VOA慢速英语2010年-American Mosaic - A Look at Baseball’

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

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson.

Today we listen to music from Gershwin Prize winner Paul McCartney…

And we answer a question about what American college students do over summer vacation.

But first, a report on baseball’s bright new star Stephen Strasburg.

(MUSIC)

Stephen Strasburg

DOUG JOHNSON: Baseball fans across America are excited about a new pitcher² for the Washington Nationals named Stephen Strasburg. The twenty-one year-old throws a sharp breaking ball that cuts across the plate at the last second. He has great control of all his pitches. But what really has fans on the edge of their seats is “The Kid’s” fastball. Mario Ritter tells us more.

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg during a game Sunday against the Cleveland Indians

MARIO RITTER: Stephen Strasburg can throw a baseball more than one hundred sixty kilometers per hour. The Washington Nationals chose Strasburg with the first pick in the two thousand nine baseball draft³. The team was able to do so because it was the worst team in baseball last season. But fans in Washington hope that will change this season.

Strasburg received the highest pay agreement of any rookie pitcher in baseball history. He signed a four-year deal worth more than fifteen million dollars.

The Washington Nationals announced that Strasburg would make his first major league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates⁴ on June eighth. Fans bought all the tickets within a day. Some were resold for as much as one thousand dollars.

When the time finally came for Strasburg to take the mound⁵, he did not let fans down. In seven innings, he gave up only four hits and two earned runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also set a team record by striking⁶ out fourteen batters⁷, including the last seven he faced. Each of the nine Pirates in the lineup struck out at least once.

Strasburg was almost as exciting in his second game. He struck out eight hitters, walked five and permitted only one run last Sunday. The Nationals defeated the Cleveland Indians nine to four.

Strasburg has struck out twenty-two hitters in his first two wins. Only one major league pitcher had more strike outs in his first two appearances.

Baseball experts say Strasburg could be one of the best pitchers⁸ in many years. They are comparing him to greats like Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens.

Stephen Strasburg is expected to make his next start Friday night against the Chicago White Sox. The team is a tough match for the pitcher. They have struck out the fewest times of any major league team.

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Summer for College Students

DOUG JOHNSON: This week’s listener question comes from China. Vera Tang wants to know what college students do during their summer vacation. There is no quick answer to this question. Students spend their summers in many different ways.

Many students work hard at summer jobs. They realize it can be difficult to balance college classes and a job during the school year. Summer is a good time to save up some money. Restaurants, swimming pools, stores and other businesses are always looking for hardworking students.

Nirvana Habash is from San Diego, California. She will be a senior next year at American University in Washington, D.C. She is working three jobs this summer.

NIRVANA HABASH: “I told my parents that I didn’t want them to help me with money this summer so the two main jobs, the one on campus⁹ and at the environmental consulting firm, are mainly to make money for rent and utilities¹⁰ and all that.”

Some students get jobs in the field they hope to enter after college. This is called an internship¹³. Some interns¹² receive money for their work. Other internships are unpaid¹⁴. Still, the experience gives students a taste of the world outside of college. Sara Aucker is entering her junior year at American University. She is from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. She is working for an organization that helps victims of violence at home.

SARA AUCKER: “Internships are huge. Everyone’s just trying to get a feel for what experiences they want and what they want to do in the future.”

Other college students choose to take summer classes. Students usually do not take a full set of classes. Instead, they take just one or two. The extra classes can help students to get ahead in their studies.

However, summers are not all work. Students spend time with friends, go to a movie or take a trip. David Spiegel is from Fort¹⁵ Worth, Texas. He will be a senior at American University in the fall. He wanted to make the most of his summer vacation.

DAVID SPIEGEL:“My friends and I have made a list of things we want to do over the summer. Different places to travel, to get away to, maybe a beach a few hours away. I’m trying to travel as much as possible and discover the city I’ve been living in for three years.”

More than anything else, summer is a much needed break. College can be stressful. Sometimes doing nothing at all is just what a student needs after studying for final exams. A relaxing day under the summer sun will help students forget all about tests and studying.

Paul McCartney

(MUSIC: “WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR”)

DOUG JOHNSON: Paul McCartney got his start in music before his teens. He learned¹⁶ to play piano and trumpet¹⁷ as a child. The guitar followed a short time later. He wrote one of the Beatles’ most famous songs, “When I’m Sixty-Four,” before he had even met any of the other band members.

Sixty years later, President Obama awarded the British musician the Library of Congress¹⁸ Gershwin Prize for American Song. Faith Lapidus tells about the event and plays some of Paul McCartney’s songs.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The event was held at the White House earlier this month. President Obama praised Paul McCartney for what he called his extraordinary contributions to American music and culture. He joked: “that’s right, we stole you, Paul.” The president called Paul McCartney the most successful songwriter in history. As a member of the Beatles, he wrote hundreds of songs that changed popular music forever.

President Obama presents Paul McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

President Obama also spoke¹⁹ about the difficult time people in the Gulf²⁰ area were going through as a result of the oil spill. He said music can help people through bad times.“Hey Jude” is a song that eases²¹ pain. Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote the song. McCartney’s words were meant to comfort Lennon’s son, Julian, during his parents’ separation.

(MUSIC)

Many people performed Paul McCartney’s songs at the White House to honor²² him. They included Emmylou Harris, Herbie Hancock, Corrine Bailey Rae, Dave Grohl and Stevie Wonder. Wonder received the Gershwin Prize last year. In nineteen eighty-two Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had a hit song. Here they perform “Ebony and Ivory,” written by McCartney.

(MUSIC)

After the Beatles broke up in nineteen seventy, Paul McCartney formed another successful band, Wings. The band included his wife, Linda, who died of breast cancer in nineteen ninety-eight. We leave you with Wings performing “Let 'Em In” from nineteen seventy-six.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by our Special English intern¹¹, Michael DeFabo, and Caty Weaver²³ who was also the producer.

If you have a question about American life, send an e-mail to [email protected]. We might answer in on this show. 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 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

3 draft   

vt.起草，作...的草稿；n.草稿，草图，草案

参考例句：

• He's now revising the first draft of his essay.他目前正修改他的文章初稿。
• The draft of this article has been done。这篇文章已经定稿。

4 pirates   

n.海盗( pirate的名词复数 )；剽窃者；侵犯版权者；非法播音的人（或组织）

参考例句：

• Children dressed (themselves) up as pirates. 孩子们假扮成海盗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The pirates treated their captives with barbarity. 海盗们残暴地对待他们的俘虏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

6 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

7 batters   

n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这？热？投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句

8 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

9 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

10 utilities   

n.[经济学]效用（ utility的名词复数 ）；实用；公用事业；神庙逃亡游戏中的一次性道具

参考例句：

• the administration of public utilities 公共事业的管理
• Phase II requires utilities to reduce emissions by an additional fifty percent. 第二阶段要求排放再减少50％。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

12 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

13 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

14 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

15 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

16 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

17 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

18 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

19 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。

20 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

21 eases   

安心( ease的名词复数 )； 无病无痛； （限制的）放松； 容易

参考例句：

• Centaury eases cough, bronchitis, inflammation of liver and eye. 咳嗽、支气管炎、肝脏及眼睛发炎有抑制功效。
• When the crisis eases and confidence returns, valuations are bound to recover. 当危机缓解、信心恢复，市值必将反弹。

22 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

23 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。