VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Awards Ceremony to M

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus¹ Institute will hold its thirty-third annual awards ceremony this Wednesday in Washington. The event is held every year on September fifteenth to mark the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

That was "The Glamorous² Life" performed by Sheila E. The drummer, percussionist³ and singer will perform at this week's awards ceremony.

Sheila E. is Sheila Escovedo. She comes from a long line of Mexican-American musicians. Her father, Pete Escovedo, and his brother Coke Escovedo both played with the rock and jazz band Santana. Her uncles Alejandro, Javier and Mario Escovedo are also musicians.

Sheila E. gained fame in the nineteen eighties when she performed with Prince. But the Grammy-nominated musician has been making music for nearly forty years.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Actress Eva Longoria Parker was seated with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel at a state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon in May

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute provides educational, career and leadership development services. Three Hispanic members of Congress formed the institute in nineteen seventy-eight. Edward Roybal, Kika de la Garza and Baltasar Corrada wanted to help prepare young Hispanics to become future leaders.

The twenty-first century has brought a historic change in the United States. Hispanics now outnumber blacks as the nation's largest ethnic⁴ or racial minority group. They are also the nation's fastest-growing minority.

The Census⁵ Bureau estimates that more than forty-eight million people of Hispanic heritage were living in the United States as of July of last year.

At that time Hispanics were sixteen percent of the population. By the middle of twenty fifty, the agency predicts that Hispanics will be thirty percent of the population. They are expected to number nearly one hundred thirty-three million people.

Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September fifteenth through October fifteenth. It celebrates the history and culture of people with ancestry⁶ in Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas.

September fifteenth was chosen as the starting date because several Latin American countries celebrate their independence on or near that date. This year marks the two hundredth anniversary of Mexico's declaration of independence from Spain on September sixteenth, eighteen ten.

Each year the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute honors three members of the Hispanic community. One of this year's honorees is actress Eva Longoria Parker. She is one of the stars of the television series "Desperate Housewives. "

Eva Longoria Parker recently learned something new about her Hispanic heritage. On the TV talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" she said she had a DNA⁷ test done to confirm her ancestry.

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "My whole life, I'm like, I'm Mexican and I'm really -- I'm a proud Mexican-American and I swear I was an Aztec princess in my past life.

JIMMY KIMMEL: "Of course."

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "And then I do the blood test and I'm seventy-five percent Spaniard."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "Seventy-five percent Spaniard."

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Yes, it totally screwed me up."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "But isn't everyone, most everyone from Mexico, not most, but a lot of people?"

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Obviously it's a mixture of indigenous⁸ people and Spaniards because of the conquest. But I thought I was mostly Mexican, not mostly Spaniard."

JIMMY KIMMEL: "And the other percentages are?"

EVA LONGORIA PARKER: "Mayan! I'm Mayan. I thought I was Aztec this whole time, but I do think I was a Mayan princess now."

VOICE ONE:

In addition to acting⁹, Eva Longoria Parker is active in charitable work. She will receive an award for leadership and community service.

Her organization, Eva's Heroes, works to improve the lives of people with developmental problems. She is also the spokeswoman for Padres Contra el Cancer. This nonprofit organization works to improve the quality of life for Hispanic children with cancer.

Ms. Parker also works with several other organizations. These include the Mexican-American Legal Defense¹⁰ and Educational Fund and the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Arturo Sandoval performs the national anthem¹¹ before the Orange Bowl college football game in Miami, Florida, on January 1, 2009

Arturo Sandoval is a Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and pianist. He is also being honored at this year's awards ceremony. His mix of jazz, classical, rock and traditional Cuban music has been praised around the world.

The Cuban-born musician received political asylum¹² in the United States in nineteen ninety. He became an American citizen in nineteen ninety nine.

He will receive an award for his work with music education programs. Here, Arturo Sandoval plays the title song from his Grammy Award-winning album "Rumba Palace."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Lin-Manuel Miranda, composer of "In the Heights," was excited to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 2008

The third person who will be honored by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute is Lin-Manuel Miranda. He is an award-winning actor, playwright¹³ and composer who comes from a Puerto Rican family. Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth¹⁴ in the Caribbean.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is best known for writing the Broadway musical "In the Heights." The play tells the story of the Latino community where he grew up in the Washington Heights area of New York City.

The show won four Tony Awards during its first year on Broadway in two thousand eight. And it was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in two thousand nine.

Lin-Manuel Miranda often plays the lead part of Uznavi. Here he is with the title song from "In the Heights."

(SOUND)

Lin-Manuel Miranda is being honored for his work with several organizations. These include Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Hispanic Federation¹⁵. They also include the Latina Suicide Prevention Program of Woodhull Medical Center in New York.

The theme for this year's awards ceremony is "Celebrating History, Heritage and the American Dream." More than three thousand Hispanic leaders from across the country are expected to attend.

Pop star Irvin "Pee Wee" Salinas will also perform. He was lead singer of the group Los Kumbia Kings, later renamed the Kumbia Allstars.

He released his first solo album in August of two thousand nine. "Yo Soy" reached number one on Billboard's Latin Pop Albums Chart. Here he is performing "Cumbaya."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, events are held around the country. The observance began as National Hispanic Heritage Week in nineteen sixty-eight under President Lyndon Johnson. In nineteen eighty-eight President Ronald Reagan and Congress expanded the celebration to a month-long event.

Here in Washington, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will sponsor a Latino Art and Culture Tour. The exhibit traces the work of Hispanic artists from the nineteenth century to the present.

The National Zoo will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a fiesta, Spanish for a party. There will be music, dancers, and traditional crafts and foods. There are also several events planned at the National Museum of American History, including films, performances and discussions.

We leave you with another performance from the Broadway play "In the Heights." This one is titled "96,000."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by June Simms. I'm Steve Ember. You can find transcripts¹⁶, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English
 

1 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

2 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

3 percussionist   

n.打击乐器演奏者

参考例句：

• She overcame her deafness and eventually became a successful percussionist. 她克服了耳聋的毛病，最后当了打击乐队敲打手。 来自辞典例句
• For many years I practiced these techniques as a professional percussionist in jazz and new music. 许多年来作为一个职业的爵士乐和新音乐演奏者我不断实践着。 来自互联网

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

7 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

12 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

13 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

14 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

15 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。

16 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