AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, September 24, 2004

(MUSIC)

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

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Country music from Big and Rich ...

A question from Nigeria about some place names ...

And a report about an award for children's writer Judy Blume.

Judy Blume

 
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American children's writer Judy Blume has won many awards. Her books have sold more than seventy-five million copies. They have been published in more than twenty languages. Now the National Book Foundation will honor her with its two thousand four Medal for Distinguished³ Contribution to American Letters. Faith Lapidus has more about Judy Blume and her books.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Judy Blume is sixty-six years old. But book critics say this grandmother has never forgotten what it feels like to be a child. She writes mostly about the struggles of growing up. She published her first such book in nineteen sixty-nine.

Judy Blume says she writes about real life and real feelings. And she says children recognize themselves and their own problems in her books. These are problems like not having friends. Or worrying about physical development. Or being afraid to grow up. Some of the children in her books are trying to understand why their parents have separated. Others are not sure about their religious beliefs.

Not everyone praises Judy Blume, however. Some parents feel that children should not read about some of the subjects that she writes about. Her books have often been removed from libraries or placed in restricted areas as a result of challenges by parents. The American Library Association says five of her books are among the one hundred most frequently challenged books.

Not surprisingly, Judy Blume is active against censorship. She says people try to ban books because it satisfies their need to feel in control of their children's lives. She says they think if children don't read about a subject, they won't know about it. She argues that children need to know about ideas different from those of their parents.

Judy Blume is the first writer of young-adult literature to receive the National Book Foundation medal. This honor was established in nineteen eighty-eight. It will be given at the National Books Awards ceremony in New York City in November.

Country, Nation, State: What's the Difference?

DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Katsina State, Nigeria. Shamsu Rabiu Galadunchi would like to know the difference between a country and a nation. Our listener also asks how a town, a district, a city, a suburb and a state are different.

This is a good question, because some of these terms have similar meanings or mean more than one thing.

The American Heritage⁴ Dictionary, for example, says a nation is a "relatively⁵ large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country." Now this is how the definition for country begins: "a. A nation or state. b. The territory of a nation or state ... (and) c. The people of a nation or state."

So you see how nation and country can often mean the same thing. The United States, for example, could be called either a country or a nation. It could also be called a state.

Internationally, a country is defined⁶ as a state. The word state can also mean the highest political power within a country, as well as an area of territory with a country. The United States has fifty states, such as Texas, Oregon and Michigan.

The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary says a city is a place "of greater size, population or importance than a town or village." A suburb is an area outside a city. People who live in a suburb may or may not work in the city. But most usually do. An example of a suburb is Bellevue, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. It is next to the city of Seattle.

An example of a town is Hampden, Massachusetts. About five thousand people live there.

A district can mean a legal division of an area for a purpose, like a school district. It can also be a name given to an area within a city because of local ties to an industry or activity. Chicago, for example, has an area known as the Meat Packing District.

Another kind of district is Washington, D.C. D.C. is the District of Columbia. It was created with land from two states, Virginia and Maryland, to serve as the home of the federal government.

Big and Rich

 
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DOUG JOHNSON: Big Kenny and John Rich, two new stars in country music, met six years ago in Nashville, Tennessee. Bob Doughty⁷ has the story of Big & Rich.

BOB DOUGHTY: Kenny Alphin, known as "Big" Kenny, was performing at a club. John Rich went to see the show. He must have liked what he heard, because soon the two men were writing songs together. They formed a band. Their first single, "Wild West Show," came out early this year.

(MUSIC)

In May, Big & Rich released an album. "Horse of a Different Color" took about four months to reach number one on the country music charts. Here is the first song on that recording⁸. It's called "Rollin' (The Ballad⁹ of Big & Rich)."

(MUSIC)

Big & Rich are nominated¹⁰ for two Country Music Association awards, including Duo of the Year. The C.M.A. Awards ceremony is November ninth at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

We leave you with another song from Big & Rich. This one is called "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)."

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. Before we go, we want to follow up on our report earlier this month about the history of the former punk rock band The Ramones. On September fifteenth Johnny Ramone died. He had prostate cancer. He was fifty-five years old.

This program was written by Brian Kim, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹¹. Paul Thompson was our producer. And our engineer was Jim Sleeman.

I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. 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 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 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

7 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。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

10 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。

11 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。