AMERICAN MOSAIC - History of the Olympics / The Statue of Li

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - History of the Olympics / The Statue of Liberty / Music From the Movie 'De-Lovely'
By

Broadcast: Friday, August 13, 2004

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

A new movie celebrates the music of Cole Porter.

A listener has a question about the Statue of Liberty, which has reopened to the public.

But first -- a brief history of the Olympics, as the Summer Games open today in Athens.

Summer Olympics

 
Graphic² Image
The first Olympic competition was held in the ancient Greek city of Olympia more than two thousand seven hundred years ago. The modern day summer Olympics begin today in the Greek capital, Athens. Gwen Outen tells us more about the Olympic Games.

GWEN OUTEN: At the first Olympics, men took part in foot races during celebrations to honor the Greek god, Zeus. More races and sports were added later.

Greece held these Olympic games every four years for the next one thousand years. The ancient Romans banned them in the fourth century.

The modern Olympic games began more than one hundred years ago. Baron³ Pierre de Coubertin of France proposed a world celebration of sports like the ancient games of Greece.

The first modern Olympics were held in Athens in eighteen ninety-six. Athletes from eight countries competed in ten sports. The purpose was to help athletes develop strength and values through competition. It also provided a way for athletes of all nations to become friends.

The Olympic symbol of five linked rings represents this friendship. Baron de Coubertin designed it in nineteen thirteen. The rings represent the linking through sports of the major populated areas of the world-Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the two American continents, represented by one ring. The colors of the rings are blue, yellow, black, green and red. The flag of each nation competing in the games has at least one of these colors. Under the rings is the Olympic saying in Latin: "Citius, Altius, Fortius". The words mean "Swifter, Higher, Stronger".

The Olympic flame links the old and new games. In ancient Olympia, a fire burned for the god Zeus during the sports competitions. Now, runners bring a flame from Olympia, Greece to every new Olympics. That flame opens the summer games today in Athens. They end August twenty-ninth.

About ten thousand athletes from more than two hundred nations will compete in the world's most important international athletic⁴ event.

Statue of Liberty

 
Graphic Image
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Iran. Elnaz Ershadi asks about the Statue of Liberty in New York City. This is a good time to answer that question because the Statue of Liberty re-opened to visitors last week. It had been closed after the terrorist⁵ attacks in September, two thousand one. New York officials called the re-opening a sign of the recovery of the city and the country.

The Statue of Liberty represents a woman holding a torch of fire. It stands on an island at the entrance to the New York City harbor. It is almost ninety-three meters tall, one of the tallest statues ever built. Its complete name is "Liberty Enlightening⁶ the World".

The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the people of the United States from the people of France. It was an expression of friendship and the goal of liberty shared by the people of both countries.

The idea for the statue came from a French history expert in eighteen sixty-five. Six years later, artist Frederic Bartholdi traveled to the United States to seek support for building the statue. He decided⁷ it should stand on an island in New York harbor.

Bartholdi began designing the statue when he returned to France. He designed the woman's face to look like his mother's. French officials organized a group to raise money and supervise⁸ the project. The French people gave four hundred thousand dollars to build the statue. In eighteen seventy-seven, the Americans established a similar committee to raise money needed to build the statue's base.

The statue was built in France. Bartholdi had hoped it would be ready on the one hundredth anniversary of the American Declaration⁹ of Independence in eighteen seventy-six. But it was not. France officially presented the statue to the United States Minister to France in Paris on July fourth, eighteen eighty-four.

The statue was then taken apart and sent to the United States. "Liberty Enlightening the World" was completed in the United States in eighteen eighty-six. New York City celebrated¹⁰ with a huge parade. President Grover Cleveland and other American and French officials attended. Since then, the Statue of Liberty has been a symbol of freedom for people all over the world. Its meaning is expressed in the famous poem by Emma Lazarus that is written on the statue's base. Here is part of that poem:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled¹¹ masses yearning¹² to breathe free,

The wretched¹³ refuse of your teeming¹⁴ shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Cole Porter

 
Graphic Image
Cole Porter was one of America's most famous and successful songwriters. He wrote songs for Broadway musical shows and Hollywood movies. He wrote most of his songs in the nineteen-twenties, thirties and forties. But they remain popular today. A new movie about Cole Porter was released last month. Shep O'Neal tells us about the man and his music.

SHEP O'NEAL: Cole Porter lived from eighteen ninety-one until nineteen sixty-four. More than five-hundred of his songs were recorded in his lifetime. The new movie about his life is called "De-Lovely." Popular young performers sing his songs in the movie. The songs were released on a new CD, also called "De-Lovely." Robbie Williams sings the song "It's De-Lovely."

(MUSIC)

Cole Porter's songs were funny, sexy and intelligent. They were full of little jokes and hidden meanings. One of his earliest big hits was "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love.)" Alanis Morissette sings it.

(MUSIC)

Critics consider "Night and Day" perhaps the finest song Cole Porter ever wrote. It is about the kind of romantic love that is almost a form of insanity¹⁵. We leave you now with John Barrowman and Kevin Kline singing "Night and Day" in the movie "De-Lovely." You can learn more about Cole Porter on the Special English program People in America on Sunday.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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. Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Paul Thompson was our 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 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 terrorist   

n.恐怖主义者，恐怖分子

参考例句：

• Without the gun,I'm a sitting duck for any terrorist.没有这支枪，我就成了恐怖分子下手的目标了。
• The district was put on red alert during a terrorist's bomb scare.这个地区在得到恐怖分子炸弹恐吓后作了应急准备。

6 enlightening   

a.有启迪作用的，使人感悟的

参考例句：

• I find what you say most enlightening. 你这一说，我心里头亮了。
• It is interesting and enlightening to consider the derivative of a vector. 这对研究矢量的导数来说是重要的，而且富有启发性。

7 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。

8 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

9 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

10 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

11 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

12 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

13 wretched   

adj.可怜的，不幸的，卑鄙的，质量差的，恶劣的

参考例句：

• What a wretched life they lived in the workhouse!他们在济贫院里过的生活真悲惨！
• He was wretched when he failed the examination.由于考试不及格，他很痛苦。

14 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

15 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。