(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
People in America, a program in Special English on the Voice of America. Every week we tell about a person who was important in the history of the United States. Today Shirley Griffith and Ray Freeman tell about reporter Ida Minerva Tarbell.
Ida Tarbell was one of the most successful magazine writers in the United States during the last century. She wrote important stories at a time when women had few social or political rights.
Ida Tarbell used her reporting skills against one of the most powerful companies in the world. That company was Standard Oil. Ida Tarbell charged that Standard Oil was using illegal methods to hurt or destroy smaller oil companies.
She investigated these illegal business dealings and wrote about them for a magazine called McClure's. The reports she wrote led to legal cases that continued all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Ida Tarbell was born in the eastern state of Pennsylvania in November, eighteen fifty-seven. Her family did not have much money. Her father worked hard but had not been very successful.
When Ida was three years old, oil was discovered in the nearby town of Titusville. Her father entered the oil business. He struggled as a small businessman to compete with the large oil companies.
Ida's mother had been a school teacher. She made sure that Ida attended school. She also helped the young girl learn her school work.
Ida wanted to study science at college. Most people at that time thought it was not important for young women to learn anything more than to read and write. Most people thought educating women was a waste of money.
Ida's parents, however, believed education was important -- even for women. They sent her to Allegheny College in nearby Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was nineteen.
Those who knew Ida Tarbell in college say she would wake up at four o'clock in the morning to study. She was never happy with her school work until she thought it was perfect. In eighteen eighty, Ida finished college. In August of that year, she got a teaching job in Poland, Ohio. It paid five hundred dollars a year.
Miss Tarbell learned that she was expected to teach subjects about which she knew nothing. She was able to do so by reading the school books before the students did. She was a successful teacher, but the work, she decided, was too difficult for the amount she was paid. So she returned home after one year. A small newspaper in the town of Meadville soon offered her a job.
Many years later, Ida Tarbell said she had never considered being a writer. She took the job with the newspaper only because she needed the money. At first, she worked only a few hours each week.
Later, however, she was working sixteen hours a day. She discovered that she loved to see things she had written printed in the paper. She worked very hard at becoming a good writer.
Miss Tarbell enjoyed working for the newspaper. She discovered, though, that she was interested in stories that were too long for the paper to print. She also wanted to study in France. To earn money while in Paris, she decided she would write for American magazines.
Ida Tarbell found it difficult to live in Paris without much money. She also found it difficult to sell her work to magazines. The magazines were in the United States. She was in Paris. Some of her stories were never used because it took too long for them to reach the magazine. Yet she continued to write.
Several magazines soon learned that she was a serious writer.
A man named Samuel McClure visited Miss Tarbell in Paris. He owned a magazine named McClure's. Mister McClure had read several of her stories. He wanted her to return to the United States and work for his magazine. She immediately understood that this was a very good offer. But she said no. She proposed that she write for McClure's from Paris.
Ida Tarbell wrote many stories for McClure's. She did this for some time before returning to the United States. Her writing was very popular. She helped make McClure's one of the most successful magazines of its day.
One of her first jobs for the magazine was a series of stories about the life of the French Emperor Napoleon. The series was printed in McClure's Magazine in eighteen ninety-four. It was an immediate success. The series was later printed as a book. It was very popular for a number of years.
Her next project was a series about the life of American President Abraham Lincoln. She began her research by talking with people who had known him. She used nothing they told her, however, unless she could prove it was true to the best of her ability.
McClure's Magazine wanted a short series about President Lincoln. But Ida Tarbell's series lasted for one year in the magazine. Like her series about Napoleon, the President Lincoln stories were immediately popular. They helped sell more magazines. She continued her research about President Lincoln.
Through the years, she would write eight books about President Lincoln.
Miss Tarbell's reports about the Standard Oil Company are considered more important than any of her other writings. Her nineteen-part series was called The History of the Standard Oil Company. McClure's Magazine published it beginning in nineteen-oh-two.
Her reports showed that Standard Oil used illegal methods to make other companies lose business. One method was to sell oil in one area of the country for much less than the oil was worth.
This caused smaller companies in that area to fail. They could not sell their oil for that low a price and still make a profit. After a company failed, Standard Oil would then increase the price of its oil. This kind of unfair competition was illegal.
Miss Tarbell had trouble discovering information about the Standard Oil Company. She tried to talk to businessmen who worked in the oil business. At first, few would agree to talk.
