(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Mary Tillotson. And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about writer Zora Neale Hurston. She was one of the most recognized black women writers. She wrote seven books and more than one hundred short stories, plays and articles for magazines.
Zora Neale Hurston was born in eighteen ninety-one in Notasulga, Alabama. A short time later, her family moved to Eatonville, a small town in central Florida. All of the people of Eatonville were African-American. The town shaped Hurston's life and her writing. As a child, she would listen closely to the stories told by the adults in the town. Several of her books take place in communities very similar to Eatonville. The people she wrote about in her books are very similar to people she knew there.
Zora was born at a time of racial tensions between blacks and whites in the southern United States. But she never felt angry about being black. In her stories, she described Eatonville as a place where black Americans could live as they pleased.
Zora Neale Hurston was known for her ability to tell a story. Storytelling is an important part of many cultural traditions. African-American storytelling is a strong family tradition that dates back hundreds of years. It is a way for people to establish their identities in often unfriendly areas as they struggle to hold their communities together.
Zora Neale Hurston was the fifth of eight children. Zora's mother was a schoolteacher. Her father was a builder and a church preacher. He also became the mayor of Eatonville. Zora's mother died in nineteen-oh-four, when Zora was thirteen years old. Her mother's death severely affected Zora's life. She was rejected by her father and his second wife. Zora was forced to take care of herself.
She left Eatonville and moved north when she was fourteen years old. She worked for a traveling theater company. She also worked as a maid, cleaning the homes of white people. One of her employers recognized Zora's abilities. She made it possible for her to attend high school in Baltimore, Maryland.
Zora was twenty-six years old when she began high school. But she said she was only sixteen. Throughout her life, she often said she was younger than she really was.
In nineteen eighteen, Zora Neale Hurston attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. She studied with Alain Locke. He was a professor of philosophy and an expert on black culture. She earned money by working as a maid and doing other work.
Hurston published her first short stories at Howard University. Her stories were about black folklore and life in Eatonville. She won prizes for her writings that were published in newspapers and magazines. The early nineteen twenties marked the beginning of Zora Neale Hurston's life as a writer.
In nineteen twenty-five, Hurston traveled to New York City. This was during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Harlem is a famous area in New York. The Harlem Renaissance was a period in which black artists explored their culture and showed pride in their race. This was expressed in literature, music and other art forms. Hurston and her stories about Eatonville became important during the Harlem Renaissance. She met other young black writers of the time, such as poet Langston Hughes.
Hurston became the first black student to attend Barnard College in New York. She studied with anthropologist Franz Boas. She became interested in anthropology -- the study of the origin, development and actions of humans. Boas recognized Hurston's storytelling ability and deep interest in the black culture of the South. He urged her to do more research there.
Hurston received financial support for most of her research from a wealthy woman in New York named Charlotte Osgood Mason. During the next several years, Hurston traveled in Florida and the Caribbean to collect and write stories about what she saw. She learned about the traditions of the people she met. She spoke with men and women, young and old, collecting their stories in their own words. She wanted to keep the language exactly as they told it. Many of the stories were like those she had heard as a child.
In nineteen thirty-six, Hurston traveled to Jamaica and Haiti with a financial award from the Guggenheim Foundation. The Caribbean people accepted her as one of them. They spoke with her freely, even about religious traditions. In Haiti, she learned a great deal about the voodoo religion.
Hurston published two important collections of stories based on her research. They were "Mules and Men" and "Tell My Horse." Both examined the voodoo religion.
Zora Neale Hurston published her first book, "Jonah's Gourd Vine," in nineteen thirty-four. The story takes place in a small Florida town. It is about two people similar to her parents. Her second book, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," was published three years later. It is widely considered her most important work. She wrote the book in seven weeks while she was traveling in Haiti. It is the story of a black woman's search for happiness and her true identity, during twenty-five years and three marriages.
In nineteen forty-two, Hurston published a story about her own life, called "Dust Tracks on a Road." But the book was widely criticized. Literary experts said it was full of false information. Others said it added to the mystery surrounding the writer.
Hurston's last two novels were the biblical story "Moses, Man of the Mountain" and "Seraph on the Suwanee." This was the only book she wrote about white people.
Zora Neale Hurston's stories were about the pain-filled and sometimes magical world that surrounded blacks in the South. The stories tell about faith, love, family, slavery, race and community. They also include humor. Hurston was well known for her writing. She also became known for her outspoken opinions, her clothing and the great pride she had in herself and her race.
She was married three times. But she found it impossible to settle down. Her husbands usually expected her to give up her writing. But she said that was the one thing she could not do.
