VOA慢速英语2009-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Speeches That Sent Off '09

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. This week we:

Present graduation speeches by famous speakers at several American colleges …

Answer a listener question about "Star Trek²" …

And play music from Ziggy Marley's new reggae album.

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Graduation Speeches

HOST:

Most colleges and universities have a special person speak to their students during graduation ceremonies. Mario Ritter tells us about several graduation speeches given last month by some very famous speakers.

MICHELLE OBAMA: "There are few things that are more rewarding than to watch young people recognize that they have the power to make their dreams come true. You did just that. Your perseverance³ and creativity were on full display in your efforts to bring me here to Merced for this wonderful occasion."

MARIO RITTER:
　
Michelle Obama speaking at the University of California, Merced

That was part of a speech First Lady Michelle Obama gave last month at a graduation ceremony at the University of California, Merced.

The ceremony honored the school's first full class of graduates since opening in two thousand five. Missus Obama praised the determination of the students, who sent thousands of letters to the White House asking her to come speak at their graduation. Her speech gave a message of hope to people living in areas affected⁴ by drought, high unemployment and housing problems.

President Obama was also busy with graduation events. He spoke⁵ at Arizona State University in Tempe and the United States Naval⁶ Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. But it was his speech at the University of Notre Dame⁷ in Indiana that received the most attention. For days, activists⁸ near the Catholic university protested Mister Obama's appearance because of his policies supporting abortion⁹. The president recognized this dispute in his speech.

BARACK OBAMA: "The question, then -- the question then is how do we work through these conflicts? Is it possible for us to join hands in common effort? As citizens of a vibrant¹⁰ and varied¹¹ democracy, how do we engage in vigorous debate?"

Other members of the Obama administration gave speeches as well. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel spoke at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to graduates at New York University in New York City. She introduced a new program for young people to work with American embassies to create "digital diplomacy¹²".

HILLARY CLINTON: "That's why today, I am please to announce that over the next year, the State Department will be creating Virtual Student Foreign Service Internships to harness the energy of a rising generation of citizen diplomats¹³."

The environmentalist Paul Hawken had a very direct message for graduates at the University of Portland in Oregon. He told students it was time for them to learn what it means to be a human being on Earth at a time when every living system was failing. He said the Earth is hiring and it was up to them to join together and do what is needed to help save the planet.

Star Trek

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CAPTAIN KIRK: "Space. The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, its five year mission to explore strange new worlds."

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. Min Yu wants to know why "Star Trek" is so popular in America.

This is a timely question. The newest film version of "Star Trek" was released last month. It is based on the television series that began in the nineteen sixties. "Star Trek" tells about a huge Federation¹⁴ starship operated by a multicultural¹⁵ crew that explores the galaxy¹⁶.

The newest "Star Trek" movie is about the characters in the first television series and how they met. It shows James T. Kirk, Spock and Leonard "Bones" McCoy as young men training to become officers. The movie has been a big success. And it has introduced "Star Trek" to a new generation of fans.

People who love all things "Star Trek" are often called Trekkies or Trekkers. Serious Trekkers join fan clubs, read "Star Trek" magazines and attend events like "Star Trek" conventions.
　
Trekkers waiting in line in Los Angeles, California, to see the first public viewing of the new "Star Trek" movie

We asked two Trekkers why they love the series. Clara Park of New York City says she first fell in love with "Star Trek" in the late nineteen eighties by watching the "Next Generation" television series. She says she liked its perfect world with no disease, no discrimination and a very orderly government. In college she went to a "Star Trek" convention to meet the actor Patrick Stewart who played the role of Jean-Luc Picard. Miz Park says it was very exciting to meet him and see fans dressed up as characters on the show.

Miles Watson of Los Angeles, California, says watching "Star Trek" on television is one of his earliest memories. He praises the show for its writing which skillfully sets off the chemistry among the three main characters. They were played by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly. Mister Watson says the universe shown in the series sparks the imagination by creating a sense of wonder. He says many shows he watched as a child were filled with action. But few were as filled with adventure, mystery and excitement as "Star Trek."

Lincoln Geraghty is a film studies professor at the University of Portsmouth in Britain. He has written books and articles on "Star Trek." He studies the ways Trekkers have formed communities of support to tell stories about how the series helped them overcome difficult situations. Professor Geraghty says that "Star Trek's" message of hope, community, and self-improvement are central to American culture, history and identity.

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Ziggy Marley

HOST:

Ziggy Marley is a musician with a special link to family. His father was the reggae star Bob Marley. Ziggy Marley grew up making music with his brothers and sisters in their band, the Melody Makers¹⁷. Ziggy recently released his third album, "Family Time." His five children helped influence his ideas for the record. He says music can be an important link between a parent and child. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

(MUSIC)
　
Ziggy Marley

That was the title song, "Family Time," from Ziggy Marley's latest album. Like many songs on the record, this one has a special guest performer. Marley's daughter Judah was three years old when she made the recording¹⁸ with her father.

He says he invited his daughter and fifty of her friends to the studio on the first day of recording. He wanted them to bless the studio with their young spirit.

Here is the song "Cry, Cry, Cry" which Ziggy Marley performs with the singers Jack¹⁹ Johnson and Paula Fuga.

(MUSIC)

Ziggy Marley says these children's songs are aimed at teaching younger generations about reggae music. He says this music helps children grow with open minds and open hearts. Part of the money from album sales will help a school in Port Antonio, Jamaica.

We leave you with "Walk Tall" sung by Ziggy Marley and Paul Simon.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written and produced by Dana Demange. For transcripts²⁰, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and where you live.

Please 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 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 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。

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

11 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

12 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

13 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

15 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

16 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

17 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 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。

19 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。

20 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句