VOA慢速英语20061117b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Women on Wheels: Driving Change in MotorcyclingBy Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, November 17, 2006

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about American writers...

Play some songs that won the latest Country Music Awards...

And report about a group of female motorcycle riders.

Lady Bikers

HOST:

Cookie, Badkat, Zoom² and Legs. These are names of some female motorcycle riders. The sport has become increasingly popular among women. Barbara Klein tells us more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

For many years, motorcycle riding was considered a male sport. Women usually rode on the seat behind the men operating the two-wheeled vehicle. Now more and more women are taking the front seat.

The Motorcycle Industry Council says more than twenty million people in the United States ride motorcycles. The number of female motorcyclists has increased greatly over the past few years. More than ten percent of motorcycle owners in the United States are women.


Bikers of the Lady Sport Riders club

We spoke³ with Lisa Russell, Briggit Pope, Rayna Evans and Angela Meeks-Odom. They are on the executive committee of Lady Sport Riders motorcycle club in Largo⁴, Maryland. They say they ride for more than fun. They say it gives women a sense of freedom and control. They also say safety is very important. The risk of injury is high. So they wear protective clothing and equipment at all times, especially for the head.

In nineteen ninety-eight the number of female bikers rose sharply. Lady Sport Riders began in nineteen ninety-nine in the Washington, D.C. area. The women formed the organization to share their love of motorcycle riding. They say female motorcycle clubs permit women to share a strong sisterhood. Like other motorcycle clubs, the members of Lady Sport Riders also help their community.

The group says it wanted to be more than just women who gathered to ride motorcycles. So it organizes events that help national health organizations and women's shelters. And it gives financial awards to students.

Female riders have helped change motorcycle culture. The Motorcycle Industry Council says more than five years ago manufacturers began making equipment that makes riding more pleasant for women. Some bikes now have smaller, softer seats and controls that are easier to reach. Modern clothes for riding look good and still provide protection. In the past, women rode motorcycles that traveled at a moderate speed. Now theirs are as powerful as the ones men ride.

Lady Sport Riders believe women have earned their place in the sport of motorcycle riding. When speaking of male motorcyclists the members of the club say: They Made the Game...We Came to Play!

(SOUND)

Contemporary American Writers

HOST:

Our question this week comes from a listener who wants to know more about short stories by modern American writers.


Edgar Allan Poe

The Special English program American Stories broadcasts stories by American writers every Saturday. The stories have been shortened and adapted into Special English by our writers. Most of the stories were written long ago but are still popular today. They include The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and Luck by Mark Twain. The public is permitted to use these stories freely.

We must get permission from the writer or the publisher to broadcast modern stories. In recent years we have added more stories by modern writers to our American Stories program. They include Crazy Lady by Jane Leslie, Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Patterson and Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. Each of these writers has won the Newbery Award. It is the highest honor for a writer of books for young people in the United States.

American Stories also included a story by Joel Monture. He writes Native American stories for young people. Mister Monture writes about children and young adults who must deal with the cultures of Native American traditions and the modern world.

Doreen Baingana is a short story writer who is also a Special English writer. She was born in Uganda. Miz Baingana has received many awards and honors for her book Tropical Fish: Stories Out of Entebbe.

Several of Miz Baingana's stories have been broadcast in Special English. They include Fallen Fruit and A Kind of Blue. You can hear another story written by Doreen Baingana Saturday on the Special English program American Stories. We will tell the story Lost and Found in Los Angeles. Also, you can visit our Web site at www.unsv.com to read and hear some other American Stories.

CMA Awards

HOST:

The Country Music Association presented its fortieth yearly awards last week at a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. The organization honors great country music performers. Katherine Cole tells us about some of the award winners this year.

KATHERINE COLE:


Carrie Underwood

The Country Music Association Horizon Award goes to the best new country artist. The winner was Carrie Underwood. She also won the female singer of the year award. Here is the title song from her album, Some Hearts.

(MUSIC)

Another big Country Music Association Award winner was the group Brooks⁵ and Dunn. They received four awards. One award was for the best two-person singing group. They won three more awards for the song Believe. It was named song of the year, single of the year and video of the year. Here they are to sing it:

(MUSIC)

Perhaps the most important award given by the Country Music Association is called the entertainer of the year. That award went to singer Kenny Chesney. We leave you now with Kenny Chesney singing his hit, You Save Me.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

This show was written by Lawan Davis and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver⁶ was the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

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 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 largo   

n.广板乐章；adj.缓慢的，宽广的；adv.缓慢地，宽广地

参考例句：

• The tempo marking in most cases is andante,adagio,or largo.大多数第一乐章的速度标记是行板、柔板或广板。
• The second movement is a largo.第二乐章是广板乐章。

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。