They were afraid of the Standard Oil Company and its owner, John D. Rockefeller. He was one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.
Miss Tarbell kept seeking information. She was told by one man that Rockefeller would try to destroy McClure's Magazine. But she did not listen to the threats. She soon found evidence that Standard Oil had been using unfair and illegal methods to destroy other oil companies. Soon many people were helping her find the evidence she needed.
Ida Tarbell's investigations into Standard Oil were partly responsible for later legal action by the federal government against the company. The case began in nineteen-oh-six. In nineteen eleven, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Standard Oil because of its illegal dealings. The decision was a major one. It forced the huge company to separate into thirty-six different companies.
John D. Rockefeller never had to appear in court himself. Yet the public felt he was responsible for his company's illegal actions. The investigative work of Ida Tarbell helped form that public opinion. That investigative work continues to be what she is known for, even though some of her later writings defended American business. She died in nineteen forty-four.
A picture has survived from the long ago days when Ida Tarbell took on the giant Standard Oil Company. It shows John D. Rockefeller walking to his car. It was taken after his company had lost an important court battle. He is wearing a tall black hat and a long coat. He looks angry.
Several people are watching the famous man from behind the car. One is a very tall women. Mister Rockefeller does not see her.
If you look closely at the picture, you can see the face of Ida Tarbell. She is smiling. If you know the story, her smile clearly says: "I won."
重点解析
1.lead to导致
Their disagreements lead to violence on the streets of Gaza.
他们的分歧导致了加沙街头的暴力活动。
2.compete with与...竞争
This is one of the reasons why we cannot compete with joint ventures.
这就是为什么不能与合资企业竞争的原因之一。
3.Make sure确信
Make sure that you capture the answers to these questions from them.
确保一定要从他们那里找到这些问题的答案。
4.be responsible for为...负责
As director of the project, I am responsible for the failure.
作为这个项目的负责人，我要为它的失败负责。
5.listen to听从；聆听
Before we make any decision, we should listen to what the others say.
我们在做出任何决定之前，应该听一听其他人的意见。
6.make a profit获利
When it goes up, a person may sell it and make a profit.
一旦价格上扬，持有者就可以把它们卖出以获利。
参考译文
