VOA慢速英语 2007 0525b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We answer a question about racial separation laws of the past ‿/P>

Play music from Josh Groban ‿/P>

And report about musical composer Mason Bates.

Mason Bates

The worlds of techno music and classical symphonies are usually very separate. But the musical composer Mason Bates is changing this. This thirty-year-old musician from Virginia artfully combines classical music with the sound of electronic beats. Barbara Klein has more.  

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

 
Mason Bates
That was part of a work called "Liquid Interface²." Mason Bates performed it for the first time in February with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He was influenced to write the musical piece while living in Berlin, Germany. He watched the lake near where he lived transform from an ice formation to a warm swimming place.

In “Liquid Interface‿you can listen to the many forms water takes and the effects of climate change. You can hear the breaking of large ice glaciers³, as well as melting drops of water. Bates also makes a musical reference to New Orleans, Louisiana to show the more destructive side of water.

This work needs a very large orchestra. Musicians played more than forty traditional instruments at the Washington, D.C. performance. They were guided by the orchestra's musical director, Leonard Slatkin. Mason Bates stood on the side with his own instrument, the portable computer. He fluidly worked the electronic sounds and beats into the structured classical music. 

But Mason Bates does not only write symphonies. At night, you can find him playing trip-hop and French house techno music in the clubs of San Francisco, California. He is also finishing his doctorate⁴ degree at the nearby University of California, Berkeley. Mason Bates‿skill at combining these two very different musical worlds has been recognized. He has won important awards for his music pieces such as the Prix de Rome.

Mason Bates believes that when you listen to music it lives in your imagination and your blood at the same time. He wants his music to be intelligent as well as interesting. To listen to more music by Mason Bates, go to voaspecialenglish.com for a link to his Web site.

Jim Crow Laws

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Taiwan. Howlong Wu asks about “Jim Crow laws."

These laws enforced racial separation between black people and white people in the 
Jim Crow laws enforced racial separation
American South. The term was taken from a character called Jim Crow in musical shows in the eighteen thirties. In these minstrel shows, white people darkened their faces and performed as if they were black people. These shows were insulting to black people.   

Starting in the eighteen eighties, Jim Crow became the name for the laws enacted⁵ by Southern cities and states to oppress black people and keep them separate from white people. For example, Jim Crow laws made it illegal for the two races to attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants or use the same public transportation.

The United States Supreme⁶ Court supported Jim Crow laws in some of its decisions. An important one was Plessy versus⁷ Ferguson in eighteen ninety-six. The Court ruled that railroads could require white and black passengers to ride in different cars.  It said this was legal because the treatment in the two cars was "separate but equal."  In another case in eighteen ninety-nine, the Court ruled that no one’s rights were violated by the two races attending separate schools.

The National Association for the Advancement⁸ of Colored People led the long effort to overturn Jim Crow laws through legal action. Finally, in nineteen fifty-four, a Supreme Court ruling overturned the Plessy versus Ferguson decision. The decision was called Brown versus the Board of Education. The Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for blacks and whites were unconstitutional. This ruling required towns and cities across the country to permit blacks and whites to attend the same schools.

The Jim Crow system was finally ended in the nineteen sixties through the efforts of the civil rights movement.  These efforts resulted in a series of federal laws including the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act.

Josh Groban

Josh Groban is a young singer who performs classical and popular songs. His record albums have sold millions of copies. Katherine Cole plays some music from Groban's latest album called "Awake."        

KATHERINE COLE:

 
Josh Groban
Josh Groban is twenty-six years old. He is from Los Angeles, California. As a teenager, he sang at the inauguration⁹ of former California governor Gray Davis in nineteen ninety-nine. That was when he was discovered by a record company official. He released his first studio album two years later.

Josh Groban's third studio album is called "Awake." Like his other albums, he sings in English, Italian and Spanish. Groban says the music on his latest album sounds like it is coming from his heart and soul as well as his voice. This song, "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)," was also released as a single.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban plays several instruments, including piano, drums, electric guitar, marimbas, flugelhorn and dulcimer.  Groban also helped write some of the songs on his latest album, like this one, called "Machine." The famous jazz musician Herbie Hancock plays piano.

(MUSIC)

Josh Groban has appeared on many American television shows. Now he is in the middle of a seven-month performance tour to seventy cities in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Groban performs two songs on his latest album with the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Groban first heard this song during a visit to South Africa in two thousand four. We leave you now with the song "Weeping." 

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Dana Demange, Shelley Gollust and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹⁰ was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.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 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

3 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

4 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

5 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 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。

7 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。

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

10 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。