AMERICAN MOSAIC - Music by Heather Headley / Question from C

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - October 18, 2002: Music by Heather Headley / Question from China about the U.S.
Court System / National Book Festival

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC --VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We play music by Heather Headley ..
.
Answer a listener’s question about the United States court system ..
.
And report about a book festival in Washington, D.C.

Book Festival

HOST:

On October twelfth, more than forty-thousand people gathered in Washington, D-C
to see new educational technology and to hear writers speak about their books. The
Library of Congress and President Bush’s wife, Laura Bush, organized the event.
Steve Ember tells us more about the second National Book Festival.

ANNCR:

Large crowds visited tents on the National Mall and the West Lawn of the Capitol
building. People of all ages heard music, enjoyed food and listened to readings.
More than sixty writers and artists took part.

This year, the Library of Congress wanted to show its progress in developing
technology that helps researchers and the public. Library workers used computers to
show visitors how to electronically search the library’s collection.

Director of Public Services Diane Kresh said visitors can now reach librarians on the Internet’s World Wide
Web. They can ask questions and get answers immediately. She said about one-thousand-million people use the
collection of the Library of Congress. Most use computers.

At the book festival, some of the most popular talks were given by writers of history. David Halberstam spoke²
about his book “Firehouse.” The book tells the story of the firefighters who died in the World Trade Center
attack last year. Mister Halberstam told about their heroism³ in life and their sacrifice in death.

Erik Weihenmayer is the first blind person to climb Mount Everest. He wrote the book, “Touch the Top of the
World,” about his experiences. He is also a very good speaker. People laughed at his jokes as he made fun of
himself and people’s difficulties in dealing⁴ with the blind.

Nancy Milford spoke about her unusual experience researching her book “Savage⁵ Beauty.” The book tells
about the life of poet Edna Saint Vincent Millay. Mizz Milford showed that Mizz Millay was once a very popular
poet. Yet, today she is almost forgotten.

The final speaker at the book festival was David McCullough. He won two Pulitzer Prizes for writing books
called biographies that tell about the lives of real people. He praised Laura Bush for helping⁶ to organize the
event. Mister McCullough spoke about what he thought made a good biography. He said, “You can have all the

Russian first lady Ludmila
Putina, center, with Laura
Bush and Librarian of
Congress James Billington.
(Photo - White House)

facts, but still miss the truth.
”
He said we must always remember the human side of history.

U.S. Court System
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from China. Baoming Shi asks about America’s courts of law.

 

The United States court system includes federal and state courts. Federal courts deal
with criminal and civil actions involving the United States Constitution or federal
laws. Federal courts try cases involving the United States government. They hear
cases between people from different states and cases involving other countries or
their citizens. They also hear cases involving situations that took place on the sea
and violations⁷ of ownership rights.

Each state has at least one federal district court. District courts are the first courts to

hear cases involving violations of federal laws. Then the cases may be heard again
in appeals courts. The United States is divided into twelve district areas. Each one has a court of appeals. There is
also a federal court of appeals.

The federal court system also includes special courts. They try cases involving claims against the federal
government, tax disputes, and military questions.

State courts receive their power from state constitutions and laws. The first court that hears a case involving a
state law is local, such as a county court. Other local courts hear only one kind of case. For example, small claims
courts try cases involving small amounts of money. Probate courts handle family financial situations following a
death. Other special courts deal with traffic accidents and disputes among family members.

Higher state courts are known as circuit courts or superior courts. These hear more serious cases. The decisions
from these cases may be appealed to an even higher court. The highest court in most states is its supreme⁸ court.

The highest court in the nation is the United States Supreme Court. It decides questions concerning the
Constitution. It also decides cases involving foreign ambassadors and disputes between states. A person who
loses a case in a federal appeals court or in the highest state court may appeal to the Supreme Court. If the
Supreme Court agrees to re-examine the case, its decision will be final. The only way to change a Supreme Court
ruling on the Constitution is to change the Constitution. The only way to overturn a ruling on a federal law is to
approve a new law.

To learn more about the United States Supreme Court, listen to the VOA Special English program THIS IS
AMERICA on Monday.

Heather Headley

HOST:

Singer Heather Headley is a theater performer. She was in one of the most
successful musical plays in Broadway history. Now she has released an album of
her own. Mary Tillotson tells us more.

ANNCR:

Heather Headley has performed in two major musical plays on Broadway in New
York City. In nineteen-ninety-six, she performed in “The Lion King.” She played
the part of Nala, a lion.

Her performance led to a leading role in the Broadway musical play “Aida.”“Aida” is the story of a
Nubian princess. Heather Headley won a Tony Award for that performance. Here she sings part of the song
“Elaborate Lives”
from the play “Aida.
”

(MUSIC)


Heather Headley released a new album earlier this month. It is called “This is Who I Am.” She worked with
some of the best known producers in the music industry. They praise her singing. Listen as she sings “He Is.
”

(MUSIC)
Heather Headley helped write several songs for her album. She says she wants to perform them in concerts. We
leave you now with another song from the album “This is Who I Am.” Here is the song “I Wish I Wasn’
t.
”

(MUSIC)
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, Mario Ritter and Nancy Steinbach. Our
studio engineer was Curtis Bynum. 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 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。

3 heroism   

n.大无畏精神，英勇

参考例句：

• He received a medal for his heroism.他由于英勇而获得一枚奖章。
• Stories of his heroism resounded through the country.他的英雄故事传遍全国。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。