VOA标准英语2008年-Former President Bill Clinton's Hometown Preser

By Wang Yiru
Washington
02 January 2008
 

In 1992, former President Bill Clinton accepted the Democratic Party's nomination¹ for the nation's office with a speech in which he said, "I believe in a place called Hope." Hope was more than Mr. Clinton's vision for the nation, it was also the name of the town in which he was born. For producer Wang Yiru, Elaine Lu has more on the restored birthplace of the former president.

Bill Clinton reading an excerpt²: "Early on the morning of August 19, 1946, I was born under a clear sky after a violent summer storm to a widowed mother in the Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, a town of about 6,000 in south-west Arkansas, 33 miles (53 kilometers) east of the Texas border at Texarkana."

In 1946, Hope, Arkansas had only one main street with a train station anchoring one end.

Just down the tracks is the small boyhood home of former President Bill Clinton. Opened to the public in 1997, it is now the Clinton Birthplace Museum.

Martha Berryman, the museum's director, says old photos helped to authentically³ restore the house.

"Virginia [Clinton's mother] came when the house was under reconstruction⁴. She had photographs and she also went through the rooms and described what was where so that it would have the authenticity⁵ to make the house look as it did when she and Bill lived here," she said.

The house belonged to his grandparents and was home to the future president until 1950.

"This is Bill winning the most beautiful baby contest. This is where her grandmother would sit, and using coloring books to teach him. His grandfather would sit here to read the paper with him," Berryman pointed⁶ out.

Mr. Clinton's father died three months before his son was born. His mother married Roger Clinton four years later. Mr. Clinton's stepfather was an alcoholic⁷ who could be abusive, creating a stressful environment at home.

Berryman says the love from his mother and his grandparents helped him cope, for which he is eternally grateful.

"He does arrange for fresh flowers to be put on the grave regularly," she says. "He has a standing⁸ agreement for the maintenance of the graves and flowers."

To Louise Smith, a guide at the Clinton Birthplace Museum, even after two terms as president, Bill Clinton will always be an Arkansas boy. She says, "He just likes the common person. He spends most of his time and attention with them. He's still very much an Arkansas boy, man."

Smith says that to the world that knows Clinton only as the 42nd President of the United States, visiting his birthplace is an opportunity to learn more about him. Over 40,000 people from more than 150 countries have visited the Museum over the past 10 years.

"He went through a lot of adversaries⁹ I think, like his dad passed away when he was very little," says one tourist. "It is very heartening to see he did so well in spite of going through these hardships early in his life. "

Smith says she was very proud of him. She explains, "When he became the president, we were thrilled. When my cousin and I went on Amtrak to do the volunteer work, I had a tote bag with the watermelon on it. Picture and it said 'Hope Arkansas, we grow watermelons and presidents.' So we were very proud of ourselves, proud of him."

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 excerpt   

n.摘录，选录，节录

参考例句：

• This is an excerpt from a novel.这是一部小说的摘录。
• Can you excerpt something from the newspaper? 你能从报纸上选录些东西吗？

3 authentically   

ad.sincerely真诚地

参考例句：

• Gina: And we should give him something 2 authentically Taiwanese. 吉娜：而且我们应该送他有纯正台湾味的东西。
• A loser is one who fails to correspond authentically. 失败者则指那些未能做到诚实可靠的人。

4 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

5 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 adversaries   

n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• That would cause potential adversaries to recoil from a challenge. 这会迫使潜在的敌人在挑战面前退缩。 来自辞典例句
• Every adversaries are more comfortable with a predictable, coherent America. 就连敌人也会因有可以预料的，始终一致的美国而感到舒服得多。 来自辞典例句