我们如何记录2020年
燕山大学 刘立军 供稿
【TRANSCRIPT】
JUDY WOODRUFF: No matter what age you are, it has undeniably been a year of many firsts. Between COVID and the election of the first woman vice president, 2020 will be a year for historians to examine and dissect for decades to come. Tonight, biographer and historian Janice Nimura shares her humble opinion on how we can all help shape the story that is taught to future generations. This essay is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.
JANICE NIMURA, Author, The Doctors Blackwell: I started keeping a journal in 11th grade. It was an assignment for English class. But once I got going, I discovered what all writers know: Most of the time, you write not to set down what you think, but to figure out what you have to say. What you have written becomes part of your personal history. I can go back to that green notebook and remember what it felt like to be 16. I have been keeping a journal ever since. You see, the rhetoric of powerful people can persist for millennia, but that kind of writing is a polished mask for an audience.
Journals, on the other hand, are scribbled in private, and full of naked feelings. They preserve the voices we don't usually hear, the very young, the elderly, the powerless. For biographers like me who seek treasure in archives, those are the most precious finds. And this is a critical moment to keep one. 2020 is a year none of us will forget, filled with grief, rage, anxiety, and confusion, and also determination, generosity, and hope. We have a lot to process, and what we write in this moment will capture it. We may not ever forget 2020, but our written voices will tell our great-grandchildren the story of right now and possibly help them face the crises of the future.
So, keep a journal, find a notebook or jot notes on your phone. Write about what you had for dinner. Write about what makes you angry. Write about what you want. Or, if you don't feel like writing, draw. Paste in a photo of your cousins on Zoom or of a protest or your best friend wearing a mask. On the first page of my 11th-grade journal, I wrote: This is just for me. Write like no one is watching. That is, write like no one is watching right now. Someday, a historian or your own great-grandchild may lift your notebook from a dusty shelf or open a file on a forgotten hard drive and read your words with growing excitement. They will hear your voice reacting to the turmoil of 2020, figuring out what to feel. And they will learn something from it, just as you learned something about yourself when you wrote it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Such good advice from Janice Nimura. We thank you.
【VOCABULARY】
1. dissect v. to study sth. closely and / or discuss it in great detail 仔细研究；详细评论；剖析。例如：Her latest novel was dissected by the critics. 评论家对她最近出版的一部小说作了详细剖析。
2. humble adj. showing you do not think that you are as important as other people 谦逊的；虚心的。例如：Be humble enough to learn from your mistakes. 要虚心地从自己的错误中学习。
3. set down 记下
4. figure out弄懂；弄清楚；弄明白
5. rhetoric n. (formal, often disapproving) speech or writing that is intended to influence people, but that is not completely honest or sincere 华而不实的言语；花言巧语。例如：the rhetoric of political slogans政治口号的虚华辞藻
6. preserve v. to keep a particular quality, feature, etc.; to make sure that sth. is kept 保护；维护；保留。例如：He was anxious to preserve his reputation. 他急于维护自己的名声。
7. capture v. to make sb. interested in sth. 引起（注意、想象、兴趣）。例如：They use puppets to capture the imagination of younger audiences. 他们用木偶来启发小观众的想象力。
8. jot v. to write sth. quickly 草草记下；匆匆记下。例如：I'll just jot down the address for you. 我得赶快把地址给你写下来。
9. turmoil n. a state of great anxiety and confusion 动乱；骚动；混乱；焦虑。例如： Her mind was in (a) turmoil. 她心乱如麻。
【QUESTIONS】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
JUDY WOODRUFF: No matter what age you are, it has undeniably been a year of many firsts. Between COVID and the election of the first woman vice president, 2020 will be a year for (Q1) ______________ to examine and dissect for decades to come. Tonight, biographer and historian Janice Nimura shares her humble opinion on how we can all help (Q2) _____________ the story that is taught to future (Q3) _______________________. This essay is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.
