VOA慢速英语2010年-American Mosaic - An Art Exhibit Wants

MARIO RITTER: Welcome to American Mosaic¹ in VOA Special English.

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I’m Doug Johnson.

Today we answer a listener question about the oldest museum in the United States.

And listen to some of the latest songs added to the National Recording² Registry.

But first, we visit a special art exhibit in Washington, D.C.

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"Revealing Culture"

MARIO RITTER: VSA is an international organization that supports the arts for people with disabilities. Last month, the group’s festival brought artists from around the world to Washington to celebrate art and art education. VSA also organized an art exhibit called “Revealing Culture,” now on view at the Smithsonian Institution’s S. Dillon Ripley Center. Jim Tedder³ tells us more.

A view of the "Revealing Culture" exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington

JIM TEDDER: VSA hired the well-known building designer Michael Graves to design the “Revealing Culture” exhibit space. In two thousand three, an infection left him unable to move parts of his body. Mr. Graves must now use a wheelchair to move around. So he knows the problems people with disabilities face in public spaces.

This gave him a special point of view when creating this exhibit. He made sure there was space for wheelchairs to move. He also asked that the art be hung lower so people in wheelchairs can see it.

The fifty-four artists in the “Revealing Culture” exhibit make works that express their experience of the world. For example, the New York artist Busser Howell is blind. The surface of his painting, “Blue Square,” is covered in extremely thick blue paint which he applied⁴ using his fingers. Next to the work is a smaller example of his painting. Visitors can touch it to feel the roughness and smoothness of the art.

Busser Howell's painting "Blue Square"

“Four/For Mona Lisa” by Jon Berge is a sculptural work with recorded sound. He showed a picture of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous “Mona Lisa” painting to one hundred school children from poor city neighborhoods. He asked them to describe the painting to someone who cannot see. “Four/For Mona Lisa” shows the children’s written essays. There are also documents written in Braille, a method used by blind people to read and write. Sound is also part of the artwork. Visitors can listen to the children read their description of the “Mona Lisa.”

Janet Morrow was interested in the way people react to cakes, which people often eat to celebrate happy events such as birthdays. She decided⁵ to make cake sculptures that test people’s reactions. One cake is made of medicine. Another is made of tobacco products. She says these sculptures comment on problems in society such as drug use and smoking.

“Revealing Culture” wants visitors to be mindful of their senses. The curator of the exhibit, Leanne Mella, notes that western cultures value sight over other senses. She says this exhibit helps explore other ways of experiencing art and the world we live in.

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Museums in America

MARIO RITTER: Our question this week comes from Jelena, a student from Bosnia, who is visiting the United States for five months. She wants to know about the oldest museum in the United States.

We hope you enjoy your stay in the United States, Jelena. If possible, you should try to visit Washington, D.C. and see the Smithsonian Institution. It is not just one museum, but many different buildings. Most of them are around the National Mall, near the Voice of America building. At the Smithsonian museums, you will find everything from huge dinosaur⁶ bones to the Hope diamond, one of the largest in the world. If you want to learn about American history, the Smithsonian is the place to go.

Thousands of objects on display show and tell about our story. To see it all would take weeks.

The Smithsonian was started in eighteen forty-six while James Polk was President. Many people believe that the Smithsonian is America’s oldest museum. But it is not.

To find this country’s oldest museum, you have to travel to South Carolina. The Charleston Museum calls itself America’s first museum. It was started in seventeen seventy-three -- even before our country became the United States.

Objects from the Charleston Museum's silver collection

The Charleston Museum displays objects that came from the “low country” -- the land along South Carolina’s coast. This museum has a large display of southern furniture that was used over two hundred years ago. There is also a large display of things made from silver. These include a cup that was used by the first president, George Washington. And you can learn about the birds and other animals that call the low country home.

There are interesting museums in all the largest American cities. The American Association of Museums says there are about seventeen thousand five hundred museums in the United States. Many small towns also have things on display that help tell the story of the American people and the history of our country.

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National Recording Registry

MARIO RITTER: The Library of Congress has announced the latest twenty-five recordings⁷ to be added to the National Recording Registry. Recordings selected for the registry must be at least ten years old. And they must be considered “culturally, historically or aesthetically⁸ significant.” Shirley Griffith tells us about them.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: This year’s additions to the eighth yearly National Recording Registry include jazz and rock songs, rap music and a classic motion picture theme song.

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That was Jiminy Cricket singing “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Walt Disney’s nineteen forty animated⁹ movie “Pinocchio.” Cliff Edwards was the voice of Jiminy Cricket.

The Librarian of Congress, James Billington, said: “The latest list of selections showcases the diverse beauty, humanity and artistry found in the American soundscape.”

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Rhythm and blues¹⁰ pioneer Little Richard earned a spot on the list with his first single, one of the early rock and roll songs. He recorded “Tutti Frutti” in nineteen fifty-five. It was the first of more than twelve top hits for Little Richard over the next three years.

These are some of the other recordings added to the National Recording Registry: A nineteen twenty-three recording of “Canal Street Blues” by King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band. A United States Marine¹¹ Corps¹² combat field recording from the Second Battle of Guam. A nineteen forty-nine spoken-word narration¹³ of the popular children’s story “The Little Engine that Could.” The original Broadway cast recording of “Gypsy” from nineteen fifty-nine. Songs by Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Patti Smith and R.E.M. And this song, “Up on Cripple Creek,” one of many hits by The Band from nineteen sixty-nine.

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This year is the third time that a rap or hip-hop performance has been chosen for the National Recording Registry. It is “Dear Mama” by the late Tupac Shakur. The National Recording Preservation¹⁴ Board says the song honors both Tupac’s mother and mothers everywhere.

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MARIO RITTER: I'm Mario Ritter. Our program was written by Shelley Gollust, Jim Tedder and Dana Demange, who was also the producer.

You can find transcripts¹⁵, MP3s and podcasts of our shows at voaspecialenglish.com. If you have a question about American life, send an e-mail to [email protected]. We might answer it on this show. Please remember to tell us your name and where you live.

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 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。

3 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 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。

6 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

7 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

8 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

9 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

10 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。

11 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

12 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 narration   

n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体

参考例句：

• The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
• Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。

14 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

15 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