AMERICAN MOSAIC - Jessi Alexander's First Album / Weather in

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Jessi Alexander's First Album / Weather in America / Top High School Scientists
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, March 18, 2005

(THEME)

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(THEME)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week: Music by Jessi Alexander … A question from a listener about the weather in America ... And a report on some top scientists who are still in high school.

Intel Science Talent Search

HOST:

Earlier this week, the Intel company announced the winners of its yearly² Science Talent Search. Each winner receives a new computer and money for a college education. The top winner this year was David Bauer from New York City. His project concerned finding³ poisonous agents that affect the nervous system. Faith Lapidus tells us about the competition.

ANNCR:

The Science Talent Search is the oldest such program for high school students in the United States. An organization called Science Service created the competition in nineteen forty-two. The aim was to increase the number of young Americans choosing to work in science.

Since then, the competition has provided⁴ more than two thousand young people with awards and money for college. Past winners have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes, the National Medal of Science, MacArthur Foundation⁵ fellowships⁶ and other top honors⁷. The Westinghouse Company led the competition until nineteen ninety-eight. Then Intel became the organizer.

Each year, about one thousand six hundred American high school students enter scientific research projects for the competition. The projects involve nearly every area of science. They include chemistry, physics, medicine, mathematics, engineering⁸, computer science and social science.

The top three hundred projects are named semi-finalists. Then the list is reduced to forty finalists. These students travel to Washington, D.C., for a week-long competition. A group of well-known scientists judge them on their research abilities, critical thinking skills and creativity. The judges ask the students questions before deciding on the winners.

The entries this year included projects on developing new energy technologies, improving cancer treatments and creating new tissue⁹ to heal¹⁰ wounds.

Organizers of the Intel Science Talent Search say the young scientists also have other interests. Eighty percent of the finalists this year play a musical instrument. And forty-seven percent can speak a language other than English. The group this year also included an award-winning poet, a competitive¹¹ ballroom¹² dancer and a table tennis winner in the Junior Olympics.

U.S. Climate

HOST:

Time to answer a question. A listener in Moscow named Daut asks about the weather in the United States.

The United States is one of the biggest countries in the world. It has all sorts of geography, from deserts to beaches, mountains to flatlands. These conditions help create all sorts of weather: mild, moderate¹³ and extreme. Sometimes all in one day!

In the summer, some areas get very hot and the air is very wet. But others have dry air, so the heat does not feel so bad.

In the winter, parts of the country get cold and snowy while others stay warm and sunny. This is the difference between, for example, New York City on the East Coast and Los Angeles on the West Coast. Yet even the East Coast has its warm places in winter, like Florida.

The oceans affect weather along the coasts. The Pacific coast has smaller temperature changes, and calmer conditions, than along the Atlantic.

Alaska and Hawaii are the only states not connected to the forty-eight mainland¹⁴ states. Alaska is in the Arctic¹⁵ area, so it gets very cold. Hawaii, out in the Pacific, is warm all year long.

Weather in the central and northeastern parts of the country is affected¹⁶ by cold air from Canada and warm air from the Caribbean. Conditions can change quickly.

Hurricanes are ocean storms that strike mainly in the Southeast. The hurricane season is, officially, June through November. Tornadoes¹⁸ are a risk across the country. These are locally severe windstorms. They generally happen in the spring and summer.

In fact, March eighteenth happens to be the eightieth anniversary¹⁹ of the most deadly tornado¹⁷ in United States history. The nineteen twenty-five "Tri-State Tornado" hit parts of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The National Weather Service says almost seven hundred people were killed.

The weather service says the United States gets more severe weather than any other country. In the Midwest, the state of Michigan next week will observe Severe Weather Awareness²⁰ Week.

You know, we do not mean to scare you with all this talk about bad weather. The country also has lots of really nice weather. If you ever plan a trip to the United States, just be sure to read the local weather reports. That way you can come prepared for whatever the weather may bring.

Jessi Alexander

HOST:

Singer Jessi Alexander has just released²¹ her first album. Barbara Klein has the details.

ANNCR:

Jessi Alexander was born in the Southern state of Tennessee. Her parents ended their marriage when she was young. She spent her summers in Memphis with her father, a part-time musician. She loved country music from the South, but also folk and rock from the West Coast.

Jessi was a teenager when she learned²² to play guitar. She left college and moved to Nashville. She began to write songs with local musicians. The result is the album "Honeysuckle Sweet."

One of the songs was written the day after the shootings by two students at Columbine High School in Colorado in nineteen ninety-nine. The song is called "This World Is Crazy."

(MUSIC)

Another song on "Honeysuckle Sweet" is called "Reasons to Run." Jessi Alexander says this is the closest she has ever gotten to a "happy" love song.

(MUSIC)

Jessi Alexander says she named the album with the two words she could find to describe her summers as a child on the Tennessee River. We leave you with the title song from "Honeysuckle Sweet."

(MUSIC)

HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program. Our show was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver²³ was our producer. And our engineer was Kevin Raiman. 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 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

3 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

4 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

5 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

6 fellowships   

团体( fellowship的名词复数 )； 研究员职位； 伙伴关系； 学术奖金

参考例句：

• The ambassador has endowed a $1 million public-service fellowships program. 大使资助了一项100万美元的公共服务奖学金计划。
• We give three research fellowships a year. 我们每年给叁个研究生的奖学金。

7 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

9 tissue   

n.组织；薄纱，薄纸，手巾纸

参考例句：

• As we age we lose muscle tissue.肌肉组织会随着我们日趋衰老而萎缩。
• Athletes have hardly any fatty tissue.运动员几乎没有什么脂肪组织。

10 heal   

v.使愈合，治愈，使康复；平息(争吵等)；消除，解决(分支等)

参考例句：

• Time helped heal the old wounds.时间有助于治愈旧创伤。
• This wound will soon heal if yon keep it clean.如果你保持伤口清洁，它很快就会痊愈。

11 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

12 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

13 moderate   

adj.适度的，稳健的，温和的，中等的；v.节制，使...稳定，使...缓和；n.稳健的人

参考例句：

• You should moderate your language when children are present.在孩子面前，你说话应该有节制。
• The wind is moderate today.今天的风很柔和。

14 mainland   

n.大陆，本土

参考例句：

• The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.新的桥梁将把该岛与大陆连接在一起。
• Hong Kong's prosperity relies heavily on mainland.香港的繁荣在很大程度上依赖于大陆。

15 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

16 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

17 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

18 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

19 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

20 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

21 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

22 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

23 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。