VOA慢速英语2010年-American Mosaic - The Sounds of Christ

Doug Johnson: Welcome to American Mosaic¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson.

The winter holiday can be beautiful and bright. Christmas lights, boxes wrapped in pretty paper and excited children are everywhere.

But it can be a difficult and demanding time, too. There is a lot of preparation for Christmas: shopping, cleaning, cooking and decorating.

So today on our show we invite our listeners to slow down while we play holiday music released this year.

(MUSIC)

That is “Pie Jesu” sung by ten-year-old Jackie Evancho of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jackie was discovered earlier this year on the television show “America’s Got Talent.” She did not win the competition. But she did get a record deal.

Her Christmas album, “O Holy Night,” came out November sixteenth. The Recording² Industry Association of America just rated the album platinum³. That means it has sold one million copies or more. Billboard⁴ magazine says Jackie Evancho is the country’s top-selling new artist.

Cover Art from Pink Martini's first holiday album.

“Carols and Christmas Songs” is the name of Bryn Terfel’s new album. The Welsh opera singer sings a beautiful Austrian song called “Still, Still, Still.” The German words to the first verse mean:

Still, still, still

For the baby wants to sleep

The angels jubilate with beauty

Making music by the manger

Still, still, still

For the baby wants to sleep

(MUSIC)

The Putamayo World Music company’s seasonal⁵ album is called “World Christmas Party.” The recording features songs and artists from Brazil, Cape⁶ Verde, New Zealand and many other parts of the world.

Jackie Evanko sang at the National Christmas Tree lighting⁷ ceremony with President Barack Obama and his family in Washington.

One of the performers is the Heritage Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans, Louisiana. The band has been playing traditional New Orleans jazz around the world for almost thirty-five years. Here the band performs “Barra de Navidad Blues⁸.” Barra de Navidad is a beach town in Jalisco, Mexico. It means “Christmas Sandbar” in Spanish.

(MUSIC)

Scottish singer Annie Lennox released her first holiday album this year. However, she says she has been singing the songs on “A Christmas Cornucopia” since her childhood. In fact, some of the songs were probably playing when was born -- on Christmas night, nineteen fifty-four. Here she performs “Silent Night” which she recorded with the African Children’s Choir⁹ in South Africa.

(MUSIC)

One of America’s favorite television shows also has a record out for the holidays. “Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album,” went to number three on Billboard’s special holiday sales chart.

Critics’ reactions were mixed. Some praised the producers for trying new things with traditional Christmas songs. Others said the producers did not choose the right singers for the songs.

However, most critics thought Matthew Morrison, who plays a teacher on the show, performed this song well. Here is “O Christmas Tree.”

(MUSIC)

The number one album on Billboard’s Top Two Hundred is a holiday recording. Scottish singer Susan Boyle’s “The Gift” has been in that position for four weeks.

Boyle launched her career in January of last year. She performed on the television show “Britain’s Got Talent.” Her performance was posted on YouTube. Her beautiful voice and shy personality got the attention of huge numbers of people. She became famous almost overnight.

Here Susan Boyle sings “The First Noel” from her album, “The Gift.”

(MUSIC)

The O’Jays are a rhythm and blues group from Canton, Ohio. They formed in the late nineteen fifties and have had seven studio albums on Billboard’s top twenty chart.

This year the O’Jays released their second holiday album, “Christmas with the O’Jays.” It includes traditional songs, but also this danceable number, “Cause It’s Christmas.”

(MUSIC)

Finally, Pink Martini is a twelve-member orchestra from Portland, Oregon. The group made its first holiday album this year. “Joy to The World” includes songs for Christmas and Hanukkah. There are also holiday songs from around the world like “Shehedryk (Ukrainian Bell Carol).” It is known in America as “Carol of the Bells.” The song tells the story of a swallow flying into a family’s home to declare the good fortune they will have in the New Year.

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed this holiday program. It was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁰. You can get transcripts¹¹, MP3s and podcasts of our shows at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. If you have a question about American life, write to [email protected]. We might answer your question on this show. So please include your name and country.

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 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。

3 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

4 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

7 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

8 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

9 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

10 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。

11 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