VOA慢速英语2010年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Ambassador for Young

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson.

This week on our program we listen to music from superstar Whitney Houston ...

And answer a question about the Old Believers religious group ...

But first, we meet a new ambassador² in Washington whose wants to spread the message that reading is fun.

(MUSIC)

Katherine Paterson

HOST:

If you are over the age of thirty you may not have heard of Katherine Paterson. But if you are under that age chances are good that you have. In fact, you might have read one of her many award-winning books. Or maybe you saw the movie version³ of her book, "Bridge to Terabithia." Now, the United States government has awarded Katherine Paterson a new job. Mario Ritter has more.

MARIO RITTER:

Katherine Paterson

Earlier this month, the United States Library of Congress⁴ named Katherine Paterson the national ambassador for young people's literature.

She is only the second person to hold the position. She replaces writer Jon Scieszka, who had served since two thousand eight.

The librarian of Congress, James Billington, said Miz Paterson "represents the finest in literature for young people." He spoke⁵ of national as well as international praise for her writing. Mister⁶ Billington said she would speak to the importance of reading in the lives of America's young people.

Miz Paterson has written more than thirty books. She is among only five writers to have won two Newbery Medals. These are among the most important children's book awards in the United States. "Bridge to Terabithia" won a Newbery Medal in nineteen seventy-seven. Her book "Jacob Have I Loved" won the award in nineteen eighty-one.

Katherine Paterson's books for children are often quite complex. "Bridge to Terabithia" includes adult themes like depression and death. The book has caused debate because of its place on school library bookshelves. Some parents think it is too adult for young children. Miz Paterson says the idea for the book came from a real life experience. Her son's best friend died in nineteen seventy-four when she was struck by lightning.

Katherine Paterson is seventy-seven. She began writing as a young mother with three children. But she says her interest in writing came as a surprise. As a child she had thought about becoming a Christian⁷ religious worker in foreign countries like her parents were.

Katherine Paterson spoke to a gathering⁸ of children when she was named ambassador on January fifth in Washington. She said: "Read for your life. Read for your life as a member of a family, as a part of a community, as a citizen of this country and a citizen of the world."

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Old Believers

HOST:

Our question this week comes from Russia. Aleksey wants to know about the Russian community of Old Believers in the American state of Oregon.

Old Believers is the name used to describe millions of people who rejected reforms to the Russian Orthodox⁹ Church in the sixteen hundreds. Old Believers who chose not to accept the reforms were often mistreated or killed. Over time, millions fled Russia. Many fled to Asia, Australia, South America and Europe. Many others came to the United States.

A photograph by Joanne Mulcahy of a girl belonging to the Old Believers community in Oregon

There are large communities of Old Believers in the states of Pennsylvania, Alaska and Oregon. In fact, Oregon has the largest population of Old Believers in the United States. More than ten thousand live in that state.

Many continue to follow their old traditions and customs. Women wear coverings on their heads and long dresses, tied at the waist. Men are not permitted to shave the hair from their faces.

Old Believers follow special rules governing what they can and cannot eat on different days of the year. For example, they may not be permitted to eat things like dairy¹⁰ products, meat, fish or eggs, or drink alcohol¹¹. They also cannot eat off of the same dish that a non-believer has eaten off of. Because of this, many eat at fast food restaurants that serve food in containers that can be thrown away.

Old Believers observe forty religious holidays each year. On these days they are not permitted to go to work or attend school. In Oregon many Old Believers have their own businesses or farms. But a growing number of them work in jobs in the city, especially at furniture factories and sewing companies.

Many Old Believers live in small, private and somewhat¹² closed communities. But the modern world is having an effect. Modern technology is entering their communities.

Many Old Believers watch television and drive cars. And many, especially the young, are reportedly having a harder time trying to hold on to their spiritual and cultural traditions.

(MUSIC)

Whitney Houston

HOST:

Whitney Houston's recent album "I Look to You" marked her long awaited¹³ return to the music industry. It opened at the number one position in the United States and Canada. It also appeared in top positions in Australia and five European countries. Now the superstar is preparing for a world concert tour. Here is Shirley Griffith with more about Whitney Houston and songs from her album "I Look to You."

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:

Music fans around the world are excited about the launch¹⁴ of Whitney Houston's world concert tour. It is to begin in Tokyo, Japan in February. This is her first international concert tour in nearly ten years. Serious personal problems interfered¹⁵ with Houston's award- winning singing career during the past ten years. She abused¹⁷ illegal drugs and had a troubled marriage to singer Bobby Brown. Whitney Houston regained¹⁸ control of her life after being treated at a substance abuse¹⁶ center in California for almost one year.

Also, she ended her marriage to Bobby Brown in two thousand seven. That same year, Whitney Houston joined with her longtime friend and major record company executive¹⁹ Clive Davis to begin recording²⁰ her album. Here is the title song from "I Look to You."

(MUSIC)

In November, Whitney Houston received the International Artist Award at the two thousand nine American Music Awards. The award has been given only seven times in the thirty-six year history of the awards. After receiving the honor²¹, Houston thanked her family and supporters for believing in her. She also performed this song, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength."

(MUSIC)

We leave you with another hit song by Whitney Houston from her album "I Look to You." She wrote this dance song, "Million Dollar Bill," with singer-songwriter Alicia Keys.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by June Simms, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver²², who was also the producer. For transcripts²³, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also post comments.

Do you have a question about people, places or things in America? Send it to [email protected] and we may answer it on this show.

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 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

3 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

4 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。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 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”。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

8 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

9 orthodox   

adj.正统的，传统的，惯常的

参考例句：

• They are orthodox Jews.他们是正统的犹太教徒。
• His ideas are very orthodox.他的思想非常合乎规范。

10 dairy   

n.牛奶场，乳品店；adj.乳制品的

参考例句：

• The yogurt sold by this dairy is delicious.这家乳品店出售的酸奶非常好喝。
• He kept a few dairy cows.他养了几头奶牛。

11 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

12 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

13 awaited   

v.等候( await的过去式和过去分词 )；等待；期待；将发生在

参考例句：

• A stack of files awaited me on my desk. 我桌上有一堆文件正待我去处理。
• her long-awaited new novel 她的令人期待已久的一部新小说

14 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

15 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 abuse   

vt.滥用；辱骂；诋毁；n.滥用；恶习；弊端

参考例句：

• You can't make personal abuse on her.你不可对她进行人身攻击。
• She screamed abuse at me.她尖声责备我。

17 abused   

v.妄用( abuse的过去式和过去分词 )；虐待；辱骂

参考例句：

• All the children had been physically and emotionally abused. 所有这些儿童的身心都受到了摧残。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This rule was brought into being because the old law was abused. 由于旧的法律遭到滥用，这条规则便应运而生。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

19 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

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 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

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 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