2007年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-The Day Our Family Took to the Road

Time again for StoryCorps, traveling the country recording¹ your stories. Last week, we heard remembrances of the Great Depression. Today, we revisit that time with sisters Evelyn Palmour and Doreene McCoy. They were just children when the Depression hit their community in Nebraska. Recently, the sisters recalled how their family packed up, took to the road, and started a new life.

When we made the final move to Oklahoma from Nebraska, I was 13.

Yeah, I was 11.

Our folks had had this groceries store. You know, they did a credit business. They let people charge groceries. And the crash came about that time, and the people were out of work. They were honest people, but they just didn't have the money to pay their bills. So in 1935, Daddy sold the store and we were headed to Oklahoma. But before we left town, Mama she went around, and told all the people that owed us money, she said, "We are moving to Oklahoma, and we are not coming back. And in lieu of money, we'll take personal property." Mom and Dad drove that Model T truck, loaded to the hilt with stuff.
And our uncle drove a 1928 Chevrolet, pulling a big trailer. Mom and Dad went ahead in that truck. And uncle Gland² and you and I came along later in the car. 'Cause the roads weren't paved. They were just gravel³. So rather than be real close in eight hour it does, we stay back a mile or so.

But on the way down, do you remember that we had a flat tire? And it was dark. Uncle Gland of course knew how to change the tire. But we had no light. Cause you were 13 years old. You were mistress. And so you had a compact.

Oh, yeah.

So you stood in front of the car headlights, and reflected the light back with (my make-up mirror) make-up mirror. So he could change that tire. And it wasn't that ingenious at that time? Oh yeah, Oh yeah.

Well, I know, when we got to Oklahoma, and unpacked⁴ the truck, I was amazed at all the stuff. Some of them, I'd never seen before.

Yeah.

But it was what the people had forfeited⁵ for their grocery bills that they owed our parents.

That's Evelyn Palmour and her sister Doreen McCoy recorded in Jackson, Mississippi. And we here at morning edition want to congratulate StoryCorps for winning a prestigious⁶ Peabody Award. The selection board calls StoryCorps a (quot) "deceptively simple invaluable⁷ project". That encourages people to record their oral histories. To find out how you can participate and to subscribe⁸ to the StoryCorps podcast, go to NPR.org.

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

3 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

4 unpacked   

v.从（包裹等）中取出（所装的东西），打开行李取出( unpack的过去式和过去分词 )；拆包；解除…的负担；吐露（心事等）

参考例句：

• I unpacked my bags as soon as I arrived. 我一到达就打开行李，整理衣物。
• Our guide unpacked a picnic of ham sandwiches and offered us tea. 我们的导游打开装着火腿三明治的野餐盒，并给我们倒了些茶水。 来自辞典例句

5 forfeited   

（因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Because he broke the rules, he forfeited his winnings. 他犯规，所以丧失了奖金。
• He has forfeited the right to be the leader of this nation. 他丧失了作为这个国家领导的权利。

6 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

7 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

8 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。