周一将迎来美国宪法日

95 周一将迎来美国宪法日

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - September 14, 2001

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC  VOA's radio magazine in Special English.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We play songs by Jessica Simpson ...
answer a question about the wine-making industry ...
and tell about the home of one of America's first presidents.
Rediscovering James Madison
HOST:
Monday is (1)Constitution Day. It is the (2)anniversary of the day when the American Constitutional (3)Convention ended. (4)Delegates to the talks signed the proposed³ Constitution of the United States on September Seventeenth, Seventeen-Eighty-Seven.
This year, special (5)observances in honor⁴ of Constitution Day are being held at the former home of delegate² James Madison. Shep O'neal has more about the man called the Father of the Constitution.
ANNCR:
James Madison wrote the first plan for union of the new American nation. He also was mainly (6)responsible for the first ten (7)amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. Later, Mister⁵ Madison was the country's fourth President.
The Madison family lived at Montpelier (mont-PEEL-yer), a huge property about one-hundred-thirty kilometers south of Washington, D-C. The (8)property extends⁶ over more than one-thousand-one-hundred hectares of land. Today, a private group operates (9)Montpelier.
In recent years, crews at Montpelier have been searching for (10)evidence of past human activities. The project depends mainly on the work of (11)volunteers. Students from nearby James Madison University work at Montpelier in May and June for no pay.
Matthew Reaves is directing the project. He and his (12)crew are studying objects believed to come from Mount⁷ Pleasant, the first Madison home at Montpelier. Mount Pleasant was destroyed in a fire around Seventeen-Sixty-Five. After that, the area was used as farmland.
Recently, work crews at Mount Pleasant found the remains⁸ of a building. The (13)discovery is exciting because crews have been looking for the (14)remains of the main house for the past four years.
Matthew Reaves believes the project at Mount Pleasant will continue for two to three more years. After that, he wants to (15)explore some of the areas at Montpelier where slaves lived.
 

加州西部葡萄酒工业的起源与发展

HOST:
(Start at 3'57")Our VOA listener question this week comes from Brazil. Silvio Unzer asks about the history of the wine industry, especially in the western state of California.
Wine is an (16)alcoholic drink made from grapes. Experts do not know when the first wine was made. They say, however, that people who lived eight-thousand years ago enjoyed drinking wine. Wine was also a popular drink among the ancient Greeks. They were the first to grow (17)grapes as a business and to sell their (18)wines to other nations.
Wine was also important to the ancient Romans. Grapes were grown throughout the Roman (19)Empire. Later, the Catholic⁹ Church continued to produce wines in European countries. Experts say the wine industry appeared in almost every new country settled by Europeans.
That is what happened in the American state of California. Franciscan (20)religious workers from Spain who settled the area made wine to use in religious services. Father Junipero Serra established Mission¹⁰ San Diego in Seventeen-Sixty-Nine. It was the first of twenty-one such religious centers. Almost all of the (21)missions grew grapes and produced wine.
The discovery of gold in California in Eighteen-Forty-Eight helped establish the wine industry. Thousands of people traveled to California in hopes of finding¹¹ gold. But most did not find any. So many people decided¹² to grow grapes instead. These included people from other countries who loved wine. They grew European grapes in California for the first time.
California has a lot of sunshine all year. This helps grapes to (22)ripen anywhere in the state. Growing grapes for wine became very (23)profitable. The number of vines¹³ planted increased quickly. For example, in Eighteen-Fifty-Six, more than one-million (24)grapevines were planted in California. Two years later, there were almost four-million. By Eighteen-Fifty-Nine, California was producing almost two-million liters¹⁴ of wine.
That same year, California lawmakers helped the wine industry (25)expand. A new law permitted grape growers to produce a crop before having to pay taxes. By Eighteen-Sixty-Two, the number of grapevines in California had reached eight-million.
Today, the California Wine Institute says the United States has about one-thousand-six-hundred companies that make wine. More than half of these wineries are in California. The group says the state produces ninety percent of the wines made in the United States.

