VOA慢速英语 2008 1121b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We listen to a new album from James Taylor …

Answer a listener question about native American Indians …

And talk to some Americans about the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Thanksgiving

HOST:
　
A U.S. soldier at a Thanksgiving lunch at the military base in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2007

Next Thursday, November twenty-seventh, is the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Americans will gather with family and friends to share a big meal. They might play games, tell stories or watch football on television together. Faith Lapidus reports on a few Americans and their Thanksgivings, past and present.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Angelo Rosa has more Thanksgiving memories than most people. The man from Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania is one hundred years old. He lives in the same house where he celebrated² a great number of Thanksgivings.

But he says it was different when he was a child. Mister Rosa was just three when his family came to America. He says Thanksgiving was not a tradition his family celebrated when he was a child.

ANGELO ROSA: "When we were small children, Thanksgiving was never a very big holiday because at the time it was not promoted the way it is today so we actually didn't pay too much attention to it."

But, also, he says, his parents faced a language barrier.

ANGELO ROSA: "They were from the Naples area of Italy. They spoke³ very broken English, because they were the first generation that came over here."

And the family had little money. There were six Rosa children. Mister Rosa's father was a coal miner in Pennsylvania. The family was not able to have big, costly⁴ dinners, especially during the economic depression of the nineteen thirties.

But Mister Rosa says Thanksgiving dinners became a tradition in his own family after he married and had children.

This Thanksgiving, Angelo Rosa will go to the home of his daughter about twenty minutes away. He will celebrate the day with loved ones, including his great-grandchildren.

On the other side of the country, Cathie Dahlstrom will be cutting a lot of cabbage. She has to prepare coleslaw for a group of thirty-five to forty Thanksgiving celebrants in Concord⁵, California.

We asked Miz Dahlstrom what she is thankful for this year, with the economy facing severe problems and American forces fighting two wars. Her first answer came quickly: "The election." She said she has a real sense of renewed hope that things can be better in America. She said she also is deeply grateful for her very large family. Miz Dahlstrom has one daughter. She has five younger brothers and sisters. She also has eight step-brothers and sisters. Many of them and their families will be at the Thanksgiving dinner.

Lastly, she says she is very thankful that her eighty-two year old mother has a new relationship. Her mother was widowed some years ago. She is now dating a ninety-one-year-old man who has six grown children.

Could Cathie Dahlstrom's Thanksgivings get even bigger and more complex? Maybe. And we would bet she would welcome such change.

American Indians

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from India. Nirmal wants to know what happened to the Native American Indians after the Europeans arrived in what is now the United States. The listener from Kerala state wants to know if Native Americans still live in the country.

Many Native American tribes are living in the United States today. However, whole groups of Indians died in the years after Europeans arrived and the United States was established.

Disease was a major problem. The Europeans brought diseases that were completely new to the natives. They had no natural defenses. The spread of diseases like smallpox⁶ sometimes killed whole tribes.
　
A historic drawing of the Narragansett Indians

Differences in religion, culture and ideas about ownership and land rights led to long, bloody⁷ battles. Such a war began in sixteen seventy-five between settlers and the Wamponoag tribe in the Northeast. For two years, thousands of Indians and settlers -- men, women and children -- were killed.

But history experts say the Narraganset Indians were the real victims of that conflict. They did not take part in the war. They did not support one group or the other. But, the settlers killed almost all the Narraganset because they had learned to fear all Indians.

Throughout the eighteen hundreds, white settlers pushed west across the country. A United States government policy called the Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans to leave areas where they had lived for centuries. One of the most famous Indian expulsions is known as the Trail of Tears. In the early eighteen thirties, the United States government ordered five tribes to leave their lands east of the Mississippi River. They were told to go to what is now the western state of Oklahoma.

Over time, tens of thousands of Indians made the trip. But thousands died along the way. And hundreds of others died while fighting the expulsion.

Today, there are about two and one-half million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives living in the United States. The federal government recognizes more than five hundred sixty tribal⁸ governments. These are permitted some self-rule powers.

The last United States census⁹ found that one-third of all American Indians lived in three states: California, Arizona and Oklahoma.

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James Taylor

HOST:

James Taylor has been writing and recording¹⁰ hit songs since the late nineteen sixties. His voice still has a sweet, youthful sound. But as he ages he gets better and better at recording songs made famous by other people. Barbara Klein plays some of these "Covers" from Taylor's new album of the same name.

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BARBARA KLEIN:

James Taylor's cover of "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You)" came out in nineteen seventy-five. It was one of his most popular recordings¹¹ ever. On the new album, Taylor tries another hit song by the same writers, brothers Brian and Eddie Holland. Here is "(I'm a) Roadrunner."

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James Taylor visits country music on this album, too. Here is his version of a beautiful John Anderson song from nineteen ninety-two. It is called "Seminole Wind."

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James Taylor is still writing his own music, too. He is currently working on an album of new material. It will be his first since "October Road" in two thousand two. At sixty years old, this artist is still going strong. As proof, we leave you with James Taylor performing the Buddy¹² Holly¹³ song "Not Fade Away."

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HOST:

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

It was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁴. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

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 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。

3 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。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 concord   

n.和谐；协调

参考例句：

• These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
• His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。

6 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

7 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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

12 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

13 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。

14 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。