VOA慢速英语 2007 1012b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(THEME)

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

We listen to some music from King Wilkie ‿/P>

Answer a question about the American movie rating system ‿/P>

And report about a new book by Jenna Bush.

Jenna Bush

HOST:

 
Jenna Bush at a party for her book
Jenna Bush is the twenty-five-year-old daughter of President Bush and Laura Bush. Last year, she began an internship² with the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF. She traveled throughout Latin America. She met with young people living in poverty who do not receive education, social services or health care. One was a seventeen-year-old single mother named Ana. Jenna Bush met with the young woman for the next six months. She decided⁴ to write a book about her life. The result is "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope."  Mario Ritter tells us more.

MARIO RITTER:

Ana's parents had died of AIDS when she was a young child. When she was ten years old, she found out she was born with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. But she was told to keep it a secret. She became a victim of abuse by family members and was also warned not to tell anyone.

In her book, Jenna Bush tells of Ana's struggles to survive poverty, abuse and illness. The book also provides important information for young people about H.I.V. and other issues.

Jenna Bush says she wants to start a discussion with young Americans about H.I.V./AIDS, poverty, lack of education and other problems that affect millions of children around the world.

She has been traveling to more than twenty-five cities around the country to talk about her new book. Last week she took part in VOA's Web chat, T2A. She answered questions from people in India, Ethiopia, Kenya and Germany.

Jenna Bush said her job for UNICEF was to meet with children living in extreme poverty, or with H.I.V./AIDS. She said that even these young people with difficult lives had much hope for the future and a positive outlook on life. 

She said she worked with native or indigenous⁵ communities in rural areas of Panama. She said the most important thing that UNICEF does is to help the leaders of these communities welcome outside assistance like health care. For example, UNICEF asks the leaders of indigenous communities for their advice on health care and education.

Jenna Bush also spoke⁶ about Ana, the teenager she wrote about in her book. She said Ana got the help she needed from trusted adults like her teachers and her priest. Ana now sees a better future for herself and her daughter.  

Some of the money earned from the book, "Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope," will go to UNICEF to help girls like Ana continue their education. 

Movie Rating System

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Norway. Xiaoren Chen wants to know how movies are controlled in the United States.

 
 
Today, American filmmakers produce movies with few restraints about violence, sexuality and adult language. But this was not always the case.

The Motion Picture Association of America is the major movie organization that first formed in nineteen twenty-two. The organization helps distribute movies internationally, decides on rating systems, and deals with public relations for the movie industry.

When it was first started by the Hollywood production studios, the organization was called the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. The group was popularly called the Hays Office because of its director, Will Hays. This group developed the Motion Picture Production Code in nineteen thirty. The aim was for the film industry and not the government to decide what was morally acceptable to show in movies. The Hays Office examined each film before it could receive permission to be released.

The production code was very clear about issues including crime and sex. For example, movies could not show violent killings⁸, methods of stealing, or illegal drug use. The code banned sex scenes, sexual relationships between people of different races, scenes of childbirth, and people not wearing clothing.

The Motion Picture Association finally ended the code in nineteen sixty-eight although movie makers⁷ had stopped following its rules many years before.

The group developed a new voluntary rating system that tells parents whether a movie is right for children. The ratings judge the level of violence, sexuality, and adult language. “G‿movies are for people of all ages.  “PG‿ means parental⁹ guidance suggested.  Some material may not be right for children.

“PG-13‿means parents are strongly warned that some material may not be right for children under the age of thirteen. “R‿mean restricted.  Children under the age of seventeen must have a parent or adult guardian¹⁰ with them. And if a movie is rated "NC-17" it means no one seventeen or younger will be admitted. 

The rating system has its critics. Some movie experts say the ratings warn more about sexual subjects than about extreme violence. Others say a rating can harm a movie’s financial success and ignore its artistic¹¹ importance.

King Wilkie

HOST:

The band King Wilkie is made up of six young men who love  traditional bluegrass music. Their second full-length album, “Low Country Suite¹²,‿mixes the sound of bluegrass with the influence of folk and country music.  Faith Lapidus plays some of these songs.

(MUSIC: "Crazy Daisy")

FAITH LAPIDUS:

That was “Crazy Daisy (Don’t You Fade on Me)‿from "Low Country Suite." Like many 
King Wilkie
songs on this album, it explores feelings of love and loss. King Wilkie has said the album is about a young man finding his place in the world.

Ted³ Pitney and Reid Burgess formed King Wilkie in two thousand three in Charlottesville, Virginia. They named the band after the favorite horse of Bill Monroe, who is considered the father of bluegrass music.

King Wilkie’s first album, “Broke,‿was a collection of traditional bluegrass songs. The record earned them an Emerging Artist of the Year Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.

For “Low Country Suite‿the band wanted to push their musical boundaries. Reid Burgess says their goal was to free themselves and show different musical sides of the band. He says limiting their music style to bluegrass did not permit them to be as personal and expressive¹³ as they wanted to be.

Here is the playful sound of “Ms. Peabody.‿It tells about a young man’s love affair with an older woman.

(MUSIC)

Although this record is not traditional bluegrass, the band still plans to play at bluegrass festivals and concerts. Reid Burgess says King Wilkie’s performances are still made for bluegrass stages. He says he loves the personalities¹⁴, the community and the history of bluegrass shows. We leave you with the energetic beat of “Wrecking Ball.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Dana Demange and Shelley Gollust.  Caty Weaver¹⁵ was our producer.

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 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 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。

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 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。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

9 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

10 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

13 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

14 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

15 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。