VOA慢速英语20060310b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - The Golden Gate Bridge: How a 'Mighty² Task' Led to One of the World's Most Visited PlacesBy Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Friday, March 10, 2006

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HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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

We play a new kind of music that combines traditional Jewish beliefs with reggae 鈥?nswer a question about a famous American bridge 鈥?nd report about the winner of the PEN/Faulkner Writing Award.

PEN/Faulkner Award

American writer E. L. Doctorow will officially receive an important writing award in May. The PEN/Faulkner Foundation recently announced that he won its fiction award for two thousand six. The PEN/Faulkner award is the largest writing award in the country that is judged by other writers. Barbara Klein tells us more.


E.L. Doctrow

BARBARA KLEIN: E.L. Doctorow won the PEN/Faulkner award for his book The March. He created his novel from historical events that took place during the American Civil War between the Union and the rebellious³ southern states in the eighteen sixties.

The book is about a Civil War military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman. His troops marched through the southern states of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina on the way to winning the war for the Union. The book describes how this march affected⁴ the lives of soldiers from both sides as well as freed slaves and other civilians⁵.

Doctorow says he got the idea for the book after reading a soldier's memories of the march. The actions of the troops under Sherman's command were extremely destructive⁶. They killed civilians, seized and destroyed property and even killed farm animals in the fields.

The PEN/Faulkner prize committee awarded Doctorow fifteen thousand dollars. One judge on the committee said The March was one of the best books yet written by the seventy-five year old Doctorow.

This is the second PEN/Faulkner fiction prize for E.L. Doctorow. He was honored for his book Billy Bathgate in nineteen ninety. Doctorow also wrote the popular novel Ragtime⁷ and several other books.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation honored four other novels. The writers will each receive five thousand dollars. William Henry Lewis wrote I Got Somebody in Staunton. His story collection examines the lives of African-Americans. Karen Fisher's first book, A Sudden Country, tells about people moving to the western United States in the nineteenth century.

Bruce Wagner wrote The Chrysanthemum⁸ Palace about the film industry in Hollywood, California. And James Salter's story collection Last Night tells about failed relationships.

Golden Gate Bridge

HOST: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Laos. Vilasith Phonepadith asks about the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

The Golden Gate Bridge has been called one of the world's most beautiful bridges. It is also one of the most visited places in the world. Experts say about nine million people visit the bridge each year. They say more than one thousand million vehicles have used the bridge since it opened almost seventy years ago.


The Golden Gate Bridge

The bridge has always been painted the color called International Orange. The color was chosen because it went well with the natural surroundings. It also is easier to see in the heavy fog that often covers the area.

But the Golden Gate Bridge was not named for its orange color. It was named for the body of water that it crosses, the Golden Gate Strait. The Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate Bridge links the city of San Francisco with Marin County, California.

Planning for the bridge began in the nineteen twenties when the area around San Francisco was growing. People living in the area needed another way to get to the city besides the small ferry boats.

The chief engineer for the project was Joseph Strauss. Work began in nineteen thirty-three. Mister Strauss demanded the strongest safety protections in the history of bridge building. These protections included the first use of the hard hat and special glasses to protect the workers' eyes. A special safety net was suspended under the bridge. This net saved the lives of nineteen men during the construction. Still, eleven others were killed when they fell from the bridge through the net.

The Golden Gate Bridge opened in nineteen thirty-seven. It extends one thousand two hundred eighty meters across the water. It was the largest suspension⁹ bridge in the world until nineteen sixty-four. That is when the Verrazano Narrows Bridge opened in New York City.

Joseph Strauss wrote a poem called The Mighty Task is Done after the Golden Gate bridge was completed. Here is how the poem begins:

At last the mighty task is done;

Resplendent in the western sun

The Bridge looms¹⁰ mountain high;

Its titan piers¹¹ grip ocean floor,

Its great steel arms link shore with shore,

Its towers pierce the sky.

Matisyahu

Not many musicians are popular with both reggae music listeners and Jewish religious leaders. But the singer known as Matisyahu [ma-tees-YA-hoo] combines his musical and religious interests. Matisyahu is influenced by his traditional Hasidic Jewish beliefs and his love of reggae. He has created a very new and exciting kind of musical mixture. Faith Lapidus tells us more.


Matisyahu performing

FAITH LAPIDUS: Matisyahu was born Matthew Miller¹² in West Chester, Pennsylvania in nineteen seventy-nine. As a teenager he started to sense a spiritual emptiness in his life.

Matthew began to explore his religious roots and beliefs. A trip to Israel helped him more fully¹³ explore his Jewish identity. He soon dropped out of high school to attend a special nature school in Oregon. There, he started studying music and performing reggae and hip-hop songs.

Here is the song Lord Raise Me Up from his album called Live at Stubb's.

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When Matthew returned to his home in New York City, he started college. He also continued his spiritual search. He began to understand the magical role of song in Hasidic Judaism. He talked with Jewish religious leaders. He changed his name to Matisyahu. He decided¹⁴ to follow a Hasidic lifestyle and live according to Jewish Law. His religious community gives him a sense of spiritual and mental fullness. And he can also continue his role as a musician.

Here is the song Refuge¹⁵. Matisyahu sings about the important role of a good and strong leader.

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We leave you with King Without a Crown. This song has recently become a top forty hit in the United States. Soon, listeners can enjoy new songs by Matisyahu. He will release a new album this month.

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

Our show was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver¹⁶ was the producer.

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 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

3 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

6 destructive   

adj.破坏（性）的，毁灭（性）的

参考例句：

• In the end,it will be destructive of our whole society.它最终会毁灭我们整个社会。
• It is the most destructive storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的一次风暴。

7 ragtime   

n.拉格泰姆音乐

参考例句：

• The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
• African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。

8 chrysanthemum   

n.菊，菊花

参考例句：

• Each mourner wore a black armband and a white paper chrysanthemum.每个吊唁的人都佩带着黑纱和一朵白纸菊花。
• There are many species of chrysanthemum.菊花品种很多。

9 suspension   

n.悬挂，悬浮液，暂缓，未决，中止

参考例句：

• The local authorities decided to build a suspension bridge over the river.地方当局决定在这条河上建一座吊桥。
• A four-day suspension was imposed on her.她被勒令停职4天。

10 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 piers   

n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 )；（常设有娱乐场所的）突堤；柱子；墙墩

参考例句：

• Most road bridges have piers rising out of the vally. 很多公路桥的桥墩是从河谷里建造起来的。 来自辞典例句
• At these piers coasters and landing-craft would be able to discharge at all states of tide. 沿岸航行的海船和登陆艇，不论潮汐如何涨落，都能在这种码头上卸载。 来自辞典例句

12 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

13 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

14 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。

15 refuge   

n.避难（处），庇护（所）；v.庇护，避难（所）

参考例句：

• They took refuge in a cave yesterday.他们昨天是在一个洞里避难的。
• We took refuge in the lee of the wall.我们在墙的背风处暂避。

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。