Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. Imagine a time machine. You've just climbed into it for the purpose of visiting the United States – in the nineteen-fifties. What would you expect to find? In the nineteen fifties, America was a nation whose population was growing as never before. It was a nation where the popular culture of television was both reflecting and influencing its lifestyle. But it was also a nation that believed it was on the edge of nuclear war. Americans were happy to put World War Two behind them. The war ended in nineteen forty-five. People were hopeful. They thought the world would be peaceful for a while. By nineteen fifty, however, political tensions were high again. The United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two. But, after the war, they became enemies in what came to be known as the Cold War. Communists took control of one eastern European nation after another. The Soviet Union led by Josef Stalin strengthened its armed forces. However, the United States thought America alone possessed the most powerful weapon of all -- the atomic bomb.
歡迎收聽VOA慢速英語之建國史話節目，我是史蒂夫·恩伯。想像一下時間機器，你剛剛爬上它，為了前往20世紀50年代的美國。你希望發現什麼？在20世紀50年代，美國是一個人口空前增長的國家，電視大眾文化既反映又影響其生活方式。但美國也是一個認為自己處於核戰爭邊緣的國家。美國人很高興把第二次世界大戰拋在腦後。戰爭於1945年結束，人們滿懷希望，他們認為世界和平會維繫一段時間。然而，到1950年，政治緊張局勢再次高漲。美國和蘇聯在第二次世界大戰中是同盟國。但是，戰後，他們成了後來被稱為冷戰的敵人。共產主義者接二連三地控制一個個東歐國家，史達林領導的蘇聯加強了武裝力量。然而，美國認為只有美國擁有最強大的武器——原子彈。
But in nineteen forty-nine, a United States Air Force plane discovered strange conditions in the atmosphere. What was causing them? The answer came quickly: the Soviet Union had tested its own atomic bomb. The nuclear race was on. The two nations competed to build weapons of mass destruction. A "doomsday clock" on the cover of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warned of a growing danger of nuclear destruction. Members of that group were afraid of what science had produced, and even more afraid of what it could produce. By nineteen forty-nine, the time on the doomsday clock was three minutes to midnight. In nineteen fifty, North Korea invaded South Korea. The Korean war increased efforts in the United States to develop a weapon even more deadly than the atomic bomb. That weapon was the hydrogen bomb. The Soviets were also working to develop their own hydrogen bomb. Some Americans built bomb shelters in their backyards, hoping to have a safe place for their families in case of a nuclear attack. Other Americans, however, were tired of being afraid. After years of sacrifice, they wanted to enjoy the good life in a growing economy.
但是在1949年，美國空軍的一架飛機發現了大氣中的奇怪狀況，這是什麼引起的？很快就得到了答案：蘇聯已經測試了自己的原子彈。核競賽開始了，這兩個國家競相製造大規模殺傷性武器。《原子科學家公報》封面上的一個「末日鍾」警告說，核毀滅的危險越來越大。小組成員對科學所研製出來的這種東西感到擔憂，同時也更害怕它所能產生的影響。到1949年，世界末日時鐘的時間還差三分鐘就到午夜時分了。1950年，朝鮮入侵韓國。韓戰加大了美國研製比原子彈更致命武器的努力。這種武器就是氫彈。蘇聯也在努力開發自己的氫彈。一些美國人在自家後院建了防空洞，希望能為家人提供一個安全的地方，以防遭到核襲擊。然而，其他美國人已經厭倦了害怕。經過多年的犧牲，他們想在經濟增長中享受美好的生活。
Nineteen fifty-two was a presidential election year. Americans elected Dwight Eisenhower, a military hero of World War Two. The years after the war produced the Baby Boom generation. In nineteen fifty there were twenty-four million young children in America. By nineteen sixty that number was thirty-five million. More families meant the need for more houses. And bigger families needed bigger houses. In nineteen fifty alone, almost one and a half million new homes were built in America. Most of these new houses were located in suburbs, the areas outside cities. People moved to the suburbs because they thought the schools there were better than city schools. They also liked having more space for their children to play in. More space meant children had room to lay out electric train sets. In a lot of American homes, playing with electric trains was an activity that brought the whole family together. Television ads for Lionel trains even featured baseball great Joe DiMaggio. "Lionel Trains proudly present The Joe DiMaggio Show, starring the Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio himself" The late nineteen fifties brought the Barbie doll and a big circular tube of colorful plastic called the Hula Hoop. People had to learn to move their hips in a circular motion, like a hula dancer in Hawaii, to spin it around their body. Hula Hoops became very popular in America.
