AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, November 26, 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:

Country music from Kenny Chesney …

A question from China about who has more power in America, the president or Congress ...

And a look at America's newest presidential library.

Clinton Library Opens

HOST:

Last Friday, November nineteenth, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center opened to the public in the southern city of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is the twelfth presidential library in the United States. Shep O'Neal tells us about it.

ANNCR:

 
 
Government officials have described the Clinton Presidential Center as a kind of "bridge to the twenty-first century." They say it much different from the other eleven presidential libraries.

It includes a large museum area. The museum shows more than eighty million objects that aim to tell the story of the Bill Clinton presidency². Hillary Rodham Clinton has said that the library will tell the true story of her husband's time in Washington. This includes his involvement with White House assistant Monica Lewinsky and his impeachment³.

One room shows public events that took place each year that Bill Clinton was president. These include his peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Also on display in the museum is an electronic copy of the president's book of daily appointments. Visitors can touch a screen and see his official duties that day.

The museum also includes the only full-size copy of the Oval⁴ Office in a presidential library. Reports say Clinton administration officials took thousands of pictures of the president's office in the White House so they could re-create the room.

Other, more personal presidential property is also displayed. For example, visitors can see Mister Clinton's collection of objects that belonged to singer Elvis Presley. Letters the president received from famous people. And an area honoring the Clintons' pet cat and dog that lived with them in the White House.

Along with the library and museum, the center includes an eleven hectare park and a bridge across the Arkansas River. It will also include a University of Arkansas graduate school that will train students in public service.

The Clinton Center was built with one hundred sixty-five million dollars in private money. Officials expect more than three hundred thousand visitors a year. And the city of Little Rock expects the Clinton Center to increase its popularity⁵ as a place people want to go for a holiday.

Separation of Powers

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Guangzhou, China. Huang Shixiang asks who is more powerful in the United States government -- the president or the Congress?

Early American leaders designed the government so that no one part would become too powerful. The federal government is organized into three branches. Most government offices are in the executive⁶ branch. This branch is led by the president.

The legislative⁷ branch is Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. And the judicial⁸ branch is the federal court system, under the Supreme⁹ Court.

This way of government is known as the system of checks and balances, or the separation of powers. Under this system, each branch of government is restricted by the others. For example, both houses of Congress must approve a bill before it can become law. And the Supreme Court has the power to declare laws unconstitutional.

Bills are signed into law by the president. But the president may veto¹⁰ a bill. The rejected measure then goes back to Congress. Congress can let the veto stand. Or it can vote to make the bill into law without presidential approval. To do so, two-thirds of the members of both houses must agree.

The Constitution gives the president the power to sign treaties. But treaties must be approved by the Senate. In nineteen nineteen, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Treaty of Versailles to end World War One.

That treaty also included a proposal to establish a League of Nations where countries could meet and discuss problems. But Americans feared they would become involved in another war. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.

The League of Nations was established anyway without American involvement -- and without much success. After World War Two, the United Nations took its place.

Kenny Chesney

HOST:

If there were a president of country music, it might very well be singer Kenny Chesney. Earlier this month, he won two awards from the Country Music Association -- Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year. Then, the American Music Association named him Artist of the Year. Faith Lapidus tells us about him.

ANNCR:

 
Graphic¹¹ Image
Kenny Chesney is thirty-six years old. He grew up in the southern state of Tennessee, and has been recording¹² country music since nineteen ninety-one. His first successful single record was a song he wrote and recorded in nineteen ninety-four, "The Tin Man."

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Fans have been buying his albums ever since. Two years ago, he recorded a popular album called "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems." One of the most popular songs on that album was this one, "Young."

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Kenny Chesney's awards are the result of his latest album, "When the Sun Goes Down." Critics say the album is a celebration of living life, seeking love and not being afraid to dream. We leave you now with the title song from "When The Sun Goes Down" that Kenny Chesney performs with Uncle Kracker.

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HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC.

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer was Efeem Drucker.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, 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 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

4 oval   

n. 椭圆，椭圆形跑道；adj. 卵形的，椭圆形的

参考例句：

• She has a lovely oval face.她长着一张可爱的椭圆脸。
• The shape of the earth is an oval.地球的形状是个椭圆形。

5 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

6 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 veto   

n.否决权；v.否决；vi.否决，禁止；vt.使用否决权

参考例句：

• The President has the power of veto.总统有否决权。
• Father put a veto upon our staying out late.父亲不许我们在外面逗留太晚。

11 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。

12 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。