AMERICAN MOSAIC - Michelle Shocked: So Much to Sing, It Take

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Michelle Shocked: So Much to Sing, It Takes Three Records
By Dana Demange, Lawan Davis

Broadcast: Friday, July 22, 2005

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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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

Music from Michele Shocked …

A question from a listener about the Reverend Billy Graham …

And a report about a new owner of a professional basketball team.

New Mystics Owner

 
 
HOST: The Women's National Basketball Association is in its ninth season. One team is excited about a new member of its organization. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Sheila Johnson recently became the first African-American woman to own a Women's National Basketball Association team. She shares in the ownership of the Washington Mystics.

Miz Johnson joined an ownership group that bought the team. She also shares in the ownership of two other professional sports teams in Washington, D.C. -- the Washington Wizards men's basketball team and the Washington Capitals hockey team. Miz Johnson is believed to be the only black woman to have ownership of three professional sports teams. Sheila Johnson will serve as the Mystics president and managing partner. She also will represent the Mystics at board of governor meetings.

The Washington Mystics joined the Women's National Basketball Association in nineteen ninety-seven. Abe and Irene Pollin founded the team. Mister Pollin also is majority owner of the National Basketball Association's Washington Wizards. Mister Pollin has known Sheila Johnson for twenty years. He chose her to share in ownership of the team. Mister Pollin says she is the best person to guide the team.

Sheila Johnson is also a very successful businesswoman. She and her former husband, Bob Johnson, started Black Entertainment Television in nineteen eighty. It was the first cable television network aimed at African-American viewers. They sold the company in nineteen ninety-seven.

Miz Johnson is also president of the Washington International Horse Show. She has given millions of dollars to many aid organizations, including schools and programs to support children's art education.

Sheila Johnson says she is excited to work with the women of the Washington Mystics. She praised their abilities as athletes and as women.

Billy Graham

 
 
HOST: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Mannur, India. C.V.S. Prasad wants to know about the Reverend Billy Graham.

Billy Graham is probably the most famous religious leader in America. He is an Evangelistic Christian². He considers the Christian holy book, the Bible, as exact truth and the word of God.

Billy Graham was born in nineteen eighteen. He was raised on a farm in North Carolina. Graham says he was sixteen when he decided³ that he would surrender his life to Jesus Christ.

He studied to be a Christian church leader at Florida Bible Institute, graduating in nineteen forty. He began giving religious talks on the streets and in small churches before he even became a minister.

Graham also got a degree from Wheaton College in Illinois in nineteen forty-three. That same year he married Ruth Bell, another Wheaton student.

Billy Graham says his one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God. He says he believes this comes through knowing Christ.

This was his purpose when he launched his first major Christian event in Los Angeles, California in nineteen forty-nine. He called it an Evangelistic Crusade. It brought fame to Mister Graham and to his Christian campaign. Similar events followed the next year in London and New York City. Tens of thousands of people attended to hear Mister Graham speak.

Over the years, Billy Graham has spoken to an estimated two hundred million people around the world. He has gained many awards and honors. Presidents and other important officials have sought his advice. He has appeared at national events, like presidential inaugurations⁴, to lead prayers. Mister Graham also has used television and radio in his evangelical effort. And, he has written books and made movies to spread his message.

Ruth and Billy Graham have five children. One of them, Franklin, is following in his father's steps as a national Christian leader.

Billy Graham is now eighty-six. He has Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer. In June, he held another three-day Evangelistic Crusade in a park in New York City. More than seventy thousand people attended each day. He said it would be his last event in the United States. He said he knew he was coming to the end of his ministry⁵ and his life.

Michelle Shocked

 
 
Not every musician releases three albums at the same time. Singer Michelle Shocked has done just that with her new album set called "Threesome." Barbara Klein tells us more about this special performer.

BARBARA KLEIN: Michelle Shocked is not your average musician. She plays many kinds of songs, from blues⁶ and rock to gospel and country music. She not only sings these songs, but also writes them and plays the guitar. Shocked is also very politically active. She likes to express her beliefs about women's rights and spirituality. She believes that the power of music can change the world.

Michelle Shocked often tells about herself in her music. In one of the three new albums, "Don't Ask Don't Tell," she sings about the pleasures and pains of love. This song is called "How You Play the Game."

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Another of the new albums is called "Mexican Standoff." Here, Shocked mixes musical traditions. She combines the sounds of her native state of Texas with the sounds of Latino music. She even sings in Spanish. Here is one example, "La Cantina el Gato Negro."

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The third album is called "Got No Strings⁷." Shocked takes several well known songs from Walt Disney movies and performs them with a country music sound. We leave you now as Michelle Shocked performs "A Dream Is a Wish."

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HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program.

This show was written by Dana Demange, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver⁸, who also was 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 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 inaugurations   

n.就职( inauguration的名词复数 )；就职典礼；开始；开创

参考例句：

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

7 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

8 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。