2006年VOA标准英语-US African-American Research Center Celebrates

By Amanda Cassandra
New York
12 October 2006

A center for African-American culture in the United States is celebrating its 80th anniversary by honoring international role models for their professional and humanitarian¹ work on behalf of people of African descent around the globe.

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Schomburg Center

The Schomburg Center is a public research library in New York devoted² exclusively to documenting the history and cultural development of people of African descent. Scholar Arturo Alfonso Schomburg founded the Center in 1925.

Actress Phylicia Rashad, the celebration's co-host, says Arturo Schomburg's mission was to dispel³ myths about African peoples.

"It was his commitment to establishing the truth of African people's history and culture that led to the founding of this amazing institution," he said.

The Schomburg Center presented its Africana Heritage Award to 13 recipients⁴, including poet and author Maya Angelou; Nigerian author Chinua Achebe; musician and actor Harry⁵ Belafonte; and actor and activist⁶ Ruby⁷ Dee. Most of the honorees are 80 years old or older to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the center.

Schomburg Center Director Howard Dodson says they pay tribute to people whose work is exemplary.

"The individuals who have been selected have been path-makers in each of their respective fields, and have in the course of their 50, 60 years of public life made significant contributions to the history and heritage and struggles of people of African descent around the world," he said.

Actors Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee are alumni of the Schomburg Center, beginning their acting⁸ careers in the American Negro Theater located at the Center.

Actor Avery Brooks⁹, a co-host of the celebration, says saluting¹⁰ leaders in various disciplines is important to represent the contributions Black people have made in many fields.

"Black achievement during the 20th century has not been limited to the arts and humanities. Men and women of African descent have faced a myriad¹¹ of challenges in all areas. The African-American pioneers we honor tonight have paved the way for future generations," he said.

Howard Dodson says the Center will continue to honor Schomburg's vision and the work of these individuals for the next 80 years.

"The history of Black people has yet to be fully¹² told, especially in the Western Hemisphere. Their story has not been a part of the history books, has not been a part of the telling of the making of the Americas. So, a big part of a our agenda is to support research and scholarship that tells that story more explicitly¹³, and then get that word out to people around the world," he said.

The Schomburg Center's collection of more than 10 million items includes manuscripts, periodical archives, rare publications and photographs relating to African and African-American history and culture.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

4 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 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。

7 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

11 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法