VOA慢速英语20060811b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Is the Segway the Answer to City Traffic and Pollution?By Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, August 11, 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 what Americans do on their vacations...

Play some music by Cat Power...

And report about some new uses for a transportation device² called a Segway.

The Segway Human Transporter

HOST:

A few years ago, we reported about a new transportation device called the Segway Human Transporter, also known as the Segway. Its inventor called it the world's first self-balancing individual transport vehicle for short distance travel. Mario Ritter has an update on this new kind of transportation.

MARIO RITTER:


Police riding segways

The Segway looks like a large stick with two wheels. The wheels are connected to a platform. The stick has handles for a person to hold. The person stands on the platform and holds the handles. The transporter moves forward or backward when the person moves his or her body in that direction. The driver turns the handles to go left or right.

Computers and gyroscope devices³ on the Segway make it move and balance. It is powered by batteries that are recharged with electric power. It can travel at speeds of nineteen kilometers an hour.

Dean⁴ Kamen invented the Segway. He says it was meant to reduce pollution and solve other environmental problems in cities. But it was not designed to travel on roads.

A Segway costs about five thousand dollars. Many people say it is too costly⁵. However, people who have bought a Segway say it is extremely useful. This is especially true for people who have trouble walking because of medical problems. They report that a Segway makes it possible for them to join others on walks and to travel to their jobs.

Other people use the Segway instead of their cars for short trips. They say it is a great way to save money on gasoline⁶.

Segways are being used in more than twelve American airports. Security⁷ officers say they are able to move quickly on the devices in emergency situations.

People on vacation are also learning⁸ to use Segways. Segway tours are popular in several American cities. These include Chicago, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; San Francisco, California, and Washington, D.C. Tour company officials say it takes from ten to thirty minutes to teach people how to ride a Segway. Then the group uses them to move around the city and see the sights.

American Vacations

HOST:

And speaking of vacations, our VOA listener question this week comes from China. Joshua Hu asks about what Americans do on their summer holiday vacations.

Americans do many different things during their vacations. Some people stay at home and enjoy time with their families. They may go to a local swimming pool, zoo or museum. Other people travel to enjoy large national parks, the mountains, the ocean, or large amusement parks. Many people visit interesting American cities or historic⁹ areas. Some people visit family members in other states. Still other Americans visit foreign countries.

We recently heard about a new use for vacation time -- learning about a new kind of job. This program is called Vocation¹⁰ Vacations. People pay between six hundred and five thousand dollars to work at a job for a few days or a week.

Brian Kurth of Portland, Oregon, started Vocation Vacations. He says it serves a valuable purpose. It gives people a chance to try out a job they always wanted without leaving their present job.

People use Vocation Vacations to try many kinds of jobs around the United States. These are jobs that anyone can learn to do. For example, they can learn how to make beer, wine, cheese or cakes. They can help train dogs or horses. They can learn how to be a hunting and fishing guide or a gardener. They can work with a sports announcer¹¹, television producer, wedding planner or photographer. Or they can learn how to operate a very small hotel, called a bed and breakfast.

Vocation Vacations recently added several new jobs. They include comedian¹², dog sled driver and hair stylist. The company says the most popular job so far is winemaking.

The Vocation Vacations Web site recently asked visitors what prevents them from working at their dream job. More than two thousand people answered. Forty-two percent said the main block is money. Lack of the right education or experience was the answer given by twenty-five percent. Other answers included fear of failure and lack of family support.

Cat Power

HOST:


'Cat

Cat Power has a warm and dreamy voice. Her latest album, The Greatest, has a slow blues¹³ sound. Critics say it is one of her most powerful records yet. They say the music is soft like a kiss but also as fierce as a kick. Katherine Cole has more.

KATHERINE COLE:

Cat Power is from the southern state of Georgia. Her real name is Chan Marshall. She has been making records for about ten years. Cat Power wrote all the songs on her latest album. They explore different kinds of emotion, including love, hate and loss. Listen to her rich, smoky voice as she sings Living Proof¹⁴.

(MUSIC)

Cat Power is known for giving unusual live performances. Sometimes she gets stage fright and refuses to sing. Or she makes emotional¹⁵ comments about her performance if she makes a mistake. She often stabs¹⁶ her hands in the air to call attention to the words she sings. But Power's fans like her honesty. She expresses this emotional tension¹⁷ in her actions and in her songs.

Here is The Moon. Cat Power sings about the beauty and distance of the moon. She compares the moon to a person she knows.

(MUSIC)

Cat Power made this album in Memphis, Tennessee, an important city in the music industry. Many country and soul musicians became famous in Memphis. Cat Power recorded her album with a group of well-known soul musicians. For example, the guitarist Teenie Hodges plays on all the songs. We leave you with the title song from The Greatest. The images and feelings she sings about are like poetry.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

Our show was written by Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹⁸ was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio¹⁹, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

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 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

3 devices   

n.设备；装置( device的名词复数 )；花招；（为实现某种目的的）计划；手段

参考例句：

• electrical labour-saving devices around the home 节省劳力的各种家用电器
• modern labour-saving devices such as washing machines and dishwashers 诸如洗衣机和洗碗机之类的现代化省力设备

4 Dean   

n.(大学)院长，系主任，教务长

参考例句：

• The students much like the new dean.学生们很喜欢这位新系主任。
• Who is the dean of the Foreign Languages Department?外语系主任是谁？

5 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

6 gasoline   

n.(美)汽油

参考例句：

• This car runs 5 miles on a gallon of gasoline.这部汽车一加仑汽油可以行驶五英里。
• There is still some gasoline left in the tank.油箱里还剩下一些汽油。

7 security   

n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券

参考例句：

• A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
• There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。

8 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

9 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

10 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

11 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

12 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

13 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

14 proof   

adj.防...的，耐...的，能防护；n.校样，证据，证明；vt.检验，给...做防护措施

参考例句：

• He is living proof of the wonders of modern medicine.他是当代医学奇迹的活证明。
• The proof was fished up from some old papers.校样在旧文件中被找到了。

15 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

16 stabs   

戳( stab的名词复数 )； 捅； 刺痛

参考例句：

• She tried to thrust back the little stabs of home-sickness. 她努力排遣涌上心头的思乡之情。
• Now the first bolt of lightning stabs the earth. 这时，第一个雷电劈向大地。

17 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

18 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。

19 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。