AMERICAN MOSAIC - Elvis Week in Memphis / Question About Wha

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ -August 9, 2002: Elvis Week in Memphis / Question About What Americans Think Is
Funny / Tour de France Cycling Champion Lance Armstrong

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC
—
VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We tell about a special celebration honoring² Elvis Presley ..
.
Answer a listener’s question about what Americans think is funny ..
.
And report about the winner of the Tour de France bicycle race.

Lance Armstrong

HOST:

On July twenty-eighth, American Lance Armstrong won the most famous bicycle race in the world, the Tour de
France. Experts say the race is one of the most difficult competitions in all of sports. And Lance Armstrong has
won it four times. Shep O’Neal tells us about him.

ANNCR:

Thirty-year-old Lance Armstrong is only the second American to win the famous race. The first was Greg
LeMond. LeMond won three races with a European team. Armstrong has won his four races as a member of the
United States Postal³ Service team.

Experts say Lance Armstrong is important in sports history not just because he has won four Tour de France
races. He is important because he has done it as a cancer survivor⁴.

In nineteen-ninety-seven, doctors found that Lance Armstrong had cancer of the reproductive organs. The cancer
had spread to his lungs and his brain. Doctors removed the affected⁵ testicle. They also operated on his brain.
Later, Armstrong was treated with powerful and dangerous anti-cancer drugs.

Lance Armstrong survived the cancer and the treatments. His condition improved. Armstrong said he survived
because he had excellent doctors and because he truly believed he would get better. He also considers himself to
be very lucky.

Lance Armstrong began riding his racing⁶ bicycle as soon as he was feeling better. Then he began racing. He
again became one of the top bicycle racers in the world. No one thought he could be good enough to win the Tour
de France, however. But he did. He won his first Tour de France race in nineteen-ninety-nine. He has won every
Tour de France for the past four years.

Last week, after winning the Tour de France, Armstrong said that he will continue to compete in the race for two
more years. After that, he wants to spend more time with his wife, son and two daughters. But winning many
races is not what Lance Armstrong says he wants to be remembered for. He wants people to remember that the
winner was a cancer survivor.

Lance Armstrong says his Tour de France victories are a message to all cancer survivors⁷. That message says that
they can return to what they were doing before the disease⁸ affected them and become even better.


American Sense of Humor⁹

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week is from Russia. Alexander Kukushkin asks if we can explain the American
sense of humor and give some examples of what Americans think is funny.

That is a difficult question. Almost everyone will laugh at the same thing if they see something that is really
funny.

For example, many years ago the movie actor Charlie Chaplin made several films about a funny-looking man
known as “The Little Tramp¹⁰.
”
This little tramp had no money and was always getting into trouble. How he got
out of trouble was very funny. Chaplin’s films were popular around the world.

Some film critics say the little man Chaplin played in his films was the most popular funny person in the
Twentieth Century. It did not matter what language people spoke¹¹ when they saw one of Charlie Chaplin’s great
films. He made most of his films before sound was used in movies.

Americans like to watch many kinds of funny movies. The most popular movie right now is called “Austin
Powers in Goldmember.
”
It makes fun of spy movies. Several critics say it is a terrible movie but it is also very
funny.

American humor is really not much different from humor in other countries. One exception¹²
might be humor from or about the American south. “Redneck”
is a word that describes a
white man from the South who is not very smart.

Jeff Foxworthy is an American comedian¹³ from the southern state of Georgia. He has become
successful telling jokes about rednecks.

“If you’ve ever cut your grass and found a car, you might be a redneck. (LAUGHTER)

If your dad walks you to school because you’re in the same grade, you might be a redneck.
(LAUGHTER)

If you’ve ever been too drunk¹⁴ to fish, you might be a redneck”
(APPLAUSE.)

Elvis Week

HOST:

Every August, people who love the music of Elvis Presley gather in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee for a
celebration called “Elvis Week.
”
This year, many more people are expected to be there. Jim Tedder¹⁵ tells us
more.

ANNCR:

Elvis Week will be held August tenth through August eighteenth. This year is the twenty -fifth anniversary¹⁶ of
Elvis Presley’s death on August sixteenth, nineteen-seventy-seven.

More than one-hundred-thousand people are expected to gather in Memphis for Elvis Week.
They will celebrate the life and music of the King of Rock and Roll.

More than fifty events will be held in and around Memphis. They include music concerts,
dance parties, parades, discussions¹⁷, sports and social events. Money earned from some of the
events will be used to help people in need. The biggest event will be a twenty-fifth
anniversary concert at the Pyramid arena¹⁸ in Memphis on August sixteenth. Musicians and
singers who worked with Elvis Presley will perform in front of huge television screens
showing Elvis singing.


An Elvis beach
towel, at Elvis
((CUT ONE: "JAILHOUSE ROCK"))
Week 2001
(Photo -elvis.com) Another special event will take place during the night of August fifteenth. Thousands of

people will take part in a ceremony at Presley ’s burial place on the grounds of his home, Graceland.

About seven-hundred-thousand people visit Graceland every year. Music writer and singer Paul Simon wrote
a
song about a visit to Graceland.
((CUT TWO: "GRACELAND")
)
HOST:
You can hear more about the life and music of Elvis Presley Sunday on the VOA Special English program People

In America.

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.
Remember to write us with your questions about American life. We will try to answer them on future programs.

Listeners whose questions are chosen will receive a Random¹⁹ House Webster’s College Dictionary.

Send your questions to American Mosaic, Special English, Voice of America, Washington, D.C. two-zero-two-
three-seven, USA.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson. Our

studio engineer was Holly²⁰ Capehart. And our producer was Paul Thompson.

 

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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 honoring   

v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They sat in silence, honoring the clan Jordache for a moment. 他们默默地坐了一会儿，对乔达虚家族表示了一番敬意。 来自辞典例句
• Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check. 美国没有履行这项神圣的义务，只是给黑人开了一张空头支票。 来自辞典例句

3 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

4 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

5 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。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

8 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

9 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

10 tramp   

n.流浪者，步行，跋涉；v.步行，跋涉

参考例句：

• She wants to go for a tramp in the country.她想去乡间远足。
• A tramp came to the door and asked for food.一个流浪汉来到门前讨饭吃。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 exception   

n.例外,除外

参考例句：

• Everyone should keep discipline and you are no exception. 每个人都应该遵守纪律,你也毫无例外。
• There's an exception to every rule. 每项规则均有例外。

13 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

14 drunk   

adj.醉酒的；(喻)陶醉的；n.酗酒者，醉汉

参考例句：

• People who drives when they are drunk should be heavily penalised.醉酒驾车的人应受重罚。
• She found him drunk when she came home at night.她晚上回家时，经常发现他醉醺醺的。

15 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

16 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。

17 discussions   

n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 )；商讨；详述；论述

参考例句：

• Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
• Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。

18 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

19 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

20 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。