美国国家公共电台 NPR Philippines Duterte Praises 'Generous' Americans For Returning Church Bells

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now to the Philippines, where President Rodrigo Duterte, often a harsh critic of the United States, praised Americans today as generous for returning church bells stripped by U.S. forces in 1901. The town of Balangiga celebrated¹ the homecoming of their historic bells. NPR's Julie McCarthy was there, and she has this report.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE²: Balangiga's iconic church bells were carted off his war booty and returned here resonating.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHURCH BELLS)

MCCARTHY: The last time these bills tolled³ in Balangiga, the U.S. was the colonial power here. Local fighters had used the bells to signal an attack on the U.S. occupiers. The uprising turned out to be the bloodiest⁴ defeat of Americans in the U.S.-Philippines war. Retaliation⁵ orders rang out - kill and burn, american soldiers were told. And from the charred⁶ Catholic Church of St. Lawrence the Martyr⁷, the bells were seized as spoils of war.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PHILIPPINES RODRIGO DUTERTE: I share your happiness and joy today.

MCCARTHY: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pulled the rope that tolled the smallest of the three bells arrayed in an outdoor auditorium⁸. Earlier, Duterte had staunchly demanded that the Americans return the bells, reminding his countrymen of the role the U.S. played as colonizer⁹. But there was no trace of hostility¹⁰ today, only gratitude¹¹ and graciousness.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DUTERTE: The bells are returned. The credit goes to the American people and to the Filipino people.

MCCARTHY: Timothy Broglio, archbishop of U.S. armed forces, says the bells are a sign of solidarity¹² between the two countries.

TIMOTHY BROGLIO: It's also restoration of this property to the church so that these bells can continue to exercise the function for which they were first made, which is to call people to worship.

MCCARTHY: John Law, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Manila, said that all bells from other U.S. conflicts had been returned, save Balangiga's, an anomaly he acknowledged was wrong. Returning them, Law said...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN LAW: Was quite simply the right thing to do.

MCCARTHY: Law noted¹³ that the episode of the bells, 117 years long, had spanned the life of the U.S.-Philippine relationship. The people of Balangiga came out in droves to witness history coming full circle. Terencia Dunninghaus, a descendant of those who had battled the Americans a century ago, stood in front of the church that had lost and now won back its bells, tears welling in her throat.

TERENCIA DUNNINGHAUS: I'm so happy.

MCCARTHY: Crying tears of joy?

DUNNINGHAUS: Yeah, for how many years that - of waiting. It's already one century, but at long last, the bells come home, yeah. (Foreign language spoken).

MCCARTHY: For Terencia, the bells symbolize¹⁴ all the ancestors who died in the struggle to make the Philippines free. As if on cue, the ceremony ended, and the sky was awash with birds, flights of them diving and circling the townsquare. They nest in its mahogany trees, one elderly gentleman said, adding, those are the spirits of the dead. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Balangiga.

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 tolled   

鸣钟（toll的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Bells were tolled all over the country at the King's death. 全国为国王之死而鸣钟。
• The church bell tolled the hour. 教堂的钟声报时。

4 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

5 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

8 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

9 colonizer   

殖民者，殖民地开拓者，移民

参考例句：

• In the first few year, the colonizer find life difficult. 头几年里，殖民地开拓者觉得生活艰难。

10 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。

11 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

12 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。