VOA慢速英语 2008 1205b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We listen to music from Taylor Swift …

Answer a listener question about chess champion Bobby Fischer …

And report about blogs right here at VOA.

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Blogs

HOST:

A blog is short for a Web log. People write blogs to express their opinions and ideas over the Internet. Some people write blogs about political issues. Others use them to share their lives with faraway friends or family. Still other people write blogs to help them deal with sickness, money problems or to choose movies to see or books to read. Bob Doughty² has more about the increasing influence of blogs.

BOB DOUGHTY:

The Center for Media Research recently released a report about blogs. It says all studies agree that blogs are popular around the world.

One study found that more than one hundred eighty million people around the world have started a blog. And more than three hundred forty million people around the world read blogs. Another study found bloggers in sixty-six countries on six continents. It found blogs in eighty-one languages.

People in many professions, including the entertainment industry and news organizations, are writing blogs. VOA writers are among them. Alex Belida is the chief writer of the VOA news blog. He discusses issues of freedom of the press and VOA programming. He also answers questions, comments and criticism from the public.

On a recent blog, Mister Belida wrote about VOA's rules demanding accuracy and objectivity⁴. He wrote that VOA rules state that VOA reporters "do not speak for the United States government." He also wrote that the idea that any government agency can tell VOA what to say is false. To read more of the VOA News Blog go to www.voanewsblog.blogspot.com.

For a different blog experience, visit Ted³ Landphair's America. Mister Landphair has been a VOA reporter for years. His blog is a personal exploration of American life. He takes readers to many places he has visited and written about in the United States. And his wife's pictures help make those places come alive. She is award-winning photographer Carol Highsmith. On a recent blog, Ted visits many beautiful covered bridges found throughout rural America.

Ted also discusses many other subjects. Special English listeners might like his "Wild Words" blogs. You can learn some new and unusual American words.

Bobby Fischer

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. Wangzijin wants to know more about the chess champion Bobby Fischer. Bobby Fischer was one of the greatest chess players in history. In nineteen seventy-two he became the first American to win the World Chess Championship.
　

Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer was born in nineteen forty-three in Chicago, Illinois. He later moved with his mother and sister to New York City. At the age of six, he taught himself how to play chess. At thirteen, Bobby became the youngest player to win the United States junior championship. He then became a United States chess champion. By the age of fifteen, he was the youngest person ever to hold the title of grandmaster. Later, he won twenty straight games against the greatest chess players in the world.

His most famous game was in nineteen seventy-two in Iceland. Known as “the match of the century,” Bobby Fischer was to compete against World Chess Champion Boris Spassky from the Soviet⁵ Union.

This game was about more than just chess. It represented America’s chance to defeat the Soviets⁶ who had long held the winning title. At first Bobby Fischer did not want to compete. United States National Security Advisor⁷ Henry Kissinger telephoned Fischer and asked him to play for the honor of the United States.

Bobby Fischer did compete. He lost the first of three games to Spassky. Fischer surrendered the second game. For the last game, Fischer demanded that he and Spassky play in a very small room that was quieter. Bobby Fischer won the game and became champion. And then, he disappeared for many years.

Bobby Fischer was known for playing very aggressively. Chess champion Garry Kasparov once said that Fischer was willing to fight to the death for every game.

Fischer could be very difficult. He made demands about the conditions of chess games. He complained about prize money, lighting⁸, and noise from cameras and crowds. He sometimes acted very strangely.

Bobby Fischer appeared in nineteen ninety-two to again compete against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia. Once more, Fischer won. But federal charges were brought against Fischer because he broke American laws restricting business dealings with Yugoslavia. He never returned to the United States. Iceland offered him citizenship⁹ in two thousand one and Bobby Fischer lived there until he died in January.

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Taylor Swift

HOST:

Eighteen-year-old Taylor Swift writes and performs personal songs about being young and falling in and out of love. Her songs are heavily influenced by the sounds of country music. Taylor Swift's latest album, "Fearless," is already breaking sales records. Critics say Swift is the most remarkable¹⁰ new country artist in recent years. And, they say all the songs on her new album are a pleasure to listen to. Barbara Klein plays three examples.

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BARBARA KLEIN:

"Hey Stephen" is a good example of Taylor Swift's bright and youthful voice. Like many of her songs, it tells a clear story about a personal experience.
　

Taylor Swift

But there is more to Taylor Swift than her cheerful sound. She is an extremely hard-working musician who has been perfecting her song-writing skills since she was eleven years old. When Taylor was only fourteen, her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee so that she could be at the center of the country music industry. Her hard work writing and performing songs paid off. At the age of sixteen, she released her first album, "Taylor Swift." Two years later, it is still a top-selling album.

One reason for Taylor Swift's success is that her music is popular with country music fans as well as with general audiences. And she has worked hard to connect with young listeners using online social networks like MySpace.

Here is the song "Fifteen." Taylor Swift remembers the hopes and fears of being a high school student.

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Last month, the Country Music Association nominated¹¹ Taylor Swift for best female singer of the year. She won the CMA award last year for best new artist. We leave you with the title song of Taylor Swift's new album, "Fearless."

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HOST:

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

It was written by Caty Weaver¹² and Dana Demange, who was also the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

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 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 objectivity   

n.客观性

参考例句：

• Research is a word that most people associate with science and objectivity. 大多数人把研究这个词与科学和客观联系起来，这种联系并没有错误。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• At the level of collecting data, all the scientists strive for objectivity. 任何一个科学家，他们在收集资料的工作阶段都力争客观。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

10 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

11 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

12 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。