2016年托福备考：VOA英语--美国劳动节

摘要：又到一年“五一”劳动节，小长假除了踏青游玩，英语学习也不能落下了，下面小编为大家整理了VOA英语--美国劳动节，小长假让我们一起跟随新东方学习英语吧！~

听力文本
US Labor Day Arrives Five Months Late

September 7 is Labor Day in the U.S., a national holiday that began more than 100 years ago to honor low-paid factory workers.

Labor Day also informally marks the end of summer. Many children return to school after Labor Day, and the warm days of summer turn cooler. Many Americans celebrate the holiday with one last family meal outdoors.
But Labor Day started with a struggle. On May 1, 1889, workers demonstrated on the streets of Paris. International Labor Day was born. Most industrialized countries in the world -- except the U.S. and Canada -- celebrate Labor Day on the first of May.

The first American Labor Day celebration was held in New York City on September 5, 1882. About 10,000 workers marched through the streets to show the strength of labor organizations.
For many years after that, American workers used the first Monday in September to demand better working conditions and pay. Music was part of many of those marches.
Labor songs traditionally tell stories of conflict and hopes for a better life. Here is Pete Seeger's "We Shall Not Be Moved."

Many classic American labor songs came from workers in the coal mines of the South. Mine owners bitterly opposed workers' unions. In Kentucky, company police searched for union leaders. They waited outside a worker's home for several days to block him from organizing.
The coal miner's wife, Florence Reece, stayed inside with her children. She wrote this song, "Which Side Are You On?" And again, here is Pete Seeger.

Another American labor song is called "Bread and Roses." It is based on a poem by James Oppenheim, published in December 1911.

The poem speaks about the women's labor movement. At that time, conditions in factories, where many women worked, were horrible. A fire at a clothing factory in New York killed 146 people. Most of the victims were immigrant women.
A month after Mr. Oppenheim's poem was published, textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, went on strike. Their protest won them higher pay and better working conditions. Oppenheim's poem gained more attention.

We close with Pat Humphries singing "Bread and Roses." Even though Labor Day demonstrations are not as common in the U.S., the song reminds us to celebrate the effort and love that many people give to their work.

I'm Jim Tedder.



词汇解析
1.struggle 斗争，挣扎
After years of struggle he had finally made a pile of money.
他辛苦了多年，最后积蓄了一大笔钱。
2.demonstration 游行；展示
The demonstration was a protest against the rise in tuition and fees.
此次示威是抗议学杂费上涨。
3.demand 要求；命令
Prices see-saw according to demand.
物价随需求变化而反覆涨跌.
4.block 阻止；干扰
The skyscrapers block our view.
摩天大楼挡住了我们的视线。



内容解析
1.Another American labor song is called "Bread and Roses." It is based on a poem by James Oppenheim, published in December 1911.
based on 基于；根据
Personas, like any models, must be based on real-world observation.
人物角色必须像其他模型一样，基于真实世界的观察。
In most cases, your application can make a fairly correct assumption based on past experience.
在多数情况下，你的应用程序能够根据之前的经验建立在一个相对正确的假设上的。

2.We close with Pat Humphries singing "Bread and Roses." Even though Labor Day demonstrations are not as common in the U.S., the song reminds us to celebrate the effort and love that many people give to their work.
give to 授予；付出
He spends a lot of time thinking what Christmas presents to give to friends.
他花很多时间去考虑送给朋友们什么圣诞礼物.
I'm grateful for the special love you give to me all year.
感谢你对我又是一年恩爱情深,关怀备至。

参考译文

9月7日是美国劳动节。这一始于100多年前的全国性节日是为了纪念低薪的工厂工人。劳动节也非正式地标志着夏天的结束。许多儿童在劳动节之后重返校园，而夏天的温暖天气也开始转凉。
许多美国人以最后一顿户外家庭聚餐来庆祝这个节日。但是劳动节始于斗争。
1889年5月1日，工人们在巴黎的大街小巷示威。国际劳动节诞生了。全球除了美国和加拿大的大多数工业化国家都在5月1日庆祝劳动节。
第一次劳动节庆祝活动于1882年9月5日在纽约市举行。大约1万名工人走上街头展示工人组织的力量。
多年之后，美国工人在9月的头个星期一来要求改善工作条件和薪酬。音乐也是许多游行的一部分。劳工歌曲通常讲述冲突故事和对更好生活的渴望。
voa16.jpg
以下是皮特·西格（Pete Seeger）的《我们坚决不动摇》。许多经典美国劳工歌曲来自于南部的煤矿工人。矿主强烈阻挠工会。在肯塔基州，公司警察寻找工会领导人。他们在工人家门之外等待好几天阻止他组织活动。
矿工之妻佛罗伦萨·里斯（Florence Reece）和孩子们都住在里面。她写了这首歌，《你站在那一边?》。让我们再来听听皮特·西格的那首歌。另一首美国劳工歌曲是《面包和玫瑰》，这首歌是根据詹姆斯·奥本海姆（James Oppenheim）1911年12月发表的一首诗编曲。这首诗谈到了妇女的工人运动。当时很多妇女工作的工厂的条件非常恶劣。纽约一家服装厂的一场大火造成了146人遇难。大部分受害者是移民妇女。
在奥本海姆先生的诗发表一个月之后，马萨诸塞州劳伦斯市的纺织工人举行了罢工。他们的示威为他们赢得了更高工资和更好的工作条件。奥本海姆的诗也获得了更多关注。
最后我们来听听帕特·亨弗里斯（Pat Humphries）演唱的《面包和玫瑰》。尽管劳动节示威在美国并不常见，这首歌提醒我们要庆祝很多人对他们的工作倾注的努力和热爱。
我是吉姆·特德。

【本文为上海新东方整理，如有侵权，请联系删除】

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上海新东方寒假班报名地址
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精讲精练班	IELTS 7分班	精讲精练班	精讲精练班	精讲精练班
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