名人轶事:Doctor Spock

（单词翻译）

 By Caty Weaver¹

Broadcast: October 3, 2004

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we

tell about the world's most famous doctor for children, Benjamin Spock.

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VOICE ONE:

Benjamin Spock's first book caused a revolution in the way American children

were raised. His book, "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care," was

published in nineteen forty-six. More copies of it have been sold in the

United States than any other book except the Christian² Bible. The book gave

advice to parents of babies and young children. The first lines of the book

are famous. Doctor Spock wrote: "Trust yourself. You know more than you think

you do".

VOICE TWO:

This message shocked many parents. For years, mothers had been told that they

should reject their natural feelings about their babies. Before Doctor

Spock's book appeared, the most popular guide to raising children was called

"Psychological Care of Infant and Child." The book's writer, John B. Watson,

urged extreme firmness in dealing³ with children. The book called for a strong

structure of rules in families. It warned parents never to kiss, hug or

physically⁴ comfort their children.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock's book was very different. He gave gentle advice to ease the

fears of new parents. Doctor Spock said his work was an effort to help

parents trust their own natural abilities in caring for their children.

Doctor Spock based much of his advice on the research and findings of the

famous Austrian psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud. Doctor Spock's book discusses

the mental and emotional development of children. It urges parents to use

that information to decide how to deal with their babies when they are

crying, hungry, or tired.

For example, Doctor Spock dismissed the popular idea of exactly timed

feedings for babies. Baby care experts had believed that babies must be fed

at the same times every day or they would grow up to be demanding children.

Doctor Spock said babies should be fed when they are hungry. He argued that

babies know better than anyone about when and how much they need to eat. He

did not believe that feeding babies when they cry in hunger would make them

more demanding. He also believed that showing love to babies by hugging and

kissing them would make them happier and more secure.

VOICE TWO:

"The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" examined the emotional and

physical growth of children. Doctor Spock said he did not want to just tell a

parent what to do. He said he tried to explain what children generally are

like at different times in their development so parents would know what to

expect.

Doctor Spock's book did not receive much notice from the media when it was

published in nineteen forty- six. Yet, seven hundred fifty thousand copies of

the book were sold during the year after its release. Doctor Spock began

receiving many letters of thanks from mothers around the country.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock considered his mother, Mildred Spock, to be the major influence

on his personal and professional life. He said his ideas about how parents

should act were first formed because of her. He reacted to the way in which

his mother cared for him and his brother and sisters.

Doctor Spock described his mother as extremely controlling. He said she

believed all human action was the result of a physical health issue or a

moral one. She never considered her children's actions were based on

emotional needs.

Doctor Spock later argued against this way of thinking. Yet, he praised his

mother's trust of her own knowledge of her children. In his book, "Spock on

Spock," he wrote about his mother's ability to correctly identify her

children's sicknesses when the doctors were wrong.

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VOICE TWO:

Benjamin Spock was born in nineteen-oh-three. He was the first of six

children. The Spock family lived in New Haven⁵, Connecticut. His father was a

successful lawyer. Benjamin was a quiet child. He attended Phillips Academy,

a private school in Andover, Massachusetts. Later he attended Yale University

in New Haven. He joined a sports team at Yale that competed in rowing boats.

In nineteen twenty-four, he and his team members competed in rowing at the

Olympic Games in Paris, France. They won the gold medal.
VOICE ONE:#p#副标题#e#

Benjamin Spock worked at a camp for disabled children for three summers

during his years at Yale. He said the experience probably led to his decision

to enter medical school. He began at Yale Medical School, but he completed

his medical degree at Columbia University in New York City. He graduated as

the best student in his class in nineteen twenty-nine.

Benjamin Spock had married Jane Cheney during his second year in medical

school. They later had two sons, Michael and John.

Doctor Spock began working as a pediatrician, treating babies and children in

New York City in nineteen thirty-three. During the next ten years he tried to

fit the theories about how children develop with what mothers told him about

their children. In nineteen forty-three, a publisher asked him to write a

book giving advice to parents. He finished the book by writing at night

during his two years of service in the United States Navy.

Jane Spock helped her husband produce the first version of "Baby and Child

Care." She typed the book from his notes and spoken words.

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteen fifties, Doctor Spock became famous. He wrote several

other books. He wrote articles for a number of magazines. He appeared on

television programs. He taught at several universities. And he gave speeches

around the country to talk to parents about their concerns.

During this time, he discovered things he wanted to change in the book. He

wanted to make sure parents knew they should have control over their children

and expect cooperation from them. So, in nineteen fifty-seven the second

version of the book was published. He continued to make changes to "Baby and

Child Care" throughout his life. In all, there have been seven versions of

the book.

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VOICE ONE:

In the nineteen sixties, Benjamin Spock began to be active in politics. He

supported John F. Kennedy in his campaign for president. He joined a group

opposed to the development of nuclear weapons.

Doctor Spock also took part in demonstrations⁷ to protest the Vietnam War. In

nineteen sixty-eight, he was found guilty of plotting to aid men who were

refusing to join the American armed forces.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Spock appealed the ruling against him. Finally, it was cancelled.

However, the legal battle cost Doctor Spock a lot of money. The events

damaged public opinion of the once very trusted children's doctor. Fewer

people bought his books. Some people said Doctor Spock's teachings were to

blame for the way young people in the nineteen sixties and seventies rebelled

against the rules of society. A leading American religious thinker of that

time called Doctor Spock "the father of permissiveness."


In nineteen seventy-two, Doctor Spock decided⁸ to seek election as president

of the United States. He was the candidate of the small "People's Party." He

spoke⁶ out on issues concerning working families, children and minorities.

Doctor Spock received about seventy-five thousand votes in the election that

Richard Nixon won.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock's marriage had been suffering for some time. For years, Jane

Spock drank too much alcohol and suffered from depression. She reportedly

felt her husband valued his professional and political interests more than he

valued her. In nineteen seventy-five, Benjamin and Jane Spock ended their

forty-eight-year marriage. One year later, Mary Morgan became his second

wife.

VOICE TWO:

More than fifty million copies of Doctor Spock's "Baby and Child Care" book

have been sold since it was published. It has been published in thirty-nine

languages. The current version includes the latest medical developments. It

also deals with social issues such as working mothers, day care centers and

single parents.

Benjamin Spock did not see the release of the last version of his book in

May, nineteen ninety-eight. He died two months earlier at the age of ninety-

four. Yet his advice continues to affect the lives of millions of children

and their parents.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Caty Weaver. It was produced by Jill Moss⁹. I'm

Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another People in America

program in VOA Special English.