VOA慢速英语20060818b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Across the Land, the Invasion of Flip²-Flops³ Gains More Footing With a Slap-Happy CrowdBy Jill Moss⁴, Erin Schiavone and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, August 18, 2006

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Faith Lapidus. On our show this week:

We answer a question about what American Presidents do after they retire ...

Play some music by Tom Petty ...

And report about a popular kind of footwear.

Flip-Flops

Flip-flop shoes have become very popular in the United States, mostly among young people. Steve Ember tells us about them.

STEVE EMBER:


Flip flops are popular summertime footwear.

Flip-flops have a flat sole and a V-shaped strap⁵. The strap goes between the wearer's big toe and second toe and around either side of the foot. The name flip-flop comes from the noise the shoes make while slapping against the bottom of the wearer's foot and the ground when he or she walks. Listen to see if you recognize the sound.

(SOUND)

People in other countries have worn flip-flops for many years. Today, flip-flops are often made of rubber. They are popular in developing countries because of their low cost. Some flip-flips only cost about a dollar.

They recently have become very popular in the United States. Many people have worn flip-flops at the beach or around the house during the summer. But now you can see young women wearing flip-flops just about everywhere. Some people wear simple ones made of rubber. But others wear flip-flops made of leather, cloth or plastic, with jewels and other materials added. Some special flip-flops even cost a lot of money.

Most people find flip-flops pleasant to wear, especially this summer when it has been very hot around the country. Some young women wear their flip-flops to work instead of painful high heels. But other people think that flip-flops should be worn only at the beach and not at the office.

Last summer, flip-flops were in the news in Washington, D.C. Young female athletes from Northwestern University were honored at the White House. The team had just won the national lacrosse championship. Several of the young women on the team wore flip-flops to the White House celebration. Some people in the media criticized this. Many people thought it was not right to wear such shoes to the White House.

While most of the flip-flop wearers are young women, some older women wear them too. So do many young men. But other people will not wear them on city streets. They say they do not protect the foot and do not offer enough support. Some foot doctors agree. They say flip-flops have been linked to a growing number of foot problems among teenagers and young adults.

Presidential Retirement⁶

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Nepal. Amrit Rai asks what American presidents do after they retire.

Former Presidents continue to receive special government services and
From left, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford⁷ and Jimmy Carter

money after their presidential term ends. Each former president receives retirement pay, money to pay travel costs and money to pay the people who continue to work for them. They also get security protection for the rest of their lives.

Some former presidents seem to disappear from public life. But others continue to serve the American people. Former President Jimmy Carter is well known for humanitarian⁸ work since he left office. He helps build homes for poor Americans. He also helps settle international disputes. He has served as an election observer in other countries. And he has written several books.

Many people have called Mister Carter an example of a successful former president. Some experts note that public approval of Mister Carter increased several years after his defeat in the presidential election of nineteen eighty.

Just the opposite happened to former president Ronald Reagan. His popularity fell after he left office. Many people criticized him for accepting an offer from a wealthy Japanese publisher to visit Japan. Mister Reagan was paid about two million dollars to make a few appearances there. In nineteen ninety-four, Mister Reagan announced that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died ten years later.

Former President Gerald Ford has made few public appearances since leaving office. Former President George Bush has done the same. Recently, however, he and former President Bill Clinton have traveled together to places in need of aid following natural disasters. They worked together to get help for the people of Thailand following the tsunami⁹ there. And they helped the people of the American Gulf¹⁰ coast following the storm known as Hurricane Katrina.

Bill Clinton is one of the most active former presidents. He makes speeches around the world. He wrote a best-selling book about his life. And he has a foundation that supports many humanitarian causes. These include providing low cost medicines for people with H.I.V and AIDS around the world.

Tom Petty

HOST:

Rock musician Tom Petty has just released a third record under his own name. It is called Highway Companion. His band, the Heartbreakers, was not part of this album. Katherine Cole tells us more about Petty's latest effort in his thirty years of making music.

KATHERINE COLE:


Tom Petty's new album Highway Companion

Critics say many of the songs on Highway Companion are about being lost in the world and looking for something to hold on to. Petty says he did not plan to create a theme-based record. But, after listening to many of the songs he recognized the idea of being alone in the world. This song combines the sounds of Z-Z Top and John Lee Hooker into a fast beat. It is called Saving Grace.

(MUSIC)

Many songs on Highway Companion include images of motion, travel and the road. Other songs are about love. This song is about a man trying to recapture the love of a woman. It is called Jack¹¹.

(MUSIC)

Tom Petty joined forces with Jeff Lynne to produce Highway Companion. The two musicians played together in the late nineteen eighties in the band called the Traveling Wilburys. Lynne also helped produce Petty's first solo album. In Highway Companion, the two musicians create a simple sound that mixes rock, country and folk music.

Some critics say too many of the songs on Highway Companion have the same rhythm. But they agree that Highway Companion is worth the trip. We leave you now with another song from Highway Companion, Big Weekend.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Faith Lapidus. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

Our show was written by Jill Moss, Erin Schiavone and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹² was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

3 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

4 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

5 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 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。

9 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。