AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, July 02, 2004

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DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English. This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week: Some of the greatest movie songs ever. And a listener wants to know how Americans get their middle names. But first, a report on some reaction to the new book by Bill Clinton.

"My Life"

 
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Last week, a book by former President Clinton went on sale in the United States and Europe. Experts say it had record sales for a non-fiction book. So far, the book "My Life" has sold about one-million copies. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS: It took Bill Clinton almost two years to write the more than nine-hundred page book. The book's publisher reportedly paid Mister Clinton ten-million dollars to write "My Life." The book begins with his birth and ends with the present day.

In the book, Bill Clinton tells about his parents, Virginia Kelly and William Blythe. His father died before he was born. He describes his family life in the southern state of Arkansas with his mother and grandparents. He tells about his stepfather, Roger Clinton, and his younger brother, Roger. He tells about his friends and the schools he attended.

Bill Clinton describes his college and law school days, meeting and marrying Hillary Rodham and the birth of their daughter, Chelsea. He goes on to describe his rise in Arkansas politics, his terms as governor, his presidential campaigns and his two administrations. He writes about his sexual³ relationship with a young White House worker, Monica Lewinsky, and his feelings of regret that it ever happened.

He tells about the effects of the scandal⁴ on his marriage and relationship with his daughter, Chelsea. He describes his successes and failures as president. And he writes about what he feels was a conservative⁵ plot to punish him for becoming president.

Critics have not been kind to Mister Clinton's writing abilities. They have called the book uninteresting and poorly written. But the American people do not seem to care what the critics say. They want to read what Bill Clinton has written.

Many people waited in line at stores to buy the book and have Mister Clinton sign it. They say they want to read it to better understand the former president and his effect on the country. And they want to know how Mister Clinton feels about all that happened during his presidency⁶. One bookstore official said people are buying the book because they want to know what Bill Clinton has to say, not how he says it.

Middle Names in America

DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Canada. Zhengliang Liu asks about how Americans get their middle names.

Most parents in the United States give their babies a first, middle and last name when they are born. The last name is generally their family name. First names are a different story.

Some children's names are also the names of cities, such as Geneva or Savannah. Others are plants or flowers, such as Rosemary, Daisy, Lily or Iris⁸. Religious names from the Bible or Koran are also common, like Isaac, Mohammed or Eve. Americans even choose names from other countries. Liam is a popular Irish name. Pierre and Sebastian are French.

Stone and Sky are popular names from nature. American actress Gwyneth Paltrow named her new baby girl Apple, like the fruit.

Americans are interested in the names that famous actors, entertainers and athletes give their children. Some famous people like names that have been around for many years. Actor Bill Murray named his son Homer. Actor Denzel Washington named his daughter Olivia. Last names as first names are also popular. Actor Tom Hanks named his son Truman Theodore.

Middle names have become important because many famous people use them. One example is movie star Sarah Jessica Parker. A middle name is also a way for parents to honor a family member or hero. Eleanor is a popular middle name honoring the wife of former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Another is Ray, honoring jazz musician Ray Charles, who died last month. Some parents give a girl a boy's middle name, as did the parents of movie star Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Sometimes, parents consider the monogram⁹ that will be formed from their child's name. A monogram is made with the first letter of each name. Special English writer Jill Moss¹⁰ named her son Adam Isaac Moss. His monogram is A-I-M, or the word aim.

Finally, some American women use their former last name as a middle name after they marry. For example, American Senator¹¹ Hillary Clinton uses her former last name, Rodham, as her middle name. She was born Hillary Diane Rodham.

Greatest Movie Songs

DOUG JOHNSON: The American Film Institute has named the greatest songs from American movies. Gwen Outen tells us about them.

GWEN OUTEN: The American Film Institute asked experts in the motion picture industry to choose the best one-hundred songs from American movies. They did so as part of a celebration of one-hundred years of American movies.

 
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The experts chose this song as the movie song of the century. It is "Over the Rainbow." Judy Garland sings it in the nineteen-thirty-nine movie "The Wizard of Oz."

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The American Film Institute asked the experts to consider several things when choosing the best one-hundred songs from American movies. For example, the song should establish a feeling, define¹² a character, advance the story or express the film's ideas. The song should be loved by the American public and be remembered as representing the movie.

In second place was "As Time Goes By" from the nineteen-forty-two film "Casablanca." "Singin' in the Rain" was third. Gene⁷ Kelly sang it in the movie of the same name released in nineteen-fifty-two.

This song was selected as number four: "Moon River" from the nineteen-sixty-one film "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Andy Williams sings it here.

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The ninth greatest song is from a more recent movie, "Saturday Night Fever," released in nineteen-seventy-seven. We leave you now with that song, "Stayin' Alive," performed by the Bee Gees¹³.

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DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

This program was written by Shelley Gollust, Jill Moss and Nancy Steinbach. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer was Jim Sleeman.

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 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。

3 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

4 scandal   

n.丑事，丑闻，流言蜚语，反感，愤慨

参考例句：

• Scandal and gossip are meat and drink to him.各种丑闻和流言蜚语是他最感兴趣的事。
• His theft from the shop caused scandal in the village.他因偷商店的东西引起全村的公愤。

5 conservative   

adj.保守的，守旧的；n.保守的人，保守派

参考例句：

• He is a conservative member of the church.他是一个守旧教会教友。
• The young man is very conservative.这个年轻人很守旧。

6 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

7 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

8 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

9 monogram   

n.字母组合

参考例句：

• There was a monogram in the corner in which were the initials"R.K.B.".原来手帕角上有个图案，其中包含着RKB三个字母。
• When we get married I don't have to change the monogram on my luggage.当我们结婚后，我连皮箱上的字母也不用改。

10 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。

11 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

12 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。

13 gees   

n.（美俚）一千元（gee的复数形式）v.驭马快走或向右（gee的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• When the lunch bell rang, she peeled the gees and ate them. 中午吃饭铃响时她就剥开鸡蛋吃起来。 来自互联网
• How do you want you gees? 你要怎么样的蛋呢？ 来自互联网