AMERICAN MOSAIC - VOA Special English

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - VOA Special English
By

Broadcast: Friday, August 20, 2004

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HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week ... Music from the Pixies...

A question about American cities that have hosted the Olympic Games...

And...A report about a new museum in the middle western city of Cincinnati, Ohio...

National Underground Railroad² Freedom Center

HOST:

 
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
The new National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio officially opens on August twenty-third. The name sounds as if it tells about a real railroad. But the underground railroad was a secret organization. It helped African American slaves escape their owners during the eighteen hundreds. The slaves and the people who helped them flee formed the underground railroad system.Shep O'Neal has more.

ANNCR:

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a special museum. The Freedom Center is on the north side of the Ohio River. That is part of an area that meant hope for slaves trying to escape. It was called the "freedom corridor³." People fleeing their owners could stand on the other side of the river and dream of freedom across the water.

The Freedom Center cost one hundred ten million dollars to build. Its collection shows two hundred objects. These include a copy of a wagon⁴ with a false bottom that was used to hide fleeing slaves. There are also photographs of Americans who were activists⁵ against slavery.

Visitors can also see objects from the Civil War. The southern states fought the northern states from eighteen sixty-one to eighteen sixty-five. In eighteen sixty-three, President Abraham Lincoln announced an order to free the slaves.

Perhaps the center's most interesting object is a small building where slaves were kept. This wooden "pen" stands two levels high. A slave trader built it in the eighteen thirties. People captured⁶ in Africa were temporarily forced to stay inside the pen. Then they were sold for service in places further south. The slave pen was found on a farm in the state of Kentucky. The owner of the farm gave it to the Freedom Center. Experts spent six years researching the history of the building.

Television star Oprah Winfrey introduces one of the films shown at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Actors tell about a young woman who escapes slavery. She flees to a town called Ripley, Ohio. Her former owners try to recapture her. But a family active in the Underground Railroad helps her remain free.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will offer a number of educational programs.

They include public speakers. Also, the center will provide programs for visiting school groups and information for students through an Internet Web site. It is www.freedomcenter.org.

Olympic Cities

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Bangalore, India. Prashant Devidas asks how many American cities have hosted the Olympic Games.

The Summer Olympic Games are now being played in Athens, Greece. The games have taken place in six different cities in the United States since the modern Olympic Games began in eighteen ninety-six.

The Summer Games in nineteen oh four were played in Saint⁷ Louis, Missouri. Twelve nations took part in more than ninety events held over more than four months. But only forty-two events included athletes who were not from the United States. The Saint Louis Olympics are important in the history of the games. They were the first at which gold, silver and bronze medals were given for first, second and third place in the competitions. And the first Africans to compete in the Olympics did so in Saint Louis.

In nineteen thirty-two, the Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles, California. Thirty-seven nations took part in these games held during the great economic depression. Experts say the level of competition was extremely high. Eighteen world records were either broken or equaled. These Olympics were the first to be held over sixteen days. The length of the Olympics has remained between fifteen and eighteen days ever since. Los Angeles also hosted the Summer Olympics in nineteen eighty-four, when the Soviet⁸ Union refused to take part.

A third American city to host the Summer Olympics was Atlanta, Georgia in nineteen ninety-six. Almost two hundred nations took part in more than two hundred events. The games set a record for the most nations to win medals - seventy-nine.

Three other American cities have hosted the Winter Olympic Games since that competition began in nineteen twenty-four. Lake Placid⁹, New York held the games in nineteen thirty-two and again in nineteen eighty. Squaw Valley, California hosted them in nineteen sixty. And Salt Lake City, Utah was the site of the most recent Winter Games in two thousand two.

The Pixies Return

HOST:

The Pixies are back. From nineteen eighty-six to nineteen ninety-two, they gained a following among fans of alternative rock. This influential¹⁰ group led by Black Francis (also known as Charles Thompson) had four successful albums and several hit songs. Gwen Outen has more on the Pixies' reunion.

ANNCR:

It appears that the Pixies may have more fans now than before they broke up. A lot of their current shows are selling out. In fact, business is so good, the group is adding more performances along the way. One of the songs most popular with audiences is the nineteen eighty-nine hit, "Here Comes Your Man."

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"Here Comes Your Man" was on "Doolittle," the second album from the Pixies and their biggest seller¹¹. Another popular album "Bossanova," came out in nineteen ninety with this song, "Allison."

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The Pixies already have recorded one new song together. And their agent hopes the band will put together a new album. But until then you can enjoy them live ... if you can get tickets, that is.

We leave you with another song from "Doolittle. " Here are the Pixies with "La La Love You."

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HOST:

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 Nancy Steinbach, Jerilyn Watson and Caty Weaver¹². Paul Thompson was the producer.

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 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

3 corridor   

n.走廊，回廊，通路

参考例句：

• The corridor opens into Mr.Brown's office.这条走廊通到布朗先生的办公室。
• There was a ring of laughter in the corridor.走廊里传来响亮的笑声。

4 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

7 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

11 seller   

n.售货者，畅销品

参考例句：

• I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
• She drove a hard bargain with the seller.她狠杀卖主的价。

12 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。