AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, December 10, 2004

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

 
Graphic² Image
Music by Alison Krauss…

A question from India about television …

But first, get ready for a ride!

Hybrid³ Vehicles

Hybrid vehicles are increasingly popular in the United States. Hybrids⁴ combine the usual internal combustion⁵ engine with a battery-operated electric motor. These automobiles⁶ produce their own electrical energy to keep the battery charged. Hybrids use less gasoline, so they save oil. And they pollute less, so they are friendlier to the environment. More from Gwen Outen.

GWEN OUTEN: Hybrids are still a very small part of the market. But the most popular hybrid in the United States currently is the Toyota Prius [PRE-us]. Motor Trend magazine named the Prius its two thousand four car of the year. The Prius can run either on gasoline or electric power, or both together. Toyota says the Prius can travel more than twenty kilometers on a liter of gasoline.

Other popular hybrids in the United States are the Honda Insight and the Honda Civic⁷ Hybrid. Their design is a little different from the Prius. Their electric motor cannot run the car alone.

Higher gasoline prices might be helping⁸ to fuel the interest in hybrid vehicles, but most are small cars. Many Americans want bigger sport utility vehicles.

Last year, Ford⁹ Motor Company came out with a hybrid version of an S.U.V. Like the Prius, the Ford Escape can run on either electricity or gasoline or both. The Escape is a small S.U.V. But it is much larger than the Prius and sits higher off the ground.

However, both vehicles are built for only a driver and four passengers. That is not enough space for some people. So bigger hybrids are coming. In early two thousand five, Toyota is expected to have a full-size hybrid S.U.V. The Highlander¹⁰ will have three rows of seats and hold seven people. Lexus, the luxury car division of Toyota, plans to begin selling a hybrid S.U.V. next year also.

And General Motors sells a full-size hybrid pickup¹¹ truck, the Sierra, in several markets around the country.

History of Television

DOUG JOHNSON: Our listener question this week comes from India. K.M.V. Shenoy asks about the history of television, and the differences among broadcast, cable and satellite TV.

A twenty-one-year-old American named Philo Farnsworth built the first working television receiver in nineteen twenty-seven. Many scientists around the world had made important discoveries that led to the development of television. But Philo Farnsworth had recognized as a boy that electrons could capture a picture sent as light and sound waves through the air.

Over the years, the technology has changed and improved. But the idea behind broadcast television is still the same. TV stations send a powerful signal from a transmitting antenna¹². An antenna connected to a television set receives the signal.

The problem with this system is that the receiver antenna has to be in line with the transmitting antenna. Mountains or tall buildings can interfere¹³. One solution is cable television.

This system began in the nineteen forties in Pennsylvania. Only a few television stations existed then, and they were in large cities. People in small towns could not receive the signals. So a store owner put an antenna on top of a pole and placed it on a nearby mountain. This antenna received the television signal. Wires led from the antenna to the store. The cable brought clear pictures to the television sets inside. Later, the idea of cable television spread to cities, to provide people with more stations to watch.

Today, people can watch hundreds of stations. And another way to receive them is with a satellite dish antenna. A small round device the size of a pizza can receive signals from satellites high above the Earth. The antenna is connected to a special receiver which connects to the television set. Some broadcasts over satellite can be watched free of charge. But the others cost money, just like cable service.

Engineers continue to develop new technologies to send and receive television. People who go to buy a TV now have more choices. Too many, some would say. It can be difficult to know the difference.

But some people know they are not happy with a traditional television. So they choose a set that can receive high-definition TV. This produces clearer, larger pictures. This way, even if a show is not very good, at least you can see it better.

Alison Krauss

(MUSIC)

HOST:

That was some fiddle¹⁴ music played by Alison Krauss with Union Station, her band. Together they produce some of the best bluegrass, folk and country music recorded today. And they have a new album out. Faith Lapidus has our story.

ANNCR:

Alison Krauss got her start playing fiddle with Union Station. One day, another member of the band asked if she could sing. So she did.

Here is a song called "Wouldn't Be So Bad."

(MUSIC)

Alison Krauss and Union Station have just released an album called "Lonely Runs Both Ways." The name of this song is "Restless."

(MUSIC)

Alison Krauss and Union Station have been collecting a lot of music awards in the past few years. In February, Allison Krauss won three more Grammys. She now has seventeen Grammy awards. That is more than any other female artist ever honored by the National Academy of Recording¹⁵ Arts and Sciences.

We leave you with another song from "Lonely Runs Both Ways." This one is called "Unionhouse Branch." It shows just how much fun bluegrass music can be.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC.

This program was written by Nancy Steinbach, Caty Weaver¹⁶ and Paul Thompson, who was also our 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 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 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

5 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

6 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 highlander   

n.高地的人，苏格兰高地地区的人

参考例句：

• They call him the highlander, he is Rory McLeod! 他们叫他寻事者，他是罗瑞·麦克劳德！ 来自互联网

11 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

12 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

13 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

14 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

15 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。

16 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。