VOA慢速英语 2007 0914b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We listen to opera music by Luciano Pavarotti ‿/P>

Answer a question about the most respected professions ‿/P>

And report about the anniversary of a famous American book.

"On The Road"

HOST:

Last week was the fiftieth anniversary of an extremely popular book by American writer Jack² Kerouac.  "On The Road" was first published on September fifth, nineteen fifty-seven.  Reports say almost one hundred thousand copies of the book are sold in the United States every year. Shirley Griffith has more.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

 
Jack Kerouac
Some critics considered Jack Kerouac a great writer.  Others did not.  But one thing is sure--young people loved "On The Road."   The book is about two young men who travel back and forth³ across the United States, exploring new places and meeting new people.  Their names are Sal Paradise⁴ and Dean⁵ Moriarity.  The characters in the book are like Jack Kerouac and his friends.

Jack Kerouac did, in fact, travel across America several times in the late nineteen forties and early nineteen fifties. He traveled to almost every state in the United States and in Mexico. Often he hitch-hiked: he just asked people for a ride in their car.  Sometimes he traveled with his friend Neal Cassady.

Jack Kerouac wrote "On The Road" in just three weeks in nineteen fifty-one. He typed it on several long pieces of paper that he connected to form a continuous document about thirty-six meters long. It took six years for the book to be published. But it immediately became a best-seller. One critic said "One the Road" was about all things American: individualism, the pioneer spirit, jazz, even apple pie.

Here, Jack Kerouac reads from his famous work:

JACK KEROUAC: "There he goes, Dean Moriarity, ragged⁶ in a moth⁷ eaten overcoat that he brought specially⁸ for the freezing temperatures of the East. Walking off alone, the last I saw of him, he rounded a corner of Seventh Avenue. Eyes on the street ahead, intent⁹ to it again. Gone!"

But Kerouac could not deal with the success and fame resulting from his book.  He also could not deal with the way he believed his writing was misunderstood.  He drank too much alcohol and died in nineteen sixty-nine at the age of forty-seven.

Six years ago, American businessman Jim Irsay bought Kerouac's original typed "On The Road" for more than two million dollars.  It was shown all across the United States. Now, for the anniversary, it is being shown in Jack Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Experts say Jack Kerouac's writing helped start the rebellious¹⁰ movement of American young people in the nineteen sixties.  They also say young people today still read and enjoy "On The Road," but are not influenced to leave college and travel as Kerouac did.

Respectable¹¹ Professions

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Moscow, Russia. Andy Martynyuk wants to know which professions in America are thought to be the most and least respected. You might be surprised by some of the results.

For thirty years, the research company Harris Interactive¹² has carried out public opinion studies about which professions Americans respect. This year, they spoke¹³ to more than one thousand American adults by telephone. The results show that the most respected careers are not the ones that earn the most money. They are the professions that involve providing an important service to help society.

The researchers asked people which jobs they thought held very great respect. Sixty-one percent of the people listed firefighters as the most respected career. Scientists and teachers were next with fifty-four percent. The number of people who think teachers have jobs that people respect increased twenty-five points since the study started in nineteen seventy-seven.

Fifty-two percent of the people questioned said military officers and doctors had jobs worthy¹⁴ of great respect.  Real estate agents who sell houses were at the very bottom of the list. Actors and bankers were the other two least respected professions. The Special English staff could not help but notice that reporters were very low on the list with only a thirteen percent rating¹⁵.

U.S News and World Report magazine made a list of careers it thinks may seem exciting and rewarding but are less so in reality. These include advertising¹⁶ professionals, lawyers, and cooks. For example, the report says it might seem like fun to cook good foods for people in a restaurant.  But many professional chefs have very repetitive duties and work very late hours.

Luciano Pavarotti

HOST:

Luciano Pavarotti was considered by many critics and music fans to be the greatest opera singer of the twentieth century.  He died last week in his hometown of Modena, Italy, at the age of seventy-one. He had battled pancreatic cancer for more than a year. Steve Ember plays some of his music.

STEVE EMBER:

Luciano Pavarotti was born near Modena in nineteen thirty-five.  His father was a 
 
baker who loved to sing.  As a child, Luciano listened to many great Italian opera singers in his father’s record collection.  He began performing when he was nine years old.

Pavarotti started voice lessons ten years later.  Another student at the school was his childhood friend Mirella Freni.  Years later they performed together.  Upon news of his death, Freni said: “The world has lost a great tenor¹⁷, but I’ve lost a great friend, a brother.‿/P>

Here Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni sing "Viene la Sera" from the opera "Madama Butterfly" by Giacomo Puccini.

(MUSIC)

Pavarotti sang many other kinds of songs besides opera.  He sang with famous pop, rock and jazz singers. He recorded Christmas songs, Italian folk songs and other kinds of music.

Pavarotti also made popular recordings¹⁸ with two other famous opera singers, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo.  The group became known as the Three Tenors¹⁹.  This song is from their first show in Rome, Italy.  Listen as Pavarotti sings “Rondine al Nido.‿

(MUSIC)

Some people criticized Luciano Pavarotti for extending his music beyond the limits of opera.  But many opera lovers and experts were thankful for his common touch.  James Levine of the Metropolitan²⁰ Opera House in New York City said Pavarotti's singing “spoke right to the hearts of listeners, whether they knew anything about opera or not.‿/P>

We leave you with Luciano Pavarotti singing what is probably his most famous opera song, “Nessun Dorma,‿from Giacomo Puccini’s opera "Turandot."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson.  I hope you enjoyed our program today.  It was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver²¹, who also was our 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 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

4 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

5 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？

6 ragged   

adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的

参考例句：

• A ragged shout went up from the small crowd.这一小群人发出了刺耳的喊叫。
• Ragged clothing infers poverty.破衣烂衫意味着贫穷。

7 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 intent   

adj.急切的，专心的，专注的；n.意图，意向

参考例句：

• He was intent on the job he was doing.他专心致志于正在做的工作。
• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。

10 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。

11 respectable   

n.品格高尚的人；adj.值得尊重的，人格高尚的，不少的

参考例句：

• She seems respectable enough.她看上去挺体面的。
• His savings were just enough to pay for a respectable funeral.他的存款刚好够办一个体面的葬礼。

12 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

13 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。

14 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

15 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

16 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

17 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

18 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

19 tenors   

n.男高音( tenor的名词复数 )；大意；男高音歌唱家；（文件的）抄本

参考例句：

• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His one -- a-kind packaging thrilled an opera world ever-hungry for tenors. 他一对一类包装激动世界的歌剧以往任何时候都渴望的男高音。 来自互联网

20 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

21 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。