英语播客EnglishPod 232

 A:    Alright everyone settle down.  Let’s get started.
       As you know, an important aspect of becoming a
       good citizen is understanding the genesis of our
       legal system. It is not enough to simply memo-
       rize our laws, it is necessary that we comprehend
       why and how they were formed. This brings me
       to our topic for today. Does anyone know what we
       celebrate on May first?

 B:    Cinco de mayo?

 A:    No, that’s May fifth in Spanish, James, no wonder
       you are failing my Spanish class. No, May first is
       International Workers’Day.

 B:     Do we get a day off from school then?

 A:    No! It is not considered to be a national holiday
       here in the US, but in other countries it is.
 B:    Aww, man!

 A:    In the nineteenth century, working conditions
       were appalling¹, with workers being forced to work
       ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day. Support
       for the eight-hour work day movement was grow-
       ing rapidly, despite the indifference² and hostility³ of
       many union leaders, and by April 1886, 250,000
       workers were involved in the May Day movement.
       Previous  legislative⁴ attempts  to  improve  working
       conditions had failed, so labor⁵ organizers took
       drastic measures. They passed a resolution stat-
       ing that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s
       work. And, on May First 1886, the resolution took
       effect.

 B:    Cool! Is that why we only work eight hours now?

 A:    Yes!  But the happy ending came at a high price.
       On May third, 1886, police fired into a crowd of
       strikers at the McCormick Reaper⁶ Works Factory,
       killing⁷ four and wounding many. A mass meeting
       was called for the next day to protest the brutality⁸.
 B:    And then what happened?

 A:    Well, as we say, the rest is history...

1 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

2 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 reaper   

n.收割者，收割机

参考例句：

• The painting is organized about a young reaper enjoying his noonday rest.这幅画的画面设计成一个年轻的割禾人在午间休息。
• A rabbit got caught in the blades of the reaper.一只兔子被卷到收割机的刀刃中去了。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军