VOA慢速英语20060317b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Baseball Hits the Road for the World Baseball Classic²; Finals Are in CaliforniaBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, March 17, 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 songs for Saint³ Patrick's Day 鈥?nswer a question about a famous Supreme⁴ Court decision 鈥?nd report about a new international baseball competition.

World Baseball Classic

Many of the best baseball players in the world are competing for their home countries this month in a new international baseball tournament. The games are being played in Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States. Faith Lapidus tells us more.


'Dream Come True': The headline in Seoul after South Korea reached the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic with a 2-1 win over Japan at Angel Stadium in California on Wednesday

FAITH LAPIDUS: It is called The World Baseball Classic. It will be held again in two thousand nine, then every four years. It is the first series of international baseball games to include professional major league players from the United States and Canada. It is being played before the North American professional baseball season opens in April so the players can take part. Experts say the tournament is an attempt by North American professional baseball to increase the popularity⁵ of the sport around the world.

Players are competing for their home countries and territories. Sixteen countries and territories are taking part in the competition. They are Australia, Canada, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico. Also the Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, the United States and Venezuela.

American sports writers say the games so far have been fun. The fans are excited to see competition between their favorite players and others who are not so famous. Some of the players are former professionals. Others have other jobs and just enjoy playing good baseball. And some players from the same professional team are playing against each other. For example, New York Yankees player Derek Jeter is on the United States team. His teammate Bernie Williams is playing for Puerto Rico.

This is how the games are being played: The sixteen teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Each team played the other three teams in the group. The top two teams from that competition then moved into the second series of games. In these games, the top teams of each group compete against each other. Then the group champions play each other in the semifinals. The winners of those games will face each other to decide the World Baseball Classic champion.

The semifinals and championship games will take place Saturday and Monday in San Diego, California.

Roe⁶ v. Wade⁷

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Kurdistan in Iraq. Azad Kirkuki asks about Roe versus⁸ Wade.

Roe versus Wade is the name of the Supreme Court decision that made it legal in the United States for a woman to have a medical operation to end a pregnancy⁹. Such an operation is called an abortion¹⁰. The Court said the United States Constitution protects a woman's right to have an abortion during the first three months of pregnancy.

The Supreme Court made that ruling in nineteen seventy-three. The Court based its decision on a citizen's constitutional right to privacy¹¹. It said a woman has the right to make a private decision about having a baby. But it said states could restrict¹² some abortions¹³ in the late months of pregnancy.

Opponents¹⁴ of abortion were angry about the decision. They organized a movement against abortion. They call their position pro-life. They believe every fetus¹⁵ has a right to live and must be protected.

The movement campaigned successfully to elect pro-life politicians to state and national offices. It also was able to get Congress¹⁶ to approve laws affecting some abortion activities. For example, one law says the federal¹⁷ government will not pay for abortions for poor women.

The Supreme Court has permitted states to make it more difficult for women to get abortions. Women in some states must wait twenty-four hours before a doctor in a medical center will perform the operation. Or a young woman may need to get permission from her parents before she can have an abortion.

Earlier this month, lawmakers in South Dakota approved a law banning most abortions in the state. The law makes it a crime for a doctor to perform the operation unless it is needed to save a woman's life. The governor¹⁸ of South Dakota said the purpose of the law is to create a situation that would force the Supreme Court to re-consider the Roe versus Wade decision.

Abortion rights supporters call their position pro-choice. They say women should have the right to control their own bodies, including choosing to end an unplanned pregnancy. They say the new South Dakota law is dangerous, unconstitutional and not what a majority of Americans would support. Abortion rights groups say they will use all legal efforts to stop the law from taking effect in July.

Saint Patrick's Day Music

HOST: March seventeenth is Saint Patrick's Day -- the day Irish people honor¹⁹ the man who brought the Roman Catholic²⁰ religion to their country. It is a religious holiday in Ireland. It is not an official holiday in the United States, but a lot of Americans celebrate it anyway. Steve Ember explains.

STEVE EMBER: You know it is Saint Patrick's Day in the United States because you see more than the usual amount of the traditional Irish color, green. People wear green clothes. Some people color their hair or their faces green. The city of Chicago, Illinois even colors its river green. People across the country celebrate by drinking green beer and singing Irish songs, like this one, The Unicorn²¹.

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The first Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in the United States took place in Boston, Massachusetts more than two hundred fifty years ago. People whose families had come to the United States from Ireland took part in those celebrations.

An old story says that New York City started the tradition of holding Saint Patrick's Day parades. Twelve Irish-born members of the New York State military force decided²² to march to breakfast on Saint Patrick's Day in seventeen sixty-two. Such parades spread throughout the country as more Irish people came to live in the United States.

Today, New York City's Saint Patrick's Day parade is the biggest in the country. Thousands of people march along Fifth Avenue. Hundreds of thousands of other people gather along the street. They watch and listen as marching bands play traditional Irish music. Here the Gallowglass Ceili Band plays The Plough and the Stars.

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Many Americans join in the celebration of Saint Patrick's Day. They like to say that everyone is a little bit Irish on that day.

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

Our show was written by Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver²³ was our producer.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

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 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

3 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

6 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

7 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

8 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 privacy   

n.私人权利，个人自由，隐私权

参考例句：

• In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中，保密是不可能的。
• She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。

12 restrict   

n./vt.限制，限定，约束

参考例句：

• He feels this new law will restrict his freedom. 他觉得这一新法律会限制他的自由。
• Don't restrict her proper activities.不要拘束她的正当活动。

13 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

14 opponents   

n.对手，敌手( opponent的名词复数 )；反对者

参考例句：

• Somehow he always manages to outwit his opponents. 他反正总能设法智胜对手。
• to use strong-arm tactics against your political opponents 用强制手段对付政敌

15 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

16 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。

17 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

18 governor   

n.统治者，地方长官(如省长，州长，总督等)

参考例句：

• The governor was an expert at fencing with reporters.这位州长是搪塞新闻记者的能手。
• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。

19 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。

20 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。

21 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

22 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。

23 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。