VOA慢速英语 2008 1128b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We listen to a new album from Darius Rucker …

Answer a listener question about vegetarians³ …

And tell about people who ride their bicycles to work.

(MUSIC)

Biking to Work

HOST:

More Americans than ever are riding their bicycles to work instead of driving. They are doing this because of gas prices, a slowing economy and concerns about the environment. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Many Americans have been leaving their cars at home and riding to work on bicycles. Andy Clark is the executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. His group supports bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation.

Mister Clark says this is good news for the environment. He says riding a bicycle to work does not burn fossil fuel or create dangerous pollutants⁴. Experts say the effects are the most important on short trips. The Department of Transportation says fifty percent of Americans drive eight kilometers or fewer to work. Shorter car trips release more pollution into the air for each kilometer driven. This is because the device in a car engine that reduces the harmfulness of emissions⁵ needs to warm up before it can work well.

Members of Congress have supported bicycling as environmentally friendly transportation. For example, Minnesota Representative James Oberstar is a strong supporter of bicycle use. He says cities, counties, state governments and state highway transportation agencies are planning the roadways of the future. They are creating roads and paths for bicycles in cities and between communities.
　
Andrew Land riding his bicycle to work in Portland, Oregon

Last year, the Pacific Northwest city of Portland, Oregon, had the highest percentage of bicycle commuters in the United States. Portland has been doing progressive city planning for many years to create special paths for bike riders.

Andrew Land is one of Portland's citizens who bikes to work every day. Mister Land is thirty-three years old and has never owned a car. He has biked to work for twelve years. Before moving to Portland six years ago, he lived in Washington, D.C. But he was hit by a car twice while biking to work there. That has not happened in Portland where there are special roads for bicycles. Mister Land bought a house near these special bike lanes. He rides almost five kilometers to work each day. He also uses the sixty-four kilometer bike path around the city.

Andrew Land rides a cyclocross bike. He says it combines the best parts of a racing⁶ bike and a mountain bike. You might say that Andrew Land is "into bikes." He recently attended a show of handmade bicycle frames. It was organized by thirty bicycle frame builders in Portland. And he attended a legal rights workshop for bicyclists.

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Vegetarians in the U.S.

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from India. K. Jameel Ahmed wants to know about vegetarians in the United States. To answer this question, we first have to describe several ways Americans define a vegetarian² diet.

Some vegetarians do not eat any meat products or any food made from animal labor⁷, including milk products, eggs and honey. This kind of diet is called a vegan diet. But most vegetarians include dairy products in their diet and many vegetarians eat eggs. Some people consider themselves partial vegetarians, because they do not eat meat or farm birds, but they do eat fish.

There are many reasons people choose to be vegetarian. Some religions such as Hinduism observe vegetarianism⁸ as part of an effort of nonviolence towards animals. Many other people have non-religious moral reasons for not eating meat. They believe that killing⁹ farm animals for food is immoral¹⁰ and cruel.

Other vegetarians believe it is more healthful to eat a plant-based diet. The American Dietetic Association says that vegetarians often have lower cholesterol¹¹ and blood pressure as well as lower rates of some kinds of cancer and diabetes¹².

And some vegetarians reject eating meat for environmental reasons. Some studies show that the industry of raising large farm animals leads to water and air pollution, land damage and climate change.

The Vegetarian Resource Group in Baltimore, Maryland did a study in two thousand six on the number of vegetarians in the United States. About two point three percent of the adults they questioned said they were vegetarians. Six point seven percent said that they never eat meat. This was a small study, so its results may not be very exact. But earlier studies have also found that about two percent of Americans say they are vegetarians.

However, the American Dietetic Association says interest in vegetarianism is increasing. Organizations like the Vegetarian Resource Group and People for the Ethical¹³ Treatment of Animals give advice on how to become a vegetarian on their Web sites. PETA also tells how to prepare meat-free food. And it lists messages from famous vegetarians including the actress Alicia Silverstone and the singer Moby.

Food writer Michael Pollan has a more moderate suggestion than total vegetarianism. He says Americans should eat like people did several generations ago. He says they should eat small amounts of natural, well-grown foods that are mostly plants.

(MUSIC)

Darius Rucker

HOST:

Singer Darius Rucker recently released his first country album, "Learn to Live." You might recognize his voice. Rucker is also the lead singer of the popular band Hootie and the Blowfish. Darius Rucker has taken time off from the band to make his own records. Critics are praising his energetic country sound. And one of the songs on the album has made history. Shirley Griffith tells us more.

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

That was the song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It." It is the first number one country music hit by an African American artist in about twenty-five years.
　
Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker said it was not difficult to make country music after years of writing rock songs. He said Hootie and the Blowfish had always been influenced by country music. He grew up listening to country music in his native South Carolina.

Rucker also said that he did not want to write country songs about drinking alcohol and chasing women. He said he is forty-two years old and his songs are about a man thinking about his life, his relationships, his children and his goals.

Here is the song "While I Still Got the Time."

(MUSIC)

Darius Rucker recently finished a performance tour around the United States. He will travel again this winter to play music from his new album. We leave you with the sharp humor of "All I Want."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Shelley Gollust and Dana Demange, who was also the producer. 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 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

3 vegetarians   

n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 )；素食者；素食主义者；食草动物

参考例句：

• Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
• Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。

4 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 vegetarianism   

n.素食，素食主义

参考例句：

• More and more people are believing in vegetarianism and diet for health. 而今越来越多的人们相信素食和节食有利于身体健康。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is an exponent of vegetarianism. 她是一个素食主义的倡导者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

10 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

11 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。

12 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

13 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。