(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Sarah Long with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about a woman who worked to make a difference in people's lives, Barbara Jordan.
Barbara Jordan was a lawyer, educator and member of Congress. She was well known for her powerful, thoughtful speeches. During her long political career, Barbara Jordan worked for social change. She sought to use her political influence to make a difference for all Americans.
Barbara Jordan became the first African-American woman to be elected to the United States Congress to represent Texas. In nineteen seventy-four, she gained national recognition as a member of the congressional committee investigating President Richard Nixon.
Barbara Charline Jordan was born in the southern city of Houston, Texas in nineteen thirty-six. She was the youngest of three daughters. Her father was a Baptist minister. He taught her a love of family, faith, music and language. As a child, Barbara's parents pushed her to succeed.
Barbara Jordan said her parents would criticize her for not speaking correct English. They urged her to become a music teacher, because they said that was the only good job for a black woman at that time.
Her sisters did become music teachers. Barbara Jordan, however, explained later that she wanted to be something unusual. At first she thought about being a pharmacist, a scientist who is an expert in medicines. But, she noted, she never heard of an important pharmacist.
In high school, Barbara heard a black woman lawyer speak. Miss Jordan decided to become a lawyer. She attended the all-black college, Texas Southern University in Houston. She led a championship debating team and became known for her speaking skills. She finished at the top of her class. Then she went onto Boston University law school in Boston, Massachusetts.
After she finished law school, Miss Jordan returned to Texas. She began to work as a lawyer. She also discovered she was interested in politics. Her interest began when she helped in a presidential campaign. She worked to help get Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy elected in nineteen sixty.
Soon, Miss Jordan decided to become a politician herself. She first campaigned for public office in nineteen-sixty-two. She wanted to become a member of the Texas House of Representatives. She lost that election, and another election two years later.
In nineteen sixty-six, she decided to seek a seat in the Texas Senate. She won. Barbara Jordan became the first black person to serve in the Texas Senate since eighteen eighty-three.
During her years as a Texas lawmaker, Miss Jordan proposed and helped pass legislation dealing with social change. She helped reform public assistance programs and protect workers' wages. She also opposed legislation that would have made it harder for blacks and Latin Americans to vote.
After eight years in the Texas Senate, Miss Jordan campaigned for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. She won easily. She was the first woman and first black to be elected to Congress to represent Texas.
In Congress, Miss Jordan spoke for the poor, for women, for African-Americans and Latin Americans. She believed strongly, however, in being loyal to her state and her political party. She considered the interests of the people of Texas before those of any other group.
In nineteen seventy-four, Congresswoman Jordan was a member of the House Judiciary committee. The committee was investigating evidence of wrongdoing by then President Richard Nixon. The Congressional hearings into the situation known as Watergate were broadcast on national television.
During the Watergate hearings, Miss Jordan declared her strong belief in the United States Constitution. She denounced President Nixon for violating it. She is remembered still for her commanding presentation at the hearing and deep knowledge of constitutional issues. The Watergate hearings that led to President Nixon's resignation made Barbara Jordan known around the nation.
Following the Watergate hearings, Barbara Jordan went on to other firsts. In nineteen seventy-six, she was asked to speak at the Democratic National Convention which nominated Jimmy Carter. Miss Jordan was the first black woman to give an opening speech at the Democratic Convention. She said members of the Democratic Party believe that the people are the basis of all governmental power. Democrats believe, she continued, that the power of the people is to be extended, not restricted. In her speech, Miss Jordan also urged Americans to work for the common good:
BARBARA JORDAN:"Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private wants, to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups, each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?"
The fact she was black and a woman did not seem to slow Barbara Jordan's rise. Her future seemed limitless. Then, in nineteen seventy-seven, Miss Jordan suddenly announced she was retiring from Congress and returning to Texas. She later said she felt she was not making enough difference.
BARBARA JORDAN:"If I felt that I could have been increasingly effective in that job, I suppose I would have continued to do it. But politics is (takes) a long, long time to make any significant, long-lasting difference."
After returning to Texas, Barbara Jordan began teaching about political values at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. Her two classes were so popular, students had to be chosen from a long list.
At the time that Miss Jordan left Congress, there were widespread reports that failing health was the cause for her decision. Later, it was announced that she had the disease called multiple sclerosis that affects the muscles. She had to move about in a wheelchair. But, she said, the disease did not lessen her thinking or the quality of her mind. Nor did it affect her ability to speak.
