VOA慢速英语 2008 0215b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

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

We play music by Devendra Banhart ‿/P>

Answer a question about finding a job ...

And report on a new Web site that gets you to “think big.‿BR>

(MUSIC)

BigThink.com

HOST:

Where can you go to listen to a cook, a senator² or a scientist talk about important subjects? BigThink.com is a new Web site created to provide discussions between world experts and Internet users. Subjects discussed on BigThink include the environment, music and questions about happiness and personal identity. The Web site has been called a YouTube for thinkers.  Faith Lapidus has more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Victoria Brown and Peter Hopkins created BigThink.com. They see the Web site as a social project that permits Internet users around the world to share a discussion space with experts. Miz Brown says that people need an international stage on which to exchange, discuss, and debate the important ideas of our time.

If you visit the BigThink Web site, you will find a series of subjects listed on the left side of the page. There are “meta‿subjects that deal with general ideas like faith, love, life, death and justice. And there are “physical‿ subjects like art, culture, technology, history and politics. When you click on a subject, you find a video of a person talking about his or her ideas. For example, you can listen to United States Senator Ted³ Kennedy talking about education and civil rights.

SENATOR TED KENNEDY: “We want to try and free ourselves from the forms of discrimination and bigotry⁴ which exist in our nation.‿/P>

Or you could listen to the musician Moby talk about his work and ideas for young artists. 
Moby

 

MOBY: “My advice to other musicians first and foremost⁵ would be to make music that they love.‿

Among other "big thinkers" are the former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and French cook Jacques Pepin. Under their videos, you can read the comments and questions written by other visitors to the Web site. More than one hundred experts express their ideas on the Web site.

BigThink also has an important list of financial supporters. These include Peter Thiel who helped create the PayPal company; Larry Summers, a former United States secretary of the treasury⁶, and David Frankel, a businessman from South Africa.

BigThink’s creators started the Web site by first getting famous people to agree to be videotaped.  They began by interviewing several well-known professors from Harvard University, which they had attended. Then they used the names of these professors to gain the trust of others and get them to take part in the project.

The Web site says BigThink belongs to everyone. Its motto is: “We are what you think." So, go online and start thinking big.

Finding a Job

HOST:

This week’s listener question comes from China. Eric wants to know how Americans find jobs. Experts say that January is the top month for getting a new job. Many Americans make a promise that they will find a new or better job in the new year. And many businesses decide to fill empty positions this time of year.

There are many ways to find a job.  It can be as easy as walking into a neighborhood store to look at its announcement board. Local stores often have areas where people can put small signs telling what kind of service they need or can provide. Such services include caring for children or cleaning houses.

Or, job searchers can look in the newspaper. Local newspapers have employment announcements placed by companies seeking workers.

Another popular tool for finding jobs is the Internet.  For example, people in four hundred and fifty cities around the world can use the Craigslist Web site to buy objects, meet people or find a job. Craigslist says that it receives two million new job listings each month.

 
Graduating students and alumni gather at a job fair in New York
Another useful way to find a job is through a college or university. For example, students at the University of Texas in Austin can go to the Career Exploration Center to get help in finding a job.  People who graduate from universities can also use alumni groups and resources. This means that new graduates can get advice about jobs from older graduates. Each American state also has an employment services office that can help people train and look for jobs.

Of course, looking for a job requires knowing what kind of work you want to do. For example, there is a book called “What Color is Your Parachute?‿by Richard Bolles.  This book has been helping⁷ people choose a career since it was first published in nineteen seventy.

Some experts also help people find jobs. Susan W. Miller⁸ owns a company called California Career Services in Los Angeles. She says her company helps people find jobs by first helping them understand their strengths, goals and interests. Then she provides them with methods and resources to help them find the right job. 

Devendra Banhart

HOST:

 
 
Devendra Banhart is a musician who creates imaginative⁹ folk songs that take you back to the sounds of the nineteen sixties. The twenty-six-year-old singer and songwriter recently released his fifth album, called “Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon¹⁰.‿Critics say this album is his strongest yet. Mario Ritter has more.

(MUSIC)

MARIO RITTER:

That was the song “Sea Horse‿ It is a good example of Devendra Banhart’s emotional voice and dreamy songs. It is not often clear what his songs are about, but they are always interesting. Rolling Stone magazine listed this record as one of the top albums of two thousand seven.

Devendra was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Venezuela. He started playing music at the age of twelve. He began his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute in California, but dropped out of the program and moved to Paris, France. During this time Banhart made recordings¹² of his music by borrowing recording¹¹ devices from his friends. After returning to the United States, Devendra Banhart was discovered by the owner of Young God Records. Here is the sensual beat of “Rosa‿ which he sings in Portuguese¹³.

(MUSIC)

Devendra Banhart is also a skilled artist. He currently¹⁴ has a show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Thirteen of his drawings are shown along with the works of the famous artist Paul Klee. The show explores the relationship between art that you look at and art that you listen to. We leave you with Devendra Banhart's  “Lover.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

Dana Demange wrote and produced the show.  Transcripts¹⁵ and MP3 files of our programs are at 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 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

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 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

5 foremost   

adj.最初的，最前的，第一流的；adv.在最前

参考例句：

• He is considered the foremost British artist of this century.他被认为是本世纪英国第一流的艺术家。
• The premier occupies the foremost place in the world of politics.首相是政界的首要人物。

6 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 imaginative   

adj.富有想象力的，爱想象的

参考例句：

• The imaginative child made up fairy stories.这个想像力丰富的孩子自己编神话故事。
• Scott was an imaginative writer.司格特是位富于想象力的作家。

10 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 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

13 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

14 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

15 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句