VOA慢速英语 2009 019b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We listen to new music from the Killers² …

Answer a listener question about the famous book and movie "Gone With the Wind" ...

And, tell about America's first Vietnamese-born congressman⁴.

(MUSIC)

Congressman Cao

HOST:
　

Anh ''Joseph'' Cao with his daughters Betsy, 4, left, and Sophia, 5, dressed in traditional Vietnamese clothing, in the House of Representatives on Tuesday

Last month, voters in the second Congressional District in New Orleans, Louisiana, made a historic⁵ choice. They elected Anh "Joseph" Cao a Vietnamese-American Republican⁶ party member, as their representative. It is the first time in over one hundred years that voters in this area of New Orleans elected a non-Democratic Party lawmaker. And, Anh Cao is the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to the United States Congress³. He was sworn into office this week. Bob Doughty⁸ has more.

BOB DOUGHTY:

Anh Cao went through difficult times to get to where he is now. He was born in Saigon in nineteen sixty-seven during the war in Vietnam. His father was a South Vietnamese army officer.

In nineteen seventy-five, North Vietnamese troops took control of Saigon. Anh Cao and a brother and sister were moved to the United States. He was separated from his family for many years. His mother and five other brothers and sisters remained in Vietnam.

Anh Cao lived with his uncle in Indiana, then later moved to Houston, Texas.

When he was nine years old, he received a letter from his father who was in a prison camp in Vietnam.

ANH CAO: In the letter he told me, he said, 'Son, I'm sorry I cannot be with you. There are three things I want you to do: one, you have to study hard, two, you have to work hard, and three, you have to contribute to your community and country.' That pretty much stuck with me since I was nine.

Anh "Joseph" Cao listened to this advice. He received a university degree in physics. In nineteen ninety he joined the Society of Jesus with the aim of becoming a religious worker. Mister⁹ Cao worked with the Jesuits in poor areas of Mexico and China. He also received a master's degree in philosophy. But after six years he decided¹⁰ not to become a priest¹¹.

He decided to work for social justice in a non-religious way. So, he received a law degree and started working as a lawyer in New Orleans. He also began volunteering in his community.

After Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of his city in two thousand five, Mister Cao became more involved in politics. He fought for the rights of the Vietnamese community.

He joined the Republican Party and became active on local and state political committees. He decided to compete against his local representative in Congress, William Jefferson, who had been in office since nineteen ninety-one. Mister Jefferson's reelection campaign was not helped by federal¹³ corruption¹⁴ charges against him.

ANH CAO: You know, whether you are a Republican or a Democrat⁷, whether you are an African American or a Caucasian or an Asian, we all want a good health care system, we all want a good educational system for our children, we all want hurricane protection.

Mister Cao won the election¹². That night he said that never in his life did he think he could be a congressman. He said that the American dream is alive and well.

(MUSIC)

"Gone with the Wind"

HOST: Our listener question this week comes from China. Zhang Li wants to know more about the book and movie "Gone with the Wind."
　

Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell did not plan to become famous around the world for the book she wrote. She had been working as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal¹⁵ in the state of Georgia. But she resigned from her job in nineteen twenty-six. She spent many months in bed recovering from injuries suffered when she fell from a horse years earlier. Her husband brought her books to read from the library. He later suggested that she write her own book and bought her paper and a typewriter.

Miz Mitchell decided to write about what she knew. Her book was based on the stories her family and Civil War veterans¹⁶ told her about the South during the eighteen sixties. Miz Mitchell was very secretive about writing the book.

The one thousand page book is about a beautiful and rebellious¹⁷ young woman named Pansy O'Hara who lived in Georgia during the Civil War. The publisher suggested Miz Mitchell change the heroine's name to Scarlett. "Gone with the Wind" was published in nineteen thirty-six. The next year, Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel.

