VOA慢速英语2011--A Few Steps Up From Fast Food, and Down

THIS IS AMERICA - A Few Steps Up From Fast Food, and Down the Road From Fine Dining, Lies 

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember. This is a three-day weekend for millions of Americans in observance of Columbus Day on Monday. A holiday can be a good time to see new places. And for a hungry explorer in America, nothing compares to the discovery of a good diner. Today, learn about this American tradition, as Faith Lapidus and I serve up a program that was first broadcast in two thousand six.
(MUSIC - “SHAKE, RATTLE¹ AND ROLL”)
FAITH LAPIDUS: A diner is a small restaurant. Old-time diners were built in a factory and transported to their place of business.
Diners usually have an open kitchen and a long counter. People can sit at the counter and watch the cooks make their food.
A diner can be a place for people in a community to gather, drink coffee and talk. Or it can be a welcome stop for travelers on the road.
(MUSIC)
STEVE EMBER: Around the late eighteen fifties, there was a young man in Providence², Rhode Island, named Walter Scott. In fact, the American Diner Museum says he was just seventeen. Walter Scott discovered a way to make extra money. He brought food to men who worked late at night in the city.
Back then, restaurants closed by eight o'clock. Hungry workers needed a place where they could buy homemade food quickly and easily.
In eighteen seventy-two, Walter Scott began to sell food out of a wagon³ pulled by a horse. He could move his business from place to place and sell more “night lunches.”
FAITH LAPIDUS: People in other cities improved on the idea. They bought their own wagons⁴ and called them night cafes or lunch wagons. Companies began to make wagons big enough for people to sit inside.
In some places, lunch wagons were so popular that city leaders thought there were too many of them in the streets. To avoid trouble, the owners parked their businesses on empty lots that were out of the way.
Soon, the owners recognized that they could make more money by staying in one place and selling many different kinds of food.
(MUSIC - "THE GOLD DIGGER'S SONG")
STEVE EMBER: By the nineteen twenties, lunch wagons were bigger and stayed open all day, instead of only at night. Owners added tables, to appeal to women who did not want to sit at a counter.
The companies that made lunch wagons began to make them look like the railroad⁵ cars of the time. Owners thought that a new name would make people think of the dining cars on trains. They began to call their businesses “diners.”
(MUSIC - “BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DIME⁶?”)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Diners survived the Great Depression of the nineteen thirties. Americans who did not have jobs often ate at diners because the meals were low-priced.
After World War Two, companies began to make diners that looked like rockets and spaceships. They built diners out of shiny stainless⁷ steel, and made brightly colored signs lit by neon gas.
Diner owners were always searching for ways to make their businesses look more modern. By this time, thousands of diners were being built across America.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Diners are known for “comfort food.” This kind of food reminds people of the meals their mothers and grandmothers made. Meatloaf is a good diner meal. It is baked in an oven⁸ and traditionally served with potatoes that are mashed⁹ and mixed with milk or cream.
Most diners serve breakfast meals all day long, not just in the morning. Pancakes are a favorite breakfast food at diners. They are a thin, round cake made of flour, eggs and milk -- all cooked on a greased¹⁰ surface.
Another popular diner food is a milkshake. This sweet, thick drink is made of ice cream and milk. In the nineteen forties and 'fifties, teenagers would meet at diners to talk, drink milkshakes and listen to music.
Many diners had jukeboxes that people could operate from their tables. Someone could put in a coin, choose a song and then listen as it played throughout the restaurant.
(MUSIC - "ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK”)
FAITH LAPIDUS: Immigrants¹¹ owned many of the diners across America. They added foods from their own countries to the menu. Many diners offer Greek foods like baklava, a sweet, nut-filled pastry¹². A gyro is another favorite -- lamb wrapped in soft bread and served with yogurt sauce.
Over the years, diners changed as American tastes changed. In the nineteen sixties, diners became less popular. New businesses like McDonald's offered fast food. The prices were low, service was quick and people knew they could find the same meals from place to place.
Soon diners across the country began to close. Many owners who stayed in business did not have enough money to improve their buildings. Instead of looking modern and new, diners looked old and tired. They could not keep up with the speed of American living.
(MUSIC - “BYE BYE LOVE”)
STEVE EMBER: Diners are much less common than they used to be. But they still hold a place in the American imagination. Several large companies have opened new diners that recreate the look of the past.
FAITH LAPIDUS: Some people, though, are loyal¹³ to the old diners that have stayed in business. These people prefer to eat at places that have remained in the same spot for years. They eat at diners so often that the waitresses remember their names and ask about their families.
The Tastee Diner in Maryland opened in nineteen thirty-five. There are three locations. If you walked into the one in Bethesda, there is a good chance you would meet Jim. He is a regular there. In fact, he says he has been eating at the Tastee Diner since nineteen seventy-four.
Jim used to eat three meals a day there. Now, he stops by for coffee and a little something to eat.
Nathan has worked as a cook at the Tastee Diner for ten years. Nathan and the waitresses happily greet Jim every time he walks through the door. They talk to him while they go about their work.
Jim says that the people who work at the diner are like a second family for him. He laughs, and says a diner is the only place where you can find good food and pretty waitresses.
STEVE EMBER: Today, the Tastee Diner seems more popular than ever. Frank¹⁴ Long, the manager, says Saturday and Sunday mornings are very busy. People have to wait in long lines outside the small diner.
The Tastee Diner also continues another tradition. It stays open twenty-four hours a day. Frank Long says many people come to the diner in the middle of the night to eat comfort food and drink coffee.
In a way, not much has changed since Walter Scott sold food out of a cart in Providence, Rhode Island, more than a hundred thirty years ago.
(MUSIC - "WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOIN’ ON")
FAITH LAPIDUS: You can learn more on the Internet about the history of American diners. Some of our information, for example, came from the University of Vermont Historic¹⁵ Preservation¹⁶ Program. The university Web site is uvm dot e-d-u (uvm.edu). The American Diner Museum in Providence is not ready to serve visitors in person yet, but it's always open at dinermuseum dot o-r-g.
STEVE EMBER: Our program was written by Katherine Gypson. Our producer was Caty Weaver¹⁷. I'm Steve Ember.
FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. Internet users¹⁸ can read and listen to our reports at voanews.cn. Listen again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

2 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

3 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

4 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

5 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

6 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

7 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

8 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。

9 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

10 greased   

灌足酒的，醉的

参考例句：

• Iron corrodes unless it is greased or kept clean. 如果不涂油或保持清洁铁便会腐蚀。
• I greased front and rear hubs and adjusted the brakes. 我在前后轮毂上都抹了润滑油，还调校了刹车。

11 immigrants   

n.移民( immigrant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Illegal immigrants were given the opportunity to regularize their position. 非法移民得到了使其身份合法化的机会。
• Immigrants from all over the world populate this city. 这个城市里生活着来自世界各地的移民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

13 loyal   

adj.忠诚的，忠心的

参考例句：

• He is a loyal friend.他是一位忠诚的朋友。
• I judge him to be loyal.我认为他很忠诚。

14 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

15 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

16 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

17 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。

18 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。