JANICE NIMURA, Author, The Doctors Blackwell: I started (Q4) __________________ in 11th grade. It was an assignment for English class. But once I got going, I discovered what all writers know: Most of the time, you write not to (Q5) ___________________ what you think, but to figure out what you have to say. What you have written becomes part of your personal history. I can go back to that green notebook and remember what it felt like to be 16. I have been keeping a journal ever since. You see, the rhetoric of powerful people can persist for millennia, but that kind of writing is a (Q6) _____________________ for an audience.
Journals, on the other hand, are scribbled in private, and full of naked feelings. They preserve the voices we don't usually hear, the very young, the elderly, the powerless. For (Q7) __________________like me who seek treasure in archives, those are the most precious finds. And this is a critical moment to keep one. 2020 is a year none of us will forget, filled with grief, rage, anxiety, and confusion, and also determination, (Q8) ___________, and hope. We have a lot to process, and what we write in this moment will capture it. We may not ever forget 2020, but our written voices will tell our great-grandchildren the story of right now and possibly help them face the crises of the future.
So, keep a journal, find a notebook or (Q9) _______ notes on your phone. Write about what you had for dinner. Write about what makes you angry. Write about what you want. Or, if you don't feel like writing, draw. Paste in a photo of your cousins on Zoom or of a protest or your best friend wearing a mask. On the first page of my 11th-grade journal, I wrote: This is just for me. Write like no one is watching. That is, write like no one is watching right now. Someday, a historian or your own great-grandchild may lift your notebook from a dusty shelf or open a file on a forgotten hard drive and read your words with (Q10) _________________________. They will hear your voice reacting to the turmoil of 2020, figuring out what to feel. And they will learn something from it, just as you learned something about yourself when you wrote it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Such good advice from Janice Nimura. We thank you.
【KEY】
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
JUDY WOODRUFF: No matter what age you are, it has undeniably been a year of many firsts. Between COVID and the election of the first woman vice president, 2020 will be a year for (Q1) historians to examine and dissect for decades to come. Tonight, biographer and historian Janice Nimura shares her humble opinion on how we can all help (Q2) shape the story that is taught to future (Q3) generations. This essay is part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.
JANICE NIMURA, Author, The Doctors Blackwell: I started (Q4) keeping a journal in 11th grade. It was an assignment for English class. But once I got going, I discovered what all writers know: Most of the time, you write not to (Q5) set down what you think, but to figure out what you have to say. What you have written becomes part of your personal history. I can go back to that green notebook and remember what it felt like to be 16. I have been keeping a journal ever since. You see, the rhetoric of powerful people can persist for millennia, but that kind of writing is a (Q6) polished mask for an audience.
Journals, on the other hand, are scribbled in private, and full of naked feelings. They preserve the voices we don't usually hear, the very young, the elderly, the powerless. For (Q7) biographers like me who seek treasure in archives, those are the most precious finds. And this is a critical moment to keep one. 2020 is a year none of us will forget, filled with grief, rage, anxiety, and confusion, and also determination, (Q8) generosity, and hope. We have a lot to process, and what we write in this moment will capture it. We may not ever forget 2020, but our written voices will tell our great-grandchildren the story of right now and possibly help them face the crises of the future.
So, keep a journal, find a notebook or (Q9) jot notes on your phone. Write about what you had for dinner. Write about what makes you angry. Write about what you want. Or, if you don't feel like writing, draw. Paste in a photo of your cousins on Zoom or of a protest or your best friend wearing a mask. On the first page of my 11th-grade journal, I wrote: This is just for me. Write like no one is watching. That is, write like no one is watching right now. Someday, a historian or your own great-grandchild may lift your notebook from a dusty shelf or open a file on a forgotten hard drive and read your words with (Q10) growing excitement. They will hear your voice reacting to the turmoil of 2020, figuring out what to feel. And they will learn something from it, just as you learned something about yourself when you wrote it.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Such good advice from Janice Nimura. We thank you.
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