AMERICAN MOSAIC - "Spider-Man" the Movie / Music by Jill Sco

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ -May 17, 2002: 'Spider -Man' the Movie / Music by Jill Scott / New Rules for Foreign
Visitors to U.S.

Broadcast: May 17, 2002
HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC
—
VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today we:
Play some music by Jill Scott ..
.
Answer a question about changes in rules for foreigners visiting the United States ..
.
And report about a popular new movie.

Spider-Man

HOST:

The latest “Star Wars”
movie has just opened in the United States. Movie experts are wondering if it will sell
as many tickets as another action movie, “Spider-Man,
”
that opened two weeks ago. “Spider-Man”
earned
more money for an opening weekend than any other movie in history. Shep O ’Neal has more.

ANNCR:

Movie experts were surprised at the huge number of people who went to see

“Spider-Man”
after it opened. In its first three days, “Spider-Man”
sold almost
one-hundred-fifteen-million dollars worth of tickets. That was more than the ninety-
million dollar record set six months ago by the movie “Harry² Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone.
”

Critics said there are several reasons for this. They said “Spider-Man”
is not as
long as other movies and was shown many times a day. They also said “Spider-
Man”
is a movie for people of all ages. Boys wanted to see it because they like

action movies and enjoyed the comic books on which the movie is based. Girls liked the movie because it
includes a love story. And adults wanted to see a movie they could enjoy with their children.

The young actor Toby Maguire stars as “Spider-Man.
”
He plays a quiet teen-aged boy named Peter Parker.
Peter likes a girl in his school, Mary Jane Watson. One day, Peter is bitten by a genetically³ engineered spider in a
laboratory⁴. This changes his body. Peter Parker becomes “Spider-Man.
”
He becomes extremely strong and
fast. And he has special powers.

For example, he can climb up walls and leap from one tall building to another. He uses these powers to help
people and defeat evil⁵. Peter hides this secret life from everyone, including his family and his friends. His main
enemy is the Green Goblin. In normal life the Green Goblin is the father of Peter’s best friend, Harry.

Elika Naraghi (pronounced na-RA-gee; hard "g" like in gear) is twenty-two years old. She saw “Spider-Man”
on its opening weekend near Washington, D.C. Elika says “Spider-Man”
is fun and exciting. She also praised
the actors and the special effects. Elika said she is looking forward to the second “Spider-Man”
movie that is
planned for two-thousand-four.


New INS Rules

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Hoang Van Quang asks
about new United States government policies for visitors from foreign countries.

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service has changed some of its
policies for foreign visitors since the terrorist⁶ attacks in September. That is because
some of the airplane hijackers had come to the United States as visitors and later
became students.

At the time of the attacks, about six -hundred-thousand foreign students were taking
classes at American colleges and universities. Government officials have admitted that
they did not know where many of these foreign students were. The officials said they would make changes in the
system.

Last month, the I-N-S announced new rules for travel permission documents for students, called visas. Foreigners
will no longer be able to take college classes while in the United States on a business or visitor visa. The I-N-S
will give student visas only to people who let the agency⁷ know their plans before entering the country.

The reason for this change is national security⁸. It will give federal⁹ officials time to do a security investigation¹⁰ on
each foreigner who wants to study in the United States.

Earlier this month, the Bush administration¹¹ announced the creation¹² of a new committee to investigate foreigners
who want to study in American science and technology programs. Officials said the goal is to make sure foreign
students do not get training that could be used against the United States. The new group will advise the I-N-S
about people who want to study subjects that could give them information or skills that could possibly threaten
the United States. These subjects include nuclear and missile¹³ technology, information security and aircraft
technology.

There also are rule changes that affect other foreign visitors. These new rules reduce from six months to thirty
days the amount of time most foreign visitors can stay in the United States. They limit most business travelers to
six months. Visitors may extend¹⁴ their stays only if they can show unexpected¹⁵ or humanitarian¹⁶ reasons such as
medical treatment or an important business meeting.

Officials say the changes reduce the chance that illegal immigrants¹⁷ will establish permanent ties in the United
States and will remain in the country illegally.

Jill Scott

HOST:

Poet and singer Jill Scott says a school project changed her life. It led to her serious interest in writing and music.
Mary Tillotson tells us more.

ANNCR:

Jill Scott says when she was a teenager, one of her teachers gave the students a list of
names. Each student was to choose someone from the list to write about. Jill chose poet
Nikki Giovanni. She did not know who Nikki Giovanni was at the time. But when Jill
began to read Mizz Giovanni’s poems, she felt as if the poet was talking to her. Jill
says that is how she became interested in writing.

Jill Scott wrote poetry for seven years before she began singing. She took part in
spoken-word events in her home city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She wrote the
songs for her first album. It is called “Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Volume

One.
”
She mixes words of poetry with sounds of rap¹⁸, hip-hop, jazz and blues¹⁹. Here Jill Scott sings “It’
s

Love.
”


((Cut One – “It ’s Love”)
)
Jill Scott says many of the songs on her album are about her life. She recently married her longtime friend Lyzel

Williams. Jill has written many songs about Lyzel. She sings about him on the song “He Loves Me (Lyzel in
E
Flat)”..
.
((Cut Two -“He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)”)
)
Jill Scott’s latest album is called “Experience: Jill Scott. ”.. It includes songs from live performances and

studio recordings²⁰. We leave you with a song from this album. It is called “Gotta Get Up.
”
((Cut Three – “Gotta Get Up”)
)
HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for

AMERICAN MOSAIC —.. VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach. Our studio engineer
was Martin Hansberry. And our producer was Caty Weaver²¹.

 

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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 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

4 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

5 evil   

n.邪恶，不幸，罪恶；adj.邪恶的，不幸的，有害的，诽谤的

参考例句：

• We pray to God to deliver us from evil.我们祈求上帝把我们从罪恶中拯救出来。
• Love of money is the root of all evil.爱钱是邪恶的根源。

6 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

7 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

8 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

9 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

12 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

13 missile   

n.导弹，投射物

参考例句：

• The missile curved gracefully towards its target.导弹呈优美的曲线状飞向目标。
• We got a fix on the missile launching site.我们确定了导弹发射场的位置。

14 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

15 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

16 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。

17 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。

19 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。

20 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

21 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。