AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, October 22, 2004

(MUSIC)

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

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Music by musicians with a political goal this election year ...

A question from a listener about how much American presidential candidates spend on their campaigns ...

And a report about a popular vacation town in the American Southwest.

Sedona

The third presidential debate was held last week in Tempe, Arizona, near Phoenix². The southwestern state of Arizona is known for its beautiful red rock formations and the Grand Canyon³. Between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon is a town of about ten thousand people called Sedona. Millions of people travel there each year. Bob Doughty⁴ tells us why.

 
Graphic⁵ Image
BOB DOUGHTY: Sedona is a desert community about one thousand four hundred meters above sea level. Last year, USA Today newspaper named Sedona the most beautiful place in the United States. Some of the oldest rocks on Earth surround the area, called Red Rock Country. Each morning and night, the rock formations change colors. Light from the sun as it rises and sets causes the formations to change from yellow, to orange, to bright red, even purple. For visitors, one of the best ways to see this natural beauty is to ride jeep vehicles that can climb on the rocks.

Sedona is also famous for its growing arts community and Native American history. Hundreds of years ago, Native American Indians considered the Red Rocks holy. They traveled great distances to perform ceremonies on them. Only the bravest chiefs and medicine men were permitted to enter the rock formations.

Theodore Carl Schnebly named the town after his wife in nineteen-oh-two. At that time, six families lived in the area. The American movie industry has filmed hundreds of motion pictures and television shows in Sedona. The town's natural beauty looks like no other place on Earth.

One of the first Hollywood movies to show Sedona was "The Call of the Canyon," filmed in nineteen twenty-three. In nineteen forty-seven, the area became famous because of the film "Angel and the Badman" starring John Wayne. The next year, actor Robert Mitchum's film, "Blood On The Moon", increased public interest in Sedona.

Today, about four million people visit Sedona each year. With that many travelers, you would think the town would be a busy place. But it is not. About half of the town is privately⁶ owned. The other half is part of the Coconino National Forest.

Cost of Elections

DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes in an e-mail from Guangzhou, China. Vicky Mok asks how much will be spent on the presidential election this year and how the candidates pay for it.

The Federal Election Commission records how much money is spent on elections. Campaigns must keep detailed⁷ records and report them to the F.E.C.

The commission's job is to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act. Congress approved the law to stop wealthy individuals and groups from unfairly influencing elections. The act limits how much individuals and groups can give to candidates. Individual gifts to candidates are now limited to two thousand dollars.

A mix of private gifts and tax money pay for the primary campaigns and the presidential campaigns. Federal law bars companies, labor⁸ groups and foreign citizens from giving to campaigns. But political action groups, and state and local party committees can accept gifts from individuals and combine the money. They can give up to five thousand dollars of this money to candidates.

Every American who pays income tax can send three dollars to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. This fund is used to help pay for political campaigns. It is also used to pay for the conventions of the major political parties and some of the convention costs of smaller parties. This year, the Presidential Election Campaign Fund provided about fifteen million dollars to help pay for the Democratic and Republican conventions.

The major party candidates – President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry -- each received about seventy-five million dollars in federal matching funds.

The total amount spent on the two thousand four presidential election will not be known until the campaigns give their final reports for the year. But we can report the amount received by all the candidates up to August thirty-first -- about six hundred sixty-two million dollars.

But that amount does not include money given to groups not connected to the campaigns. These groups can spend money to influence the election for or against a candidate. And there are no limits on the amount individuals can give to these groups. A group called The Center for Public Integrity reports on spending by five of these groups. It says these groups had raised about three hundred twenty-three million dollars as of the beginning of October.

Vote for Change Tour

Some popular American musicians joined together in an effort to influence the presidential election this year. Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, the Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam and REM were some of the artists to join the "Vote for Change" tour. Gwen Outen tells us more.

GWEN OUTEN: About twenty musicians who support John Kerry for president traveled around the country for two weeks this month. They performed more than thirty concerts in nine states where the election is expected to be the closest.

The final show was October eleventh in Washington, D.C. It was broadcast live around the nation on radio, television and the Internet. During the show, John Fogerty performed his song, "Fortunate Son."

(MUSIC)

The MoveOn political organization presented the "Vote for Change" tour. The organization said it hoped to raise about ten million dollars. The money went to another political organization called America Coming Together. That group used the money to sign up new voters.

MoveOn says the "Vote for Change" tour was the first of its kind. It was the largest group of musicians to come together to try to influence an election. Other musical movements have raised money for social causes. For example, the yearly Farm Aid show raises money for American farmers.

Musicians supporting President Bush did not have a concert tour like the "Vote for Change" tour. However, many entertainers support the president. They include the Gatlin Brothers, Kid Rock, Sara Evans and Jessica Simpson. Many of them performed during the Republican National Convention in New York City this summer. Country singer Lee Ann Womack also supports the president. She sang this song, "I Hope You Dance," at a gathering⁹ for President bush in Ohio.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. Send your questions about American life to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

Or write to [email protected]. Please include your full name and postal¹⁰ address. And you can also e-mail us a picture of yourself. It will appear at voaspecialenglish dot com if we use your question.

Our program was written by Jill Moss¹¹ and Mario Ritter. Caty Weaver¹² was our producer.

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 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

3 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

4 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。

5 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。

6 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 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。

9 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

10 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。

11 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。

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。