AMERICAN MOSAIC - A Listener Question / A Lost and Found Tre

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - A Listener Question / A Lost and Found Tree / Music by Eric Felton and his Jazz Orchestra²
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Broadcast: Friday, March 04, 2005

(MUSIC)

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

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

Jazz from Eric Felten and his band ...

A question about the most populous³ American state ...

And a report on a lost-and-found tree.

'Living Fossil⁴'

 
(Photo - J. Plaza/RBG Sydney/wollemipine.com)
Scientists used to think that Wollemi (WALL-um-eye) pine trees only grew in ancient history. But now one of the places where visitors can see a living example is in Washington, D.C. Faith Lapidus takes us there.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The Wollemi pine tree has thin leaves that look like needles growing close together, much like a fern plant.

The other day, a young girl took a long look at the Wollemi pine at the United States Botanic Garden. Then she asked her mother where the dinosaurs⁵ were. The little girl recognized the tree from books and movies about prehistoric⁶ Earth.

Wollemi pines can grow as tall as forty meters. But this one at the Botanic Garden is not much taller than forty centimeters. In fact, it is small enough to grow inside a glass container.

Wollemi pines have been found in only one place in the wild. It is in a rainforest in the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, Australia, near Sydney. Fewer than one hundred have been found.

Scientists thought the tree had disappeared from the Earth at least two million years ago. But in nineteen ninety-four, a park officer named David Noble made an accidental discovery. He saw huge fern-like trees in a deep canyon⁷. But he did not recognize them. So he asked scientists.

The experts looked at fossil prints of trees from ninety million years ago. They said the trees found by Mister Noble were closely related. They gave them the scientific name Wollemia nobilis. Wollemi pine is the common name.

Scientists at the Mount⁸ Annan Botanic Garden in New South Wales have been growing Wollemi pines from seeds and cuttings. Australian officials say there has been worldwide demand for the pine as a garden plant. So, a home version of this rare "living fossil" is expected to go on sale beginning this year.

Most Populous State?

DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes from Amoy, China. Shaojian Xu really has two questions. What is the most beautiful city in the United States. And which state has the most people?

Well, we would be in big trouble if we called one city the most beautiful. In fact, the staff in Special English could not even agree. Some said New York, with its tall buildings. One said Seattle, with its beautiful lakes and mountains. Another said Honolulu, with its lovely beaches.

 
Well, you do have to admit ... 
Three members of the staff said San Francisco, with its world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. You could make a good argument for any these -- and many other cities, too.

The second question was easier. Which state has the largest population? The answer is California, on the West Coast. More than thirty-five million people live there, and the number continues to grow. The estimated population of California grew almost five percent between two thousand and two thousand three.

About half the population growth comes from people who move from other states and countries. About eleven million people of Mexican ancestry⁹ live in California. Many others come from Asia. The city of San Francisco, for example, has one of the largest Chinese populations outside Asia.

California has a lot to offer. Southern California is famous for its warm, sunny weather, although you may have heard about the unusual amount of rain recently.

California also has more public colleges and universities than any other state. The California State University system is the largest in the country, with twenty-three campuses. The University of California has campuses in ten cities including Berkeley in the north and Los Angeles in the south. The tenth campus is to open this September in Merced, in Central California. Merced is in the San Joaquin Valley, a major agricultural area. California also has many community colleges.

People started moving to California in large numbers around eighteen forty-nine, the year after the discovery of gold. Most of these "forty-niners" did not find gold. But they did find other things to like, such as San Francisco. Don't tell anyone, but that is my choice for the most beautiful city. Ahhh, but then again, San Antonio, Texas, is also beautiful. Miami, Florida is nice too. Chicago on a pretty day is very beautiful, but so is Bar Harbor, Maine, with its little fishing boats. And then again there's ... (fade)

Eric Felten Jazz Orchestra

(MUSIC: "You're Driving Me Crazy")

 
Graphic¹⁰ Image
You might have heard that voice before on VOA. Yet you might not recognize it as the voice of VOA announcer and host Eric Felten. Eric Felten is also a jazz musician with a new recording¹¹ just released. Gwen Outen has our story.

GWEN OUTEN: "Eric Felten Meets the Dek-tette" honors three famous albums from the singer Mel Torme and the Marty Paich Dek-tette.

Eric Felten gathered some of the Dek-tette musicians for the new release. They include greats like saxophonist Med Flory. He is featured in the song "It's Alright With Me," followed by Eric Felton playing a trombone solo¹².

(MUSIC)

Eric Felton was born into a family of jazz musicians. He first studied the trombone with his grandfather Lester Felten. His grandfather performed in bands when Swing jazz was first popular.

Here Eric Felten and the Dek-tette perform "Pick Yourself Up," a song from the Swing period.

(MUSIC)

Eric Felton formed his own band, the Jazz Orchestra, in nineteen ninety-one. Several years ago they appeared on national television with a concert called "The Big Band Sound of World War Two."

We leave you now with the Eric Felton Jazz Orchestra performing the Cole Porter song "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To."

(MUSIC)

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

Our show was written by Paul Thompson, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver¹³, who was also our producer. 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 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

3 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

4 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

5 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

7 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

8 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 solo   

n.独奏，独唱；adj.单独的；adv.单独地；v.放单飞，单独表演

参考例句：

• Tara is currently working on a solo album.塔拉眼下正忙着制作个人专辑。
• There's wonderfully lyrical flute solo in the middle of this symphony.在交响乐中间有一段奇妙的抒情长笛独奏。

13 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。