VOA慢速英语 2008 0314b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Small-Town Georgia Influences Singer Lizz Wright's Latest Effort
Also: A listener asks what the Democratic Party candidates plan to do if elected president. And a home used by President Abraham Lincoln is opened to the public. Transcript² of radio broadcast:
13 March 2008

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English. I’m Doug Johnson.

On our show this week we play music from jazz singer Lizz Wright …

Answer a listener question about the American presidential candidates …

And, visit former President Abraham Lincoln’s cottage, now a museum near Washington, D.C.

(MUSIC)

Lincoln’s Cottage

HOST:

A newly restored house has opened in Washington, D.C. The house looks like it did during the presidency³ of Abraham Lincoln in the early eighteen sixties. In fact, Mister Lincoln and his family lived in the house while he was president. Faith Lapidus explains.

FAITH LAPIDUS:
　

President Lincoln's Cottage

The house is known as President Lincoln’s Cottage. He and his family lived there during the summers to escape the heat and noise of the White House during the Civil War. The cottage is on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement⁴ Home. More than one thousand retired⁵ American military veterans live there today.

Washington banker George Riggs built the cottage in eighteen forty-two. He sold the house and land to the government about ten years later. The government built a large home for military veterans on the land. They also expanded the house nearby.

James Buchanan was the first president to use this house. But the Lincolns used it the most. They moved there each June or July, and did not return to the White House until early November.

Back then, the cottage was outside the city of Washington, about one and one-half kilometers north of the White House. President Lincoln returned to the cottage every night from the White House.

Today, the cottage and the retirement home are inside the city limits, in an area where many people live. The house has been open to visitors for only about one month. It does not have a lot of furniture, yet it tells many stories about President Lincoln and his family.

One story that many people do not know is that President Lincoln was the object of an assassination⁶ attempt near the cottage in eighteen sixty-four. Coming back from the White House, he was riding a horse alone at night when a bullet went through his tall hat. He did not take the incident seriously. But it led the War Department to increase security for the president.

Later, John Wilkes Booth watched the president ride from the cottage to the White House. He had planned to kidnap Mister Lincoln and exchange him for captured Confederate soldiers. But there were too many guards protecting the president. So Booth changed his plans. He shot and killed the president at Ford’s Theatre in Washington in eighteen sixty-five.

You can hear more stories about President Lincoln’s Cottage on the Special English program THIS IS AMERICA on Monday, March seventeenth.

　

Presidential Candidates’ Platforms

HOST:

Our listener question this week is about the American presidential election. Armand Ngouala asks what the Democratic Party candidates plan to do if elected president, especially on the issue of Iraq.
　

Barack Obama

Right now the race for the Democratic Party nomination⁷ is close. On Tuesday, Illinois Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic nominating election in Mississippi. A week earlier, New York Senator Hillary Clinton won in nominating elections in three states -- Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas. But she lost to Mister Obama in Vermont. And he remains⁸ the overall leader in the competition.

The two candidates hold similar positions, especially on social issues. For example, both support a woman’s right to seek an abortion⁹. Both also support stem cell research. And both candidates believe homosexuals should have rights to form legal unions similar to marriage. Senators Clinton and Obama also have plans that they say will provide health care to all Americans. Both also have plans to end the war in Iraq.

Barack Obama says as president he would immediately begin troop withdrawals¹⁰ from Iraq. He says he would get all American combat forces out of Iraq within sixteen months. The senator says he would leave some troops in the country to protect the American embassy and diplomats¹¹. But, he says he would not permit the building of any permanent American bases in Iraq.
　

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton says she would meet with America’s top military and civilian¹² security officials shortly after taking office. She says she would order them to make a plan to begin withdrawing troops within the first sixty days of her presidency.

Senator Clinton says she would also increase aid to Iraq and make sure it reaches the people who need it. And she says she supports the appointment of a high level United Nations representative to help negotiate peace among Iraqi groups.
　

John McCain

Last week, Senator John McCain of Arizona gained enough delegates to become the Republican Party nominee¹³ for president. Senator McCain does not support ending the war in Iraq. He believes more American troops need to be deployed¹⁴ to crush rebel forces, end fighting among different Muslim groups and disarm¹⁵ militias¹⁶. He says the United States must also help to strengthen the Iraqi armed forces and police. Senator McCain says political progress in Iraq depends on its security.

Lizz Wright

HOST:

Lizz Wright is a singer with a rich and smoky voice. The twenty-eight year old performer’s third album is “The Orchard¹⁷.” She says her childhood in a small town in rural Georgia influenced the album. Critics say it is her best yet. Barbara Klein plays some of Wright’s music.

BARBARA KLEIN:
　

Lizz Wright

Before she began writing songs for a new album, Lizz Wright returned to her family’s home in Georgia. She took photographs of the countryside and places that were important to her. Then she showed the photographs to people at her record company, Verve. She explained that this was the world she wanted to tell about in her album. Here is the song “Coming Home.”

(MUSIC)

Lizz Wright first began singing and playing music as a young child at the religious center where her father worked. You can hear the influence of this gospel music in many of her songs. As an adult, Wright studied music at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Later, critics praised her singing in a traveling musical show honoring the blues¹⁸ singer Billie Holiday. On her earlier albums, Wright borrowed the songs and stories of other performers. She says that “The Orchard” mainly tells her own story. Here is “My Heart.”

(MUSIC)

Lizz Wright also sings songs by other musicians on this album. For example, she performs a version of “Strange” by the country and western singer Patsy Cline. We leave you with a song that was first made famous by Tina Turner. Lizz Wright says she wanted to sing like Tina Turner’s fiercely powerful voice in her own version of the song “I Idolize You.”

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹⁹, who was also 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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

8 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。

9 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

10 withdrawals   

n.收回，取回，撤回( withdrawal的名词复数 )；撤退，撤走；收回[取回，撤回，撤退，撤走]的实例；推出（组织），提走（存款），戒除毒瘾，对说过的话收回，孤僻

参考例句：

• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account. 他从银行账户上提了几次款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It is not the bank's policy to deduct interest on withdrawals. 提款需扣除利息这并非是本银行的政策。 来自辞典例句

11 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

15 disarm   

v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和

参考例句：

• The world has waited 12 years for Iraq to disarm. 全世界等待伊拉克解除武装已有12年之久。
• He has rejected every peaceful opportunity offered to him to disarm.他已经拒绝了所有能和平缴械的机会。

16 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

17 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

18 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。

19 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。