VOA慢速英语 2007 1116a

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Looking High and Low for Meaning of 'Pop Culture'
By Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach / Broadcast: Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:00:00 UTC
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We listen to some music from singer Gloria Estefan ...

Answer a question about pop culture ...

And report about an American sports hero's trip to China.

Sports Ambassador²

HOST:

Cal Ripken at No.1 Dahushan Road Elementary School in Shanghai

America's newest sports ambassador has returned home from his first government supported trip outside the United States. Former Baltimore Orioles baseball player Cal Ripken was named to the position in August. His first trip was to China. Bob Doughty³ has more.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Cal Ripken was in China for ten days, visiting with sports officials and young people in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. He talked about baseball and showed Chinese young people how to play the game. His hometown newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, provided⁴ sound from his trip on its Web site. Here, he works⁵ with students at Xidan Elementary School in Beijing.

(SOUND)

Cal Ripken is not the first American sports ambassador. Last year, figure skater Michele Kwan visited China and Russia. She said that meeting with young people of other nations gives them a better understanding of the United States. She also said such meetings help change any false ideas that people have about this country.

Baseball is not very well understood or very popular in China. The Chinese people enjoy basketball and soccer much more. But things are changing. American major league baseball just signed four Chinese players and Major League Baseball International has begun a program in China.

Cal Ripken says he went to China to open communication with another culture through sports. He told reporters that sports bring people together in a friendly way, and he is sharing with others the sport that he loves. One thing he says he has learned⁶ is that children are children no matter where they live. They love to play and want to have fun.

Cal Ripken says being a sports ambassador means teaching⁷ baseball as a way of making friends in other nations. And he says that the rules of baseball include values that provide people with an idea of American life.

Pop Culture

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Vietnam. H. Nguyen wants to know what the expression pop culture means.

This is a good question that requires a more complex answer than we can give in a few minutes. In very general terms, pop culture, or popular culture, includes the movies, television shows, sports, music, cooking, clothing styles and other examples of mass culture that a society produces.

Examples of American pop culture that have become, well, popular around the world include the movies of Sylvester Stallone, hip-hop music, fast food, and blue jeans.

Many professors who study culture argue about what is, what is not, and what once was but is no longer, popular culture. The fact that popular culture is always changing makes it even more difficult to define⁸ exactly.

Most people would probably agree that popular culture is influenced in some way by the cultural products that sell well and make money. Some experts note the differences between a popular or low culture and a high culture valued by wealthier and more educated people in a society.

A magazine with Britney Spears on the cover

For example, such experts might say that a song by Britney Spears is an example of pop culture, but music by classical composers like Mozart or Bach is not. Within this group, some might say that commercial and market forces corrupt⁹ culture.

Then again, other experts believe that there is no longer a low and high culture because the two have mixed together. The American economist¹⁰ Tyler Cowen does not believe in organizing culture into high and low. Instead, he says that a strong economy makes all kinds of culture possible.

And no discussion¹¹ of popular culture could be complete without talking about Andy Warhol, the father of Pop Art. During the nineteen sixties, Warhol created a movement that celebrated¹² turning everyday images of famous people and food advertisements into fine art.

Pop artists praised popular culture in all of its forms and made it the subject of their art. Andy Warhol said that once you understood Pop you could never see a sign the same way again. And he said that once you thought Pop, you could never see America the same way again.

Gloria Estefan

HOST:

Gloria Estefan's newest album

Gloria Estefan has been making records for over twenty years. Her latest album 90 Millas honors¹³ the musical traditions of Cuba, the country where she was born. The songs express a longing¹⁴ for the home she left as a young child. Estefan helped write most of the songs on the album, which are in Spanish. She gathered famous musicians from around Latin¹⁵ America to perform with her. Barbara Klein has more.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

That was the song No Llores or Don't Cry. The well-known Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana plays guitar on this song.

Gloria Estefan made this album with her husband, record producer and musician Emilio Estefan. The couple live in Miami, Florida, which has a large population of Cuban-Americans.

The name of this album means 90 miles. This is the distance between Cuba and the United States. It is a small distance, but to many Cuban-Americans with families still in Cuba it feels much larger.

Gloria Estefan invited several performers in the world of Latin music to join her in this album. These include the flute¹⁶ player Johnny Pacheco and Israel Cachao Lopez, who is known as the inventor of mambo music.

Gloria Estefan has said that her only wish was that the Cuban-born salsa singer Celia Cruz had been alive to perform on this album. Cruz died in two thousand three. Here is A Bailar with the Puerto Rican musician Pappo Luca playing the piano.

(MUSIC)

Gloria Estefan has made a career out of combining the sounds of Latin America with popular dance music. In 90 Millas she gives a modern version¹⁷ of traditional Cuban songs.

But her first songs mixed the dance sounds of disco and salsa music. In ninety eighty-five, she and her band, the Miami Sound Machine, released¹⁸ Conga. We leave you with that song which helped launch¹⁹ Gloria Estefan's career.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver²⁰ was our producer.

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 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 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。

4 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

5 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

9 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

12 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。

13 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

15 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

16 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

17 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

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 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

20 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。