VOA慢速英语2009-AMERICAN MOSAIC - The Raconteurs Skillfully Tell

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week…

We listen to new music from the Raconteurs³…

And answer a listener question about President Abraham Lincoln…

But, first we talk about Twitter...

Twitter

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HOST:

The nineteen fifties song "Rockin' Robin⁴" was about a bird that loved to tweet, or sing. But to a new generation of high-speed communicators, a tweet describes a message sent through a popular new service. Barbara Klein tells us about Twitter.

BARBARA KLEIN:
　
Twitter posts are called tweets

Many people use E-mail, blogs, text messages and social Web sites like Facebook to keep in touch with their friends. Now there is also Twitter. This online service lets people send short messages that are no more than one hundred forty letters long.

Here is how it works: Users can set up their own Twitter page by joining the free service on Twitter.com. They can search the Web site to find friends who are also using the service. By choosing to "follow" friends, users can see their new messages. Updates appear instantly in a list form as they are written. Twittering describes writing new updates on Twitter. A tweet is an individual Twitter update, or message.

Unlike blogs, Twitter users do not have to log onto the Web site to post updates. They can send and receive messages through mobile phones as text messages or through E-mail. Other programs available for download make Twitter updates appear on your computer screen. People use social Web sites like Facebook to share information with a special group of friends. But most Twitter users make their messages public.

Twitter says its service provides a way for people to stay connected to others, through messages describing what they are doing at that moment. But twitterers also use the service to get quick answers to questions or to get breaking news.

For example, when he was a presidential candidate, Barack Obama announced his choice for vice⁵ president on Twitter.

Many other politicians in Washington use Twitter to share their daily activities with supporters. They reportedly include former Republican presidential candidate John McCain. In addition, news agencies provide updates and companies share product information.

Some critics say Twitter is a waste of time that takes people's attention away from their work. Yet a growing number of users around the world see it as the latest method for busy people to get and share information quickly.

Abraham Lincoln

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Brazil. Silvio Sabenca wants to know more about the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.

Good timing⁶, Silvio. February twelfth is the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest and beloved American presidents. But, in some ways he was one of the most unlikely.
　
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in eighteen-oh-nine. He grew up in Indiana. His family was poor and had no school education. But Abraham Lincoln taught himself what he needed to know. He became a lawyer. He served in the Illinois state legislature and in the United States Congress. He was elected president in eighteen sixty.

President Lincoln led the United States during the Civil War. He sent Northern forces to battle the slave-holding Southern states to keep them from leaving the Union. President Lincoln freed the slaves and helped keep the nation together.

In the end, it cost him his life. On April fourteenth, eighty sixty-five, a Southern supporter shot President Lincoln in Ford's Theater in Washington. It happened five days after the South surrendered and the Civil War ended.

Abraham Lincoln wrote some of the most important words in American history. In eighteen sixty-three, he gave what became his best known speech. The Union army had won a major battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Ceremonies were held there to honor the dead at a burial place on the battlefield.

President Lincoln spoke⁷ at Gettysburg for only about two minutes. Written copies of his speech differ. Without a recording⁸, no one can be sure exactly what he said. But his speech has never been forgotten. Here is some of the Gettysburg Address:

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated⁹, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate¹⁰ -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated¹¹ it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

You can learn more about Abraham Lincoln on the Special English program "THIS IS AMERICA" at this time on Monday.

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Raconteurs

HOST:
　
The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs make music that lives up to the band's name. The word "raconteur²" describes a person who is skillful at telling stories. The band members describe themselves as a new band made up of old friends. All the band members have established music careers doing other projects. But they decided¹² to come together as a band to try something different. Mario Ritter has more.

MARIO RITTER:

The lead singer of the Raconteurs may sound familiar. Jack¹³ White is also a member of the band called the White Stripes. The Raconteurs also include the songwriter and guitarist Brendan Benson. The other members are Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence who are part of the band called the Greenhornes.

These musicians had performed together over the years. But in two thousand five, they decided to play together officially as the Raconteurs. Here is "Steady, As She Goes" from their first album, "Broken Boy Soldiers."

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The Raconteurs' latest album is called "Consolers of the Lonely." The band released the album in an unusual way. They announced their new album only a week before it went on sale to avoid the usual publicity¹⁴ created by critics. Here is the song "The Switch and the Spur."

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Last year, the Raconteurs played at several music festivals. They included Coachella in California, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and Bonnaroo in Tennessee. We leave you with "Many Shades of Black" from "Consolers of the Lonely."

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HOST:

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

It was written by Brianna Blake, Caty Weaver¹⁵ and Dana Demange. Mario Ritter was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, 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 raconteur   

n.善讲故事者

参考例句：

• The raconteur mentioned that the quotation was from the Bible.说故事的那位个人，指出那句话是出自圣经。
• His grandfather was a fine raconteur.他的祖父是位很好讲故事的人。

3 raconteurs   

n.善于讲轶事的人( raconteur的名词复数 )

参考例句：

4 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 consecrate   

v.使圣化，奉…为神圣；尊崇；奉献

参考例句：

• Consecrate your life to the church.把你的生命奉献给教堂吧。
• The priest promised God he would consecrate his life to helping the poor.牧师对上帝允诺他将献身帮助穷人。

11 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 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。

14 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

15 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。