VOA慢速英语 2008 0229b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We play music by Will Downing ‿

Answer a question about the meaning of the American dream ‿

And explain Leap Day, February twenty-ninth.

(MUSIC)

Leap Day

HOST:

Today, February twenty-ninth, is Leap Day.  This date only appears on the calendar once every four years.  But why? Faith Lapidus explains.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Everyone knows the Earth takes three hundred sixty-five days to travel around the sun.  Well, that is not exactly correct.  The Earth really takes three hundred sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes and forty-six seconds to complete its orbit around the sun.

The problem for people developing calendars was what to do with the extra five hours, forty-eight minutes and forty-six seconds.

People needed calendars to help them know when to plant crops and when to celebrate religious holidays.  The ancient Greeks and Chinese had a solution.  They produced calendars that included extra months every nineteen years.

The ancient Romans had a different solution.  In the year forty-six, the Roman ruler 
Pope Gregory the 13th
Julius Caesar made a new calendar.  The Julian calendar included an extra day every four years. But there was a problem.  The Julian year was just over eleven minutes longer than the cycle of the seasons.  In fifteen eighty-two, Pope Gregory the Thirteenth established a new calendar to keep a better record of the days.  Pope Gregory was the religious leader of most of Europe.  He decided² that years that could be divided by four would add a day.  However, years that ended in two zeros that could not be evenly divided by four hundred would not be leap years. 

For example, the years seventeen hundred, eighteen hundred and nineteen hundred were not leap years.  But the years sixteen hundred and two thousand were leap years.

So leap years are years with three hundred sixty-six days, instead of the usual three hundred sixty-five. This extra day is added to the calendar on February twenty-ninth, sometimes known as Leap Day.  People born on Leap Day may be called "leaplings."  They usually celebrate their birthdays on February twenty-eighth or March first.

(MUSIC)

The American Dream

HOST:

This week’s listener question comes from Ghana. Kwaku Kwakye wants to know the meaning of the expression "the American dream."

Each individual may define the American dream differently. But the general idea is that 
Many would say Rosen Sharma from India is enjoying the American dream. He leads an information technology company in Palo Alto, California.
a person in the United States has the freedom to carry out his or her goals. It usually means a person has the chance to work hard, earn money and create a secure life. For many people, this means being able to get a good education, have a good job and own a house.  The expression is often linked to immigrants who have come to this country seeking more freedom or a better life than they could have in their own countries.

The definition appeared in nineteen thirty-one in a history book by James Truslow Adams, “The Epic³ of America.‿nbsp; He wrote that the American dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.‿nbsp;

Some people would say that the United States Declaration of Independence first defined the American dream. Thomas Jefferson wrote this document in seventeen seventy-six. It expressed why the American colonies decided to fight British colonial rule in order to become an independent nation. The Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal." And that they have the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.‿/P>

In the nineteen sixties, the African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior had his own dream for America. He said that America’s declaration that "all men are created equal" is a great expression of the idea of democracy. But he noted⁴ that this dream was not a reality. He said that it was the moral duty of Americans to work so that racial minorities and people of different social levels could be treated equally.

An organization called the Center for a New American Dream deals with another kind of dream.  Its goal is to help Americans live in ways that protect the environment, improve the quality of life and support social justice. 

Do you have any ideas about the American dream? You can send them to [email protected].

Will Downing

(MUSIC)

HOST:

 
Will Downing
Music critics and fans of Will Downing know him as a skillful singer and songwriter.  He is recognized as one of the leading singers of romantic, rhythm and blues⁵ music.  He has had many loyal fans since his first album in nineteen eighty-eight.  He recently released another successful album while dealing⁶ with a serious, life-changing sickness.   Katherine Cole has more.

(MUSIC)

KATHERINE COLE:

That was “Will’s Groove‿from Will Downing's latest record called "After Tonight."  It is his thirteenth album in twenty years.  It includes songs that combine rhythm and blues and his easy, jazz style of singing. 

After recording⁷ a few songs for “After Tonight,‿Will Downing became sick with a rare, incurable⁸ disease called polymyositis.  The condition causes severe muscle weakness that makes it difficult to move.  Yet, Downing worked very hard to complete his new record.  Instead of a studio, he sometimes recorded songs from a hospital bed or a wheelchair in his home. 

Although he is facing difficult times, Will Downing says, he remains⁹ thankful.  He wrote the song “God Is So Amazing‿to express his feelings.

(MUSIC)

The other songs on “After Tonight‿are the kind of emotional love songs that make Will Downing so popular, especially among women.  The words in his songs and his smooth, rich voice tell a story of how wonderful love should be.  Here he sings "Satisfy You."

(MUSIC)

We leave you with another love song by Will Downing from his album "After Tonight."  Here he sings “No One Can Love You More."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Lawan Davis, Dana Demange and Caty Weaver¹⁰, who was also our producer.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 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 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。

8 incurable   

adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人

参考例句：

• All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
• He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的，到处蔓延的裙带主义。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

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。