美国国家公共电台 NPR 'The Personification Of Human Decency': Nina Totenberg Remembers Cokie Roberts

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Throughout the show today, we're remembering NPR's Cokie Roberts. She was what we call a founding mother of NPR. Nina Totenberg, another founding mother, has this remembrance of her friend.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE¹: Our newsroom is in tears. My phone and my email are bursting with more tears. The country has lost a great journalist, but I and so many thousands of others have lost a great friend - yes, thousands of others. Cokie was the embodiment of our better angels, whether it was her work for Save the Children or the millions of kindnesses, large and small, that she dispensed² daily without ever thinking that what she was doing was unusual or remarkable³. The country knew her as this always-polite political reporter, willing to ask the impolitic question if necessary - this funny, wise, smart woman who could write circles around most reporters.

For the last three years, as she battled the return of a cancer vanquished⁴ some 14 years earlier, she carried on. She gave speeches, appeared on TV and radio and even was planning to go to Houston for the debates last week, until her disease finally trumped⁵ her grit⁶.

She didn't want people to know she was sick. She loved life, and she was determined⁷ to live it as long as she could. And that meant doing what she always did, including being a super wife, mother and grandmother. There was not a chance she was going to cancel commitments, no matter how rotten she felt. There was not a chance that she would just lie in bed. Just 10 days ago, she insisted on going to the movies, as usual, on Saturday night with me, Linda Wertheimer and our husbands. By then, she could barely eat and was in significant pain, but we all had a lovely time - our last time like that.

To know Cokie was to see the personification of human decency⁸. There's a reason she was asked to speak at so many funerals. People felt such a deep connection to her because she touched their lives. Casual friends would find Cokie visiting them in the hospital. People in terrible financial straits would find her bailing⁹ them out, hiring them for work that perhaps she didn't need but work that left them with their dignity.

And I - well, I'm not sure how I would have survived the long illness and death of my first husband without Cokie. She went with me to doctors' meetings, took notes, gave people hell if promised services were not delivered. And if, on occasion, she heard my voice faltering¹⁰ on the phone, she would magically appear to bolster¹¹ my spirits.

On a larger scale, she was always the voice of people with less power and the voice of what's right. I remember one day many years ago when we were in negotiations¹² with NPR management over a labor¹³ contract. Management didn't want to extend health coverage¹⁴ to one group, and we were at an impasse¹⁵. Then Cokie, who was working on a piece of embroidery¹⁶, looked up at the management team and said, you know the position you're taking isn't immoral¹⁷; it's simply amoral. The room got very quiet, and soon, the impasse was over.

And of course, she was the voice of women. She understood injustices¹⁸ large and small. She understood the hurdles¹⁹ that blue-, pink- and white-collar women face in raising and providing for a family, in dealing²⁰ with husbands and bosses. She understood the whole balance of life.

I went to see her last night in the hospital. I'm not sure that she could hear me. But when I said goodbye, I told her I'd see her on the other side at that big broadcasting studio somewhere and that I knew she would still be a star.

SHAPIRO: NPR's Nina Totenberg remembering our colleague and friend Cokie Roberts, who died earlier today.

(SOUNDBITE OF QUIET LIFE SONG, "RECORD TIME")

1 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。

2 dispensed   

v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药）

参考例句：

• Not a single one of these conditions can be dispensed with. 这些条件缺一不可。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 vanquished   

v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制

参考例句：

• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 trumped   

v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去分词 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• That woman trumped up various baseless charges against him. 那个女人捏造种种毫无根据的罪名指控他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several of his colleagues trumped up a complaint to get him removed from the job. 他的几位同事诬告他，使他丟掉了工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

9 bailing   

（凿井时用吊桶）排水

参考例句：

• Both fountains were going furiously and both pumps bailing with might and main. 两个人的口水只管喷泉似地朝外涌，两个抽水机全力以赴往外抽水。
• The mechanical sand-bailing technology makes sand-washing operation more efficient. 介绍了机械捞砂的结构装置及工作原理，提出了现场操作注意事项。

10 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

11 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 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。

14 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

15 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

16 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

17 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

18 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

19 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。