VOA慢速英语20060915b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - 'Modern Times': Bob Dylan Returns to the Top of the Music WorldBy Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Friday, September 15, 2006

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about the Statue of Liberty² ...

Play some new music from Bob Dylan ...

And report about agricultural fairs across the country.

State Fairs

(MUSIC)

HOST:

That was a song from the movie State Fair. It is about one family's experiences attending an agricultural fair. Almost all fifty American states hold such events. They usually take place in August, September or October. Shirley Griffith has more.

Shirley Griffith:


Indiana State Fair

American agricultural fairs were traditionally held to honor³ the work of local farmers. Farmers and their families came to the fair to show their crops and animals and compete for prizes. Today, there are hundreds of state and local county⁴ fairs. Millions of people visit them. Some fairs last up to three weeks.

One of the most famous state fairs takes place every summer in the state of Iowa. The Iowa state fair began in eighteen fifty-four. Today, one million people visit the Iowa state fair each year.

A popular competition at state fairs is the cooking contest. People prepare food such as pies. Expert judges decide which ones are the best. Winners receive prizes.

Other people take part in food eating contests. They try to eat the most food in a short period of time. The Georgia state fair takes place later this month. Its program lists a hot dog eating contest, a pizza eating contest, a donut eating contest, a corn-on-the-cob eating contest and a chicken wing eating contest!

People who visit a fair enjoy watching such contests. They can also see dogs guiding sheep together into herds⁵. They can examine new home products and farm equipment. At some fairs, they can watch cars race or crash into each other at events called demolition⁶ derbies. They can attend live music shows with performances by famous entertainers. Children can go on rides. And, of course, everyone can eat many different kinds of food. Anyone who has been to an agricultural fair knows that there is no reason why anyone should go home hungry.

Statue of Liberty

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Iran. Amir Hossein asks about the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty represents a woman holding a torch of fire. It stands on an


island at the entrance to the New York City harbor⁷. It is almost ninety-three meters tall, one of the tallest statues ever built. Its complete name is Liberty Enlightening⁸ the World.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France. It was an expression of the friendship and liberty shared by the people of both countries.

The idea for the statue came from a French history expert in eighteen sixty-five. Six years later, artist Frederic Bartholdi traveled to the United States to seek support for building the statue. He decided⁹ it should stand on an island in New York harbor.

Bartholdi began designing the statue when he returned to France. He designed the statue's face to look like his mother's. French officials organized a group to raise money and supervise¹⁰ the project. The French people gave four hundred thousand dollars to build the statue. In eighteen seventy-seven, the Americans established a similar committee to raise money needed to build the statue's base.

The statue was built in France. Bartholdi had hoped it would be ready on the one hundredth anniversary¹¹ of the American Declaration¹² of Independence in eighteen seventy-six. But it was not. France officially presented the statue to the United States minister to France in Paris on July fourth, eighteen eighty-four.

The statue was then taken apart and sent to the United States. Liberty Enlightening the World was completed in the United States in eighteen eighty-six. New York City celebrated¹³ with a huge parade. President Grover Cleveland and other American and French officials attended the ceremonies.

Since then, the Statue of Liberty has been a symbol of freedom for people all over the world. Its meaning is expressed in the famous poem by Emma Lazarus that is written on the statue's base. Here is part of that poem.

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled¹⁴ masses yearning¹⁵ to breathe free,

The wretched¹⁶ refuse of your teeming¹⁷ shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Bob Dylan's Modern Times

HOST:


'Bob

Bob Dylan's new album, Modern Times, was released¹⁸ at the end of last month. Critics loved the collection of songs. It soon became the top selling album in the United States. This is Dylan's first Number One album in thirty years. Mario Ritter has more.

MARIO RITTER:

Bob Dylan is one of the world's most influential¹⁹ songwriters. Over the past forty years, Dylan has sold almost one hundred million records. He has performed in thousands of shows around the world.

His new album, Modern Times, shows that Dylan, now sixty-five years old, still has a lot to say. Modern Times starts off with this song, called Thunder on the Mountain. Some of the words are about singer Alicia Keys.

(MUSIC)

Bob Dylan started as a folk singer in the nineteen sixties. He wrote several famous protest²⁰ songs about very serious issues. The songs in Modern Times are not as serious. There is a feeling of playfulness in the words of the songs. Dylan sings about the economy, relationships, aging and regret. Here is an example: Workingman's Blues²¹ Number Two.

(MUSIC)

Bob Dylan's record company says Modern Times is the last in a series of three albums. The first was Time Out of Mind in nineteen ninety-seven. Love and Theft followed in two thousand one.

At an age when other people are retiring, Bob Dylan is still very active. He performs more than one hundred times a year in what he calls his neverending tour. He worked with film director Martin Scorsese on a movie about his life. He has a weekly program on American satellite radio. He is writing the second part of his book of memories. And in a few months, his music will be presented in a dance show on Broadway in New York City.

We leave you now with this love song, Spirit on the Water, from Bob Dylan's new album, Modern Times.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

This show was written by Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver²² was the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio²³, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

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 liberty   

n.自由，自由权；冒昧行为

参考例句：

• He stood for the cause of liberty and justice.他为自由和正义的事业而奋斗。
• You are at liberty to do as you please.你可以随意行事。

3 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

4 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

5 herds   

兽群( herd的名词复数 )； 牧群； 人群； 群众

参考例句：

• Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
• There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。

6 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

7 harbor   

n.海港，港口；vt.庇护，藏匿；心怀(怨恨等)

参考例句：

• The harbor lies to the south of the city.港口在城市的南边。
• At that time,our ship was tied up at this harbor.当时我们的船停靠在这个港口。

8 enlightening   

a.有启迪作用的，使人感悟的

参考例句：

• I find what you say most enlightening. 你这一说，我心里头亮了。
• It is interesting and enlightening to consider the derivative of a vector. 这对研究矢量的导数来说是重要的，而且富有启发性。

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

11 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。

12 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

13 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

14 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

15 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

16 wretched   

adj.可怜的，不幸的，卑鄙的，质量差的，恶劣的

参考例句：

• What a wretched life they lived in the workhouse!他们在济贫院里过的生活真悲惨！
• He was wretched when he failed the examination.由于考试不及格，他很痛苦。

17 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

18 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

19 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

20 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

21 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。

22 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。

23 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。