VOA慢速英语2011--New Music from Beyonce and an Exhibit on

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - New Music from Beyonce and an Exhibit on “Perfect Girls”

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I'm Doug Johnson. This week on our show, we have new music from Beyonce.
And, we tell you about the history of a wedding tradition that is popular in the United States.
But, first, we learn about the work of an artist here in Washington D.C.
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: Judy Byron makes art in the Mount² Pleasant area of Washington, D.C. This summer she opened a new exhibit called “Perfect Girls.” It is her third show to examine personal identity. Mario Ritter has more.
MARIO RITTER: Judy Byron wondered if life was better now for young women than half a century ago. She thought about the many educational and career choices available today. She worried that all those opportunities came with more pressure to be perfect, and to never make a mistake.
Judy Byron decided³ to compare the lives of girls now with her life in the nineteen fifties and sixties. She planned a website and an exhibit in her studio. She invited women to place their pictures on her website or mail them to her.
She hopes women from all over the world will place their pictures on the website and write a ten word explanation that begins, “When I was perfect…” She plans to include the comments and the pictures in a book.
As Judy Byron planned her exhibit, she asked a young girl to record her thoughts. Her young friend Naomi kept recording⁴ equipment by her bed. Each night before she went to sleep, Naomi described her life and her feelings. The recorded part of the “Perfect Girls” exhibit begins with the voice of that seventeen year old girl.
YOUNG GIRL: “I really don’t know what I want to do, but I feel like as long as I’m happy doing it, I’ll have been pretty successful. And, I hope that all of my friends are able to say the same thing.”
MARIO RITTER: Judy Byron made four life size pictures of her friend Naomi.
A visitor to the “Perfect Girls” exhibit finds an art space just inside the door of the artist’s house. Four forms seem to float across the room. These figures represent Naomi as she grows from age five to age sixteen. She seems sure of herself. One figure shows her dancing as a happy five-year old. Her body shows strength and energy at every age.
On one wall is a picture of the artist when she was sixteen. The girl in this picture has very different body language. The artist as a young girl sits quietly. Her clothing restricts her movements. Judy Byron says that when she was a girl, she was expected to clean house, complete high school, work as an assistant and marry the supervisor⁵.
When all the pictures were complete, the artist invited groups of people to see them and to listen to Naomi’s recorded thoughts.
JUDY BYRON: “One of the ingredients of my work is bringing people together on a common ground and in a place and then it’s like the idea that art can be around beauty and meaning.”
MARIO RITTER: One discussion included only young girls. One was only for older women. One was for men. And one included both men and women. Visitors to the exhibit hear the voices from those recorded discussions as they study the pictures.
Judy Byron asked other women her age to tell their memories of growing up fifty years ago. Here is part of that discussion.
OLDER WOMAN: “I was married the week after I got out of college and when my children they would say to me well how come so and so went to law school, and she was your age? And I would say, ‘She was a failure. I was a success.’ Because success in 1959 was to go to college, graduate from college and get married.”
MARIO RITTER: The artist says her exhibit is not only for women. She says men are also influenced by the cultural idea of the perfect girl.
The artist has written that she wants people to consider what it means to be a perfect girl. She also wants them to question the idea of perfection⁶ and to redefine that perfect girl.
JUDY BYRON: “It’s really the feeling that we are all in this together but being in it together requires us to be able to be explorers and to be able to be self reflective and to be able to be compassionate⁷ and try to maybe learn a little more about ourselves and each other.”
MARIO RITTER: The “Perfect Girls” exhibit will close later this year. Judy Byron plans to hold a closing party. The event will raise money for a group that works with young girls. It is the artist’s way of keeping art and ideas working for her community.
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: Our question this week is about a popular wedding tradition. Huang Sumeng in China asks why brides need something old, new, borrowed and blue.
This question is linked to a British poem with guidance for what a woman should wear on her wedding day to have good luck. The poem goes like this: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in her shoe.”
Like many old traditions, it is not easy to say exactly where this saying comes from. The Oxford⁸ Dictionary of Superstitions⁹ says the poem dates back to the nineteenth century. But the belief in the good luck of wearing blue is much older. Since ancient times, blue was thought to represent loyalty¹⁰ and purity¹¹ in some cultures.
Wedding websites offer different explanations for the meaning behind this poem. They suggest that wearing something old represents the bride’s link to her family and the past. Many women may choose to wear a piece of jewelry¹² that belonged to a mother or grandmother.
Wearing something new is said to bring good luck and success. For many brides, their wedding dress is the new object they wear.
Wearing something borrowed is said to serve as a reminder¹³ that the bride can depend on the support of her family and friends. So she might borrow a piece of clothing or jewelry from a friend or family member.
There are many choices for what to wear that is blue. We asked several married women what their “blue” item was for their wedding. One woman said she wore light blue shoes. Another said she wore a blue garter around her leg. One wedding planning website suggested that a modern bride could paint her toenails blue or get a blue tattoo¹⁴.
The Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions says a bride would wear “a silver sixpence in her shoe” to have wealth. But it says the silver could also protect the bride from evil coming from her former boyfriends. However, putting a silver sixpence inside a shoe is generally not a tradition followed by brides in the United States.
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: Beyonce Knowles recently released her fourth album as a single performer. Many critics say the album “4” shows a new side of Beyonce. She herself has said that making this album was not about making music for a record company. It was about making the songs she wanted to create. Shirley Griffith tells us more.
(MUSIC)
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: That was the song “End of Time” from Beyonce’s new album, “4.” Most critics have praised the album and its music. One reporter said that, in the past, Beyonce recorded songs that other singers could have also made their own. But the reporter said that no one but Beyonce could have recorded the songs on “4”.
The twenty-nine year old star says she made this record after taking a year off from her performing. She says she wanted to live her life. She wanted to take this time to go to the ballet, learn to cook and sleep in her own bed, not a hotel. While Beyonce was enjoying this time away from work, she began to think about ideas for a new album. She said the record became a labor¹⁵ of love. And, she says “4” is bolder than her past music because she is less concerned about failing.
Here is the song “1 + 1.”
(MUSIC)
We leave you with a song that is made for dancing. “Run the World (Girls)” is an energetic celebration of the power of women.
(MUSIC)
DOUG JOHNSON: I’m Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Onka Dekker and Dana Demange, who was also our producer. If you have a question about American life, write to [email protected].
Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA 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 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

3 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。

4 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。

5 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

6 perfection   

n.尽善尽美，无比精确

参考例句：

• Their works reach to a great height of perfection.他们的作品到了极完美的境地。
• The picture wants something of perfection.这幅画还有些不够完美。

7 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

10 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。

11 purity   

n.纯净，纯洁，纯度

参考例句：

• She was a woman of purity and goodness.她是一位纯洁善良的妇女。
• The white colour is a symbol of purity.白色是纯洁的象征。

12 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

13 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

14 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。