VOA慢速英语2009年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Anjulie Writes Deeply Pe

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week on our program:

We play music by Anjulie …

And answer a question about actress Audrey Hepburn …

But first, we celebrate a Special English anniversary.

(SOUND)

Special English Turns 50

HOST:

Special English is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary next week. Mario Ritter tells us about some of the ways we are celebrating this event.

MARIO RITTER:
　
Henry Loomis

It all started when Henry Loomis became director of the Voice of America in nineteen fifty-eight. Mister Loomis traveled around the world. He saw that English was becoming an important international language. He wanted to make English easier to understand by listeners of VOA broadcasts whose native language was not English. So Mister Loomis asked VOA program manager Barry Zorthian to develop a way to broadcast to listeners with a limited knowledge of English. This new method of broadcasting used a limited vocabulary. And it was read slower than regular VOA broadcasts.

The first VOA broadcast in Special English took place on October nineteenth, nineteen fifty-nine. Critics at the time said this new method would never work. American embassies demanded that the program be cancelled. But Mister Loomis supported the program. Soon, VOA began toreceive hundreds of letters from listeners praising the program.
　
Original staff of Special English

In nineteen sixty-one Hal Berman became the first chief of Special English. He saved Special English from destruction by people who did not see its value. And he showed how to change one thousand five hundred words into a living language that informed, educated and entertained millions of people.

In the beginning, Special English had one fifteen-minute news show that was broadcast to Africa and Asia once a day. Today, Special English broadcasts thirty-minute programs by shortwave and medium wave sixteen times a day around the world. We are also heard on VOA affiliate² stations.
　
Writers, editors and producers today

The Special English Web site is one of the most popular of all VOA Web pages. We also have programs on satellite TV, podcasts, RSS feeds and mobile. We have a growing number of followers³ on Twitter and our own popular YouTube channel. And coming soon are videos on our Web site.

Help us celebrate our fiftieth anniversary! To thank our audience, we will choose fifty people and send them a Special English gift. Go to voaspecialenglish.com, and click on Contact Us on the left side. Under the subject line, just type "50." Tell us your favorite Special English program and suggest a new program or subject you would like to learn about. And be sure to tell us what city and country you are from.

If you cannot access our Web site, send the information to VOA Special English 50th Anniversary, Washington D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven USA.

(MUSIC)

Audrey Hepburn

HOST:

Our question this week comes from China. Shaune wants to know about actress Audrey Hepburn.
　
Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"

Hepburn won an Academy Award as Best Actress for her first major American movie, "Roman Holiday," which was released in nineteen fifty-three. But she is remembered as much for her aid work as for her acting⁴.

Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium in nineteen twenty-nine. Her father was British and her mother was Dutch.

Audrey was sent to live at a British school for part of her childhood. During World War Two, she lived and studied in the Netherlands. Her mother thought it would be safe from German attacks.

Audrey studied dance as a teenager and during college when she returned to London after the war. But she realized she was not going to be a ballerina. So she began taking acting parts in stage shows. Later she began to get small parts in movies.

But it was Audrey Hepburn's move to America that brought her true fame. In nineteen fifty-one she played the character "Gigi" in the Broadway play of the same name to great critical praise. Two years later, "Roman Holiday" made her a star at the age of twenty-four.

Audrey Hepburn made more than twenty-five movies. Among her most popular roles were Holly⁵ Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" in nineteen sixty-one. Three years later she played Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady."

She was married two times and had one son by each husband.

In nineteen eighty-nine, the United Nations Children's Fund named Audrey Hepburn a goodwill⁶ ambassador. She travelled all over the world in support of UNICEF projects.

The UN agency said she was a tireless worker. She often gave fifteen interviews a day to gain money and support for UNICEF projects. She also spoke⁷ before the United State Congress many times to appeal for aid for needy⁸ children.

Audrey Hepburn often said her loyalty⁹ to UNICEF was the result of her experiences as a child during World War Two. She said she knew what it was like to be starving and to be saved by international aid. She was a goodwill ambassador until her death in nineteen ninety-three from colon¹⁰ cancer. She was sixty-three.

Anjulie

HOST:

Anjulie is a young singer who writes songs about falling in and out of love. Her music is influenced by the sounds of pop, reggae, and rhythm and blues¹¹. Critics are praising her first album "Anjulie" for its smartly written songs. Katherine Cole tells us more.

(MUSIC: "Rain")

KATHERINE COLE:

That was the song "Rain," which tells about the heartbreak of love. Anjulie has been singing and writing songs since she was very young. Her parents are from Guyana in South America. They raised Anjulie in Toronto, Canada. The Caribbean musical influence can be heard in several of her songs.

Now Anjulie lives in Los Angeles, California. She has written many songs for herself and for other performers. Here is the song "Fatal Attraction."

(MUSIC)

Anjulie says what makes her different from other artists is that her songs are extremely personal. She says she permits herself to express her insecurities and fears in her music in a way that would be impossible in real life.

This past summer, Anjulie had some unexpected good news. The video for her song "Boom" was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Breakthrough Video. While she did not win, the nomination¹² gave her music a whole new level of attention. We leave you with the song "Boom."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Shelley Gollust, Dana Demange and Caty Weaver¹³ who was also the producer. For transcripts¹⁴, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on our programs.

Do you have a question about people, places or things in America? You can send it to [email protected] we may answer it on this show.

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 affiliate   

vt.使隶(附)属于；n.附属机构，分公司

参考例句：

• Our New York company has an affiliate in Los Angeles.我们的纽约公司在洛杉矶有一个下属企业。
• What is the difference between affiliate and regular membership?固定会员和附属会员之间的区别是什么？

3 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 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。

6 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

7 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。

8 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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。

14 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句