VOA慢速英语2010年-American Mosaic - Women Go to New Dept

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to American Mosaic¹ in VOA Special English.

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I’m Doug Johnson.

Today we listen to new music from the Deftones ...

And we answer a question about a great American writer ....

But first we report on an exciting change in the United States Navy.

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A crew member walks up to a hatch in a U.S. Navy submarine

DOUG JOHNSON: The United States Navy has announced that eleven female graduates of its Naval² Academy will be among the first American women to serve on submarines. Faith Lapidus tells about the sea-change soon to take place in what is called the “Silent Service.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Twenty-two-year-old First Class Midshipman Laura Martindale will graduate next Friday from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. She will also become one of the first women to serve on a United States Navy submarine. She had no idea that would happen when she arrived at the Academy.

Laura Martindale

LAURA MARTINDALE: “I always thought submarines were amazing and it wasn’t really something that was open to women when I came to the Naval Academy. I did get to be on a submarine two summers ago and that was it. We went down to depth. I’m driving the submarine and I said ‘Wow, this is for me.’ Thank goodness for Congress and the Admirals that think it’s important because women are going to be on submarines.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Women make up about fifteen percent of the Navy’s more than three hundred thirty thousand service members. They have been serving on naval ships since nineteen ninety-four. But until now they were barred from submarines.

The Navy says about twenty women will be chosen as the first group to serve on submarines. All will be officers. Non-officers will be considered later. The women will attend a submarine training program. They are expected to begin serving on crews next year or early two thousand twelve. They will serve on two guided-missile and two ballistic-missile subs based in the states of Washington and Georgia.

Critics of the idea say the living areas in submarines are too small and narrow for men and women to serve together. They say close physical contact is impossible to avoid.

But the commander of naval submarine forces, Vice³ Admiral John Donnelly, disagrees. He says the Navy has to choose submariners from the widest possible group of skilled service members. He says that is how the Navy will continue to have what he calls the “best submarine force in the world.”

Women already serve on submarines in the national navies of Australia, Canada, Norway and a few other countries.

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DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question comes from a student in China. Han Linyuan wants to know about the famous writer Jack⁴ London.

Jack London is considered to be one of America’s finest writers. He was born in San Francisco, California in eighteen seventy-six. He left school at the age of fourteen. But he loved to read and spent many days at public libraries. At an early age, Jack London knew he wanted to become a writer. But he had many other interests as well. He loved to sail, and he traveled many times across the Pacific Ocean.

Jack London

When he was twenty-one, he went to search for gold in Alaska and Canada. HHe also worked as a laborer⁵, a factory worker and an oyster⁶ fisherman. He even spent some time traveling around America on freight trains.

Jack London remembered all these trips and jobs when he began writing professionally. Some of his most famous books are “The Call of the Wild”, “White Fang” and “The Sea-Wolf.” His best known short story is “To Build a Fire.” It tells of a man who falls into a stream in the coldest part of Canada. He knows that his life depends on his success in making a fire to warm himself and dry his clothes. Many of Jack London’s books and short stories tell about man’s struggle with nature.

In eighteen ninety-six, Jack London began to speak about and support socialism. He said his views were influenced by the many poor and working class people he had met in his life. Two of his books deal with the ideas of socialism. They are “The Iron Heel” and “The Cruise of the Snark.” The Snark was the name of a boat.

Jack London became rich and famous by publishing many stories and books. He reportedly wrote at least one thousand words every day.

Near the end of his career, Jack London bought a farm and a ranch⁷ in Sonoma, California. But his life was cut short by kidney problems. He died at the young age of forty in nineteen sixteen.

You can hear his famous short story “To Build a Fire.” We have a link on our website, voaspecialenglish.com.

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DOUG JOHNSON: The Deftones have been playing music since nineteen eighty-eight. The band just released its sixth studio album. “Diamond Eyes” opened at number six on Billboard⁸ magazine’s top two hundred albums chart. Mario Ritter has more on the band and music from the new record.

MARIO RITTER: In two thousand eight, tragedy struck the Deftones. Bass⁹ player Chi Cheng was involved in a serious car accident in Sacramento, California. His brain injuries are severe. He has never fully¹⁰ woken since the crash.

The Deftones were putting the finishing touches on their sixth album, “Eros,” when Cheng got hurt. They never felt right about returning to it.

Now the Deftones have completed a different sixth album, “Diamond Eyes.” Deftones’ friend Sergio Vega is playing bass in Cheng’s absence. But, drummer Abe Cunningham says Cheng’s influence can be felt throughout the whole album. “How could it not be?” Cunningham said.

Here the Deftones perform the title track from “Diamond Eyes.”

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The Deftones are from Sacramento. Cunningham, lead singer and guitarist Chino Moreno and guitarist Stephen Carpenter were all childhood friends. They started playing music together in high school. Chi Cheng joined them in nineteen eighty-eight. Keyboardist Frank Delgado came to the Deftones in two thousand.

Listen now to “Beauty School” from “Diamond Eyes.”

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Chino Moreno says people probably expect this album to be sad. But he says there is a lot of happiness and hope in “Diamond Eyes.” We leave you with his favorite song from the album. Here is “Sextape.”

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DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Jim Tedder¹¹ and Caty Weaver¹², who was also the producer.

You can find transcripts¹³, MP3s and podcasts of our shows at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and iTunes at VOA Learning English. If you have a question about American life, send an e-mail to [email protected]. Please remember to tell us your name and where you live.

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 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

6 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

7 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

8 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。

9 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

12 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。

13 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