VOA慢速英语-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Batman Stars, but the Joker Steals

Also: A question from Bosnia about American railroad history. And Madonna reinvents her sound, again, on her latest album, ''Hard Candy.'' Transcript¹ of radio broadcast:
24 July 2008

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC² in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

Today, we listen to new music by Madonna …

Answer a question about the American railroad system …

And report on some big, bright ticket sales for the "The Dark Knight³."

(MUSIC)

"The Dark Night"

HOST:

Last weekend was a historic one for the American movie industry. It was the biggest three-day weekend in Hollywood history. Movies earned more than two hundred fifty million dollars. The most popular movie last weekend was the long awaited Batman movie, "The Dark Knight." That movie made history too. Faith Lapidus has our report.

FAITH LAPIDUS:
　

Christian4 Bale as Batman

"The Dark Knight" is now in its second weekend in theaters in America. It had the biggest opening weekend for a film in movie history. By Monday morning it had sold more than one hundred fifty-eight million dollars in tickets. That beat last year's record of one hundred fifty-one million dollars for the movie "Spider-Man 3."

"The Dark Knight" is British writer and director Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie. Welsh actor Christian Bale plays the comic book superhero, as he did in Nolan's two thousand five film, "Batman Begins." Batman is a mysterious crime fighter who wears special clothes and a mask to hide his true identity, billionaire Bruce Wayne.
　

Heath Ledger5 as the Joker

Batman's enemy, the Joker, is played by Australian actor Heath Ledger. "The Dark Knight" was the last film Ledger completed before his death in January at the age of twenty-eight. He died from an accidental overdose of medicine.

The Joker wears ugly white make-up on his face to cover wounds that shape a permanent and horrible red smile. Critics and co-stars have praised Ledger's performance. There is talk of a possible Oscar nomination⁶ for Ledger. The character of the Joker is extremely evil. Movie critic Roger Ebert describes this Joker as "more than a villain⁷." He says the Joker's actions are designed to present his enemies and innocent people with moral tests that appear to have no good answer.

Three years ago, "Batman Begins" explored Bruce Wayne's tragic⁸ childhood and how he became Batman. "The Dark Knight" is a history of the Joker. Here Christopher Nolan discusses how he and Ledger wanted a fresh representation of the character.
　

Christopher Nolan

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN: "We really focused in on this idea of The Joker as an absolute force of pure anarchy⁹. Somebody devoted¹⁰ to chaos¹¹. Somebody who truly does just take pleasure in tearing down the world around himself. That's the fear we wanted to inspire in the audience. That's the threat we wanted underlying¹² everything in the film. And that's something we've not seen from this character before. Heath was able to put together a number of different attitudes for the character. But he never loses sight of the humanity of the character. That the character is a real human being and, therefore, is a real dangerous force."

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Many critics praise "The Dark Knight." Other critics say Heath Ledger is the only thing that makes the film worth seeing. As the Joker himself says:

HEATH LEDGER: "This town deserves a better class of criminal. And I'm gonna give it to 'em."

American Railroad History

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Bosnia. Danijel Djordjic wants to know more about the history of the American railroad and the Museum of the American Railroad.

An important event in railroad history took place in eighteen sixty-two. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. This approved the first transcontinental railroad that would be built from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. It would later link the railroads of the eastern United States with California on the Pacific Coast.
　

Completion in 1869 of the transcontinental railroad

When the transcontinental railroad was completed, the Central Pacific railroad connected to the Union Pacific railroad at Promontory¹³ Summit, Utah. A gold object was placed in the ground in eighteen sixty-nine to mark the completion of the railroad. Some consider this Golden Spike¹⁴ ceremony to be the first live mass media event in American history. Telegraph machines communicated that the railroad had been finished to people from the east to west coasts.

The creation of the first transcontinental railroad made travel easier for Americans. Instead of taking six months to travel from one side of the country to the other, it now took only one week.

Until about nineteen twenty, almost all people traveling from one city to another used trains for transportation. However, in the nineteen forties, cars became a more common way to travel. In the nineteen fifties, airplanes became popular. Still, the train was able to stand the test of time.

Today, the government-owned company called Amtrak is the largest operating passenger train system in the United States. It provides rail service in forty-six states and carries about twenty-five million passengers a year.

Many museums have been created to teach people about the history of trains. The Museum of the American Railroad, in Dallas, Texas, is one of the largest. It contains parts of many trains from different time periods. Visitors can walk through the trains to get an idea of what train travel was like. People continue to use trains today to enjoy the beauty of America.

Madonna

HOST:

Madonna has been reinventing her sound and image for over twenty-five years. Her latest record, "Hard Candy," is her eleventh studio album. "Hard Candy" is filled with dance beats influenced by hip-hop music. Pat Bodnar tells us more.

(MUSIC: "Beat Goes On")

PAT BODNAR:
　

Madonna

That was the song "Beat Goes On" which Madonna performs with the rap artist Kanye West. When she was ready to make a new album, Madonna was not sure what kind of music she wanted to make. So she thought about the records she was listening to that she loved. She decided¹⁵ she wanted to work with Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake to create the new sound of her album.

Here is "Candy Shop," a sexy song that makes you want to dance. It is a good example of the kind of music that has made Madonna a star.

(MUSIC)

Madonna has been working on several other projects. She will be performing throughout Europe and the United States starting next month. She recently finished working on a documentary film about parentless children with AIDS in Malawi. The film "I Am Because We Are" has a personal connection for the singer. She recently adopted a young son from Malawi.

We close with a song that expresses another form of social concern. In "4 Minutes" Justin Timberlake and Madonna have only a short amount of time to save the world. This best-selling song is filled with the energy of two skillful artists who enjoy making musical magic together.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written by Caty Weaver¹⁶, Elizabeth Stern 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 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。

2 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。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

6 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。

7 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

8 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

9 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

13 promontory   

n.海角；岬

参考例句：

• Genius is a promontory jutting out of the infinite.天才是茫茫大地突出的岬角。
• On the map that promontory looks like a nose,naughtily turned up.从地图上面，那个海角就像一只调皮地翘起来的鼻子。

14 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 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。