VOA慢速英语-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Willie and Wynton: Two Men With th

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week on our show:

Music from Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson performing together ...

And a question from a listener about America's purchase of Alaska from Russia …

But first, another listener wants to know how Muslims in America observe Ramadan.

(MUSIC)

Ramadan in America

HOST:

Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan. A listener named Trang Tong would like to know more about Ramadan and how Muslims in America observe it. Faith Lapidus has our report.

MOHAMOUD ADAN: "This is date. As soon as we break the Ramadan we start eating dates. Minimum three dates. Three pieces…"

FAITH LAPIDUS:
　
The Adan family during Ramadan prayers

That is Mohamoud Adan, a sixty-five year old father of five from Somalia. He now lives in Fairfax, Virginia. He is explaining the first foods to eat after breaking the fast of Ramadan. He says one must eat dates, a sweet, chewy fruit.

There are between six million and eight million Muslims in the United States. Some were born here. Many others are immigrants from around the world. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, is the holiest time in Islam. It is when Muslims believe the prophet² Mohammed was given the words of the Koran, the Islamic holy book, about one thousand four hundred years ago.

Muslims do not eat between sunrise until sunset during Ramadan. They fast to show their obedience³ and respect for Allah, or God. By nightfall, everyone is quite hungry. First there is just a taste of the dates and a few other things and then it is time for prayers.

(SOUND: PRAYERS)
　
Asli Adan, 18, in the kitchen

Families usually prepare big meals during the day. They buy meat at special Halal stores that follow Islamic laws in food preparation. The Adan family meal includes goat, chicken, rice, potatoes, fruit, a green salad, a cold drink and warm tea. Eighteen-year-old Asli has prepared the whole dinner herself.

During the meal the Adan family and friends discuss their former lives in Somalia, popular music, the good food they are eating and many other subjects. But mostly they talk about the Koran, the prophet Mohammed and the meaning of Ramadan. And they are happy to teach the one non-Muslim guest all they believe about the mysteries and miracles of Islam.

Mohamoud Adan says it is all in the book. He says the Koran includes religion, history, science and telling the future.

MOHAMOUD ADAN: "Part of the Koran is historical. It tells what happened at -- it tells creation⁴, what happened. Plus what will happen in the future. So, if you learn the Koran, you learn geography, you learn science, you learn social science, all aspects of life."

Ramadan will last for about twenty more days, until the new moon is seen. After it is over, a celebration called Eid al-Fitr begins.

(SOUND)

And now it is time for evening prayers at the mosque⁵. Some of the Adans and their friends are attending. When they return home, they will probably eat and drink some more. Another long day of Ramadan fast will begin again the next day.

Alaska Purchase

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vladimir in Moscow. He wants to know how America bought Alaska from Russia.

Alaska is across the Bering Strait from Siberia. Russia had taken control of the territory in the seventeen hundreds. The Russians traded with native groups there, but later decided⁶ to offer the land for sale.
　
William Seward

American Secretary of State William Seward had wanted to buy it for a long time. He quickly prepared a treaty of purchase. The sale took place in eighteen sixty-seven, while Andrew Johnson was president. The United States paid Russia just over seven million dollars.

Many Americans thought the deal was foolish. They called it "Seward's Folly⁷." Seven million dollars was too much for what they thought was a worthless piece of frozen⁸ land.

But American traders and business leaders knew that it was rich with resources. They said owning it would improve business for states along the Pacific coast.

Political leaders said the purchase would be good for the United States because it would end all Russian presence in North America. And they said it would help guarantee friendly relations with Russia.

Alaskans first asked to become a state in nineteen sixteen. Finally, in nineteen fifty-eight, Congress approved the Alaskan Statehood Act.

Alaska became the forty-ninth state on January third, nineteen fifty-nine. Hawaii became the fiftieth state in August of that year.

Alaska borders northwestern Canada. The name comes from Alyeska, an Aleut native word for "great land." For its seven million dollars, the United States got Alaska's oil, natural gas, forests, salmon⁹, gold and copper¹⁰ and other resources.

Alaska is the largest in territory of the fifty states yet forty-seventh in population. Fewer than seven hundred thousand people live there. Alaska's nickname¹¹ is "the Last Frontier" and its official motto is "North to the Future."

Wynton and Willie

HOST:
　
Willie Nelson performs with Wynton Marsalis at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in July

Last year, two superstars of country music and jazz teamed up for two days of concerts in New York City. Willie Nelson is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. Wynton Marsalis is a trumpet¹² player and composer. He is also the artistic¹³ director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. Their music was recorded for an album released this summer called "Two Men With the Blues¹⁴." Shirley Griffith has our story.

(Music)

That's Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis performing the Duke Ellington song "Don't Get Around Much Anymore."

"Two Men With the Blues" was number twenty in its first week of release on Billboard¹⁵ magazine's Top Two Hundred album chart. That is the highest a Willie Nelson album has ever reached in its first week. And it is the highest ever for an album by Wynton Marsalis.

Here they are with Willie Nelson's song "Night Life."

(Music)

So far, the seventy-five year old Nelson and forty-six year old Marsalis have been too busy to go on tour together. But they plan to share the stage again in New York this February as part of the seventieth anniversary of Blue Note Records.

We leave you with the two men and the song "Ain't Nobody's Business." Wait, who's that singing with Willie? That's Wynton, in a rare performance of song.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁶. To read and listen to our programs online, go to voaspecialenglish.com. 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 prophet   

n.预言家，先知，提倡者

参考例句：

• A prophet made a prophecy that the kingdom would fall.一位预言家预言那个王国将要灭亡。
• The pity is that you are not a prophet.可惜你不能未卜先知。

3 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

4 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

8 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

9 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

10 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

11 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

12 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

13 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

14 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

15 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

16 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。