VOA慢速英语2009年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Tony Hawk Brings Skating

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

This week on our program, we play music by a new country band called Love and Theft …

And answer a question about social parties in the United States ...

But first, we tell about an organization that builds skate parks for young people living in cities.

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Tony Hawk² Foundation

HOST:

Tony Hawk became a champion skateboarder in the nineteen eighties when he was a teenager. The sport helped him overcome emotional problems he faced as a young child. Now the Tony Hawk Foundation helps young people by building skate parks in cities around the country. Barbara Klein has our story.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Tony Hawk does not compete in skateboard competitions anymore. He retired³ from that part of his life ten years ago, at the age of thirty-one. But he still skates and he still works in the industry.

He is involved in a skateboard company called Birdhouse and a company called Hawk Clothing that makes clothing for skateboarders. He also created a popular video game series. In two thousand, Tony Hawk wrote a book about his life called "Hawk: Occupation: Skateboarder."
　
Channel Street Skatepark in Los Angeles, California

Two years later, he established his charity, the Tony Hawk Foundation. He says it reaches young people who might feel the way he did as a child.

TONY HAWK: "They don't find their place in the traditional team sports or ball sports and they're looking for something else. And, skateboarding, I think, is much more available to them and a lot of kids really enjoy that it's different."

The foundation has given away almost three million dollars since two thousand two. It has helped build more than four hundred skate parks across the United States. Tony Hawk says young skateboarders take part in designing and building the parks.

TONY HAWK: "And I feel like that's the real accomplishment⁴ for them, is that they saw it through. They cut through all the red tape and they finally made it happen. And there it is. There is literally⁵ concrete evidence of their work."

Tony Hawk says skateboarding was once a sport on the edge of society. Now, he says it is much more accepted. And he says skateboarding is giving young people some healthy competition in the inner cities of the United States.

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Party Time

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. Vivien wants to know about parties in the United States. Americans plan parties for many reasons. As in other cultures, many Americans attend parties for weddings and religious and national holidays. But some parties are especially American.

For example, a group of neighbors may gather on their street to eat food, play music and visit with one another. This is called a block party. A woman might invite a group of women to a party called a baby shower for a friend who is about to give birth. Guests bring presents for the new baby.

Americans also attend tailgate parties. A tailgate is the back end of a truck or other vehicle that opens down. Tailgating parties are a big part of sports culture in the United States.

Friends bring food and drinks to a sports event. They eat together in the parking area of the sports stadium.

They gather around the tailgate to eat hotdogs and hamburgers cooked on a grill⁶. There is a good chance that these tailgaters will also be drinking beer.

Birthday parties are also very popular. Many parents organize a party for their child around a theme. We asked a spokesman⁷ for a party supplier called the Oriental⁸ Trading Company what the most popular parties are right now. She says rock star parties are very popular for young girls and boys. And she says Luau parties with Hawaiian decorations and clothing are very popular with adults.

Birthday parties usually include gifts and a birthday cake with candles. In many parts of the United States, cupcakes have become a popular replacement⁹ for cakes. Cupcakes are individual sized cakes topped with a layer of sweet icing.

Birthday parties can be low cost or very costly¹⁰. Some parents take their children's birthday parties very seriously, even when the child is too young to fully¹¹ understand the celebration.

One group of parents started a Web site called Birthdays without Pressure. They decided¹² that some parents were under too much social pressure to plan costly parties for their children.

The group sees this movement as an example of America's culture of "too much stuff." The group's Web site gives suggestions on how to keep birthday celebrations simple, meaningful and fun without spending a lot of money. Their advice may be all the more helpful during this period of economic recession¹³.

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Love and Theft

HOST:

Love and Theft is a new country band out of Nashville, Tennessee. The three member group took its name from the title of an album by Bob Dylan. Bob Doughty¹⁴ has our report on the band and its first studio album, "World Wide Open."

BOB DOUGHTY:
　
Love and Theft

The members of Love and Theft are Stephen Barker Liles, Brian Bandas and Eric Gunderson. All three young men play guitar and piano. They also sing and write songs. Gunderson also plays bass¹⁵.

The men met in Nashville about three years ago. They had all moved to the city to study how to write music. The three immediately sensed that they got along well musically. They started writing songs and playing music together. Six months later they performed in public for the first time.

Their appearance led to a recording¹⁶ contract. Here is the title song from their album, "World Wide Open."

(MUSIC)

Last year, Love and Theft appeared in concerts as the opening act for country music star Taylor Swift. In March, the band performed for the first time at the famous Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. The band is also making radio and live appearances in support of their new album. Here the band performs "Can't Go Back" from "World Wide Open."

(MUSIC)

The first single released by Love and Theft deals with the risks the band members took to seek careers in the music industry. We leave you with that song, "Runaway," from "World Wide Open."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Dana Demange and Caty Weaver¹⁷, who was also our producer. For transcripts¹⁸, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on our programs.

Do you have a question about people, places or things in America? You can send it to [email protected] we may answer it on this show.

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 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

3 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

4 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

7 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

8 oriental   

adj.东方的，东方人的，东方文化的

参考例句：

• China is an oriental country with a long history.中国是一个有着悠久历史的东方国家。
• They maintain a very powerful fleet in Oriental waters.他们在远东海域保持着一支非常强大的舰队。

9 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

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 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

14 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

15 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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