VOA慢速英语2009-AMERICAN MOSAIC - USS Lexington; Felix the Cat;

Host:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week …

We visit an aircraft carrier that served during World War Two …

Answer a question from Brazil about the cartoon character Felix the Cat …

And listen to western swing music by Willie Nelson.

U.S.S. Lexington

(MUSIC)

HOST:

The U.S.S. Lexington is an aircraft carrier that was built during World War Two. It earned two nicknames, Lady Lex and the Blue Ghost. Visitors to Corpus Christi, Texas, on the Gulf² of Mexico, can visit this warship³ which is now a museum. Jim Tedder⁴ tells us more.

JIM TEDDER:

The Lexington, not surprisingly, is huge. From the dock, the visitors standing⁵ high up on the flight deck look very, very small.
　
The "Blue Ghost"

The flight deck is over two hundred and seventy meters long. It could hold more than one thousand parked cars. The ship is as tall as a nineteen-floor building.

Yet the Lexington is small compared to today's aircraft carriers.

Visiting the ship provides a history lesson. The Lexington entered service in nineteen forty-three during World War Two. The ship was part of the Fifth Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The Lexington was involved in twenty-one months of fighting. It took part in almost all major operations in the Pacific Ocean during the war.

Tokyo Rose, the Japanese radio propagandist, called the ship "the Blue Ghost" after its color. Japanese radio reported four times that the Lady Lex had been sunk. But she kept on fighting.

After the war, the Lexington served out of San Francisco, California. Later, it became a training ship until it was retired⁶ in nineteen ninety-one.

Visitors can see how crew members lived and worked on an aircraft carrier. The ship is like a city at sea, but a city with low ceilings, narrow halls and steep staircases.
　
Controls in the Lexington's engine room

Visitors can explore areas where the crew slept. The narrow beds are stacked one above the other, with little room in between. The ship has dental and medical clinics, a post office and a religious chapel⁷. Visitors can also go through the large galley⁸ where crew members got their meals.

The Lexington carried about one thousand five hundred crew members. In nineteen eighty it became the first United States Navy ship to have women among its crew.

The Lexington could carry enough fuel to sail, nonstop, for almost fifty thousand kilometers.

In nineteen ninety-two, the Lady Lex became a museum docked in Corpus Christi Bay. At night, the ship is covered in a deep blue light. The Blue Ghost lives on.

Felix the Cat

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HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Brazil. Jose Isidoro wants to know the history of the cartoon character Felix the Cat. This short black cat with large white eyes and a huge smile was one of the first stars in movie history during the period of silent films. The playful cat made his first appearance in nineteen nineteen in a short animated⁹ movie called "Feline¹⁰ Follies¹¹."

(MUSIC)

His name was Master Tom but it was soon changed to Felix. By nineteen twenty-four, Felix had developed into a softer and rounder form.
　
Felix the Cat

The earliest history of Felix the Cat is disputed. The animator Pat Sullivan invented the character and owned the copyright for Felix.

But Mister Sullivan's co-worker, the animator Otto Messmer, often receives credit as Felix's main artist. Years after Mister Sullivan's death in nineteen thirty-three, some people claimed that it was Mister Messmer who invented the cat.

Pat Sullivan once said that the idea for Felix was influenced by a cat that his wife brought to the office one day.

By nineteen twenty-three Felix was as famous as the top movie stars of the period, including Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton. In fact, in the cartoon "Felix in Hollywood" the cat meets Charlie Chaplin and becomes a film actor in California. The more than one hundred cartoon movies starring Felix were popular internationally. Felix the Cat was also made into a comic strip that was published in more than two hundred newspapers around the world.

However, the popularity of this famous cat began to decrease in the nineteen thirties. This was partly because of the rise in popularity of a new animated character created by Disney Studios called Mickey Mouse. Disney had made a better transition to movies with sound.

But Felix the Cat returned in the nineteen fifties on a television show. The animator Joe Oriolo created this version of Felix. He also created the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost.

In nineteen eighty-eight, Mister Oriolo's son, Don Oriolo, made a full-length movie starring Felix the Cat.

Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel

(MUSIC)

HOST:

Willie Nelson has been making records for almost fifty years. He is widely considered one of country music's most famous songwriters and performers. For his latest album, Nelson returned to the roots of country music. In "Willie and the Wheel" Nelson performs old western swing songs with the country band Asleep at the Wheel. Influenced by songs from the nineteen twenties and thirties, this album will make listeners want to start dancing. Barbara Klein has more.

(MUSIC)

BARBARA KLEIN:

That was the nineteen thirty hit "Sweet Jennie Lee" sung by Willie Nelson. Asleep at the Wheel and Willie Nelson did not try to modernize¹² the western swing favorites on their album. Instead, they stayed true to the tradition of this music and gave it a fresh and energetic performance.
　
Willie Nelson with Asleep at the Wheel

Western swing music first became popular in the nineteen twenties. It combined the sounds of country, folk, and polka music with the swing of Dixieland jazz.

Here is the song "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None o' This Jelly Roll" from "Willie and the Wheel."

(MUSIC)

This album was released last month. But it has been in the making for about thirty years. In the nineteen seventies, a record producer urged Willie Nelson to record these classic examples of western swing. The producer even made a list of suggested songs. But Nelson changed record companies and the idea was put on hold until now.

We leave you with "I'm Sittin' on Top of the World." Willie Nelson performs this song with Asleep at the Wheel band member Elizabeth McQueen.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

It was written and produced by Dana Demange. You can find transcripts¹³, MP3s and podcasts of our programs at 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 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

3 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

4 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

7 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

8 galley   

n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇；

参考例句：

• The stewardess will get you some water from the galley.空姐会从厨房给你拿些水来。
• Visitors can also go through the large galley where crew members got their meals.游客还可以穿过船员们用餐的厨房。

9 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

10 feline   

adj.猫科的

参考例句：

• As a result,humans have learned to respect feline independence.结果是人们已经学会尊重猫的独立性。
• The awakening was almost feline in its stealthiness.这种醒觉，简直和猫的脚步一样地轻悄。

11 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

12 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

13 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