(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Shirley Griffith with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today we tell about one of the most influential social scientists of the last century -- the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead. People around the world mourned the death of Margaret Mead in nineteen seventy-eight. A year later, the president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, honored the social scientist with America's highest award for civilians. Another honor came from a village in New Guinea. The people there planted a coconut tree in her memory. Margaret Mead would have liked that. As a young woman, she had studied the life and traditions of the village. Miz Mead received such honors because she added greatly to public knowledge of cultures and traditions in developing countries. Many people consider her the most influential social science researcher of the twentieth century.
Yet some experts said her research was not scientific. They said she depended too much on observation and local stories. They said she did not spend enough time on comparative studies. They believed her fame resulted as much from her colorful personality as from her research. Margaret Mead shared her strong opinions about social issues. She denounced the spread of nuclear weapons. She spoke against racial injustice. She strongly supported women's rights. Throughout her life she enjoyed taking risks. Miz Mead began her studies of cultures in an unusual way for a woman of her time. She chose to perform her research in the developing world. She went to an island village in the Pacific Ocean. She went alone. The year was nineteen twenty-five. At that time, young American women did not travel far away from home by themselves. They did not ask strangers personal questions. They did not observe births and deaths unless they were involved in medical work. Margaret Mead did all those things.
Margaret Mead was born in nineteen-oh-one in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was a professor of finance. Her mother was a sociologist. Few women attended college in those days. However, Margaret Mead began her studies in nineteen nineteen at De Pauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She soon decided that living in a small town did not improve one's mind. So she moved to New York City to study English and psychology at Barnard College. She graduated in nineteen twenty-three. Margaret next decided to study anthropology at Columbia University in New York. She wanted to examine the activities and traditions of different societies. She later earned master's and doctorate degrees. Miz Mead studied with two famous anthropologists: Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict. Mister Boas believed that the environment people grow up in -- not family genes -- caused most cultural differences among people. This belief also influenced his young student. Margaret Mead asked to do research in Samoa in the Pacific Ocean. Mister Boas was concerned for her safety. But he let her go. He told her to learn about how young Samoan women were raised.
In graduate school, Margaret had married Luther Cressman, who was studying to be a clergyman. He went to Europe to continue his studies. She went alone to Samoa in nineteen twenty-five. She worked among the people of Tau Island. The people spoke a difficult language that had never been written down. Luckily, she was able to learn languages easily. Miz Mead studied the lives of Samoan girls. She was not much older than the girls she questioned. She said their life was free of the anger and rebellion found among young people in other societies. She also said Samoan girls had sexual relations with anyone they wanted. She said their society did not urge them to love just one man. And she said their society did not condemn sex before marriage. Margaret Mead said she reached these beliefs after nine months of observation in Samoa. They helped make her book "Coming of Age in Samoa" one of the best-selling books of the time. Miz Mead was just twenty-seven years old when her book was published in nineteen twenty-eight. Many American readers were shocked by her observations about the sexual freedom enjoyed by young Samoan women.
Several social scientists later disputed her findings. Australian anthropologist Derek Freeman wrote a book which criticized her work. The book was published in nineteen eighty-three, five years after her death. He wrote that Miz Mead made her observations from just a few talks with two friendly young women. He wrote that they wanted to tell interesting stories to a foreign visitor. But their stories were not necessarily true. Mister Freeman said Samoan society valued a young woman who had not had sexual relations. He said Tau Island men refused to marry women who had had sex. However, many published reports about the debate raised questions about Mister Freeman's criticism. After years of discussion, many anthropologists concluded that the truth would probably never be known. After nine months among the Samoans, Margaret Mead returned to the United States. She met a student from New Zealand, Reo Fortune, on the long trip home. Her marriage to Luther Cressman ended. She married Mister Fortune, also an anthropologist, in nineteen twenty-eight. They went to New Guinea to work together. It would be the first of seven trips that she would make to the area in the next forty-seven years.
