham said she would be remembered as a woman who had an important influence on events in the United States and the world. They said she used her intelligence and bravery to improve the American media. And they said everyone who cares about a free press would greatly miss her.
Katharine Graham once wrote: "A world without newspapers would not be the same kind of world." After her death, the employees of The Washington Post wrote: "A world without Katharine Graham will not be the same at all."
重点解析
1.describe 描述
We asked her to describe what kind of things she did in her spare time.
我们请她描述她在闲暇时做些什么。
2.publish 出版；发行
They publish reference books.
他们出版参考书
3.treat 对待
Artie treated most women with indifference.
阿蒂对待大多数女性颇为冷淡。
4.The administration of President Richard Nixon appealed to the courts to stop the publication of the documents.
appeal to 上诉
He decided to appeal to a higher court.
他决定向上一级法院上诉。
5.It said publication would endanger national security.
endanger 危及
The debate could endanger the proposed Mideast peace talks.
这场争论可能会危害中东和谈的倡议。
6.The Post published the stories even though government officials threatened Missus Graham and her company.
threaten 威胁
He said army officers had threatened to destroy the town.
他说军官们已威胁要摧毁这座小镇。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲斯。我是道格·约翰逊。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述凯萨琳·格雷厄姆的故事。
她是《华盛顿邮报》的所有者和出版人。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆曾被称为是“美国最具权利的女性”。她不是政府官员也并非当选代表。她是《华盛顿邮报》的所有者和出版人。在她的领导下，《华盛顿邮报》成为了美国最重要的纸媒之一。
1970年，凯萨琳出生于纽约市。她是尤金和阿格奈什·迈耶的女儿。他的父亲是一名成功的投资银行家，一名重要的金融高管。她的家庭很富有。凯萨琳生活在纽约和华盛顿的那些大房子里。她的父母常离家旅行工作。凯萨琳常感觉孤独。1938年，凯萨琳毕业于伊利诺斯州的芝加哥大学。她在加利福尼亚的旧金山谋得了一份报社记者工作。1933年，尤金·迈耶买下了一家倒闭的报社—《华盛顿邮报》。那是华盛顿五大报纸中最不成功的一家。凯萨琳回到华盛顿并为父亲报社中的编辑们编辑文字。
她嫁给了菲尔·格雷厄姆。他是一名律师，是两名高级法院法官的前助理。格雷厄姆先生很快便在岳父的报社中工作。1946年，尤金·迈耶离开报社成为了世界银行的第一任主席。尤金·迈耶便成为了《华盛顿邮报》的出版人。格雷厄姆先生对《华盛顿邮报》进行提升。他买下了《新闻周刊》杂志以及一些电视台。他还与重要政治领导建立紧密联系。但是格雷厄姆先生对他的妻子很不好。他让妻子觉得自己无足轻重。他还和一名年轻的记者有不正当关系。多年来，格雷厄姆都遭受精神疾病的痛苦。他于1963年自杀了。
凯萨琳·格雷厄姆有四个孩子要养，还要兼顾一家报社的运营。起初，她只想找到一条维系报社运营的方法，直到她的儿子们能够管理这家报社。她是一个没安全感的人。她认为自己没有从事重要工作的能力。她既没有接受过商业培训也没有运营大型公司的经验。那时，女性担任公司领导并不常见。女性只能管理家庭和孩子。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆和《邮报》管理层会面。她告诉他们她不会卖掉报社并表示这仍是家族事业。她当选为《华盛顿邮报》公司主席。她完全不知道如何运营一家报社，所以她决定去学习。
开始她雇佣了本·布莱德利。之后他成为了主编。布莱德利先生对报社进行改革，并雇佣出色的记者和编辑。他们开始着手重要的调查性报道。1969年，格雷厄姆太太成为报社出版人兼主席。
1970年代，《华盛顿邮报》的两项主要成功使其享誉世界。1971年，《纽约时代》开始出版关于美国参与越南战争的政府秘密文件。这些文件被称为五角大楼文件。理查德·尼克松政府向法庭上诉要求停止出版这些文件。他称这些出版物会危机国家安全。联邦法官出具临时限制令要求《纽约时代》停止出版这些文件。《华盛顿邮报》记者也得到了五角大楼文件复印件。他们也想出版这些文件。格雷厄姆太太必须决定报社是否要出版这些故事，或许还要承担政府惩罚的危险。报社的律师们建议她不要出版这些文件。但她还是决定在《华盛顿邮报》出版五角大楼文件。高级法庭对此进行裁决。他们否决了法官限制出版文件的决议。此次裁决被认为是新闻自由的主要成功。
1972年，《华盛顿邮报》因报道不同故事而取得另一个主要成功。在非法闯入水门办公大厦民主党全国委员会总部后，五个男人被捕。《华盛顿邮报》记者对此闯入展开了紧张的调查。《华盛顿邮报》两名年轻的记者—卡尔·伯恩斯坦和鲍勃·伍德沃德出版了一系列故事。进行多次调查后，记者们将水门闯入事件和尼克松总统以及他的高级顾问联系在一起。他们的故事证实尼克松政府指导了此阴谋。其目标是为了非法收集民主党情报并羞辱总统的反对者。格雷厄姆太太在长时间的水门调查中，支持她的记者和编辑。虽然格雷厄姆太太和她的公司受到了政府官员的威胁，但《华盛顿邮报》还是出版这些故事。因此次水门报道，报社于1973年被授予普立兹公共服务奖。第二年，尼克松总统辞职。
凯萨琳·格雷厄姆被认为是报纸出版业的重要领导者。她是第一个位成为美国主要公司领导的女性。她成功扩张公司，包括报业、杂志、广播和电缆公司。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆在支持职业女性中扮演重要作用。《华盛顿邮报》和《新闻周刊》开始越来越多的雇用女性职员。格雷厄姆太太活跃于该组织中积极寻求改善华盛顿公共教育。她在全国各地做关于新闻媒体问题的公共演讲。她还环游世界和国外领导人会面。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆会在华盛顿的家中举办晚宴，并因此而出名。她邀请城中最重要的人。凯萨琳晚宴的邀请和白宫晚宴邀请一样有价值。格雷厄姆太太是美国和世界领导人们的密友。她的朋友包括政府、媒体也、商业和娱乐业领导者。其中不乏总统、首相和公主。1991年，唐纳德·格雷厄姆接替了他的母亲成为《华盛顿邮报》公司的出版人和主席。那时，公司市值将近二十亿美元。
在凯萨琳80岁的时候她写了一本传记—《个人历史》。书中她写了自己的斗争、悲剧和成功。写到了她是如何战胜自己的不安全感，从传统主妇工作到一个大人物。评论家盛赞书的真实性。1998年，这本书获得了普立兹传记文学奖并取得巨大成功。三年后，凯萨琳·格雷厄姆不慎摔倒后死于颅脑损伤。享年84岁。三千多人来参加她的葬礼。其中包括许多政府和商业领导。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆的朋友说她在美国甚至世界都是一位有重要影响力的女性，并因此而为人所记。他们说她利用自己的知识和勇气改善了美国的媒体行业。并且他们说每个关心新闻自由的人都会非常怀念她。凯萨琳·格雷厄姆曾写道：“一个没有报纸的世界不是同一种世界。她死后，《华盛顿邮报》的员工们写道：“一个没有凯萨琳·格雷厄姆的世界也不是那同一个世界。”
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