The great American pianist Van Cliburn

 

From VOA Learning English, welcome to AS IT IS!

Hello, I'm Steve Ember.

Today, Mario Ritter tells us about how retired¹ Roman Catholic Bishop² Paride Taban has served people in Sudan -- sometimes at the risk of his life.

Kelly Jean Kelly tells about the continuing struggle for free speech in Egypt.

And we'll have a tribute to the great American pianist Van Cliburn, who died last week.

Humanitarian³ bishop Paride Taban helped shelter and feed thousands of people during many years of armed conflict in Sudan. Now the United Nations has awarded the retired Roman Catholic Church official the 2013

Sergio Vieira de Mello Prize. The peace award is named for a former U.N. official who died in a bombing in Iraq in 2003. Mario Ritter has more.

Bishop Paride Taban is being recognized for starting and lending his support to a cooperative village in southern Sudan. He established the peace village in 2004 for people from several tribes, nationalities and religions. And at age 76, the bishop continues to encourage good relationships among all Sudanese people.

Paride Taban was born in 1936 and became a priest of the Catholic Church in 1964. At that time, the first Sudanese civil war was going on, and religious workers had been expelled from southern Sudan. But the clergyman did not flee.

"I remained throughout the war, under bombs, under persecution⁴, and many intellectuals and priests had to leave the country."

Bishop Taban says he got the idea for a cooperative, peaceful community partly from visits to Israel. In that country, he traveled to a cooperative village. Israelis, Palestinian Jews, Christians⁵ and Muslims all lived there together. So he asked himself, why not establish such a community in Sudan?

In 1999, Bishop Taban started a demonstration⁶ farm in southern Sudan. At the time, violent cattle raids were taking place there. But he helped change that place of warfare⁷ into the peace village of Kuron. His actions earned him the peace prize. I'm Mario Ritter.

You are listening to "As It Is" in VOA Special English.

Egyptians are struggling over whether to set limits on free speech. They won rights to free speech in the country's political unrest two years ago. Kelly Jean Kelly has more.

In the past two years, Egyptians have used free speech in ways considered unimaginable in the past. Ways like online activism and street protests… But writer Alaa el Aswany says the feeling of freedom is not real. He says the government of President Mohamed Morsi is setting its own policies.

"The formula is the following: you write whatever you want, and I'm going to do whatever I want."

Alaa el Aswany says the problem is that Egypt's current leadership has reduced free speech even more than former president Hosni Mubarak. The writer says President Morsi took legal action against about ten writers over a period of about six months. They were accused of insulting the president. In 30 years, the writer says, Mr. Mubarak did that three times.

It is not just insults to political leaders that have led to a reaction in Egypt. A video insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad incited⁸ an attack on the American Embassy in Cairo. The attack resulted in death sentences for the Egyptians who made the video. Happily for them, they were not present when the sentences were announced.

Safwat al Ghani is with the group Gama'a Islamiya. He says he believes in freedom that is controlled by what he calls "respect for sacredness and the conventions of Islam." Many Egyptians agree with him.

But they do not want freedom of expression for politicians -- or humorists who make fun of the government.

Publisher Rania Al Malki says the government needs to ease restrictions⁹ on free speech. And, she says nobody understands parts of the new constitution related to control of the media.

"We have a situation here where the constitution has mandated¹⁰ the creation of two new bodies to regulate the media. But we have no clue what that is going to entail¹¹."

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

Internationally celebrated¹² American pianist Van Cliburn died Wednesday at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. He was 78 years old.

"You're always hoping to play well. And if you don't play well, YOU are the unhappiest person. So you want to please your audience."

And please his audiences he did.

Van Cliburn was 23 years old when he performed in the famous Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, in April of 1958. This was at the height of the Cold War period between the then Soviet¹³ Union and the United States. The Soviets¹⁴ had, only months earlier, launched the first orbiting earth satellite, Sputnik One. The Tchaikowsky competition was intended to also demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority.

But Cliburn's performances, including this music, the Tchaikowsky Piano Concerto¹⁵ No.1, had the Russian audience chanting "First Prize! First Prize!"

There was concern about awarding first prize to an American, but when premier¹⁶ Nikita Khruschev was approached for his permission, he asked "Was he the Best? Then give it to him."

His victory launched a career that made him unusually famous for a classical musician. He also became a hero to music-loving people in the former Soviet Union.

Following the competition, a ticker tape parade in New York's Lower Manhattan, with 100,000 people lining¹⁷ the streets, welcomed him back to the United States.

His RCA Victor recording¹⁸ of the Tchaikowsky Concerto was the first classical recording to gain platinum¹⁹ status by selling over a million copies within a year. It is still available on CD.

Throughout his career, he had a great interest in encouraging young people to take up classical music. He established the annual Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in his home town of Fort Worth.

"It's been so interesting to see the young people come. They meet each other and have friendships and musical correspondences. It's really very exciting. And it's like the same feeling I had when I went to Russia in 1958. The warmth and camaraderie²⁰ – it carried through all through the years."

He also encouraged the careers of young performers by creating several scholarship programs.

Cliburn continued to perform concerts and solo recitals²¹, but in 1978, he walked off the stage, professionally exhausted²². He would play occasionally in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but he mainly lived out his final years outside of the public spotlight²³.

His death last week, at the age of 78 was the result of advanced bone cancer.

A favorite saying of Van Cliburn was his take on a statement by the great 20th century Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff: "Great music is enough for a lifetime. But a lifetime is not enough for great music."

And that's "As It Is" in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. Thanks for joining us.

1 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。

2 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

7 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

8 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

11 entail   

vt.使承担，使成为必要，需要

参考例句：

• Such a decision would entail a huge political risk.这样的决定势必带来巨大的政治风险。
• This job would entail your learning how to use a computer.这工作将需要你学会怎样用计算机。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

14 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

15 concerto   

n.协奏曲

参考例句：

• The piano concerto was well rendered.钢琴协奏曲演奏得很好。
• The concert ended with a Mozart violin concerto.音乐会在莫扎特的小提琴协奏曲中结束。

16 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

17 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

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 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

20 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

21 recitals   

n.独唱会( recital的名词复数 )；独奏会；小型音乐会、舞蹈表演会等；一系列事件等的详述

参考例句：

• His recitals have earned him recognition as a talented performer. 他的演奏会使他赢得了天才演奏家的赞誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her teachers love her playing, and encourage her to recitals. 她的老师欣赏她的演奏，并鼓励她举办独奏会。 来自互联网

22 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

23 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。