Hurston received praise for her work by both blacks and whites. But not everyone enjoyed her work. Some of the writers of the Harlem Renaissance criticized her for writing about black culture instead of relations between the races. Many blacks also rejected Hurston's political ideas and her support for racial separation laws in the South.
Hurston, however, made no apologies for her work. She said the richness of black culture existed to be enjoyed, celebrated and made into literature.
During the late nineteen forties, she began to publish less and less. She was arrested and charged with sexual wrongdoing with a ten-year-old boy. The charges were later dropped, but the event affected her work and her life.
In nineteen fifty, Hurston returned to Florida. Although her work was quite popular, she was unable to make a living with her writing. In her later years, she worked as a teacher, a librarian and as maid. In nineteen fifty-nine, Hurston suffered a stroke and entered a nursing home in Fort Pierce, Florida. She died there a year later and was buried in an unmarked grave.
Today, Zora Neale Hurston has not been forgotten. She influenced other African-American female writers, including Alice Walker. Because of Walker's efforts, Hurston's work was rediscovered in the nineteen seventies. During the nineteen nineties, her book "Their Eyes Were Watching God" sold more than one million copies. Many young people in American schools are reading the book. In addition, two of Hurston's plays have been produced. New books have been written about her. And her work and life are the subject of many studies, conferences and festivals.
In nineteen seventy-three, Alice Walker placed a marker in Fort Pierce, Florida, where Hurston is believed to be buried. The stone reads, "Zora Neale Hurston, A Genius of the South."
重点解析
1.similar to和...相似
You should end up with something similar to what I have below.
操作结束后，你应该会得到与下图相似的结果。
2.date back追溯到
The issue is not a new one. It dates back to the 1930s at least.
这杂志不是新的，它至少可以追溯到20世纪30年代。
3.make it possible使...成为可能
Cellphones, or mobile phones, make it possible for us to talk to anyone.
手机，或者说移动式电话机，使得我们在任何地方与任何人通话。
4.full of充满
I dont like the pattern full of curves and angels.
我不喜欢这种满是曲线和尖角的图案。
5.settle down定居；安定下来
I want to settle down soon and have a happy family of my own.
我想要很快安定下来而且有我自己的一个快乐的家庭。
6.make a living谋生
Education should teach us how to live, not to make a living.
教育应该教会我们如何生活，而不是教我们谋生的手段。
参考译文
我是玛丽·蒂洛森，我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述作家佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿的故事。她是最著名的黑人女作家之一。她写了七本书，还为杂志写了超过100篇短篇小说、戏剧和文章。
佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿于1891年出生在阿拉巴马州的诺塔苏尔加。不久之后，她全家搬到了佛罗里达州中部的小镇伊顿维尔。伊顿维尔的所有人都是非裔美国人。这座城市塑造了赫斯顿的生活和写作。小时候，她会仔细听镇上大人们讲的故事。她的几本书发生在与伊顿维尔非常相似的社区。她在书中描写的人物与她在那里认识的人非常相似。
佐拉出生在美国南方黑人和白人种族关系紧张的时期。但是她从未因作为一个黑人感到愤怒。在她的故事中，她把伊顿维尔描述成一个美国黑人可以随心所欲生活的地方。
佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿以她讲故事的能力而闻名。讲故事是很多文化传统中重要的一部分。非裔美国人讲故事是一个很强大的可以追溯到几百年前的传统。讲故事是通常在不友好的社区的人们建立身份的一种方式。他们努力使他们的社区团结起来。
佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿是八个孩子中的老五。佐拉的母亲是一名教师。她的父亲是一名建筑工人和教堂牧师。他还成为伊顿维尔的市长。佐拉的母亲于1904年去世，那时佐拉才13岁。她母亲的死严重影响了佐拉的生活。她被她的父亲和他的第二任妻子遗弃了。佐拉被迫照顾自己。
她14岁时离开伊顿维尔搬到了北方。她在一家巡回剧团工作。她还做过女佣，为白人打扫房子。她的一位雇主认识到了佐拉的能力。她使佐拉在马里兰州巴尔的摩市上高中成为可能。
佐拉上高中时已经26岁了。但是她说自己只有16岁。在她的一生中，她经常说比实际年龄更小的岁数。
1918年，佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿就读于华盛顿特区的霍华德大学，师从阿兰·洛克。他是一名哲学教授和黑人文化的专家。她通过做女佣和其他工作挣钱。
赫斯顿在霍华德大学发表了她的第一篇短篇小说。她写的是关于黑人民间传说和伊顿维尔的生活的故事。她凭借自己发表在报纸和杂志上的作品获奖。20世纪20年代初，佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿开始了她的作家生涯。
1925年，赫斯顿去纽约旅行。那是在哈莱姆文艺复兴时期。哈莱姆是纽约一个著名的地区。在哈莱姆文艺复兴时期，黑人艺术家探索自己的文化，并以自己的种族为荣。这表现在文学、音乐和其他艺术形式上。赫斯顿和她关于伊顿维尔的故事在哈莱姆文艺复兴时期变得很重要。她遇到了当时其他年轻的黑人作家，比如诗人兰斯顿·休斯。
赫斯顿成为纽约巴纳德学院的第一位黑人学生。她和人类学家弗朗茨·博阿斯一起研究。她对人类学产生了兴趣，这是关于人类的起源、发展和行为的学科。博阿斯认识到赫斯顿的讲故事的能力和她对男方黑人文化的浓厚兴趣。他敦促赫斯顿去那里做更多的研究。
赫斯顿的大部分研究都得到了纽约一位名叫夏洛特·奥斯古德·梅森的富有女性的资助。在接下来的几年里，赫斯顿游历了佛罗里达州和加勒比海地区，收集并撰写她所看到的故事。她了解了她遇到人们的传统。她和男女老少交谈，从他们的话语中收集他们的故事。她想要使文字和他们讲述的语言完全一样。许多故事都像她小时候听过的那样。
1936年，赫斯顿在古根海姆基金会的资助下前往牙买加和海地。加勒比人民接受她为他们中的一员。他们和赫斯顿畅所欲言，甚至会谈到宗教传统。在海地，她学到了很多关于伏都教的知识。
赫斯顿基于自己的研究出版了两个重要的故事合集。它们分别是《骡子与人》，《告诉我的马》。两本书都研究了伏都教。
佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿于1934年出版了她的第一本书《乔纳的葫芦蔓》故事发生在佛罗里达州的一个小镇上。是关于两个和她父母相似的人。她的第二本书《凝望上帝》于三年后出版。人们普遍认为这是她最重要的作品。她用了七周的时间写成了这本书，当时她正在海底旅行。它讲述了一个黑人女性在25年的婚姻生活中寻找幸福和真实身份的故事。
1942年，赫斯顿发表了一个关于她自己生活的故事，故事名为《公路上尘土飞扬》。但是这本书遭到了广泛的批评。文学专家称这本书中全是虚假的信息。其他人称，它增加了赫斯顿的神秘感。
赫斯顿的最后两部小说是圣经故事《摩西，山人》和《苏瓦尼河上的天使》。这是她写的唯一一本关于白人的书。佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿讲述的是关于南方黑人充满疼痛、有时美妙的世界的故事。这些故事讲述了信念，爱，家庭，奴隶制，种族和社区。故事还包括幽默。赫斯顿以她的写作著称。她也因她直言不讳的观点、她的着装、她对自己和自己种族感到的极自豪而闻名。
她结了三次婚。但是她发现自己不可能安定下来。她的丈夫经常期待她放弃写作。但是她说写作是她唯一不能放弃的东西。
赫斯顿因她的作品受到了黑人和白人的赞赏。但是，不是每个人都喜欢她的作品。哈莱姆文艺复兴时期的一些作家批评她写的是黑人文化，而不是种族之间的关系。很多黑人也排斥赫斯顿的政治观点和她对男方种族隔离法的支持。
然而，赫斯顿并没有为她的作品道歉。她表示，黑人文化的丰饶应被享受、庆祝、写进文学。
20世纪40年代末期，她出版的作品越来越少。她被逮捕了，并被控与一名10岁男孩有不当性行为。指控后来被撤掉了，但是这个事件影响了她的工作和生活。
1950年，赫斯顿回到了佛罗里达州。尽管她的作品非常受欢迎，但是她不能凭此谋生。晚年的时候，她当过教师、图书管理员和女佣。1959年，赫斯顿中风后进入佛罗里达州皮尔斯堡的一家疗养院。一年后，她在那里去世，埋葬在一个没有标记的坟墓。
今天，佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿并未被人们忘记。她影响了包括爱丽丝·沃克在内的非裔美国女性作家。由于沃克的努力，赫斯顿的作品在20世纪70年代被重新发现。在20世纪90年代，她的书《凝望上帝》卖出了100多万册。许多美国学校的年轻人正在读这本书。此外，赫斯顿还创作了两部戏剧。关于她的新书已经出版了。她的工作和生活是很多研究、会议和节日的主题。
1973年，爱丽丝·沃克在佛罗里达州皮尔斯堡放置了一个标记，人们认为赫斯顿就葬在那里。石头上写着，“佐拉·尼尔·赫斯顿，南方的天才”。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
