VOA慢速英语2010年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Americans Set Record

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Today on our program, we play music from the new young pop star, Justin Bieber.

But first we tell about winning American athletes at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

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Winning Olympic Athletes

DOUG JOHNSON: The Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, will end Sunday. The United States has won a record number of medals at the international games. Bob Doughty¹ and Faith Lapidus tell about some of the winning American athletes on and off the ice and snow.

Canada's Charles Hamelin, left, and American Apolo Anton Ohno compete in speedskating

BOB DOUGHTY: On the twelfth day of the Olympics the United States broke its medal record for competition outside America. The men’s four-member Nordic team finished second in the Nordic combined race for a silver medal.

This made a total of twenty-six medals for American athletes. The United States had won twenty-five medals at the last Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The only time the United States had won more was on its own territory, in two thousand at the Salt Lake City, Utah Winter Games.

Nordic combined is ski jumping followed by a cross country ski race. Three men on the American team, Bill Demong, Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane had been to the Olympics before. But the pressure was on Brett Camerota, who was new to the Olympics. Experts say it was his excellent jump that put the team in medal position.

Alpine² skier³ Lindsey Vonn also experienced a sweet victory when she won the gold medal in the women’s downhill ski race. She became the first American woman ever to win the event. And she won even though her right leg was injured.

Julia Mancuso

Vonn’s teammate, Julia Mancuso, crossed the finish line less than a second later for the silver medal. She also won the silver in the super combined, which is downhill and slalom racing⁴.

Mancuso had won a gold medal at the two thousand six Winter Games in the giant slalom. But since then, the twenty-five year old had experienced severe hip⁵ and back problems. Treatments over the last few years included an operation and physical therapy.

Now she is the first American Alpine woman skier to have three Olympic medals. She is also the first we know about to wear a jeweled headband called a tiara while competing. Her coach gave her the first tiara years ago for good luck. The native Californian also runs her own clothing company.

Mancuso, Bode⁶ Miller⁷ and Apolo Ohno have all broken records at these games. Speed skater Ohno won two medals in Vancouver -- a silver and a bronze. With his two golds, two silvers and a bronze from earlier games, Ohno became the most decorated American winter Olympian.

The twenty-seven year old skater was already famous. He has major marketing⁸ deals with big companies. In two thousand seven he won the popular television competition show “Dancing with the Stars.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: The Vancouver Winter Olympics have been very good for Bode Miller. He has renewed his image in the sport of Alpine skiing.

Miller had been criticized for his behavior at the games in Turin. He was accused of working harder at drinking and partying than competing. He told reporters that he skied under the influence of alcohol. He won no medals in Turin and withdrew from the United States ski team after the games.

Last year, he returned to the team. Now thirty-two years old, he seems a much different competitor. He won the gold medal in the men’s super combined, a silver in the Super G, and a bronze in the downhill. He has now won the most Olympic medals of any American Alpine skier.

Americans have led the medal count in snowboarding events in Vancouver. As expected, Shaun White took the gold in the halfpipe event. The twenty-three year old invented many of the tricks and flips⁹ used by his competitors. Of course, it might be easier for him to invent tricks. The company that makes Red Bull energy drink built him his own halfpipe on Silverton Mountain in Colorado.

Hannah Teter won her second Olympic medal in the halfpipe event at these games. She won her first, a gold, in Turin. Teter is twenty-three and comes from Belmont, Vermont. Vermont-based ice cream company Ben and Jerry’s named an ice cream flavor after her. Some of the profits go to an aid group Teter established two years ago. Hannah’s Gold helps bring clean water and meet other needs in Kirindon, Kenya. She started raising money for the town through sales of Vermont maple¹⁰ syrup¹¹.

American figure skaters have won both silver and gold this year. Ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White won a silver medal for ice dancing. The two were born in Michigan in nineteen eighty-seven. They have been skating partners since they were ten. This was their first Olympic competition.

And Evan Lysacek won the gold medal in men’s figure skating. Lysacek became the first American man to win gold in figure skating since nineteen eighty-eight. Russia has led the sport for many years.

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Justin Bieber

DOUG JOHNSON: Justin Bieber is only fifteen years old. He has become extremely popular. Barbara Klein tells us about this young singer.

BARBARA KLEIN: Justin Bieber was raised by his mother in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. When he was twelve he won second place in a local singing contest. He started posting videos of his contest performances on YouTube for his friends and family. Soon these videos had been seen more than ten million times.

A former music executive saw those videos. He arranged for Justin to fly to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet the singer and songwriter Usher¹². A year later Justin signed a recording¹³ contract. His first album is called "My World." It sold over a million copies in its first two months. Four singles were released before the album.

All became hits. This made Justin Bieber the only artist in the history of Billboard¹⁴ magazine to have four singles from his first album among the most popular songs before the album’s release. This is one of those songs, "One Time." It is about a young person’s first love.

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Usher helped produce Justin’s first album. He joins him in singing "First Dance." Justin Bieber says it is "a slow groovy song that people can dance to."

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Justin Bieber performed for President Obama at the White House in December. He was part of a televised musical show that raised money for the National Children’s Medical Center. He was also among the many singers who recorded a special new version of the song "We Are the World."

The song was produced to raise money for earthquake victims in Haiti. The video has been seen more than seven million times on YouTube. And it was shown during the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver on February twelfth.

(MUSIC: “WE ARE THE WORLD”)

Justin Bieber’s family did not have much money when he was growing up. He did not have as much as other children did.

Justin says he wants to influence young people in a positive way. He says his message is that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. We leave you with Justin Bieber singing "Bigger." The song urges young people to work toward their goals.

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DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and Caty Weaver¹⁵, who was also our producer. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC¹⁶, VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.

 

1 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。

2 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

3 skier   

n.滑雪运动员

参考例句：

• She is a skier who is unafraid of danger.她是一名敢于冒险的滑雪者。
• The skier skimmed across the snow.滑雪者飞快地滑过雪地。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 bode   

v.预示

参考例句：

• These figures do not bode well for the company's future.这些数字显示出公司的前景不妙。
• His careful habits bode well for his future.他那认真的习惯预示著他会有好的前途。

7 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。

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 flips   

轻弹( flip的第三人称单数 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• Larry flips on the TV while he is on vacation in Budapest. 赖瑞在布达佩斯渡假时，打开电视收看节目。
• He flips through a book before making a decision. 他在决定买下一本书前总要先草草翻阅一下。

10 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

11 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

12 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。