In the years after she retired from Congress, Miss Jordan made two more appearances at Democratic National Conventions. She announced her support for the vice-presidential nomination of Lloyd Bentsen at the nineteen eighty-eight convention in Atlanta. She spoke from a wheelchair. Her powerful voice was heard once again at the nineteen ninety-two Democratic convention, which nominated Bill Clinton for president. In her speech, she called for national unity:
BARBARA JORDAN:"We are one, we Americans, we're one, and we reject any intruder who seeks to divide us on the basis of race and color. We honor cultural identity--we always have, we always will. But, separatism is not allowed (applause)--separatism is not the American way. We must not allow ideas like political correctness to divide us and cause us to reverse hard-won achievements in human rights and civil rights."
Barbara Jordan considered herself a teacher first, above all else. By her example, she taught all Americans about the importance of one's beliefs and the power of truth. She developed pneumonia caused by the blood cancer, leukemia, and died January eighteenth, nineteen ninety-six. She was fifty-nine.
Barbara Jordan was buried wearing the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is the highest non-military honor given to Americans. President Clinton presented it to her in nineteen ninety-four. At the funeral ceremony, former Texas Governor Ann Richards said: "There was simply something about her that made you proud to be part of the country that produced her."
重点解析
1.make a difference有影响
He says he hopes his vote can make a difference for average people, so they can at least have basic education and health care.
他说，他希望他投下的一票能够为普通老百姓产生影响，使得他们至少得到基本的教育与医疗。
2.seek to寻求
The president again sought to link the war with security at home.
总统再次试图将这个战争与国内安全联系在一起。
3.heard of听说
You might never have heard of them, but people in the know certainly have.
您也许还未听说过它们，但是那些追求时尚的人肯定听说过。
4.interested in有兴趣
If you are more interested in history, you can go to Kamakura, one of the old shogunate capitals, which is only an hour away from Tokyo by train.
如果你对历史更感兴趣，你还可以去镰仓──古幕府时代的首都之一，从东京搭火车到那儿大约只需要一个钟头。
5.speak for代表…讲话
As in most EU meetings, the ministers all speak for the same lobby, in this case the fishermen.
在大多数欧盟委员会上，执行者全都是为同样的游说团体说话，在本例中是为渔民说话。
6.on the basis of基于…
We will be dealing with each one of them on the basis of what information they have.
