AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, September 03, 2004

BOB DOUGHTY²: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

This is Bob Doughty. On our show this week: Music from Usher³, and a question from a listener about Labor⁴ Day in the United States. But first, a report about a writer who has at least a year of work ahead of him as America's new poet laureate.

New Poet Laureate

 
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Each year, the Library of Congress chooses a national poet -- the poet laureate of the United States. Ted⁵ Kooser will become the country's thirteenth poet laureate in October. He will replace Louise Gluck who served one term. Faith Lapidus tells us about the new poet laureate.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Librarian of Congress James Billington calls Ted Kooser a major poetic⁷ voice for small town America.

Mister Kooser is the first poet laureate from the Great Plains, in the middle of the country. Farmers of European ancestry⁸ were growing crops on this huge area of grasslands⁹ by the late eighteen hundreds.

Ted Kooser was born in Iowa in nineteen thirty-nine. Today, the sixty-five-year-old poet is retired¹⁰ from the insurance business. He lives on a farm in Nebraska. He is a visiting English professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

As the new poet laureate, Mister Kooser will give a speech and read from his poetry in October. He will also help decide which poets read their works at the Library of Congress in the coming year. And he will help organize other poetry events.

Ted Kooser says he has spent his life trying to write the kind of poetry that people can easily understand. He says he has some ideas about how to increase public interest in poetry, but he is keeping them to himself for now.

Ted Kooser has written ten books of poetry. His most recent collection was published this year. It is called "Delights and Shadows." Here is a poem from that book. Gwen Outen reads "At the Cancer Clinic."

GWEN OUTEN: She is being helped toward the open door

that leads to the examining rooms

by two young women I take to be her sisters.

Each bends to the weight of an arm

and steps with the straight, tough bearing

of courage. At what must seem to be

a great distance, a nurse holds the door,

smiling and calling encouragement.

How patient she is in the crisp white sails

of her clothes. The sick woman

peers from under her funny knit cap

to watch each foot swing scuffing¹¹ forward

And take its turn under her weight.

There is no restlessness or impatience¹²

or anger anywhere in sight. Grace

fills the clean mold of this moment

and all the shuffling¹³ magazines grow still.

Labor Day

BOB DOUGHTY: Our VOA listener question this week comes from the Kano State, Nigeria. Ibrahim Umar Abdulkarim asks why the United States observes Labor Day in September and not in May.

Since ancient times, May first has been a traditional day to celebrate spring. In modern times, May Day also became a traditional day for countries to honor workers.

In eighteen eighty-nine, Socialists¹⁴ held an international congress in Paris. They chose May first as a workers holiday and a day for demonstrations¹⁵. Since then, the first of May has been observed as International Labor Day.

The United States, however, had already settled on another day. Peter McGuire was a New York labor leader. He is said to have suggested the first Monday in September as a holiday to honor labor. He said it was a nice time of the year for a celebration. He suggested parades to show the strength of labor organizations. And he urged people to end the day with outdoor parties.

The first Labor Day celebration in the United States took place in New York City on September fifth, eighteen eighty-two. About ten thousand workers marched through the streets. Then everyone went to a park to eat a meal and hear speeches and music. The idea quickly spread throughout the country. In eighteen ninety-four, Congress approved a bill to declare Labor Day a national holiday.

For years, the first Monday in September was a day when American workers demonstrated for better conditions and pay. Today, the Labor Day weekend is mostly observed as a time to enjoy the last warm days of summer.

Listen Sunday at this time for PEOPLE IN AMERICA, and learn about five important labor leaders in the nation's history.

Usher

 
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He began singing in church at age six. He was discovered by a record company at seventeen. This singer is twenty-five now, and popular enough that people know him by one name: Usher. And this week, Usher won two MTV awards, for best male video and best dance video, for his song "Yeah!" Shep O'Neal has more.

SHEP O'NEAL: His full name is Usher Raymond. His most recent album sold more than one million copies in its first week of release earlier this year. The album is called "Confessions¹⁶." The first big hit was "Yeah!"

(MUSIC)

"Confessions" is the fourth album by Usher. It has sold more than five million copies. It is the top selling album in the country so far this year.

Another hit single from the album describes the feelings at the end of a relationship. This song, partly written by Usher, is called "Burn."

(MUSIC)

Usher is now performing around the country.We leave you with the third hit from "Confessions." This one is called "Confessions, Part 2."

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: This is Bob Doughty. Our program was written by Jill Moss¹⁷ and Nancy Steinbach. Paul Thompson was our producer. And our engineer was Jim Sleeman.

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 postal¹⁸ address. We'll send you a gift if we use your question.

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 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

4 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。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 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。

7 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

8 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

9 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 scuffing   

n.刮[磨，擦，划]伤v.使磨损( scuff的现在分词 )；拖着脚走

参考例句：

• The rest of us started giggling, scuffing our feet on the floor. 全班的同学都在笑，把地板擦得很响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• Wade edged closer to him, scuffing one foot and looking unhappy. 韦德向他靠近些，一只脚在地板上擦来擦去，显得很不高兴。 来自飘（部分）

12 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

13 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

14 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

15 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

16 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 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。

18 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。