VOA慢速英语2021--The Influence of America’s First Ladies

When Joe Biden became president on January 20, Jill Biden, his wife, took on an important job in American society. She became first lady of the United States.

The position comes with no pay, but it is influential¹.

So, many people paid attention when Biden became the first of America's first ladies to keep the job she had before her husband became president. Jill Biden has a doctorate² in education and is a professor of English at a community college in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Some Americans might be surprised to learn that Biden would keep her old job. An expert on the subject is Katherine Jellison. She is a history professor at Ohio University. Jellison said, since Biden is a teacher, which is a traditional job for women, most Americans will accept her outside work.

Barbara Perry is a presidential historian at the University of Virginia. She said most Americans see presidents as "father figures." She said: "That makes first ladies maternal³ figures and kind of mothers of our country."

What about if they are younger women?

John F. Kennedy's wife, Jacqueline, was only 31 when she became first lady. If the first lady is a younger woman, Perry said, Americans "see her as an older sister or glamorous⁴ aunt."

An activist⁵ tradition

However, first ladies do not just stand behind their husbands. They often take on projects. Among first ladies, Eleanor Roosevelt was possibly the first to be remembered as an activist. She came to the White House, the official presidential home, in 1933 after Franklin Roosevelt won the election in 1932.

Perry said some Americans thought Eleanor Roosevelt pushed too hard for changes. She asked her husband to work on civil rights, labor⁶ rights and women's rights. "She was always pressing for the social programs that she wanted and was much reviled⁷ because of that," Perry said.

While not every first lady was like Roosevelt, she set an example for those to come. First ladies have long been recognized for the causes they supported. Jacqueline Kennedy worked to renovate⁸ the White House and make sure it was home to historic art and objects from U.S. history. Lyndon Johnson's wife, Lady Bird Johnson, supported environmental protection causes. Nancy Reagan asked children to stay away from drugs. Barbara Bush worked to help more people learn to read. Michelle Obama was interested in healthy eating and planted a vegetable garden at the White House.

Perry said most Americans were happy to support those kinds of projects. But sometimes Americans think women in the White House do too much. Perry said that happened with Hillary Clinton.

In 1993, she said, Bill Clinton appointed Hillary to lead a group that worked to change the American health care system. Perry said the public was not accepting of Clinton's part in shaping policy: "She had to go back to more soft-power approaches to being first lady."

Who would be in...

Kate Andersen Brower is a presidential historian who wrote about first ladies in a book called "First Women."

She said both Melania Trump⁹ and Nancy Reagan had influence over who worked with the president. Brower said Trump did not like the way one adviser¹⁰ treated one of the people who worked for her during a trip overseas. Melania Trump asked that the adviser be dismissed.

Reagan, Brower said, "decided¹¹ who would be in and who was out."

Clinton was not successful in her attempt at shaping healthcare policy. However, Brower said she did suggest that her husband choose Ruth Bader Ginsberg as a Supreme¹² Court justice.

Brower said Jill Biden can change the way Americans think about first ladies by being both a working woman and a wife. She also said there is likely to be a big change ahead when, one day, a woman is elected president.

Words in This Story

doctorate- n. the highest degree that is given by a university

maternal- adj. of or relating to a mother

glamorous –adj. very exciting and attractive

revile- v. to speak about (someone or something) in a very critical or insulting way

renovate- v. to make changes and repairs to (an old house, building, room, etc.) so that it is back in good condition

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

3 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

4 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 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。

7 reviled   

v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The tramp reviled the man who drove him off. 流浪汉辱骂那位赶他走开的人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The old man reviled against corruption. 那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 renovate   

vt.更新，革新，刷新

参考例句：

• The couple spent thousands renovating the house.这对夫妇花了几千元来翻新房子。
• They are going to renovate the old furniture.他们准备将旧家具整修一番。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。