VOA慢速英语 2008 0411b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We play music from the new wave/punk band, the B-52’s …

Answer a listener’s question about the famous road called Route 66 …

And we "shine a light" on Martin Scorcese’s new movie about the Rolling Stones.

(MUSIC)

"Shine a Light"

HOST:
　

The Rolling Stones in concert

American director Martin Scorsese makes popular movies that often deal with crime and violence. But he is also known for making movies about musicians that are important to him. His most recent movie is “Shine a Light.” It is about the British group some call the world’s greatest rock and roll band. The movie gives a close look at the energetic performances and timeless songs that have made the Rolling Stones famous. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The Rolling Stones are singer Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts², and guitarist Ronnie Wood. These four rockers have been making music since the early nineteen sixties. They are the longest-lived rock group in history that is still performing.

(SOUND)

“Shine a Light” is mainly about two concerts the Rolling Stones gave at the Beacon³ Theatre in New York City in two thousand six. At first, the band and Scorsese thought the movie would show one the Rolling Stone’s large concerts attended by hundreds of thousands of people. But they decided⁴ it would be more interesting to show a concert in a smaller and more personal space.

Watching the movie is like being with the Rolling Stones on stage. The movie uses complex camera positions to artfully capture⁵ every angle⁶ of the musical action. You can see up close every dance movement and facial expression Mick Jagger makes. You can see the crowd cheering with excitement. But you also get to see what happens off stage. You see Mick Jagger thinking about what songs he will sing. You see Martin Scorsese wondering about what songs Jagger has chosen. And, you see the director discussing how the stage and lighting⁷ will look. You even get to see former president Bill Clinton go back stage before a concert to say hello to the Rolling Stones.

The movie also shows video recordings⁹ of the musicians when they were very young. In one video from the nineteen sixties, someone asks Mick Jagger how long he thinks the Rolling Stones will play music. Jagger guesses that the group might stay together another year.

Of course, the main subject of “Shine a Light” is the band’s music. The songs of the Rolling Stones remain as fresh and electric today as when they were first released¹⁰.

Route 66

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Dhaka, Bangladesh Shafiqul Islam wants to know about Route 66 and how it got its name.

Route Sixty-Six was the idea of Cyrus Avery, a businessman in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He helped create the system of numbered roads in the United States.

In the early nineteen twenties, Mister¹¹ Avery proposed¹² that the federal¹³ government build a road between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, along a southwestern path. The government agreed. In nineteen twenty-six the road was approved and officially named Route 66. The road is almost four thousand kilometers long and crosses eight states.

The naming of the famous highway was not easy. Cyrus Avery was firm in his wish that the road receive an even number. He favored the number sixty. But a group in the state of Kentucky loudly objected. It also sought a Route 60 to run along a different path.

Mister Avery then decided that the number sixty-six would serve well. He thought that the repeated six would be easy to remember and that sixty-six had a nice sound.

His decision was a good one. As far as we know there are no songs about Route 60, nor is it central in any books or movies. But Route 66 became a cultural symbol of an America on the move and in love with the automobile¹⁴.

The American writer John Steinbeck wrote about Route 66 in his famous book, “The Grapes of Wrath¹⁵.” He described it as the “mother road, the road of flight.” The characters in his book were people from Oklahoma who had lost their farms in severe dust storms in the nineteen thirties. They moved to California in search of a better life. They drove their vehicles with all their possessions along Route 66. The road has also been called the "Main Street of America" and the "People’s Road."

One song about 66 became especially famous. Songwriter Bobby Troup wrote the tune¹⁶ after a road trip with his wife in nineteen forty-six. Here is a little of Nat King Cole singing “Route 66.”

(MUSIC)

The “Mother Road” fell into disrepair in the nineteen sixties after the government decided to build larger high-speed roads called interstate highways. But for about the last twenty years, several groups have worked successfully for the renewal¹⁷ of Route 66.

The B-52's

HOST:

The B-52’s were a popular band in the punk/new wave style of rock music back in the nineteen eighties and early nineties. The group now has a new album out after a sixteen-year break in recording⁸. Barbara Klein plays a song from the new album and a few others from the past.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:
　

B-52's

The B-52’s released that song, “Legal Tender,” in nineteen eighty-three, on the album “Whammy.” Like many of the band’s songs, “Legal Tender” is funny. And it has a great dance beat.

The B-52’s are Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland and Cindy Wilson. But at the time “Whammy” was released, Cindy Wilson’s brother, Ricky Wilson, was also in the band. All five formed the group while having drinks at a Chinese restaurant in Athens, Georgia.

Their first album, called “The B-52’s,” was released in nineteen seventy-nine. The song “Rock Lobster” went to number three on Billboard¹⁸ Magazine’s popular music chart. Here is “Dance This Mess Around,” another hit from the album.

(MUSIC)

Ricky Wilson died in nineteen eighty-five. For the next few years the band mourned and its work suffered. But in nineteen eighty-nine the B-52’s released “Cosmic Thing.” It became the group’s biggest album ever. Here is “Roam.”

(MUSIC)

The B-52’s say the new recording, “Funplex,” is modern. But band members say they will continue their tradition of crazy clothes and wild hair styles. Here is “Keep This Party Going.”

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written Dana Demange and Caty Weaver¹⁹, who was also the producer

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 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

3 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

4 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。

5 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。

6 angle   

n.角，角度，立场，观点

参考例句：

• The high jumper took off at a bad angle.跳高运动员的起跳角度不好。
• The old house leans to the right at a dangerous angle.那所老宅向右斜得很危险。

7 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

8 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。

9 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

10 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

11 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

12 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

13 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

14 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

15 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

16 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

17 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

18 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

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。