VOA慢速英语 2008 0530b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Strange and Creative? Must Have Been a Film by Johnny Depp, Tim Burton
A question from China about the movies made by the actor-director team. Also, the paper houses of architect Shigeru Ban. And the folk-influenced music of Jaymay. Transcript² of radio broadcast:
29 May 2008

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson.

Today we listen to music from singer Jaymay …

Answer a question about actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton …

And tell about a man who uses paper to build houses.

(MUSIC)

Shigeru Ban

HOST:
　

Shigeru Ban

Not many people can say they have been inside a house made of paper. The Japanese architect Shigeru Ban makes buildings out of low cost and reusable materials like paper tubes. He has become well known for designing temporary homes for refugees⁴. Shirley Griffith has more.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

Shigeru Ban makes buildings that combine modern design with the traditions of his native country, Japan. He has helped redefine permanent and temporary shelters. For example, in nineteen ninety-one, he designed a library for a poet in Japan. Mister⁵ Ban created a tall and airy room for a collection of books. This was his first permanent structure built with tubes made from paper. Two years later, Japan allowed the use of paper tubes in its official building rules.
　

A home library in Japan where the books are not the only thing made of paper

Mister Ban has said that he was first interested in paper materials because they are low cost and easy to use and replace without producing waste.

He has since made many extraordinary structures from paper. These include the Japan Pavilion at the Hanover Expo in Germany in two thousand. This huge covered structure had a curving⁶ ceiling whose form was like an ocean wave.

Last year, Mister Ban and his architects built a paper bridge over a river near the town of Remoulin in France. Its design was similar to the nearby Pont du Gard built in ancient Roman times.

In nineteen ninety-four, Shigeru Ban saw pictures of the poorly built shelters in refugee³ camps in Rwanda. He proposed⁷ that the United Nations use paper tube structures instead. His shelter idea was low cost, easy and could be built quickly. And, it was good-looking. Mister Ban has since helped design temporary shelters for earthquake refugees in Kobe, Japan, Turkey and India. He says that the shelters must be beautiful because the refugees have suffered mental damage and need nice places to live.

Shigeru Ban recently spoke⁸ at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He praised a group of architecture students working on ideas for refugee housing⁹.

SHIGERU BAN: “I am very happy you are interested in working in that kind of field. It’s very unusual as architects. Because now there are so many big developers all over the world asking renowned¹⁰ architects to design to make money. But it seems like you are choosing different streams. To work for the general public and even for the victims, that is I think really great.”

Shigeru Ban said his suggestion for the students is to start building their ideas. He said the important thing is to find problems and solve them based on local conditions and the needs of people.

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. Shen Nan wants to know more about the movies of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp.
　

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton

The director and actor have worked together on many films. Their first movie together was “Edward Scissorhands” in nineteen ninety. Like many of Tim Burton’s movies, “Edward Scissorhands” is intensely¹¹ creative and strange.

In it, Johnny Depp plays a young man who has sharp knives instead of hands. He falls in love with a beautiful girl. Depp had to learn to show emotion using only his eyes. So he studied the movies of the great silent film actor Charlie Chaplin.

Johnny Depp has said that when he first met Tim Burton they had an immediate¹² connection and understanding. Their other movies include “Ed Wood," “Sleepy Hollow” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

In the animation¹³ movie “Corpse Bride," Depp provides the voice of the main character, Victor Van Dort. Tim Burton has often praised Johnny Depp for his willingness to try new and difficult roles in movies. For example, Depp had never worked on an animation movie, but was excited to try something new.

Johnny Depp faced a whole new level of difficulty in his most recent movie with Tim Burton. In last year’s movie version¹⁴ of the Broadway musical “Sweeney Todd," Depp had to learn how to sing. And the songs for this musical by Stephen Sondheim are not easy to perform.

(MUSIC)

Johnny Depp said that singing at first was one of the strangest things he had ever tried. But his efforts were well received. Johnny Depp gained much critical praise for "Sweeney Todd" including an Academy¹⁵ Award nomination¹⁶ for Best Actor.

There is no word currently¹⁷ on any new projects between this popular creative team. But whatever movie Tim Burton and Johnny Depp do next promises to be creative and interesting.

Jaymay

HOST:

Jaymay might sound like the name of a hip-hop performer. In fact, Jaymay is the professional name of twenty-six-year-old singer Jamie Kristine Seerman. This musician from Long Island, New York, writes and sings expressive¹⁸ folk-influenced songs. Critics are praising her clear, sweet voice and lovely music. Faith Lapidus plays three songs from Jaymay’s first full-length album, “Autumn Fallin'.”

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:
　

Jaymay

That was the song “Sea Green, See Blue.” Like many of Jaymay’s songs, this one tells about rejection¹⁹ and the memories of past love. Her music is greatly influenced by the songs of one of her favorite musicians, Bob Dylan.

As a child, Jaymay played the piano and violin. But she did not always want to play music professionally. Jaymay wanted to work in the publishing industry because of her deep love of books. But when she did not find the job she wanted in this business, she started singing at "open mic" events in New York City. An open mic event is a live show where anyone can perform at the microphone²⁰.

These events helped Jaymay realize that she wanted to be a performer. She soon became a popular singer in New York. One of her songs caught the attention of people working at iTunes, the Apple company’s online music store. Her song “Gray or Blue” became a top selling song on iTunes.

(MUSIC)

Jaymay says the album “Autumn Fallin'” tells about seven months of life and relationships in New York. Most songs deal with love affairs that are over. But there is also a message of hope in the last song on the album. We leave you with “You Are the Only One I Love.”

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written and produced by Dana Demange. To read the text of this program and download audio²¹, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected].

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 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

4 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

5 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

6 curving   

adj. 弯曲的 动词curve的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• "Mountain-ranges, toward the east, Appear to be curving and flowing like rivers;" 连山若波涛，奔凑如朝东。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Curving ramps connect across pool to sculptural eye and box. 旋转的坡道连接水池和眼睛形状的大楼。

7 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

8 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。

9 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

10 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

11 intensely   

adv.强烈地

参考例句：

• I was intensely curious to know more about him. 我迫不及待地想更多地了解他的情况。
• Her parents were intensely ambitious for her and her younger sister. 她的父母对她和她妹妹有着很高的期望。

12 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

14 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

15 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

16 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

17 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。

18 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

19 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

20 microphone   

n.扩音器，麦克风，话筒

参考例句：

• He gave a tap at the microphone before speaking.他在讲话前先轻叩了一下扩音器。
• She behaved naturally before the microphone.她在话筒前表现自然。

21 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。