1952年是總統選舉年，美國人選舉德懷特·艾森豪為二戰的軍事英雄。戰後的幾年造就了嬰兒潮一代。在1950年，美國有2400萬兒童。1960年，是3500百萬。更多的家庭意味著需要更多的房子，更大的家庭也需要更大的房子。僅在1950年，美國就建造了將近150萬套新住宅。這些新房屋大多位於城外郊區，人們搬到郊區，是因為他們認為那裡的學校比城市裡的好，他們也喜歡擁有更多的空間讓孩子們玩耍。更多的空間意味著孩子們有地方布置電動火車組。在很多美國家庭裡，玩電動火車是一項把全家人聚在一起的活動。萊昂內爾火車隊的電視廣告甚至出現了棒球巨星喬·迪馬喬。「萊昂內爾火車隊自豪地呈現了喬·迪馬喬秀，由洋基快船，喬·迪馬喬本人出演」20世紀50年代末，芭比娃娃和一個叫做呼啦圈的彩色塑料大圓管問世。人們必須學會像夏威夷的草裙舞演員那樣，以圓周運動的方式移動臀部，使這個大圓管繞著身體旋轉。呼啦圈在美國變得非常流行。
Also popular was the poodle cut -- not for dogs, but for women who wanted to look stylish. They fixed their hair into lots of small curls, like the hair on a poodle. Actress Mary Martin had made the poodle cut famous in the musical "South Pacific." That play opened on Broadway in New York in nineteen forty-nine. In Hollywood, one of the biggest movie stars of the nineteen fifties was Marilyn Monroe. She starred in films like "Gentleman Prefer Blondes" in nineteen fifty-three. Her platinum-blonde hair style also became popular among American women. "I woke up this morning, you know, and the sun was shining. And it was nice, and all that type of stuff. And the first thing, I saw you, and I said, now, boy this is gonna be one terrific day..." Another famous actor was James Dean, best known for the nineteen fifty-five movie "Rebel Without a Cause." That same year he died in a car accident at the age of twenty-four. In literature, there were writers and poets who came to be known as the Beat generation. These included Jack Kerouac, Gregory Corso and Allen Ginsberg. To them, much of life in nineteen-fifties America was empty and meaningless.
同樣受歡迎的還有貴賓犬髮型——不是給狗做，而是做給想看起來時髦的女人。她們把頭髮紮成許多小捲髮，像貴賓犬的毛髮。女演員瑪麗·馬丁在音樂劇《南太平洋》中使貴賓犬髮型出名，該劇於1949年在紐約百老匯開演。在好萊塢，50年代最偉大的電影明星之一是瑪麗蓮·夢露。她在1953年主演了《紳士偏愛金髮女郎》等電影，她的白金金髮髮型也在美國女性中流行起來。「我今天早上醒來，陽光明媚。感覺很好，還有其他的東西。第一件事，我看到你，我說，孩子，這將是偉大的一天……」另一位著名的演員是詹姆斯·迪恩，他因1955年的電影《無因的反抗》而聞名。同年，他在一場車禍中喪生，享年24歲。在文學屆，一些作家和詩人被稱為垮掉的一代，其中包括傑克·凱魯亞克、格雷戈裡·科索和艾倫·金斯伯格。對他們來說，20世紀50年代的美國生活，大部分是空虛和毫無意義的。
The painter Jackson Pollock represented a spirit of rebellion in art. Pollock would drop paint onto a canvas. What did his works mean? People had to decide for themselves. In music, the rebel was Elvis Presley -- the king of rock and roll. Elvis Presley was a twenty-one-year-old truck driver when he sang on television for the first time. Some parents and religious leaders thought he was a bad influence. They thought the way he moved his body to the music was too suggestive. But young people screamed for more. They listened to Elvis' music on records, on the radio and on the television program "American Bandstand." "American Bandstand" became the most popular dance party in America. Every week, young people danced to the latest songs in front of the TV cameras. But it wasn't all rock and roll. Whether on Bandstand-type television programs or at local "record hops," or at home, young Americans – and their parents – danced cheek to cheek to romantic ballads as well. Television in the nineteen-fifties included dramas acted live on TV. And there were quiz shows, and game shows, and comedy programs.
畫家傑克遜·波洛克代表了一種藝術上的反叛精神，波洛克會把顏料滴在畫布上。他作品的含義是什麼？人們不得不自己決定。在音樂領域，反叛者是搖滾之王——貓王。貓王普雷斯利第一次在電視上唱歌時，是一位21歲的卡車司機。一些家長和宗教領袖認為，他帶來的是一種負面影響。他們認為，他隨音樂中搖擺身體的方式充滿太多的暗示。但是，年輕人尖叫著想要聽更多他的音樂。他們在唱片、收音機和電視節目「美國音樂臺」上聽貓王的音樂 「美國樂隊」成為美國最受歡迎的舞蹈晚會。年輕人每周在電視鏡頭前，隨著最新的歌曲跳舞。但是，它播放的並不全是搖滾樂。無論是在電臺類型的電視節目中，還是在當地的「播放唱片的地方」，或是在家裡，美國年輕人和他們的父母都會伴隨著浪漫的民謠，貼面起舞。20世紀50年代的電視節目，包括直播式的電視劇。還有智力競賽節目、遊戲節目和喜劇節目。
If Elvis was the king of rock and roll, Lucille Ball was the queen of comedy. During the nineteen fifties, millions of Americans watched "I Love Lucy." Lucille Ball starred with her husband Desi Arnaz. They played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Ricky is a Cuban bandleader in New York. Lucy is a housewife who wishes she could be famous like her husband. "What will I have to do?" "You gonna have to get me back on the television show." "How?" "I don't know how. But, if you don't, I'll..." "I will, Ricky. I'll get you back on the show. Don't even think of what you'll do if I don't." Lucille Ball and "I Love Lucy" were both big influences on generations of entertainers and TV comedy producers. Variety shows offered a mix of entertainment. Americans watched shows hosted by comics like Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason and Sid Caesar. Ed Sullivan was not a comedian, but for years his show brought new acts into American homes every Sunday night. Television shows were all in black-and-white. But one night in nineteen fifty-three, Americans got their own time-machine glimpse into the future of TV. It happened with an announcement during Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows."