The two studied the people of several areas of New Guinea. She published another influential book, "Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies," in nineteen thirty-five. It was a study of the lives of three New Guinea tribes from infancy to adulthood. Miz Mead wrote that many so-called male and female characteristics are not based on sex differences. Instead they reflect the cultural traditions of different societies. She wrote that women have the major role in one group in New Guinea without causing any special problems. This book became important for the women's rights movement in the United States. Not long after their New Guinea trip ended, Margaret Mead's marriage to Reo Fortune also ended. In nineteen thirty-six, she married for the third time. Her new husband was Gregory Bateson, a British biologist. Mister Bateson and Miz Mead decided to work together on the island of Bali in Indonesia. The people of Bali proudly shared their rich culture and traditions. Miz Mead observed and recorded their activities. Mister Bateson took photographs. The Batesons had a daughter. But their marriage ended in nineteen fifty. As time went on, Margaret Mead's fame continued to grow. Her books sold very well. She also wrote for popular magazines. She appeared on radio and television programs in the nineteen sixties and seventies. She spoke before many groups. Americans loved to hear about her work and the people she studied.
After her trips, Margaret Mead always returned to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. She worked there for more than fifty years. She also taught at several universities in New York. She studied the problems of child-rearing, personality and culture in different societies.
Margaret Mead was also concerned about issues like the environment. On April twenty-second, nineteen seventy, environmental activists organized the first ever Earth Day. Margaret Mead spoke about the dangers of science and technology. "No society has ever yet been able to handle the temptations of technology to mastery, to waste, to exuberance, to exploration and exploitation. We have to learn to cherish this earth and cherish it as something that's fragile, that's only one, it's all we have. We have to use our scientific knowledge to correct the dangers that have come from science and technology." Other scientists paid Margaret Mead a high honor when she was seventy-four years old. They elected her president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A few years later, she developed cancer. But she continued to travel, speak and study almost to the end of her life. One friend said: "Margaret Mead was not going to let a little thing like death stop her."
重点解析
1.comparative a. 比较的,相当的
Cost of living indicators are comparative between cities or countries.
不同城市或国家间的生活消费指数都是可以相互比较的。
2.personality n. 个性,人格,名人
My cousin wrote a description of herself, but I don't agree with some aspects of her personality.
