AMERICAN MOSAIC - Songs by Norah Jones / Question About the

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ -August 2, 2002: Songs by Norah Jones / Question About the Library of Congress² / Air
Conditioner Turns 100

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 Norah Jones ..
.
Answer a listener’s question about the Library of Congress ..
.
And report about the one-hundredth anniversary³ of an important invention.

Air Conditioning Anniversary

HOST:

The weather this summer has been extremely hot in many areas of the United States. This has led most
Americans to use air conditioning equipment to cool the air inside their homes and businesses. They are happy to
observe the one -hundredth anniversary of the invention of air conditioning. Shep O’Neal has more.

ANNCR:

The birth date of the air conditioner is July seventeenth, nineteen-oh-two. That was when the first air
conditioning system was placed in a printing factory in Brooklyn, New York. Its purpose was to help reduce the
amount of heat and wetness in the air that was damaging the ink and paper used in printing.

A young engineer named Willis Carrier⁴ invented that first air conditioner. He and six
friends started their own air conditioning company in Syracuse, New York. Today, the
Carrier company earns about nine-thousand-million dollars a year. It does business in more
than one-hundred-seventy countries.

The Carrier system was the first that cooled, cleaned and dried the air. The company put air
conditioning equipment into a movie theater in New York City in nineteen-twenty-five. It Willis Carrier with

first chiller.

also air-conditioned the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. in nineteen-(Photo -Carrier)
twenty-eight. The White House got air conditioning in nineteen-thirty.

But air conditioning did not become popular in American homes until after World War Two. Today, eighty
percent of Americans have some kind of air conditioning in their homes. Ninety-six percent of all the houses in
the American South are air-conditioned.

Experts say air conditioning has changed more than the air temperature. It has changed the way people live and
work. Their activities are not linked to the weather. People can cook hot foods in the summer months, attend a
movie or go shopping during hot weather. Air conditioning has improved the production of food products,
medical supplies and drugs. It has made possible the growth of southern cities.

Officials of the Carrier company say air conditioning technology continues to improve. They say future air
conditioning systems will be able to change the temperature based on the number of people in the room or even
the kind of clothes a person is wearing.

Library of Congress


HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Laos. Khachonesack Douangphoutha asks about the Library of
Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Library of Congress is America’s national library. It has more than one

hundred-twenty-million books and other objects. It has newspapers, popular

publications⁶ and letters of historical interest. It also has maps, photographs, art

prints, movies, sound recordings⁸ and musical instruments.

The Library of Congress is open to the public Monday through Saturday, except for
Jefferson Building, one of government holidays. Anyone may go there and read anything in the collection. But
three buildings in the no one is permitted to take books out of the building.

library.

(Photos -Library of Congress)

The Library of Congress was established in eighteen-hundred. It started with eleven boxes of
books in one room of the Capitol Building. By eighteen-fourteen, the collection had increased
to about three-thousand books. They were destroyed that year when the Capitol was burned
during America’s war with Britain.

To help re -build the library, Congress bought the books of President Thomas Jefferson.
Mister⁹ Jefferson’s collection included seven-thousand books in seven languages.

In eighteen-ninety-seven, the Library moved to its own building across the street from the
Capitol. Today, three buildings hold the library’s collection.

The Library of Congress provides books and materials to the United States Congress. It also
lends books to other American libraries, government agencies¹⁰ and foreign libraries. It buys some of its books and
gets others as gifts. It also gets materials through its copyright¹¹ office. Anyone who wants copyright protection for
a publication⁵ must send two copies to the library. This means the Library of Congress receives almost everything
published in the United States.

Computer users¹² can learn more about the Library of Congress and its collection on the Internet. The address is w-
w-w dot l-o-c dot g-o-v. Again, the Library of Congress web address is w-w-w dot l-o-c dot g -o-v.

Norah Jones

HOST:

Singer and piano player Norah Jones won three Down Beat Magazine Student Music Awards when she was in
high school. Two were for Best Jazz Vocalist. The other was for Best Original Composition. Mary Tillitson tells
us more about her.

ANNCR:

Dome¹³ of the Main
Reading Room,
Jefferson Building.
Norah Jones has been playing the piano since she was seven years old. She worked as a singer
and piano player at a local coffeehouse when she was sixteen. She continued to perform at
similar places. Norah Jones is twenty-three years old now. She is enjoying the success of her
first album, called “Come Away with Me.”.. Listen as Norah Jones sings “Don’t Know
Why.”..

((CUT ONE – “DON’T KNOW WHY"))

Norah Jones says her mother was her greatest musical influence. Norah’s mother had a large record collection.

It included songs by such great singers as Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. Norah listened to the
songs again and again. She says she loves the music of the past. She learned¹⁴ this next song by listening to a
recording⁷ by Nina Simone. Here is Norah Jones singing “Turn Me On.”..

((CUT TWO – “TURN ME ON”))


Norah Jones’s music is a mix of pop, country, soul, and jazz. Music critics have praised her music. We leave
you with another song from the album “Come Away with Me.
”
Norah Jones sings “Shoot the Moon.
”
((CUT THREE -“SHOOT THE MOON”)
)
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 Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach. Our studio engineer
was Curtis Bynum. And our producer was Paul Thompson.

 

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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 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

3 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

4 carrier   

n.运货人；带菌者；运输军队的交通工具

参考例句：

• The airplane lifted from the aircraft carrier.飞机从航空母舰上起飞。
• I applied for the job as a mail carrier.我申请邮差的工作。

5 publication   

n.出版，发行；出版；公布，发表

参考例句：

• They don't think this article is suitable for publication.他们认为这篇文章不宜发表。
• The government has delayed publication of the trade figures.政府已将贸易统计数字延后公布。

6 publications   

n.发表( publication的名词复数 )；公布；出版；出版物

参考例句：

• The related publications are far too numerous to list individually. 相关出版物太多，没法一一列举。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 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”。

10 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 copyright   

n.版权，著作权

参考例句：

• He retained the copyright of his book.他保留此书的著作权。
• This company has a proprietorship of the copyright.这家公司拥有版权所有权。

12 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

13 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

14 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。