如果貓王是搖滾之王，露西爾·鮑爾就是喜劇女王。在20世紀50年代，數以百萬計的美國人觀看《我愛露西》，由露西爾·鮑爾和丈夫德西·阿納茲主演，扮演露西和利·卡多先生。利是紐約的古巴樂隊指揮，露西是個家庭主婦，她希望自己能像丈夫一樣出名。「我該怎麼辦？」「你得讓我重新上電視節目。」「怎麼弄？」 「我不知道怎麼弄，但如果你不這樣做，我會……」「我會的，利，我會讓你重回舞臺。你甚至都不要想，如果我不這麼做，你該怎麼辦。」露西爾·鮑爾和《我愛露西》對一代又一代的藝人和電視喜劇製作人都產生了很大的影響。綜藝節目中提供了多種娛樂活動，美國人觀看由米爾頓·伯爾、傑基·格裡森和希德·凱撒等滑稽演員主持的節目。埃德·沙利文不是喜劇演員，但多年來，他的節目每周日晚都會給美國家庭帶來新的表演。電視節目都是黑白色的，但是在1953年的一個晚上，美國人在自己的時間機器上看到了電視節目的未來。這件事發生在希德·凱撒的《你的表演》中。
"This is Richard Harkness in Washington. This week will long be remembered in the annals of television, for on Thursday, December seventeenth, the Federal Communications Commission approved Compatible Color Television." That meant that owners of TV sets could still watch programs broadcast in color -- in black and white -- instead of having to buy a new set. Color TV's popularity grew quickly, and the prices of color TVs came down, meaning more color TVs in American homes, and more and more programs produced in color. "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC." During the nineteen fifties, most of the people who appeared on television were white. If black actors appeared, they were usually in jobs working for white people. But in real life, a civil rights movement was beginning to gather strength. Legal battles were fought to end racial separation, especially in public schools. In nineteen fifty-four, the United States Supreme Court made a historic ruling. The case was known as Brown v. Board of Education. The court ruled that the requirement in some states for racially separate schools was unconstitutional. The court rejected the idea that schools for black students could be "separate but equal" to those attended by white students. By the nineteen sixties, the civil rights movement would shake American society. Dwight Eisenhower was president for most of the nineteen fifties. He faced the problems of communism, nuclear threats and racial tensions. "Ike" had a calm way of speaking to the public. Many Americans saw him as a fatherly president. They thought that even in a dark and dangerous world, everything would be all right. Were they correct? We'll try to answer that in future programs.
「我是華盛頓的理察·哈克內斯。本周將被載入電視年鑑，因為12月17日星期四，聯邦通信委員會批准了兼容性彩色電視。」這意味著電視機的擁有者仍然能觀看黑白電視節目，而不必購買新電視機。彩電的普及迅速增長，其價格也隨之下降，這意味著美國家庭中的彩電越來越多，彩色的電視節目也越來越多。「以下節目是NBC為您帶來的現場版彩色節目。」在20世紀50年代，大多數出現在電視上的人都是白人。如果黑人演員出現，他們通常是為白人工作。但在現實生活中，一場民權運動開始積聚力量。為了結束種族隔離，特別是在公立學校內，人們進行了法律鬥爭。1954年，美國最高法院作出了一項歷史性裁決。這起案件被稱為布朗訴教育委員會案。法院裁定，在一些州，學校中出現種族隔離是違憲的。法院駁回了黑人學生的學校，可以與白人學生就讀的學校「分開但享有平等地位」的觀點。到20世紀60年代，民權運動將動搖美國社會。德懷特·艾森豪在20世紀50年代出任總統，他面臨共產主義、核威脅和種族緊張的問題。「艾克」面對公眾說話時表現的很冷靜，許多美國人認為他是一位慈父般的總統。他們認為，即使在一個黑暗又危險的世界裡，一切都會好起來。他們是否正確？我們會在以後的節目中嘗試回答這個問題。
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