VOA慢速英语 AMERICAN MOSAIC - At the FIRST Championship, Kids an

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

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I'm Doug Johnson. This week …

We play new music from jazz artist Diana Krall …

And answer a question about American revolutionary leader Patrick Henry.

But first, we report on a "sporty" international competition in robot building.

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FIRST Championship

HOST:

Last weekend, twenty thousand people gathered in the state of Georgia to watch students from twenty-eight countries compete with robots they built. More than ten thousand students and more than five hundred robots took part in the competition. Faith Lapidus tells us about it.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The students and their robots competed at the FIRST Championship at the Georgia Dome² in Atlanta. FIRST is the short way of saying the organization's complete name: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

Almost one thousand seven hundred high school teams entered a level of competition called LUNACY. The competitors came from eleven countries, including the United States.
　
Competitors at the FIRST Championship

In January, the organization sent identical supplies for robots to each team. The teams had six weeks to build robots that could compete in the LUNACY game. The playing area had six robots, three on each team. Each robot had another vehicle, or trailer, connected to it. The robots had to pick up large balls and throw them into the trailers of opposing robots. The robots were moving on a surface where they could slide. An alliance of teams from California, Illinois and Michigan won the LUNACY competition.

A second competition involved building a robot that could travel on uneven³ surfaces, move objects with unusual shapes and withstand physical stress.

Another competition was for younger students, ages nine to fourteen years old. Eighty-four teams from twenty-seven countries competed with robots made with LEGO products. They had to design, build and program robots to explore the Earth's climate.

American inventor Dean Kamen started FIRST in nineteen eighty-nine to increase young people's interest in science and technology. The organization holds robotics competitions around the world. It offers programs that help young people learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics, while building life skills. Many companies provide support to the organization.

Mister Kamen says the goal is about more than building robots. He says the student competitors showed they could solve difficult technological⁴ problems. And, he says that is good news because the world needs creative thinkers to help solve increasingly complex problems in the future.

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Patrick Henry

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. James Green wants to know about Patrick Henry, an important leader of the American Revolution.

Patrick Henry is most famous for a speech he gave in seventeen seventy-five to support his proposal to raise forces to defend the colony of Virginia against the British. Patrick Henry said, "give me liberty or give me death."

He was born in seventeen thirty-six in Hanover County, Virginia, near Richmond. His father was a well-educated farmer from Scotland.
　
Patrick Henry

Historians say Patrick Henry was an intelligent boy but not always a hard worker. When Patrick was sixteen, his father bought a store for Patrick and his brother. It failed within a year.

At eighteen, Patrick married a sixteen year old named Sarah Shelton. Her father gave them a farm, house and slaves. But a fire destroyed the farm a few years later. The Henrys had six children together. But Sarah Henry became mentally ill and died in seventeen seventy-five. Henry then married Dorothea Dandridge who came from a rich and socially important Virginia family. He and his second wife had ten more children.

In seventeen sixty, when he was in his middle twenties, Patrick Henry had decided⁵ to become a lawyer. He became successful and gained fame as a rebel.

One of Patrick Henry's first cases took on the British government and the Anglican Church. Henry won the case, condemned⁶ the clergy⁷ involved and questioned British rule all at the same time. The case won him fame for his power of speech.

Patrick Henry was elected to the Virginia legislature in seventeen sixty-five. He represented Virginia in the Continental⁸ Congress in seventeen seventy-four. He famously said: "The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American."

However, Henry strongly believed in states' rights over federal powers. He supported a weak central government. For this reason he fought the approval of the proposed United States Constitution.

But he lost that battle. Virginia approved the Constitution in seventeen eighty-eight. However, Patrick Henry used his powerful gift of speech to get passage of some amendments⁹. These later became the Bill of Rights.

Patrick Henry served five terms as governor of Virginia. He died in seventeen ninety-nine at the age of sixty-three. In his final document to his family, he advised his descendants to "practice Virtue¹⁰ thyself, and encourage it in others."

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Diana Krall

HOST:

This week, we continue to honor Jazz Appreciation¹¹ Month with the music of jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall. The Canadian-born performer recently released her twelfth album. "Quiet Nights" combines the sensual beat of Brazilian bossa nova with the smooth sound of jazz. Diana Krall says the songs are a love letter to her husband, British rock singer Elvis Costello. Barbara Klein has more.

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BARBARA KLEIN:
　
Diana Krall

That was the song "You're My Thrill." Like many songs on the album "Quiet Nights" it is a good example of Diana Krall's soft and smoky voice.

Krall says she was influenced to make this album because of a trip she made to Brazil last year. She said she heard the sounds of bossa nova music everywhere she went.

Here is the album's title song, "Quiet Nights." This song by the Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim first became famous in the early nineteen sixties.

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Diana Krall says that making "Quiet Nights" was a very natural and joyful¹² process. At the end of recording¹³ every day, she says she had something wonderful to look forward to – being with her two infant sons.

Diana Krall will be performing songs from her new album in Canada and United States this spring and summer. We leave you with "Too Marvelous for Words."

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HOST:

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

It was written by Dana Demange, Shelley Gollust and Caty Weaver¹⁴ who was also the producer. For transcripts¹⁵, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and where you live. 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 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

3 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

4 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

5 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。

6 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

8 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

9 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

12 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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