VOA慢速英语 2009 0112b

VOICE ONE:
　

Chicago, along Lake Michigan, is known as the "Windy City"

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week our subject is the city, Chicago, Illinois.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Chicago is clearly proud of Barack Obama. Pictures of him are all over the city.
　

President-elect Barack Obama at Chicago Midway Airport on January 4 as he prepared to leave for Washington

On January fourth, the president-elect left his house in Chicago to join his family in Washington and prepare to take office. He will be inaugurated as the forty-fourth president of the United States, and the first black president, on January twentieth.

VOICE TWO:

Barack Obama moved to Chicago in nineteen eighty-five, two years after college. He took a job as a community organizer for a church-based group. He did that for three years before going to Harvard Law School. Later, he returned to Chicago and worked as a civil rights lawyer.

He served for eight years in the Illinois state Senate before voters elected him to the United States Senate in two thousand four.

VOICE ONE:

He recalled his early Chicago days in a letter published when he resigned from the Senate after his election as president in November.

"More than two decades ago, I arrived in Illinois as a young man eager to do my part in building a better America. On the South Side of Chicago, I worked with families who had lost jobs and lost hope when the local steel plant closed. It wasn't easy, but we slowly rebuilt those neighborhoods one block at a time, and in the process I received the best education I ever had."

VOICE TWO:

Barack Obama also met his wife in Chicago. Michelle Obama was born and raised on the South Side. After Harvard Law School she worked for a law firm in Chicago and for Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Most recently she was a vice¹ president at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Her father was a pump operator for the city water department. He died in nineteen ninety-one.

VOICE ONE:

In the presidential election, Barack Obama won eighty-five percent of the vote in Chicago -- compared to fifty-three percent nationally. Chicago is one of the strongest bases for his Democratic Party. The city has not had a Republican mayor since nineteen thirty-one.

Richard M. Daley is a powerful mayor whose father was also a powerful mayor. Richard J. Daley led Chicago -- ruled might be a better word -- for twenty-one years. He died in office in nineteen seventy-six.

The current Mayor Daley is now in his sixth term. He was first elected in nineteen eighty-nine to complete the term of Harold Washington, the city's first black mayor, who died in office.

(“Dull Day (in Chicago)” / Betty Carter)

VOICE TWO:

Chicago is one of four candidates to host the Summer Olympics in two thousand sixteen. Chicago is competing against Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city this October.

Chicago has several major sports teams. Basketball fans, for example, have the Bulls. Football fans have the Bears. Hockey fans have the Blackhawks. Baseball fans have a choice: the Cubs³ or the White Sox.

VOICE ONE:

But some people might say that the biggest sport of all in Chicago -- and Illinois -- is politics. Many Chicagoans are proud of the attention they are getting over Barack Obama. But they are not so proud of another hometown newsmaker.
　

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich at his home in Chicago on December 17

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested at his Chicago home on December ninth. Federal officials have charged him with corruption⁴. Among other things, they say he sought to profit from his duty to appoint a United States senator to complete Barack Obama's term. The governor, a Democrat², denies any wrongdoing and has refused to resign.

So, for the first time in state history, the Illinois House of Representatives in Springfield voted Friday to impeach⁵ the governor. Next comes a Senate trial that could end with his removal from office.

(“Chicago” / Frank Sinatra)

VOICE TWO:

Chicago is America's third biggest city by population, after New York and Los Angeles. Almost three million people live in Chicago. More than nine million live in surrounding communities.

Many Chicago neighborhoods have ethnic⁶ roots in Poland, Germany, Ireland and Italy. More recent immigrants have come from all over the world. Students in the public schools speak more than one hundred languages at home. President-elect Obama has chosen the chief executive officer of the Chicago schools, Arne Duncan, to become his education secretary.

VOICE ONE:

About thirty-eight percent of the people in Chicago are white. Thirty-five percent are black. Twenty-eight percent are Hispanic or Latino. And five percent are Asian.

These estimates from the United States Census⁷ Bureau were gathered between two thousand five and two thousand seven. The results also show that seventeen percent of families in the city were living below the poverty level, seven points higher than the national rate. For individuals, the poverty rate was twenty-one percent, almost eight points higher than the rate nationally.

VOICE TWO:

In all three of America's biggest cities, murder rates have fallen to their lowest levels since the nineteen sixties. Los Angeles continued the trend of fewer murders in two thousand eight.

New York, however, had a five percent increase. And early results from Chicago showed a jump of fifteen percent. Police spokeswoman Monique Bond says Chicago had five hundred ten murders last year -- the first increase since two thousand three. She says that, overall, crime in the city appears to have increased by two percent. New York and Los Angeles both reported overall decreases in crime last year.

(“Sweet Home Chicago” / Junior Parker)

VOICE ONE:

The Obamas plan to keep their Chicago house while they live in the White House. Their home is in the Kenwood neighborhood, next to Hyde Park. Hyde Park is the area on the South Side of Chicago where the University of Chicago is located.

Barack Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School. He taught there part time for twelve years.

These days, people are coming from all over to visit Hyde Park and Kenwood. They want to get close to the Obamas' big brick house on Greenwood Avenue. But the area is guarded by the Secret Service and Chicago police.

Visitors find it much easier to take a popular bus tour and see Barack Obama's best-liked places around Chicago. These include his favorite bookstore on Fifty-seventh Street and the barber shop on Blackstone Boulevard where he got his hair cut.

VOICE TWO:

People can also visit the Valois (pronounced vuh-loys) Cafeteria in Hyde Park where he sometimes ate breakfast. The Obamas also ate at Spiaggia, an Italian restaurant famous for its food and its view of Lake Michigan.

(“Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” / Chicago)

VOICE ONE:

Downtown Chicago, the city's business center, is known as the Loop. The Loop includes the financial district around LaSalle Street.

Chicago is a major transportation center for the Midwest. Chicago O'Hare is one of the world's busiest airports. And ships can reach the Atlantic Ocean from the Great Lakes through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the seaway's opening.

VOICE TWO:

Looking for things to do in Chicago? Art lovers can check out the new Asian galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago. Want to explore a working coal mine and a World War Two submarine? Then head to the Museum of Science and Industry.

People can learn about outer space at Chicago's Adler Planetarium⁸ and about life under the sea at the Shedd Aquarium⁹.

A big place for outdoor activity is Millennium¹⁰ Park near Lake Michigan. The park opened in two thousand four, after almost nine years of costly¹¹ work.

The park has one of the world's largest outdoor sculptures, a ten-ton creation by Anish Kapoor.

VOICE ONE:

Millennium Park is an extension of Chicago's Grant Park. Police fought with demonstrators in Grant Park during the nineteen sixty-eight Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The demonstrators were protesting the war in Vietnam, racism¹² and other issues.

Forty years later, in two thousand eight, the world got a different look at Grant Park. It was filled with a huge crowd on November fourth as the nation's next president gave his victory speech on election night.

(“Chicago” / Sufjan Stevens)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver¹³. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm-- Steve Ember. Transcripts¹⁴ and MP3s of our programs are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 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。

3 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

9 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

10 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

11 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

12 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

13 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。

14 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