VOA慢速英语 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Unemployment Leads to Increased Vo

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We hear music by performers at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas …

Answer a listener question about the documentary² film "Sharkwater" …

And report about how the recession³ has affected⁴ volunteering in the United States.

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Recession Volunteerism

HOST:

Aid organizations are sometimes the first to suffer in a bad economy. Many people are forced to reduce the amount of money they donate to these organizations. However, the current economic problems are helping⁵ nonprofit organizations in another way. In many American cities, people who have lost their jobs are now volunteering. Nonprofit organizations are reporting record numbers of new volunteers. This is good for everyone involved. The organizations gain more volunteers. And the volunteers gain work experience or learn new skills while supporting causes they care about. Bob Doughty⁶ has our report.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Ian Shaw moved back to the Washington, D.C., area from Colorado hoping to find work. He had lost his job out west and saw little hope of finding another one. "There just was not any work out there at all," he says. He moved in with his father in Fairfax, Virginia, last August and began the job search again.
　
Ian Shaw on the job at Habitat for Humanity⁸ in Manassas, Virginia

But, unemployment rates in the Washington area are at their highest level in more than ten years. After two months without luck, Mister Shaw decided⁹ to work for free. He said he wanted to help people and maybe even gain some business contacts.

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He decided to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a group that builds homes for low-earning families. Mister Shaw signed up at the group's office in Manassas, Virginia. He said he knew the organization was great because his sister had volunteered for it. And, his experience in the building industry made the organization the right one for him.

Traci DeGroat leads the Manassas Habitat for Humanity office. She says there has been a sharp increase in volunteers recently. She said Ian Shaw was among several people who could not find paying jobs but still wanted to work.

This is also true at the Arlington Free Clinic, in Arlington, Virginia. It provides medical services to low-earning citizens who do not have health insurance.

Lee Miller¹⁰ is the director of volunteers. She says she has seen a rise in volunteers, especially young people. "There are more people just out of college who might be waiting to start graduate schools. They are not able to find the temporary, part-time jobs they would normally take," she says. Miz Miller says the clinic work provides good experience, especially for those interested in the medical field.

Back in Manassas, Ian Shaw's volunteer experience was even better than he expected. In January, the Habitat for Humanity office offered him a paying position. Ian Shaw is now employed.

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Sharkwater

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Junsuki wants to know about the movie "Sharkwater." This powerful documentary film was written and directed by the Canadian photographer and biologist Rob Stewart. It was released in two thousand seven. "Sharkwater" has won more than thirty awards at film festivals around the world. It was also the opening film for the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D.C., which we reported on last month.
　
Shark fishermen in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

About seven years ago, Rob Stewart was working in the Galapagos Islands photographing sharks. There, he discovered that the illegal practice of long-line fishing was taking place in a protected sea area. This method of fishing kills huge numbers of sharks and other sea animals. So, Mister Stewart decided to make a movie to increase public awareness¹¹ about sharks. He spent four years filming in fifteen different countries.

ROB STEWART: "You're underwater and you see the thing that you were taught your whole life to fear. And it doesn't want to hurt you. And it's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. And your whole world changes."

Sharks have existed for hundreds of millions of years. They developed more than a hundred million years before the dinosaurs¹². Sharks play an important role in the food chain. So when their numbers fall, the entire ecosystem¹³ of the ocean is put at risk.

Rob Stewart explains that people fear sharks because of media stories and movies about shark attacks. But he says in fact, sharks are very shy creatures that do not like to attack humans. He says that elephant attacks kill far more people a year than shark attacks. But few people are afraid of elephants as they are of sharks.
　
Hammerhead sharks gathering¹⁴ to mate

In "Sharkwater," Rob Stewart uncovers the illegal shark fin⁷ trade in Costa Rica. In Asian countries, the high demand for shark fins¹⁵ for cooking has led to an illegal trade worth millions of dollars. The mass killing¹⁶ of sharks continues because very few countries have rules to protect the creatures.

"Sharkwater" shows beautiful images of sharks in nature. For example, you can see hundreds of female hammerhead sharks gathering to find mates. You can see Mister Stewart holding a playful shark underwater. But the movie also shows the terrible reality of shark fishing. It shows bloody¹⁷ images of fisherman cutting the fins off dead sharks then throwing them back in the water.

The movie says that the world's shark population has dropped by an estimated ninety percent. And, it explains how life on land depends on life in the ocean. So, by saving sharks we are also helping to save people.

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SXSW

HOST:

Since nineteen eighty-seven, the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, has been an important event for people in the music industry. The festival started as a way for musicians in Austin to reach out to larger audiences. It has grown into a huge event that brings together musicians, record companies, filmmakers, reporters and radio programmers from around the world. Barbara Klein has more.

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BARBARA KLEIN:
　
Hacienda

That was the song "She's Got a Hold on Me" by the band Hacienda from San Antonio, Texas. This group was one of about one thousand eight hundred musical acts that performed at the South by Southwest festival last month.

Some performers at the festival, like Metallica, Jane's Addiction¹⁸ and Erykah Badu, are very well known. Other less known artists attend the festival to be discovered by record companies. And some musicians attend to gain new fans and have fun performing.

Most people at the festival would agree that the Internet has greatly changed the ways musicians and record companies do business. Online music stores and file-sharing have had a big effect on record sales. But the Web has given a kind of freedom to independent musicians who depend on the Internet for sales, reviews and staying in touch with fans.

Here is the song "Lips" by the British band Micachu and the Shapes which also performed at the festival. This group plays very inventive music using unusual instruments and layers of sounds.

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South by Southwest also includes movies as well as an Interactive¹⁹ festival that celebrates new media technologies. But for many, the festival will always be about listening to good music. We leave you with "Everything I Love" by Juliet Commagere.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Caty Weaver²⁰ and Dana Demange 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 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

3 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

7 fin   

n.鳍；(飞机的)安定翼

参考例句：

• They swim using a small fin on their back.它们用背上的小鳍游动。
• The aircraft has a long tail fin.那架飞机有一个长长的尾翼。

8 humanity   

n.人类，[总称]人(性)，人道[pl.]人文学科

参考例句：

• Such an act is a disgrace to humanity.这种行为是人类的耻辱。
• We should treat animals with humanity.我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。

9 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。

10 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

11 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

12 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

14 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

15 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

18 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

19 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

20 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。