The book became a great success around the world. It is much more than a love story between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. It describes the tragic¹⁸ period in American history when American soldiers killed each other in huge numbers. It describes how people bravely rebuilt their lives after such destruction¹⁹. And it captures²⁰ the spirit of the Old South and a way of life that forever disappeared after the war.
　

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara

The producer David O. Selznick bought the rights to "Gone with the Wind." He spent more than three years working on the movie.

He and his team considered more than one thousand actresses to find the perfect Scarlett O'Hara, including many famous American actresses. By December of nineteen thirty-eight, Selznick was already filming the movie, although he did not have an actress for the main role. Then he met the British actress Vivien Leigh. She won the role of Scarlett O'Hara. At first, Clark Gable did not want the role of Rhett Butler, but later agreed to play the part.

"Gone with the Wind" won eight Academy²¹ Awards, including Best Picture of nineteen thirty-nine and Best Actress for Vivien Leigh.

(MUSIC)

The Killers

HOST:

The Killers are a band that plays music influenced by rock from the nineteen eighties. The band's third album "Day & Age" is filled with energetic songs that often have unusual words. The band members say this is their most playful album yet and they had great fun making it. Barbarba Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

(MUSIC)

That was the song "Spaceman." Not every rock band sings songs about what it might be like to be seized by space creatures. But this band has imaginative²² ideas.
　

The Killers

The band formed in two thousand two in Las Vegas, Nevada. Guitarist David Keuning placed an advertisement in a newspaper asking to meet people interested in forming a rock band. The singer Brandon Flowers answered his ad. So did the drummer Ronnie Vannucci and the bassist Mark Stoermer.

The band's first album "Hot Fuss²³" became a hit in Europe. Soon the Killers made a deal with a large record company for future albums.

Here is the song "This is Your Life" from "Day & Age."

(MUSIC)

Brandon Flowers says he wants people to realize that the Killers are a brave American band. He says the group is thankful for its success and he considers this album as a big thank –you kiss.

We close with another song from "Day & Age." Here is "Human".

(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 audio²⁴, go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

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 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

3 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

5 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

6 republican   

n.拥护共和政体的人； adj.共和政体的，（Republican）共和党人，（Republican）共和党的

参考例句：

• Some families have been republican for generations.有些家庭世代都支持共和党。
• A third candidate has entered the contest for the Republican nomination.第三个候选人已经加入角逐共和党提名的行列。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 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。

9 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”。

10 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。

11 priest   

n.神父，牧师，司铎，司祭，领导者，神甫；vt.使成为神职人员

参考例句：

• He confessed to a priest that he had sinned.他向神父忏悔他犯了罪。
• The priest visited all the old people in the parish.牧师探望了教区里的所有老人。

12 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

13 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

16 veterans   

经验丰富的人，老兵( veteran的名词复数 )； 退伍军人

参考例句：

• Some veterans of the two world wars gathered to celebrate their victory. 一些经历了两次世界大战的退伍军人欢聚庆祝胜利。
• Seasoned veterans were picked to storm the difficult enemy position. 有经验的老兵被挑选出来去突袭难攻的敌军阵地。

17 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

18 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。

19 destruction   

n.破坏，毁灭，消灭

参考例句：

• The enemy bombs caused widespread destruction.敌人的炸弹造成大面积的破坏。
• Overconfidence was his destruction.自负是他垮台的原因。

20 captures   

俘获( capture的第三人称单数 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• King Arthur himself captures the beast and cuts off its head. 亚瑟王亲自捉住怪物，并砍下它的头。
• His book captures exactly the ethos of Elizabethan England. 他的书准确地描绘了英国伊丽莎白时代的风土人情。

21 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。

22 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。

23 fuss   

n.过分关心，过分体贴，大惊小怪，小题大作

参考例句：

• My mother makes a fuss of me every time I come home.我每次回家，母亲总对我体贴备至。
• Stop all this fuss and do your homework.别大惊小怪了，去做你的家庭作业吧。

24 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。