他说：“我们将根据他们所掌握的情报信息来一个个地进行处置。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩伯，我是萨拉·朗，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述改变人们生活的一位女性，芭芭拉·乔丹的故事。
芭芭拉·乔丹是一名律师，教育家，也是国会的议员。芭芭拉·乔丹以她强有力的、有思想的演讲而闻名。芭芭拉·乔丹在她漫长的政治生涯中致力于社会变革。她试图利用自己的政治影响力为所有美国人带来改变。
芭芭拉·乔丹是第一位代表德克萨斯州当选美国国会议员的非洲裔美国妇女。1974年，她作为调查理查德·尼克松总统的国会委员会成员获得了全国的认可。
芭芭拉·沙尔琳·乔丹于1936年出生在德克萨斯州南部城市休斯顿。芭芭拉是三个女儿中最小的一个。她的父亲是浸礼会牧师。父亲教会了她对家庭、信仰、音乐和语言的爱。在儿童时代，芭芭拉的父母就督促她取得成功。
芭芭拉·乔丹说她的父母会因自己说了不正确的英语而批评自己。他们敦促她成为一名音乐教师，因为他们说那是当时黑人妇女唯一能获得的好工作。
芭芭拉的姐姐们成了音乐教师。芭芭拉·乔丹后来解释说，她想要与众不同。起初，她想成为一名药剂师，一名药剂专业的科学家。但是，她注意到，她从来没有听说过重要的药剂师。
高中时，芭芭拉听到一位黑人女律师的演讲。乔丹小姐决定成为一名律师。她就读于休斯顿的德克萨斯南方大学，一所全是黑人的学院。她领导着一支冠军级辩论队，并因她的演讲技巧而出名。她在班上名列前茅。
然后她进入了马萨诸塞州波士顿的波士顿大学法学院。乔丹小姐从法学院毕业后回到了德克萨斯州。她开始从事律师的职业。她还发现自己对政治感兴趣。她的兴趣始于她在总统竞选中提供的帮助。她努力帮助民主党总统候选人约翰·肯尼迪在1960年当选。
不久，乔丹小姐决定成为一名政治家。她第一次竞选公职是在1962年。她想成为德克萨斯州众议院的一员。她在那次选举中失败了，两年后又输了一次。
在1966年，乔丹小姐决定在德克萨斯州参议院寻求一个席位。这次她赢了。芭芭拉·乔丹成为自1883年以来第一位在德克萨斯州参议院任职的黑人。
在担任德克萨斯州议员期间，乔丹提出并帮助通过了有关社会变革的立法。她帮助改革公共援助项目，保护工人的工资。她还反对让黑人和拉丁美洲人更难投票的立法。
在德克萨斯州参议院工作了八年之后，乔丹小姐竞选美国众议院的一个席位。她轻松取胜。她是第一位代表德克萨斯州当选国会议员的女性和黑人。
在国会，乔丹女士为穷人、妇女、非裔美国人和拉丁美洲人说话。然而，她坚信自己忠于自己的德克萨斯州和政党。她把德州人民的利益看得比其他任何团体都重要。
1974年，女众议员乔丹成为众议院司法委员会的成员。该委员会正在调查时任总统理查德·尼克松违法行为的证据。国会关于水门事件的听证会在国家电视台播出。
在水门事件听证会上，乔丹小姐声明她对美国宪法有坚定的信念。她谴责尼克松总统违反了宪法。人们至今仍记得她在听证会上威严的演讲和对宪法问题的深刻了解。导致尼克松总统辞职的水门事件听证会使芭芭拉·乔丹闻名全国。
水门事件听证会之后，芭芭拉·乔丹又创造了其他第一。1976年，她被邀请在提名吉米·卡特的民主党全国代表大会上发言。乔丹小姐是第一位在民主党全国代表大会上致开幕词的黑人女性。她说，民主党成员相信，人民是一切政府权力的基础。她接着说，民主党人认为，人民的权力应该得到扩大，而不是受到限制。在演讲中，乔丹小姐还敦促美国人为共同利益而努力：
芭芭拉·乔丹：“有很多人都在惧怕未来，很多人都不相信他们的领导，而且认为他们的声音从不被听到。很多人都在满足他们个人的需求，满足他们个人的利益。但是，这就是美国面临的最大的危险，那就是我们将不再是一个国家，而是一个利益集团的集合，每个集团都在寻求满足个人需求。如果发生这种情况，那么谁将代表美国说话呢?那么谁来为公共利益说话呢？”
芭芭拉·乔丹是黑人，又是女性，但这一事实似乎并没有阻碍她的崛起。她的前途似乎是无限的。然后，在1977年，乔丹小姐突然宣布她将从国会退休，回到德克萨斯州。她后来说，她觉得自己没有带来足够的改变。
芭芭拉·乔丹：“如果我觉得我可以在那份工作上更有效率，我想我会继续做下去。但是政治工作是需要很长很长的时间才能产生重大而持久的影响的工作。”
回到德克萨斯后，芭芭拉·乔丹开始在奥斯汀的德克萨斯大学林登·B·约翰逊公共事务学院教授政治价值观。她的两门课很受欢迎，她不得不从一长串名单中挑选学生。
当乔丹小姐离开国会时，有很多的报道说她是由于健康状况不佳而做的这个决定。后来，人们发现她患有一种影响肌肉的多发性硬化症。乔丹小姐不得不借助轮椅活动。但是，她说这种疾病并没有降低她的思考能力和思维质量，也没有影响她说话的能力。
在她从国会退休后的几年里，乔丹小姐又两次出现在民主党全国代表大会上。她在亚特兰大的1988年大会上宣布支持劳埃德·本特森的副总统提名。她坐在轮椅上讲话。1992年民主党大会上，人们再次听到她强有力的声音，这次大会提名比尔·克林顿为总统。在她的演讲中，她呼吁了国民团结：
芭芭拉·乔丹：“我们美国人是一个整体，我们抵制任何试图以种族和肤色来分裂我们的入侵者。我们尊重文化认同——我们一直都是，也将永远是。但是，分裂主义是不允许的(掌声)——分裂主义不是美国的方式。我们决不能让政治正确这样的思想分裂我们，使我们在人权和公民权利方面取得的来之不易的成就中倒退。”在其他身份之前，芭芭拉·乔丹首先认为自己是一名教师。
芭芭拉以自己为例子，教导所有美国人信仰的重要性和真理的力量。芭芭拉患上了白血病导致的肺炎，并于1996年1月18日去世。享年59岁。
芭芭拉·乔丹下葬时佩戴着总统自由勋章。这是授予美国人的最高的非军事荣誉。克林顿总统在1994年授予芭芭拉·乔丹总统自由勋章。在芭芭拉·乔丹的葬礼上，前德克萨斯州州长安·理查兹说道：“她身上就是有一种东西，这个东西让你为自己是这个国家的一部分而感到骄傲。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
