VOA慢速英语20060303b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - New Program Will Soon Make It Easier to Travel to U.S.By Brianna Blake and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, March 03, 2006

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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We play songs nominated² for an Academy Award 鈥?nswer a question about American English 鈥?nd report about new rules for traveling to the United States.

Travel to the United States

Visiting the United States will soon become easier for international travelers under a new government plan. Barbara Klein tells us more about this new program.


A United Airlines pilot walks to security check point at O'Hare International Airport

BARBARA KLEIN: Travel to the United States decreased after the terrorist³ attacks of two thousand one. In reaction to the attacks, the United States government increased security requirements for travelers.

These requirements have caused long lines in airports and extended searches of passengers and their belongings⁴. Businesses and universities have become increasingly concerned that the problems involved with travel have reduced the number of foreign visitors.

But recently, the Bush administration announced a plan it says will improve security at the nation's borders, while welcoming foreign visitors. The plan uses improved technology to speed up security processes.

Officials say the new system will reduce problems that often delay the approval of international travel documents, or visas. People coming to the United States to study at American colleges will receive visas that permit them to remain in the country for longer periods of time.

Under the new program, travelers will no longer be required to appear at American diplomatic⁵ offices in their country to be questioned for visas. Instead, they can be questioned at local offices throughout their country on live video broadcasts.

The government plan also includes changes at American airports to make foreign visitors feel more welcome when they arrive in the United States. This program will first be tested at airports in Houston, Texas and Washington, D.C. Foreign travelers arriving in the United States through these airports will receive helpful information and personal assistance.

New passports, called e-passports, will also be created. These documents will contain biological information on computer chips. The biological information makes it difficult to copy the passports for illegal use. Other governments in addition to the United States are also beginning to develop these documents.

American and British English

HOST: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Iraq. Harbey Muhammad Ali asks about differences between American and British English.

Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and Britain. Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in seventeen seventy-six. They wanted to separate themselves from the British in language as they had separated themselves from the British government.

Some American leaders proposed major changes in the language. Benjamin Franklin wanted a new system of spelling. His reforms were rejected. But his ideas influenced others. One was Noah Webster.

Webster wrote language books for schools. He thought Americans should learn from American books. He published his first spelling book in seventeen eighty-three. Webster published The American Dictionary of the English Language in eighteen twenty-eight. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American English.

Webster believed that British English spelling rules were too complex. So he worked to establish an American version of the English language. For example, he spelled the word center c-e-n-t-e-r instead of the British spelling, c-e-n-t-r-e. He spelled the word honor h-o-n-o-r instead of h-o-n-o-u-r as it is spelled in Britain.

Noah Webster said every part of a word should be spoken. That is why Americans say sec-re-ta-ry instead of sec-re-t'ry as the British do. Webster's rule for saying every part of a word made American English easier for immigrants to learn. For example, they learned to say waist-coat the way it is spelled instead of the British wes-kit.

The different languages of the immigrants who came to the United States also helped make American English different from British English. Many foreign words and expressions became part of English as Americans speak it.

Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand each other because of different word meanings. For example, a jumper in Britain is a sweater. In the United States, it is a kind of a dress. The British word brolly is an umbrella in America. A wastebasket in America is a dustbin in Britain. French fried potatoes in the United States are called chips in Britain.

All these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language.

Oscar Nominated Songs

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present its Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, Sunday night. Bob Doughty⁶ tells us about the nominees⁷ for the best song written for a movie.

BOB DOUGHTY: Three songs were nominated for the best original song. This one is from the movie Crash. Michael Becker and Kathleen Bird York wrote In The Deep. York sings it.

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The second Oscar-nominated song is from the movie Hustle⁸ and Flow. Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard wrote the song, It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp.

Country singer Dolly Parton wrote and performs the final original song nominated for an Academy Award. It is from the movie Transamerica. We leave you now with that song, Travelin' Thru.

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

Our show was written by Brianna Blake and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver⁹ was our producer.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

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 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

3 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。

4 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

5 diplomatic   

adj.外交的，从事外交的，策略的，有手腕的

参考例句：

• There are certain forms that must be followed in diplomatic circles.在外交界有一些礼节是必须遵守的。
• You must be more diplomatic in handling the situation.你在处理这一情况时，必须圆滑。

6 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

7 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

8 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

9 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。