VOA慢速英语 2007 0504b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We answer a question about two famous American women ‿/P>

Play music by Akon ‿/P>

And tell about a craft show in Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian Craft Show

HOST:

Where can you go to see and buy the work of one hundred twenty of America's best craft artists? In Washington, D.C. you can visit the yearly Smithsonian Craft Show. For twenty-five years, some of the finest craft artists have gathered to show their expertly made objects at this special event. These objects include beautiful jewelry², wood, paper, glass, ceramics⁴ and more. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

 
A ceramic³ container by Jennifer McCurdy
The Smithsonian Craft Show is held every year for four days in late April. Going to the craft show is an exciting activity. As you visit the many craft artists' show areas, you feel like you are taking part in a celebration of artistic⁵ skill and invention. But not just any artist can take part in this event. More than one thousand people from all over the United States requested to be in the show. But only one hundred and twenty were chosen. They were carefully picked by a jury⁶ of craft experts.

The Craft Show is organized every year by the Smithsonian Women's Committee. The event helps raise money to support education and research programs for the nineteen museums that are part of the Smithsonian Institution.

This year, for example, visitors could see the graceful⁷ ceramic works of Jennifer McCurdy. Her finely formed white clay containers have a fluid sense of motion. Or, visitors could play with the detailed⁸ and imaginative⁹ toy machines made by Bill Durovchic. 
A work by Joh Ricci 

Holly¹⁰ Anne Mitchell showed her wonderfully creative jewelry made out of folded pieces of newspaper. Joh Ricci received the Best of Show award for her colorful art objects made by tying thin pieces of cloth cord into detailed forms. And, if you wanted to wear a piece of art, you could buy a hat by Joan Hammerschmidt. Her wildly colorful and inventively shaped hats would make everyone look at you with a smile.

Helen Keller and Sally Ride

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  The students of Nguyen Thanh Duc at the Marie Curie High School want to know about two famous American women: Helen Keller and Sally Ride.

 
Helen Keller
Helen Keller was born in eighteen eighty in a small town in Alabama. She developed an infection when she was nineteen months old. She lost the ability to see and hear.

When Helen was seven years old, her parents hired a special teacher for their daughter. Anne Sullivan taught Helen the names of things. She formed letters with her fingers in Helen’s hand to spell out words. She taught Helen sign language, and how to use her voice.

Later, Helen Keller learned to read Latin, Greek, French and German. She completed her studies at Radcliffe College with honors in nineteen-oh-four.

Helen Keller worked for many years for the American Foundation for the Blind. She met with presidents and traveled to many countries. She wrote books and articles.  And she showed other disabled people that they, too, could succeed. Helen Keller died in nineteen sixty-eight. Her life story has been told in books, plays and movies.

Sally Ride grew up near Los Angeles, California. She studied science in college. In 
Sally Ride
nineteen seventy-eight, she was one of the first six women to be trained as an astronaut. She also earned a doctoral degree in astrophysics at Stanford University in California.

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. She was the flight engineer on the Challenger space shuttle in nineteen eighty-three. She was thirty-one years old, the youngest American astronaut ever to go into orbit.

One year later, she was a crew member on another space shuttle flight. And in nineteen eighty-six, she was a member of the presidential committee that investigated the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle earlier that year.

Sally Ride left NASA to teach at Stanford University. Since nineteen eighty-nine, she has been a professor at the University of California at San Diego. She has also written science books for children and directed education projects designed to interest young people in science.

Akon

HOST:

 
A man in demand
Senegalese-American singer Akon has a musical sound that is different from current popular artists.  He has had several hit songs. Barbara Klein tells us about him.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

That was Akon singing his hit song "I Wanna Love You" from his latest album, "Konvicted."   

Akon's real name is Aliaune Thiam. He is the son of Senegalese jazz drummer Mor Thiam. Akon grew up listening to jazz and other kinds of music, but he especially liked hip-hop.

When he was a teenager, Akon was arrested and sentenced to three years in jail for stealing cars. During his time in jail, Akon wrote songs. Those songs became part of his first album, "Trouble," released in two thousand four. Akon sings about his arrest and jail experiences in this song, "Locked Up."

(MUSIC)

Music critics say Akon is popular because his music offers something new. His creative sound combines Caribbean and West African singing with popular music and hip-hop beats. Akon has performed and recorded songs with many kinds of artists. They include rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Gwen Stefani and the South African singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

We leave you with another hit song from Akon’s latest album, "Konvicted." This is "Don’t Matter."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Lawan Davis, Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹¹ was the 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 xxxxxxxxx Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, 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 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

3 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

4 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。

5 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。

6 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

7 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

8 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

9 imaginative   

adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的

参考例句：

• The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
• Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。

10 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

11 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。