AMERICAN MOSAIC - 'Freshman 15' Defined / Ray Charles' Last

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - 'Freshman² 15' Defined / Ray Charles' Last Album / Black History Month
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Broadcast: Friday, January 28, 2005

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

The Grammy-nominated music of Ray Charles and some friends …

A question about a weighty part of college life ...

And a look at the upcoming observance of Black History Month.

Black History Month

Black History Month begins Tuesday in the United States. The idea for this yearly observance dates back to the work of an African American historian, Carter Woodson. Faith Lapidus has our story.

 
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FAITH LAPIDUS: Carter Woodson was born in Virginia in eighteen seventy-five. He was the son of former slaves. As a young man, Mister Woodson worked as a coal miner. Later, he studied at Harvard University and received a doctorate⁴ degree.

Carter Woodson became an educator. He saw that not much was written about the involvement of black people in American history. And what was written was not always correct.

So, in nineteen-fifteen Mister Woodson formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The goal was to organize and support research into black history.

In nineteen twenty-six, one week in February was chosen to observe what was then called Negro History Week. In nineteen seventy-six, it became Black History Month.

This year, Black History Month honors the Niagara Movement. That movement was formed in nineteen oh five by another educator and Harvard graduate, W.E.B. DuBois.

The Niagara Movement rejected the ideas of Booker T. Washington, a leading black thinker of the time. He did not think black people should protest unfair treatment by the white majority. He thought they should accept it for a time. Booker T. Washington urged African Americans to try to improve their place in society through hard work.

The Niagara Movement of W.E.B. DuBois called for complete political, civil and social rights for black Americans. The Niagara Movement lasted only five years. But, it led to the creation of the National Association for the Advancement⁵ of Colored People. The N-double-A-C-P is still active today in the fight to end racism⁶ and improve conditions for people of color in America.

Freshman Fifteen

 
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DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Japan. Fumio Nishimoto teaches English at the Osaka University of Foreign Studies. His students have heard about the "freshman fifteen." They want to know what it means.

It means fifteen pounds, or about seven kilograms. This is how much weight students might expect to gain in their first year of college.

People used to talk about the "freshman ten." Before that, it was the "freshman five." Are freshman more inflated⁷, or just the expression?

The fact is, many young men and women do put on extra weight when they start college. Some schools have done research on the issue. Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has found that freshmen⁸ gain an average of four pounds during their first twelve weeks. That is almost two kilograms.

If weight gain continues at this rate, how long before they put on fifteen pounds? Let's see [scribbling sounds] ... that's one pound every three weeks, times fifteen, equals ...

The answer is forty-five weeks, or almost a year.

The next question is, why do so many freshmen gain weight? The answers listed by experts are not so surprising. One is poor diet. College students often eat foods high in fat and sugar and starch⁹. After all, there are no parents around to say no to junk food.

Students may also miss meals. They could be in class or studying or just … busy. In any case, those who miss meals are more likely to overeat when they do have food.

Also, freshmen often use food to put their mind at ease. They have college pressures to deal with. Not only that, many are living away from home for the first time.

Another reason college students gain weight is that they often do not get enough exercise.

Finally, there is something else that can add up to the "freshman five" or ten or fifteen. That is alcohol. Alcohol is high in calories. This is especially true of beer. And, no, freshmen are not supposed to be drinking. Not unless they are twenty-one, the legal drinking age in America.

For many college students, the extra weight they put on in their freshman year can be as hard to escape as term papers and final exams.

Genius Loves Company

 
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The American music industry will present its Grammy Awards on February thirteenth in Los Angeles, California. An album by Ray Charles has been nominated for ten Grammy Awards. Jim Tedder¹⁰ tells us about it.

JIM TEDDER: The famous singer and musician Ray Charles died in June. "Genius Loves Company" is the last album he recorded. He performed songs with Natalie Cole, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and other famous artists. "Genius Loves Company" is nominated for Best Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal¹¹ Album and eight other Grammy Awards.

This song, "Here We Go Again," is nominated for Record of the Year. Ray Charles sings it with Norah Jones.

(MUSIC)

"Genius Loves Company" was released in August. It has sold more than two million copies in the United States alone. This is more than any other record Ray Charles made during his sixty years of recording¹² music.

Another song on the album, "Heaven Help Us All," was nominated for Best Gospel Performance. Here are Ray Charles and Gladys Knight¹³.

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Ray Charles made two hundred fifty recordings¹⁴. He received twelve Grammy Awards and many other honors. A popular new movie about his life, called "Ray," opened in October. Critics highly praised the movie. We leave you now with another Grammy-nominated song from "Genius Loves Company." It is "Sinner's Prayer" with Ray Charles and B.B. King.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program this week.

This show was written by Shelley Gollust, Jill Moss¹⁵ and Caty Weaver¹⁶. Our producer was Paul Thompson. And our engineer was Efeem Drucker.

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 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

3 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

4 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

5 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

6 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

7 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

9 starch   

n.淀粉；vt.给...上浆

参考例句：

• Corn starch is used as a thickener in stews.玉米淀粉在炖煮菜肴中被用作增稠剂。
• I think there's too much starch in their diet.我看是他们的饮食里淀粉太多了。

10 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

11 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

12 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。

13 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

14 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

15 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

16 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。