美国流行歌星杰西卡·辛普森
Jessica Simpson

HOST:
(Start at 7'59")Popular American singer Jessica Simpson had great success with her first record album in Nineteen-Ninety-Nine. Sweet Kisses sold more than two-million copies. Here is the title song:
((CUT 1: SWEET KISSES))
Now Jessica Simpson has a new record, Irresistible¹⁵. Bob Doughty¹⁶ tells us about her.
ANNCR:
Jessica Simpson was seventeen years old when she recorded her first album. She is twenty-one now. She says her growth shows in the new songs.
Jessica Simpson says the (26)message of the songs on Irresistible is that nothing is impossible if you have an (27)inner strength. Here is the title song from her new (28)album.
((CUT 2: IRRESISTIBLE))
Jessica Simpson learned¹⁷ to sing in church in her hometown of Dallas, Texas. She first recorded religious songs. Critics say one song on her new album shows her true spirit. It is one she has been singing since she was a young girl in church. We leave you now with Jessica Simpson singing that song, His Eye Is On The (29)Sparrow.?
((CUT 3: HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW))
HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC VOA's radio magazine in Special English.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by George Grow and Nancy Steinbach. Our studio engineer was Greg Burns. And our producer was Paul Thompson.

 

(1) constitution[ 7kCnsti5tju:FEn ]n.宪法, 构造, 体质, 体格, 国体, 章程, 惯例
(2) anniversary[ 7Ani5vE:sEri ]n.周年纪念
(3) convention[ kEn5venFEn ]n.大会, 协定, 习俗, 惯例
(4) delegate[ 5deli^it ]n.代表vt.委派...为代表
(5) observance[ Eb5zE:vEns ]n.遵守, 惯例, 仪式, 庆祝
(6) responsible[ ris5pCnsEbl ]adj.有责任的, 可靠的, 可依赖的, 负责的
(7) amendment[ E5mendmEnt ]n.改善, 改正
(8) property[ 5prCpEti ]n.财产, 所有物, 所有权, 性质, 特性, (小)道具
(9) Montpelier[mCnt`pi:ljE(r)]蒙彼利埃[美国佛蒙特州首府]
(10) evidence[ 5evidEns ]n.明显, 显著, 明白, 迹象, 根据, [物]证据
(11) volunteer[vRlEn5tIE(r)]n.志愿者, 志愿兵adj.志愿的, 义务的, 无偿的v.自愿
(12) crew[ kru: ]n.全体人员, (工作)队vbl.crow的过去式
(13) discovery[ dis5kQvEri ]n.发现, 发明的东西
(14) remain[ ri5mein ]vi.保持, 逗留, 剩余, 残存
(15) explore[ iks5plC: ]v.探险, 探测, 探究
(16) alcoholic[ 7AlkE5hClik ]adj.含酒精的n.酗酒者, 酒鬼
(17) grape[ ^reip ]n.葡萄, 葡萄树
(18) wine[ wain ]n.葡萄酒, 酒
(19) empire[ 5empaiE ]n.帝国, 帝权
(20) religious[ ri5lidVEs ]adj.信奉宗教的, 虔诚的, 宗教上的, 修道的, 严谨的n.
(21) mission[ 5miFEn ]n.使命, 任务, 使团, 代表团
(22) ripen[ 5raipEn ]vt.使成熟vi.成熟
(23) profitable [5prCfitEbl] adj.有利可图的
(24) grapevine[ 5^reipvain ]n.葡萄藤, 葡萄树, <美俗>(秘密情报或)谣言不胫而走
(25) expand[ iks5pAnd ]vt.使膨胀, 详述, 扩张vi.张开, 发展
(26) message[ 5mesidV ]n.消息, 通讯, 讯息, 音讯, 差使, 广告词, 预言, 教训vt.通知
(27) inner[ 5inE ]adj.内部的, 里面的, 内心的n.内部
(28) album[ 5AlbEm ]n.集邮本, 照相簿, 签名纪念册
(29) sparrow[ 5spArEu ]n.[鸟]麻雀

 

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 delegate   

n.代表，会议代表；vt.委派...为代表，授权

参考例句：

• They drafted her to serve as their delegate.他们选她当代表。
• The Chinese people delegate their power to the People's Congress.中国人民授权人民代表大会。

3 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

4 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

5 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

6 extends   

v.（空间、时间等）延伸，延续( extend的第三人称单数 )；伸展；给予；延长

参考例句：

• This country extends its power and influence into neighbouring countries. 这个国家将其势力与影响扩大至邻国。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His domain extends for 20 miles in every direction. 方圆20英里之内都是他的地产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

10 mission   

n.使命，任务，天职；代表团，使团

参考例句：

• He was charged with an important mission.他受委托承担一项重要使命。
• I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.我要让你承担一项重要使命。

11 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 vines   

n.藤本植物，藤( vine的名词复数 )；葡萄树

参考例句：

• Melons grow on vines. 瓜长在藤上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Grape vines overarched the garden path. 葡萄藤在花园小路上方形成了拱形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 liters   

n.升( liter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This can holds five liters of water. 这个容器可装五升水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

16 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。

17 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。