VOA慢速英语20060422b

IN THE NEWS - Investigative Reporting, Coverage¹ of Katrina Earn Pulitzer Prizes for U.S. NewspapersBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Saturday, April 22, 2006

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, Columbia University in New York announced the winners this year of the Pulitzers. The Pulitzer Prize in Journalism² is the top honor for American newspapers.

The Washington Post won four awards. Susan Schmidt, James Grimaldi and Jeffrey Smith received the investigative reporting award. They reported on wrongdoing in Congress involving lobbyist Jack³ Abramoff.

David Finkel won the explanatory reporting prize for stories on United States efforts to bring democracy to Yemen.

Dana Priest won the beat reporting prize. She reported on secret prisons and other parts of the government's anti-terrorism campaign.

And Robin⁴ Givhan received the criticism award for turning commentary about fashion into critical observations of society.

The New York Times won three Pulitzers. Nicholas Kristof received the commentary award for writing about the violence in Darfur, Sudan. Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley won the international reporting award for stories about the changing legal system in China.

And James Risen and Eric Lichtblau received a national reporting award. They reported that the government in its war on terrorism was listening to the calls of some Americans. An award also went to the San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service. Their stories led to prison for a dishonest congressman⁵.

The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado, won two Pulitzers. Jim Sheeler won the feature writing award for a story about a Marine⁶ who helps families of those killed in Iraq. And Todd Heisler won the feature photography award for pictures of the funerals of local Marines killed in Iraq.

The Pulitzer for breaking news photography went to the Dallas Morning News for the effects of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

Reporting on Katrina earned public service awards for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and the Sun Herald⁷ in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Times-Picayune also won the Pulitzer for breaking news reporting.

And the Pulitzer for editorial writing went to Rick Attig and Doug Bates of the Oregonian for describing conditions at a state mental hospital.


Pulitzer Prize Winners

This was the ninetieth year of the Pulitzers. Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer left money to Columbia University to establish them. There are also prizes in letters, drama and music.

Winners receive a medal and most get ten thousand dollars. The award ceremony is May twenty-second.

And Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take home his second Pulitzer for editorial cartooning. The judging committee praised his drawings as powerful yet simple.

For example, one last year marked the deaths of two thousand American soldiers in Iraq. Their names formed the word WHY followed by a question mark.

To learn more about political cartoons and other kinds that Americans like, listen for THIS IS AMERICA Monday at this same hour.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

5 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。