VOA慢速英语-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Serious Songs Give Bite to Death C

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

Today we play music from the band Death Cab² for Cutie ...

Answer a question about American astronaut Neil Armstrong …

And report on an interesting satellite radio program.

(MUSIC)

Satellite Radio

HOST:

Radio listeners in the United States often say that local stations broadcast too many advertisements. So, many people are willing to pay money to listen to satellite radio. The two competing satellite radio companies in the United States, XM and Sirius, joined together in July. Barbara Klein tells us what satellite radio listeners are paying to hear.

BARBARA KLEIN:

Jeffrey Yorke writes for the industry Web site, radioandrecords.com. He says that ten years ago industry leaders questioned whether satellite radio would succeed. Who would want to pay to hear the radio, they thought?

Today, more than eighteen million people in the United States pay about thirteen dollars a month for the service. Part of the reason for this growth, says Mister³ Yorke, is the huge choice in programming. The new Sirius XM Radio company will offer listeners several hundred channels to choose from. Most of them are free of advertisements. These channels present news, sports, humor⁴, traffic and weather, political shows, talk shows, cooking shows and every kind of music.

Rock musician Bob Dylan, for example, presents a program every week called "Theme Time Radio Hour." The two-hour show is repeated several times a week. On each show, Dylan plays music based on an idea or subject, like trains, summer, New York City or coffee. Between songs, the rock star talks about the music, the singers, his opinions and anything else. Let's listen.

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Lifestyle expert Martha Stewart and comedian⁵ Jamie Foxx also present shows on satellite radio. So do Howard Stern⁶ and Bob Edwards, who used to have popular shows on other radio stations. Mister Yorke says satellite radio could become even more popular in the future if new and different personalities⁷ are invited to create programs.

Neil Armstrong

HOST:

Our VOA question this week comes from Indonesia. Mohammed Sholeh asks about American astronaut Neil Armstrong and what he is doing now.
　
Neil Armstrong stepping onto the surface of the moon

NEIL ARMSTRONG: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

HOST:

That was Neil Armstrong speaking on July twentieth, nineteen sixty-nine as he became the first person to set foot on the moon. Hundreds of millions of people around the world watched or listened to the moon landing⁸.

The United States Space Agency's Apollo Eleven mission⁹ was an extraordinary scientific, engineering¹⁰ and public relations success. And the astronaut quickly became an American hero.

Neil Armstrong was surely born for the space adventure. But he was never quite at ease¹¹ with the fame that followed.

Neil Alden Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in nineteen thirty. When he was sixteen, he learned¹² to fly a plane and got his pilot's license¹³. After high school, Neil joined the Navy¹⁴ and was accepted in a special program that paid for his college education. He went to Purdue University in Indiana. It had a strong flight engineering program. But the start of the Korean War delayed his studies. He was a pilot and carried out seventy-eight air operations. He returned to complete his studies at Purdue after the war ended in nineteen fifty-two.
　
Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong was working as a test pilot when NASA chose him to become an astronaut. His first trip to space was with the Gemini program in nineteen sixty-six. Three years later he was named commander of the Apollo Eleven flight.

After the trip to the moon, he resigned from the astronaut program and from NASA in nineteen seventy-one. He went back to Ohio and taught aerospace¹⁵ engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Armstrong helped lead the government's investigation¹⁶ of the deadly explosion¹⁷ of the space shuttle Challenger in nineteen eighty-six. He has served on the boards of directors of many corporations¹⁸. Over the years, both major American political parties asked Mister Armstrong if he was interested in seeking public office. But he always said no.

A few years ago, the private man became a little more public. He worked with writer James Hansen on a book about his life. "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong" was published in two thousand five. Reporters asked him if he would be interested in going back into space. Armstrong laughed and said he did not think he would get the chance but that he was available.

Death Cab For Cutie

HOST:

Death Cab for Cutie has been making music for ten years. The popular rock group recently released¹⁹ its sixth full-length album, "Narrow Stairs." The group's guitar player, Chris Walla, describes the album as "having teeth." The serious songs on the album show that Death Cab for Cutie continues to develop its sound in new and interesting ways. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:
　
Death Cab for Cutie

That was the song "Grapevine Fires." Ben Gibbard sings about how watching a spreading fire becomes a lesson about the impermanence of life.

The name Death Cab for Cutie comes from a song written by a British band from the nineteen sixties.

Death Cab for Cutie recorded most of "Narrow Stairs" in the studio of the band's drummer, Jason McGerr. McGerr built the professional studio in Seattle, Washington so the band could have a pleasant place in which to spend several weeks recording²⁰ together.

The album was recorded with the band facing each other as they played their music. This calm environment helps give the songs a natural sound, as though they were part of a live performance.

Here is the song "I Will Possess Your Heart." This eight-and-a-half-minute song starts with a long musical introduction.

(MUSIC)

Death Cab For Cutie has been performing music around the United States, Canada and Europe this summer. Here they play "Pity and Fear." This song skillfully expresses one person's thoughts on feeling sad and alone.

(MUSIC)

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

It was written by Dana Demange, Jill Moss²¹ and Caty Weaver²², who was also the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio²³, 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 cab   

n.计程车，出租车，出租单马车；vi.乘出租马车

参考例句：

• The cab drove over his legs.马车从他腿上碾过。
• Shall we walk or take a cab?我们步行还是坐出租车？

3 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”。

4 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

5 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

6 stern   

adj.严厉的，严格的，严峻的；n.船尾

参考例句：

• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
• The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。

7 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

8 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

9 mission   

n.使命，任务，天职；代表团，使团

参考例句：

• He was charged with an important mission.他受委托承担一项重要使命。
• I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.我要让你承担一项重要使命。

10 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

11 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

12 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

13 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

14 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

15 aerospace   

adj.航空的，宇宙航行的

参考例句：

• The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
• Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。

16 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

17 explosion   

n.爆发，发出，爆炸

参考例句：

• The police arrived right at the moment of the explosion.警察就在爆炸的那个时候赶到了。
• The shock of the explosion was felt far away.爆炸引起的震动很远都可感觉到。

18 corporations   

法人( corporation的名词复数 )； （政治、经济的）组合； 市政委员会

参考例句：

• The bulk of the funds are supplied by some of America's largest and most powerful corporations. 大部分资金是由美国一些最大和最有实力的公司提供的。
• He didn't sympathise with the corporations, but strength was with them. "他并不同情公司，但是力量属于他们。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

19 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

20 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。

21 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

22 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。

23 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。