VOA慢速英语 2008 0104b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Bob Doughty². On our show this week:

We listen to some jazz music by Oscar Peterson ‿/P>

Answer a question about the nicknames of American states ‿/P>

And tell about a campaign to save Ellis Island.

Ellis Island

HOST: 
Ellis Island

Ellis Island is in New York Harbor. It was once the main immigration center known as the "Gateway³ to America." Twelve million new immigrants passed through Ellis Island at the height of its activity between eighteen ninety-two and nineteen twenty-four. About forty percent of Americans have at least one family member who entered the country there. Faith Lapidus tells us about efforts to restore this important place.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The immigration center at Ellis Island closed in nineteen fifty-four. All of the buildings stood empty. They started to fall apart because of the wet air of the harbor. Then in nineteen seventy-six the nearby Statue of Liberty was restored. This followed a money-raising effort linked to the two hundredth anniversary of the United States. Ellis Island's main building was also repaired and opened to visitors.

It became America's immigration museum and memorial to honor all immigrants. For the past several years, a nonprofit organization has been trying to raise money so that the other Ellis Island buildings can be repaired and restored. 

Now, famous and not-so-famous Americans are appearing on a Web site and on television in special public service messages asking for help.   They are telling the stories of their ancestors' experiences at Ellis Island.  For example, when ships from Europe entered New York Harbor, inspectors⁴ would sail out to check the documents of the wealthier passengers. But poor passengers got quite a different welcome. 

They were taken to Ellis Island for intense examinations. As many as five thousand immigrants a day were required to walk up a flight of stairs to a group of waiting doctors. The doctors gave what became known as the "thirty-second medical"  -- a fast physical and mental examination. For immigrants who failed the test, this was a quick end to their hopes of a new life in America.

Some of these people were sent to the Ellis Island hospital before they were sent back to Europe.  The hospital is one of the damaged buildings that will be restored.

For those immigrants who were able to begin new lives in America, Ellis Island represents stories of hope, survival and success. People who support the Save Ellis Island campaign say they hope all the buildings can be completely restored.  They want to keep the buildings alive in order to keep the stories alive.

Nicknames of American States

HOST:

Our VOA question this week comes from listeners in Bosnia and Nigeria. Danijel Djordjic and Tarzaar Ishoon ask about the nicknames of American states.

First, a word or two about nicknames.  A nickname is a word used in addition to the official name of a person or place. People with long names are sometimes called by a nickname that is shorter.  For example, a woman named Elizabeth may be called Liz.

Every American state has an official nickname.  But people may know the state by other names as well.  For example, Pennsylvania’s official nickname is the Keystone State. Its Web site says the keystone is the part of an arch structure that holds the other parts together.  One story says Pennsylvania was the keystone of the American colonies because it was in the middle and held them together.

Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Quaker State.  That name comes from the Quakers, the religious group who first settled the area.  Pennsylvania is also sometimes called the Oil State, the Coal State or the Steel State because oil, coal and steel are three of its industries.

 
Ohio is known as the Buckeye State'
The nearby state of Ohio is known as the Buckeye State. That is because many buckeye trees grow there. The Buckeye is also the official tree of Ohio.  The state Web site says people in Ohio have called themselves Buckeyes since at least the election of eighteen forty.  That was when Ohio native William Henry Harrison was elected president.  His friends in Ohio carved campaign gifts from buckeye wood to show their support for him.

So we have explained some nicknames of two American states. But what about the other forty-eight?  If you want to know about their nicknames, listen to the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES for the next four weeks. The first one airs on Sunday. Then, all your questions will be answered.

Oscar Peterson

(MUSIC: "Backyard Blues")

HOST:

One of the all-time great jazz musicians died last week at the age of eighty-two. Some say Oscar Peterson was the most famous jazz musician in the world.  Katherine Cole has more. 

KATHERINE COLE:

 
Oscar Peterson
Oscar Peterson was born in Montreal, Canada, and learned jazz from musicians in that city.  He later said his jazz education came from listening to the radio. Oscar Peterson played piano and wrote music.  He recorded more than one hundred albums, won eight Grammy awards and performed all over the world.

Some of his most famous recordings⁶ were with his group, the Oscar Peterson Trio. In nineteen ninety, the group played for three nights at the Blue Note nightclub in New York City. Two of the albums recorded at those shows won Grammy Awards.  Here is the Oscar Peterson Trio from the album "Live at the Blue Note" playing "Let There Be Love."

(MUSIC)

Oscar Peterson loved Canada.  In two thousand, the government asked him to write music for the nation's Millennium⁷ celebration.  The result was "Trail of Dreams: A Canadian Suite⁸." Here is one of the songs from that recording⁵, "Open Spaces."  Peterson said he wrote it to give the listener the feeling of endless prairie land.

(MUSIC)

Oscar Peterson also wrote music resulting from racial discrimination he experienced.  One of those songs became a battle cry for the civil rights movement.  We leave you now with Oscar Peterson playing "Hymn⁹ To Freedom."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Bob Doughty.  I hope you enjoyed our program today.

It was written by Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹⁰ 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., 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 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。

3 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

4 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

8 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。

9 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

10 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。