VOA慢速英语2011--'J. Edgar': Eastwood, DiCaprio Aim to Capture Life of First FBI Director

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - 'J. Edgar': Eastwood, DiCaprio Aim to Capture Life of First FBI Director

 

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

(MUSIC)

I’m Doug Johnson. Today we play music from American Idol² winner Scotty McCreery ...

And we answer a question about American whiskey ...

But first, it is history at the movie theater where a new film opens about former law enforcement chief J. Edgar Hoover.

“J. Edgar”

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DOUG JOHNSON: The movie “J. Edgar” opens across America today. The film is about J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation³. Hoover was a complex and powerful man. He helped develop the FBI into an efficient and effective crime solving agency. However, in later years, many people questioned the methods used by Hoover and his investigators⁴. Bob Doughty⁵ tells more about the man and the movie.

From left, Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer and director Clint Eastwood at the premiere of "J. Edgar" last week in Los Angeles

BOB DOUGHTY: Clint Eastwood directed the movie “J. Edgar.” He grew up in the time when, in his words, “Hoover was always top cop.” Eastwood said he had heard different stories about the former FBI director. Some of them were very critical. But Eastwood said anybody who stays in a job as long as Hoover did is going to create some enemies.

J. Edgar Hoover was the leader of the FBI and the agency it developed from for almost fifty years. He reported to eight different presidents during that time. He directed some of the most famous anti-crime operations in American history. These included the hunt for bank robbers like John Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly in the nineteen thirties.

Hoover also targeted Communists and those he suspected of Communism. He believed that people should be investigated and tried for their political beliefs. He created a secret group within the FBI to get information about Communists and people suspected of Communism. The team sometimes used illegal methods to carry out their work. He also spied on major American officials, even the presidents he served.

J. Edgar Hoover’s personal life was also mysterious. He was born in and spent his whole life in Washington, DC. He lived with his mother until she died when he was forty-three. He never married. There are reports he was a homosexual and involved with deputy FBI director Clyde Tolson. The two men were together a great deal of time even when they were not working. There are also reports that Hoover liked to dress in women’s clothing.

Hoover became very angry at both these suggestions.

J. Edgar Hoover died of a heart attack in nineteen seventy-two. He was seventy-seven. The headquarters building of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is named for him.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover in the new film. He did a huge amount of research for the part. But, he told Hollywood Reporter magazine that Hoover remains⁶ mysterious to him. DiCaprio said he believed Hoover’s mother was the guiding force of her son’s life. British actress Judy Dench plays Annie Hoover in the movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio is thirty-six years old. But he portrays⁷ Hoover in all periods of his adult life. DiCaprio had to spend hours in the make-up chair each day to look the part.

Australian actor Naomi Watts⁸ plays Helen Gandy, who was Hoover’s secretary his entire career, and Clyde Tolson is played by actor Armie Hammer.

J. EDGAR HOOVER (Leonardo DiCaprio): “I want you to start a file on Senator McKellar immediately. I want four agents on him at all times. I want to know what’s in his trash and I want you to photograph him at every dinner. Don’t get in the car. You can walk back.”

CLYDE TOLSON (Armie Hammer): “Director, we have lunch. We don’t miss lunch no matter what, remember?”

J. EDGAR HOOVER: “You pulled away from me in there.”

American Whiskey

DOUG JOHNSON: Our question this week comes from Kazakhstan. Oleg Kucherov asks about American whiskey, also known as bourbon.

To learn about American whiskey, we went straight to an expert: Charles Cowdery. He writes a blog and a newsletter on whiskey. And he wrote the book, “Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey.” In Chicago, where Mister Cowdery lives, he offers classes about different whiskeys.

CHARLES COWDERY: “Whiskey’s a distilled⁹ spirit made from grain and aged¹⁰ in oak barrels – that’s what defines whiskey. There’s Scotch¹¹ whiskey, there’s Irish whiskey, there’s Canadian whiskey, there’s American straight whiskey, there’s American blended whiskey, there’s Japanese whiskey, there’s single-malt whiskey. There’s a lot of different kinds of whiskey, but they’re all distilled from a mash¹² of grain and aged.”

In his book, Mr. Cowdery told about the history of the American whiskey industry, how the drink is made and sold, and differences among forms of whiskey. He says American whiskey is made in America, which explains where the name came from.

Workers move barrels of Jack13 Daniel's whiskey in one of the warehouses14 at the famous distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee

Mr. Cowdery says most American whiskeys are aged for four to six years. Some are aged for twelve years. Most American whiskey is made in two southern states, Kentucky and Tennessee. It is believed that Scottish, Irish and Scots-Irish settlers first began making whiskey in those areas in the late seventeen-hundreds.

The Distilled Spirits Council says American whiskey is becoming popular in many countries. The trade group claims American whiskey is now sold in more than one hundred countries.

Charles Cowdery says India and China are two of the countries where sales of American whiskey are growing fast.

CHARLES COWDERY: “It is desirable in these markets. American whiskey exports have gone from really the last twenty years, virtually zero, to now a billion dollar export product.”

Even if Americans do not drink whiskey, many of them remember learning about the Whiskey Rebellion in school. The Whiskey Rebellion was an early test of the power of the national government. The nation’s first president, George Washington, led troops to end a rebellion by opponents of a federal law.

The Whiskey Rebellion was a major test of the power for the new federal government after the war of independence ended in seventeen eighty-three. The new government agreed to pay the war debts of the individual states.

In seventeen ninety-one, Treasury¹⁵ Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed a way the federal government could raise money to pay this debt. He proposed a tax on all alcoholic¹⁶ drinks sold in the country. Congress approved the tax and President Washington signed it into law.

By seventeen ninety-four, farmers in western Pennsylvania began openly protesting the tax. The civil protests became an armed rebellion. Local officials ordered the arrest of the leaders of the rebellion, but this just added to the violence.

President Washington personally led an army of more than twelve thousand troops into western Pennsylvania to stop the rebellion.

The conflict ended quickly. The government ended the tax in eighteen-oh-two.

Scotty McCreery “Clear As Day”

DOUG JOHNSON: Two thousand eleven has been a great year for singer Scotty McCreery. In May, he won the tenth season of “American Idol,” the popular television singing competition. Then, less than six months later McCreery released his first album. Shirley Griffith has our story and music from his new record “Clear as Day.”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Scotty McCreery is only eighteen years old. That is why “American Idol” judges were surprised by his deep bass¹⁷ voice. The depth and control McCreery has usually comes later in adult life. Listen as he sings “Out of Summertime” from the album “Clear as Day.”

(MUSIC)

Scotty McCreery won the 10th season of "American Idol" in May

Scotty McCreery says his album includes songs that have an older country music style. The North Carolina native says he grew up listening to and loving the artists who performed that kind of music including, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash. Some of his work is also representative of his Christian¹⁸ beliefs. Like the song, “That Old King James.”

(MUSIC)

Scotty McCreery received a recording¹⁹ agreement and two hundred fifty thousand dollars from his “American Idol” win. His album “Clear as Day” entered Billboard’s top two hundred albums chart at number one. McCreery is the youngest artist to do that. We leave you with him performing the song “Clear as Day” from his new album.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: I’m Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver²⁰, who was also our producer.

If you have a question about American life, send it to [email protected] 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 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

6 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。

7 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

9 distilled   

adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华

参考例句：

• The televised interview was distilled from 16 hours of film. 那次电视采访是从16个小时的影片中选出的精华。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gasoline is distilled from crude oil. 汽油是从原油中提炼出来的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

12 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

13 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

14 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

15 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

16 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

17 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

18 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。

19 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。

20 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。