AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, June 04, 2004

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(THEME)

This is Doug Johnson.

On our show this week: music nominated² for a Tony Award this Sunday, and a question about Route Sixty-Six. But first, we have a story about some unwelcome wildlife.

Snakeheads in the Potomac

We talked last week about all the noise and dead insects around the eastern United States. The seventeen-year cicadas are out of the ground and back for a visit. Well, this invader³ is not alone. Steve Ember reports.

ANNCR:

 
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Wildlife officials are concerned about the recent discovery of several northern snakeheads. These are fish. But, yes, their head does look like it belongs on a snake. They have been caught in the Potomac River in the area around Washington, D.C.

Snakeheads are freshwater fish native to Asia and parts of Africa. In Asia, they are considered a fine food.

But officials here worry that snakeheads will threaten native fish and other water resources if they become established. They say this could harm local economies that depend on those waters.

Northern snakeheads can grow more than eighty centimeters long. They are able to leave the water and move across wetlands. And they are huge eaters. They eat other fish and frogs. Sometimes they eat birds and small mammals.

The first snakeheads in the area were discovered in small ponds in Maryland two years ago. Officials removed the water or poisoned it as a solution. That is not possible with the Potomac River. The Potomac Conservancy group calls it "the wildest river running through a metropolitan⁵ area anywhere in the world."

The Potomac flows more than six-hundred kilometers. It supplies fresh water for most of the four-million people in the Washington area. Birds like great blue herons and bald eagles live along the river. And it is a top fishing area for bass⁶.

Experts believe that snakeheads have gotten into American waters when people bought them but then released them. Officials in Maryland and Florida have found that the fish can reproduce⁷ in the wild. But Florida officials say they have found no harm to the local fish population.

Owning a snakehead is illegal in some states. Officials in Maryland and Virginia are urging anyone who catches one to kill it. But some experts say the threat to American waterways is being overstated. They say a bigger threat is pollution.

Route 66

HOST:

 
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Our listener question this week comes from via e-mail from James Osamene, and he asks about Route Sixty-Six.

This highway was the most traveled road in the United States during the nineteen-twenties and thirties. It stretched from Chicago, Illinois, to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, California. Because it was so heavily traveled, it became known as "the people's highway."

A businessman in Tulsa, Oklahoma helped create the identity of Route Sixty-Six. Cyrus Avery headed the Oklahoma state highway committee. He also helped plan America's national system of numbered roads. Mister Avery proposed that a federal road be built from Chicago to Los Angeles along a southwestern path.

The government approved his proposal and named the road in nineteen-twenty-six. Mister Avery also started a special organization to support the road called the U-S Sixty-Six Highway Association. The group gave the road a special name -- "Main Street of America."

 
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American writer John Steinbeck called Route Sixty-Six the "Mother Road" in his book "The Grapes of Wrath⁸." Hundreds of thousands of people traveled this Mother Road during the Great Depression of the nineteen-thirties. They left their homes in the middle of the country and traveled west in search of work and a better life.

Route Sixty-six was a flat road. Travelers could use it during any season of the year. This led to an increase in long-distance trucking in the United States. By the nineteen-thirties, trucks were transporting goods on Route Sixty-Six. So were farmers. By the nineteen-forties, military vehicles had also increased traffic on the road.

In nineteen-forty-six, songwriter Bobby Troup drove to Los Angeles along Route Sixty-Six. During the trip, his wife Cynthia suggested that he write a song about the famous road. Bobby Troup wrote the music and most of the words while he and his wife traveled from town to town. When he reached Los Angeles, he performed the song for Nat King Cole, who made it famous. Here is Nat King Cole singing the song "Route Sixty-Six."

(MUSIC)

Tony Award Nominees¹⁰

HOST:

Hollywood movies have the Academy Awards. Broadway plays have the Tony Awards. The Tonys will be given out this Sunday in New York City. Gwen Outen presents the four nominees for best musical.

ANNCR:

 
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One of the shows nominated this year is "Avenue Q." This is about the secret lives of ... puppets. Another nominee⁹ is "Caroline, Or Change," a story about the struggle for civil rights.

The third nominee for best musical is "Wicked." This is about the witches from the story "The Wizard of Oz." It includes this song, called "Thank Goodness."

(MUSIC)

The Tony Awards are given by the American Theater Wing. That group began as a way for theater people to help during the two world wars. The first Tonys were presented in nineteen-forty-seven. The award is named for Antoinette Perry, "Tony" for short. She was a producer and director.

The awards go to actors, directors, set designers and music composers. Tonys are also given for best dramatic play and best musical play of the year.

The final show nominated for best musical this year is "The Boy from Oz." It has nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz. It is about the life of the Australian singer Peter Allen. He died of AIDS in nineteen-ninety-two.

We leave you with the Australian actor who plays him, Hugh Jackman, singing the Peter Allen song, "I Go to Rio."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

Please include your name and postal¹¹ address. We'll send you a gift if we use your question.

Our program was written by Cynthia Kirk, Jill Moss¹² and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹³ was our producer.

I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for 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 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

3 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

6 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。

7 reproduce   

v.生育，繁殖，复制，重做

参考例句：

• The machine can reproduce a key in two minutes.这机器能在两分钟内复制一把钥匙。
• The picture will reproduce well.这照片会印得很清楚。

8 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

9 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

10 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

11 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

12 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

13 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。