我表妹写了一篇描述自己的文章，但对其中某些有关她性格的文字我无法苟同。
3.denounce v. 告发,公然抨击,谴责
Somebody denounced him to the military police as a spy.
有人向宪兵队告发他为间谍。
4.condemn v. 判刑,责备,处刑,声讨,谴责
We all condemn the inhuman brutal crimes against children..
我们一致谴责这种灭绝人性的摧残儿童的暴行。
5.handle v. 触摸,运用,买卖,处理,操作
The boldness of handling made her extremely successful.
她大胆的手法使她极为成功。
6.temptation n. 引诱,诱惑;诱惑物
He admits that the ￡50,000 bonus is a big temptation.
他承认，50,000英镑的奖金是个不小的诱惑。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。我是雪梨·格里菲斯。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述上世纪最具影响力的社会科学家之一—文化人类学家玛格丽特·米德。1978年，世界各地人民为玛格丽特·米德默哀。一年后，美国总统吉米·卡特授予这位社会科学家美国市民最高荣誉。另一项荣誉来自于新几内亚的一个村庄。那里的人种了一个椰子树来纪念她。玛格丽特·米德会喜欢的。作为一名年轻女性，她研究这个村庄的生活和传统。米德女士收获该荣誉，因为她为众人公开了发展中国家的文化与传统。很多人认为她是20世纪最具影响力的社会科学研究人员。但是很多专家表示她的研究并非科学。他们说她过多的依赖于观察和当地的故事。他们表示她并没在比较研究中花过多功夫。他们认为她的名声源于她有趣的人格而非研究。玛格丽特·米德分享自己关于社会问题的有力观点。她谴责核武器的传播。她公开反对种族不平等。她强烈支持女权。纵观一生，她很喜欢冒险。米德女士以一种不同寻常的方式开始了她的文化研究。她选择在发展中国家执行她的研究她来到太平洋的一个岛村。她独自一人。那一年是1925年。那时，年轻的美国女性不会独自一人来到这么远的地方。她们不会询问陌生人私人问题。她们不会观察出生和死亡，除非涉及医疗工作。玛格丽特·米德做了所有这些事。
1901年，玛格丽特·米德出生于宾夕法尼亚州费城。她的父亲是一名金融教授。她的母亲是一名社会学家。那时，很少有女性会上大学。但是玛格丽特·米德于1919年在印第安纳州格林卡斯尔德葩大学开始了她的学习。很快她便发现居住在一个小镇中，一个人的心智不会得到改善。所以她搬到了纽约，在巴纳德学院学习英语和心理学。她毕业于1923年。接下来，玛格丽特决定在纽约的哥伦比亚大学学习人类学。她想要研究不同社会中的活动和传统。之后她获得了硕士和博士学位。米德女士和两位著名人类学家共同学习：弗朗茨·博厄斯以及鲁思·本尼迪克特博厄斯先生相信人们成长的环境—非家族基因—导致人群中多数的文化差异。这种信念也影响到了他的学生。玛格丽特·米德要求在太平洋的萨摩亚进行实验。博厄斯先生担心她的安全，但还是让她去了。他告诉她去了解年轻一代的萨摩亚人是如何被抚育的。
在研究所，玛格丽特和将要成为牧师的卢瑟·克雷斯曼结婚了。他去欧洲继续他的研究。1925年，她独自一人来到萨摩亚。她和塔乌岛上的人一同工作。那里的人说着难懂的语言，也从未将文字写下来过。幸运的是，她轻松学会了这门语言。米德女士研究萨摩亚女孩们的生活。她并不比那些女孩大多少。她说她们的生活中没有愤怒和叛逆，这些特征在其他社会的年轻人中很常见。她还说萨摩亚的女孩们可以和任何想要的人发生关系。她说她们的社会并不会要求她们只爱某一个男人。她说她们的社会不会谴责婚前性行为。玛格丽特·米德表示她在萨摩亚观察了九个月后才得出这些观念。她们帮助她制成了一本书《Coming of Age in Samoa》，是那时最畅销的书籍之一。1928年出版这本书的时候，米德女士才27岁。很多美国读者被她关于萨摩亚年轻女性的性自由所震惊了。几名社会科学家随后争论了起来。澳大利亚人类学家德雷克·弗里曼写了一本书批评了她。
这本书出版于1983年—她去世五年后。他写道，米德女士紧跟两名友好的年轻女性谈了几句话就得出了结论。他写道，她们希望跟外国游客讲一些有趣的故事。但是她们的故事不见得是真的。弗里曼先生说萨摩亚社会重视没有过性关系的年轻女性。他说塔乌岛上的男人拒绝和有过性行为的女性结婚。但是，很多已出版报告质疑了弗里曼先生的批评。多年后，很多人类学家总结到真相或许永远未知。在萨摩亚待了九个月后，玛格丽特·米德回到了美国。在回程途中，她遇见了一名来自新西兰的学生雷奧·福群。她和卢瑟·克雷斯曼的婚姻终止了。
1928年，她嫁给了福群先生，他也是一名人类学家。他们来到新几内亚共同工作。这是她首次来到该地区，在接下来的47年中，她还将6次光顾这里。两人研究了新几内亚几个地区的人。1935年，她出版了另一本具有影响力的书《Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies》。这本书是关于三个新几内亚部落从出生到成年期的生活。米德女士写到，很多所谓男性和女性特征都并非基于性别差异。相反，它们反映了不同社会中的文化传统。她写到女性在新几内亚的某个群体中扮演主要角色，也没有引起什么特别的问题。这本书对美国女权运动非常重要。他们的新几内亚之旅结束没过多久，玛格丽特·米德和雷奧·福群的婚姻也结束了。1936年，她又结婚了。这一次她的丈夫是一位英国生物学家格雷戈里·贝特森。贝特森先生和米德女士决定共赴印度尼西亚巴厘岛工作。巴厘岛的人自豪地分享了他们丰富的文化和传统。米德女士观察并记录了他们的活动。贝特森先生拍照。他们有一个女儿，但是他们的婚姻于1950年结束。
随着时间推移，玛格丽特·米德越来越有名气。她的书很畅销，她还给一些有名的杂志写稿。1960至70年代，她上过无线和电视节目。她在很多团体面前演讲。美国人喜欢听到她的作品和她研究的那些人。旅途之后，玛格丽特·米德总是回到纽约的美国自然历史博物馆。她在那里工作了50多年。她还在纽约的几所大学教书。她研究不同社会的子女抚养、人格和文化问题。玛格丽特·米德总是关心环境这类的问题。1970年4月22日，环保激进分子组织了首个地球日。玛格丽特·米德讲到了科技的危险。“至今没有一个社会能够处理技术掌握、废弃、勘探的诱惑。我们必须学会珍视地球，就像珍视某些脆弱、唯一所有的东西一样。我们必须利用自己的科学知识更正来自于科技的危险。”其他科学家给予玛格丽特·米德很高的荣誉，当是她74岁。他们选她为美国科学促进会的主席。几年后，她得了癌症。但是她还继续旅游、演讲、研究。一个朋友说到：“玛格丽特·米德不会让死亡这件小事阻挡她的脚步。”
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