VOA慢速英语2011--America’s Oldest Planetarium Honors Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - America’s Oldest Planetarium² Honors Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

 

DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I’m Doug Johnson. Today we hear new music from Coldplay. And we answer a question about Halloween.

But first, we go to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago where museum officials are honoring Russia’s former cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

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Adler Planetarium Honors Yuri Gagarin

DOUG JOHNSON: The Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Illinois has honored Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He was the first person to travel to space. He made the flight April twelfth, nineteen sixty one. Now, fifty years later, the Adler Planetarium is celebrating with a new sculpture of the man. Christopher Cruise has more.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Yuri Gararin made history with the Russian spacecraft Vostok 3Ka. It was the vehicle he flew on that dangerous trip to outer space. At the same time, Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth.

In this April 12 1961 photo, rocket engineer Oleg Ivanovsky, right, leads Yuri Gagarin, center, to the Vostok spacecraft on which he will become the first person in space

Russian officials in Moscow donated the Gagarin sculpture to Chicago. It will become a permanent exhibit at the Adler Planetarium. The planetarium opened in nineteen thirty, the country’s first museum of astronomy.

The Adler has always honored scientific gains made by the American astronomy community. But now the museum is working to honor astronomical³ achievements made by other nations as well.

Former Romanian cosmonaut Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu attended the ceremony to honor Yuri Gagarin. Twenty years after he became the first man in space, Mister Prunariu flew to space on a Soyuz rocket. That was in nineteen eighty one. He remains⁴ Romania’s only cosmonaut.

Mister Prunariu was eight year old when Gagarin made the flight. He remembers the moment he heard about it.

DUMITRI-DORIN PRUNARIU: “I was in ((the)) house together with my sister and mother listening to the radio. And the radio stopped and very important news was translated about the flight of the first human into outer space... “

Mr. Prunariu praises the cosmonaut for helping⁵ him find his own path to space.

DUMITRI-DORIN PRUNARIU: “Yuri Gagarin showed us how to break frontiers, the frontier of the atmosphere.”

Mr. Prunariu is now chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space.

James Andrews is a Russian history expert at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. He says Gagarin’s flight shocked Americans, coming just three and a-half years after the Soviets⁷ launched the Sputnik satellite. But America soon stole the world’s attention with its Earth orbits and trips to the moon.

JAMES ANDREWS: “We seem to forget that Gagarin’s flight in nineteen sixty one was so important. There were these monumental event that happened after Sputnik. And I think we need to remember how important that was and how heroic, as well.”

The president of Adler Planetarium is Paul Knappenberger. He says, in the past, the Adler had not really shown what other nations, including the Soviet⁶ Union, were doing in space. But he said, “that is something we are working on now.”

Mr. Knappenberger says the Adler is expanding. He says plans include a new building. He said the new space will feature the history of space exploration by Americans and Soviets. But he also said it also show current, international activity connected to space travel. He said the private industry now involved in space flight will also be included.

Halloween

DOUG JOHNSON: Our question this week comes from China. Guo Ming asks about the history and events of Halloween.

Halloween is always celebrated⁸ on October thirty-first. On that night, many people will look like frightening creatures such as vampires⁹ or ghosts. They do this with the help of special clothing and face paint.

Halloween traditions developed from Celtic beliefs in ancient Britain. The Celts believed that spirits of the dead would return to their homes on October thirty-first, the day of the autumn feast. They built huge fires to frighten away evil spirits released with the dead on that night.

People from Scotland and Ireland brought these ideas with them when they came to America. Some believed that spirits played tricks on people on the last night of October.

Historians say many of the Halloween traditions of today developed from those of ancient times. They say that burning a candle inside a hollow pumpkin¹⁰ recalls the fires set many years ago in Britain. And they say that wearing a mask to hide a person’s face is similar to the way ancient villagers covered their faces to force evil spirits away.

On Halloween night, American children put on masks and other clothing. They go from home to home shouting “Trick or treat”! If the people in the homes do not give them a treat, the children may play a trick on them.

Some adults put on costumes and attend Halloween parties. They also decorate their homes. They might clean out the insides of pumpkins¹¹ and cut funny faces on the surface. They, they place the burning candle inside. Some hang fake bats, spider webs and other things around the home.

The National Retail¹² Federation¹³ is predicting that Americans will spend more on Halloween treats and products this year. The group says about six point nine billion dollars will be spent in all. That is eighteen percent more than last year when Americans spent five point eight billion dollars to celebrate Halloween.

The National Retail Federation also has information about what Americans will be wearing for Halloween this year. It says zombie costumes are tops among women, men and children. More than two point six million Halloween celebrants will dress as the undead.

Coldplay “Mylo Xyloto”

DOUG JOHNSON: Coldplay has just released its fifth album. “Mylo Xyloto” is what music critics call a concept album. It is about two young people in love. But the forces of the modern world work against them. Katherine Cole has more.

KATHERINE COLE: The lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, told Billboard¹⁴, that the new album was meant to be out of any musical kind of box. He said producer Brian Eno pushed the group to “go anywhere” with the music. Rolling Stone magazine described “Mylo Xyloto” as a mix of Eno’s “Enoxification” and the heart of Coldplay’s own style. But, the first single released sounds a lot like other Coldplay hits. Here is “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.”

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Chris Martin of the British rock band Coldplay performs during the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil earlier this month

The four members of Coldplay have been together for fifteen years now. Some critics say the British band’s music is uninventive and unimaginative. But, Coldplay got big fast. Its first huge hit, “Yellow” was on the band’s first album, “Parachutes,” released in two thousand. Since then Coldplay has sold more than fifty million albums. On “Mylo Xyloto” the band performs with the singer Rihanna on “Princess of China.”

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Chris Martin told Billboard that “Mylo Xyloto” would “have a happy ending.” We leave you with a song that seems to represent what the singer meant. Here is Coldplay with “Paradise” from the new album “Mylo Xyloto.”

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DOUG JOHNSON: I’m Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Jeri Watson and Caty Weaver¹⁵, who was also our producer. Kane Farabaugh provided additional reporting.

If you have a question about American life, send it to [email protected]. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA 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 planetarium   

n.天文馆；天象仪

参考例句：

• The planetarium staff also prepared talks for radio broadcast.天文馆的工作人员还要准备讲稿给电台广播。
• It landed in a shallow basin fifty yards from the planetarium.它降落在离天文馆五十码处的一个浅盆地中。

3 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

7 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

10 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

11 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

14 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。

15 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。