(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.take place发生
Elections were postponed the day before polling was due to take place.
在预定进行投票的前一天选举被延期。
2.similar to相似
Let us suppose another planet with conditions similar to those on the earth.
让我们假定另外有一个具有和地球上相似条件的行星。
3.based on基于
The selection process is based on rigorous tests of competence and experience.
选拔过程是基于对能力和经验的严格测试。
4.full of充满
The patient must re-enter a world full of problems and stresses.
患者必须再次进入充满问题和压力的世界。
5.settle down安顿下来
One day I'll want to settle down and have a family...
总有一天，我会想安定下来，成个家。
6.instead of代替；而不是
We did the logo in lower-case letters instead of capitals.
我们的徽标用了小写字母，没用大写。
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》。今天我们讲述作家卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿的故事。她是最受尊敬的黑人女作家之一。她创作了七本书还有为杂志创作超过一百篇短篇小说、戏剧和文章。
卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿于1891年出生在阿拉巴马州的诺塔苏加。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。这个小镇塑造了赫斯顿的生活和写作。当卓拉还是个孩子的时候，她会仔细听镇上大人们讲的故事。她的几本书都发生在与伊顿维尔非常相似的地方。她在书中写到的人物和自己在那里认识的人非常相似。
卓拉出生在美国南部黑人和白人种族关系紧张的时期。但是她从来没有因自己是黑人而感到愤怒。在她的故事里，她说伊顿维尔是美国黑人可以随心所欲生活的地方。
卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿以善于讲故事而闻名。讲故事是许多文化传统的重要组成部分。非裔美国人讲故事是一个可追溯几百年的强大的家族传统。在经常不友好的地域，它是一个人们在努力将社区团结在一起时建立他们的身份的方式，
卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿在八个孩子中排行第五。卓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。他还成为了伊顿维尔的市长。卓拉的母亲死于1904年，当时卓拉13岁。她母亲的去世严重影响了卓拉的生活。她被父亲和他的第二任妻子抛弃。卓拉被迫照顾自己。
卓拉14岁时离开伊顿维尔，搬到了北方。她在一家巡回剧团工作。她也作为一个女佣工作，为白人清洁房屋。卓拉的一个雇主发现了她的能力。她帮助卓拉上了马里兰州巴尔的摩市的高中。
卓拉开始上高中时只有26岁。但是她说自己只有16岁。在她的一生中，她经常把自己说的更年轻。
1918年，卓拉·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。他是一位哲学教授和黑人文化专家。她做女佣和其他工作赚钱。
赫斯顿在霍华德大学出版了自己的首部短篇小说。她的故事讲述了黑人民间传说和伊顿维尔的生活。她凭借自己在报纸和杂志上发表的作品获奖。20世纪20年代标志着卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿作为作家生活的开始。1925年，赫斯顿去了纽约。那时处于哈莱姆文艺复兴时期。哈莱姆是纽约的一个有名的区。哈莱姆文艺复兴时期是黑人艺术家探索他们的文化和展示他们的自豪的时期。这表现在文学、音乐和其它艺术形式上。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。她遇到了当时的其他黑人作家，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。她师从人类学家弗朗茨·博厄斯。她开始对人类学感兴趣-人类学是研究人类起源、发展和行为的学科。博厄斯发现了赫斯顿的讲故事的能力和她对男方黑人文化的浓厚的兴趣。他敦促赫斯顿去南方做更多的研究。
赫斯顿大多数研究的经济支持都来自纽约的一名名为夏洛特·奥斯古德·梅森的富裕女性。在接下来的几年时间里，赫斯顿在佛罗里达和加勒比海收集和写作关于自己看到的故事。她学习了她所遇到的人的传统。她与男女老少交谈，用他们自己的话收集他们的故事。她想保持他们所说的语言。许多故事和她小时候听到的故事很相似。
1936年，赫斯顿用古根海姆基金会的一笔奖金去了牙买加和海地。加勒比人把她当作他们中的一员。他们自由地与她交谈，甚至谈论宗教传统。在海地，她学到了很多关于伏都教的知识。
赫斯顿基于她的研究出版了两本重要的故事合集。这两本书分别名为《骡子与人》和《告诉我的马》。两本书都研究了伏都教。
1934年，卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿出版了她的第一本书《乔纳的葫芦蔓》。这个故事发生在佛罗里达的一个小镇。它讲述了和赫斯顿父母相似的两个人的故事。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。此书是她在海地期间用了七周的时间写作完成的。它讲述了一位黑人女性在25年的三段婚姻里寻找幸福和真的身份的故事。
1942年，赫斯顿出版了一本关于她自己生活的故事。该书名为《公路上尘土飞扬》。但是该书受到了广泛的批评。文学专家表示它充满了虚假信息。其他人表示它增加了环绕在作家身上的神秘。赫斯顿的最后两部小说是圣经故事《摩西，山人》和《苏瓦尼的天使》。这是她写的唯一一本关于白人的书。
卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿的小说讲述了南方黑人生活中充满痛苦、有时甚至是充满魔力的世界。这些故事讲述了信仰、爱、家庭、奴隶制、种族和社区。它们也包括幽默。赫斯顿以她的写作而闻名。她也以她直言不讳的意见、她的衣服和对自己与自己的种族感到极大的自豪而知名。她结过三次婚。但是她发现自己几乎不可能安顿下来。她的丈夫经常想让她放弃写作。但是她说写作是她唯一不能放弃的事情。
赫斯顿的工作得到了黑人和白人的赞扬。但并不是每个人都喜欢她的工作。有些哈莱姆文艺复兴的作家批评她写作了黑人文化而不是种族之间的关系。很多黑人也摒弃了赫斯顿的政治观点和她对南方种族隔离法的支持。
但是赫斯顿没有为自己的作品做过任何道歉。她说，黑人文化的丰富性存在是为了让人们享受、赞美和写进文学。
20世纪40年代末，她出版的作品越来越少。她被逮捕，并被指控与一名10岁的男孩有过性行为。后来指控被撤销，但这件事影响了她的工作和生活。1950年，赫斯顿回到了佛罗里达。尽管她的作品很受欢迎，但是她不能靠自己的写作维持生计。晚年时候，她做着老师、图书管理员和女佣的工作。1959年，赫斯顿赫斯顿中风后住进了佛罗里达州皮尔斯堡的一家疗养院。一年后，她在那里去世，被埋在一个没有标记的坟墓里。
今天，卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿没有被忘记。她影响着包括爱丽丝·沃克在内的其他的非裔美国女作家。经过沃克的努力，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》卖了超过一百万本。美国学校的很多年轻人都在读这本书。而且，赫斯顿的两个戏剧也已面世。人们写了很多关于她的新书。她的作品和生活是很多研究、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安放了一块墓碑，据说赫斯顿就葬在那里。墓碑上写着，“卓拉·尼尔·赫斯顿，南方的天才。”
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