这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。每周我们都会讲述一名美国历史上重要的人物的故事。今天，雪莉·格里菲斯和雷·弗里曼讲述艾达·密涅瓦·塔贝尔的故事。
艾达·塔贝尔是上个世纪美国最成功的杂志作家之一。在妇女有很少的社会和政治权利的时代，艾达写作了重要的故事。
艾达·塔贝尔用她的报道技巧来对付世界上最强大的公司之一。这家公司就是标准石油公司。艾达·塔贝尔指控标准石油公司使用非法手段伤害或摧毁小型石油公司。
她调查了这些非法的商业运作，并在麦克卢尔杂志发表了调查的发现。她写的报告导致了法律案件，这些案件一直持续到美国最高法院。
艾达·塔贝尔于1857年11月出生于美国东部宾夕法尼亚州。她的家庭没有多少钱。她的父亲工作努力，但是并不怎么成功。
在艾达三岁的时候，人们在在附近的泰特斯维尔镇发现了石油。她的父亲进入了石油工业。作为一个小商人，他艰难地与大型石油公司竞争。
艾达的母亲曾是一名学校老师。她确保艾达上了学。她也帮助这个年轻的女孩学习功课。
艾达想在大学学习科学。当时大多数人认为，对年轻女性来说，学习什么都不重要，只需要学习阅读和写作。大多数人觉得教育女性就是浪费金钱。
但是艾达的父母相信教育是重要的，即使是对女性来说。他们把她送进了附近的宾夕法尼亚州米德维尔的阿勒格尼学院。当时她19岁。
那些在大学里认识艾达·塔贝尔的人说，她会在早上4点起床学习。直到她认为她的学业很完美，她才对它感到满意。1880年，艾达大学毕业。那年8月，她在俄亥俄州的波兰找到了一份教书的工作。它每年支付五百美元。
塔贝尔小姐发现，她要教授学生自己一无所知的科目。她之所以能做到这一点，是因为她比学生们先读了学校的课本。她是一名成功的教师，但她觉得这份工作对她的薪水来说太难了。所以他回到了家里。很快，米德维尔镇的一家小报社给她提供了一份工作。
多年以后，艾达·塔贝尔表示，她从未想过成为一名作家。她接受报社的工作仅仅是因为她需要钱。起初，她每周只工作几小时。
但是，后来，她每天工作16个小时。她发现自己很喜欢看到自己的作品刊登到报纸上。她非常努力地想成为一名优秀的作家。
塔贝尔小姐喜欢为报社工作。但是，她发现，她发现她对那些篇幅很长、报纸无法刊登的故事很感兴趣。她也想去法国学习法语。
为了在巴黎挣钱，她决定她要为美国杂志写作。艾达·塔贝尔发现没有很多钱很难生活在巴黎。她也发现将她的作品卖给杂志很难。杂志在美国，而她在巴黎。她的一些故事从未被被刊登，因为它们花了太长时间才到达杂志社。然而她继续写作。
几家杂志社很快发现她是一名严肃的作家。
一位名叫塞缪尔·麦克卢尔的人在巴黎拜访了塔贝尔小姐。他是麦克卢尔杂志的老板。
麦克卢尔先生读了一些她的故事。他想让艾达回到纽约，为他的杂志工作。她立即明白这是一个很好的工作邀请。但是她拒绝了。她建议在巴黎为麦克卢尔杂志工作。
艾达·塔贝尔为麦克卢尔杂志写作了很多故事。她的作品非常受欢迎。她帮助麦克卢尔杂志称为当时最成功的杂志之一。
她为杂志做的第一份工作就是写一系列关于法国皇帝拿破仑的故事。这个系列于1894年刊登在麦克卢尔杂志。这些故事立即取得了成功。这个系列后来被打印成书。在很多年里它都非常成功。
艾达的下一个项目是写作美国总统亚伯拉罕·林肯的生活的系列故事。她通过和认识林肯总统的人交谈开始了自己的研究。但是，她没有使用他们说的任何内容。除非她能证明它是对的。
麦克卢的杂志想要一个关于林肯总统的短篇系列。但是艾达·塔贝尔的系列在杂志上持续了一年。就像她写作的关于拿破仑的故事，关于林肯总统的故事立即获得了成功。这些故事帮助提高了杂志的销量。她继续着关于林肯总统的研究。
多年来，她写了八本关于林肯总统的故事。
塔尔贝尔小姐关于标准石油公司的报告被认为比她的任何其他著作都重要。她的19部作品名为《标准石油公司的历史》。麦克卢尔的杂志从1902年开始出版。
她的报道显示了标准石油公司以非法的方式使其它公司失去生意。一个方法是，在全国的一个区域以远低于石油价值的价格销售石油。
这导致了那个区域的小公司破产。他们不能以那么低的价格销售石油盈利。一家公司破产后，标准石油公司就会提升它的石油的价格。这种不公平的竞争是非法的。
塔贝尔很难找到有关标准石油公司的信息。她尝试和在石油行业工作的商人交谈。起初，很少有人同意。
他们害怕标准石油公司及其所有者，约翰·D·洛克菲勒。他是世界上最富有和最有权势的人之一。
塔贝尔小姐继续在寻找信息。一个人告诉艾达，洛克菲勒会摧毁麦克卢尔的杂志。但是她没有理会这些威胁。很快，她就发现标准石油公司一直在以不公平和非法的方式摧毁其它石油公司的证据。很快，很多人都帮助她发现她需要的证据。
后来联邦政府对标准石油公司采取的法律诉讼部分上是因为艾达·塔贝尔对这个公司的调查。这个案件开始于1906年。1911年，由于标准石油公司的非法交易，美国最高法院做出了不利于该公司的裁决。这是个很重大的决定。该决定迫使这个巨大的公司分为36个小公司。
约翰·D·洛克菲勒从没有现身法庭。然而，公众觉得他应为公司的非法行动负责。艾达·塔贝尔的调查帮助形成了这种公众舆论。尽管她的一些晚期作品为美国企业进行了辩护，但她仍然因自己的调查工作而闻名。她于1944年去世。
一张很久以前的照片被保存了下来，那是艾达·塔贝尔与石油巨头标准石油公司较量的时候拍下的。照片显示了约翰·D·洛克菲勒走向他的汽车。这是在洛克菲勒的公司输掉一场重要的官司后拍下的。他戴着一顶高高的黑帽子，穿着一件长大衣。他看上去很生气。
一些人在车后面看着这位有名的人。其中一个是一个非常高的女子。洛克菲勒没有看到她。
如果你仔细看这张照片，你会看到艾达·塔贝尔的脸。她在微笑。如果你知道这个故事，她的微笑明显是在说：“我赢了。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
