VOA慢速英语 2007 0316b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We answer a question about advertising² ‿/P>

Play some music from Thievery Corporation ‿/P>

And report about Saint Patrick's Day.

Saint Patrick's Day

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day the American way

Saturday, March seventeenth is Saint Patrick’s Day. In Ireland, it is a religious holiday that honors the man who brought Christianity to that country in the fifth century.  In the United States, people celebrate with parades and parties.  Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Saint Patrick’s Day has changed over the years.  It is no longer a day to celebrate only Saint Patrick, but a day to celebrate all things Irish.

In nineteen ninety-five, the United States Congress declared the month of March as Irish-American Heritage Month. The American president releases a statement about it every year. The statement praises Americans whose families came to the United States from Ireland. And it calls on all Americans to celebrate the month by learning about the influence of Irish-Americans.

The Census³ Bureau reports that more than thirty-four million Americans say their ancestors came from Ireland.  That is twelve percent of the country’s population. It is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry⁴.  German ancestry is the highest.  The state with the highest percentage of Irish-Americans is Massachusetts.  Twenty-four percent of the people living there say their ancestors came from Ireland.

History experts say people from Ireland first celebrated⁵ Saint Patrick’s Day in the city of Boston about two hundred fifty years ago.  But the first Saint Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City on March seventeenth, seventeen sixty-two. It included Irish soldiers who were serving in the British army.

Parades spread across the country as more and more Irish people came to America. But New York City’s parade is still the biggest one. The city of Chicago, Illinois also holds a large Saint Patrick’s Day parade.  And it celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day by coloring its river green. 

Green is the traditional Irish color.  You see lots of it on Saint Patrick’s Day.  People wear green clothes.  Some even color their hair or faces green.  And some drinking places serve green beer.  Many people eat the traditional Irish meal of corned beef and cabbage.  And many attend Saint Patrick’s Day parties.

A majority of Americans have no real connection to Ireland.  But they like to say that everyone is a little bit Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Advertising and Propaganda

This week, our listener question comes from Curitiba, Brazil.  Joalo Ademir dos Santos wants to know about propaganda, advertising and publicity⁶.

In some ways these words have similar meanings, but they are each a little different. Propaganda is a message designed and spread to influence public opinion. It is most commonly used by governments and in politics. Before the twentieth century, pictures and written media were the main forms of propaganda. 

Today, propaganda can be found in radio, television, movies, and the Internet.  Many governments throughout history have used propaganda to gain the support of their public.  Propaganda does not always include neutral information because it supports the opinion of one group or government.

During wartime, propaganda created by a government and directed at its own civilians⁷ and military can improve feelings about the country.  Propaganda aimed at the enemy is considered a form of psychological warfare⁸.  Many governments use propaganda as a policy tool. However, experts debate its effectiveness.

Advertising is a paid message usually used to influence people to buy goods or services.  It can also be used to spread the ideas of an organization or business.

You can see and hear advertisements on radio, television, newspapers, the Internet and even signs on the street.  Businesses invest large amounts of money in advertising campaigns in order to make their products well known.  Advertising has become a major part of life.  Experts say most people see and hear hundreds of different advertising messages each day.

Publicity is usually information or an announcement about a person, group, event or product.  It is sent to the media with the hope of being published or broadcast. An organization's public relations department usually creates publicity.  Information about ceremonies, press conferences or protests are common kinds of publicity. Experts say publicity is most successful when it has news value.

Thievery Corporation

HOST:

Thievery Corporation may sound like the name of a company, but it is the name of a musical group. Thievery Corporation started as an important part of the musical nightlife of Washington, D.C. Now, the group has become well known all over the world. You can hear their music in video games, television shows, and movies. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Eric Hilton and Rob Garza (pictured) are the creators of Thievery Corporation. For ten years they have been making records that combine repetitive electronic beats with ethnic⁹ music and jazz sounds. They started performing together at a popular drinking place in Washington, D.C., called the Eighteenth Street Lounge. People loved their sound so much that the men started to make records. Here is the song “Shaolin Satellite‿from one of their early albums.

(MUSIC)

The sounds of the city influenced Hilton and Garza.  They heard many kinds of ethnic music performed in the areas of the city called Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. They met musicians from all over the world and included this music in their songs.

Here is Sista Pat singing “Wires and Watchtowers.‿It is from Thievery Corporation's latest album called “The Cosmic Game.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

Recently Thievery Corporation performed four nights in a row in Washington. All shows sold out very quickly. Their energetic and colorful concerts included many singers and musicians such as guitar, sitar and bass¹⁰ players. There was even a belly¹¹ dancer. The shows were a celebration of the group's ten years together. We leave you with their international hit “Lebanese Blonde,‿from an earlier album called "Mirror Conspiracy¹²."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Brianna Blake, Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹³ was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. 

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., 20237, 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 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

5 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。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

8 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

12 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

13 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。