VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Jefferson's Bible; Presidential Transportation; Rihanna 'Unapologetic'

 

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Jefferson's Bible; Presidential Transportation; Rihanna 'Unapologetic'

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

I’m June Simms.

On our show this week, we play new music from Rihanna…

We also take a look at how the American president gets where he needs to go…

But first, we tell about the “personal” Bible of America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson.

“Jefferson’s Bible”

Thomas Jefferson is mainly known as the author of America's Declaration of Independence, and later the nation's third president. In recent years he received fresh attention after genetic² evidence suggested that he fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings.

Now Jefferson is back in the public eye. An eight hundred page book by Jon Meacham has just been published, called "Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power." And earlier this year the National Museum of American History in Washington had an exhibition of “Jefferson’s Bible.”

As Steve Ember tells us, this was his own version of the Christian³ bible.

Most people do not know about this side of Jefferson -- his interest in studying morals, religion and how people live their lives. He began creating his own bible when he was seventy-seven years old. He actually cut out sections from several printed volumes of the Gospels of the New Testament⁴. He chose passages in four languages -- English, Greek, Latin and French -- and pasted them into his new book. But he changed their order.

So why would Thomas Jefferson have wanted to edit the story of Jesus's life? Harry⁵ Rubenstein from the Smithsonian Institution organized the exhibit that included all of the bibles Jefferson used, and the one he created.

"And, the focus is on just the teachings. He is trying to get as close as possible to the words, the actual words, of Jesus."

Jefferson believed that Jesus' life provided the best collection of morals and ethics⁶ ever offered. But he wanted to remove everything from the bible that he believed could not be explained by reason.

So in Jefferson's Bible, Jesus is not the son of God. There was nothing divine or special about his birth, and there were no miracles like walking on water or making someone see who had been blind.

Jefferson was not alone in questioning traditional beliefs in the years leading up to the American Revolution against British rule. Harry Rubenstein says the colonists⁷ were questioning the rights of kings and parliaments and the role of a state religion.

"This idea of challenging and questioning principles is a healthy endeavor that is one of the things people look to America as an example of."

Jefferson, however, never published his bible. He believed religion was a private and personal matter. He strongly believed that there should be no official religion in the United States.

Jefferson is an early proponent⁸ of freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. He does this not because he is anti-religious, but, in fact, he believes that if the state doesn't control religion you will have a greater flourishing of religious philosophy."

The bible remained in his family until the Smithsonian's librarian bought it from Jefferson's great-granddaughter in eighteen-ninety-five.

A new edition was printed in nineteen four. For about fifty years, every new member of Congress received a copy of Jefferson's Bible. The original from the seventeen hundreds was in poor condition. So a team of experts at the National Museum of American History carefully repaired and photographed every page.

Alison Mackey of California was one of the people who visited the exhibit of Jefferson's Bible.

"I did know that he’s a genius of a man but it was surprising to see that he put it in four languages on one page. That's pretty cool."

Presidential Travel

We got an email this week from Burma. Ko Maw Gyi wants to know about the transportation and security for the president of the United States.

When President Obama has to fly somewhere, the Air Force normally provides the ride. When the president is in an Air Force plane, it is called Air Force One. The name is a radio call sign. An Air Force website says the call sign "Air Force One" was first used in the nineteen fifties.

But the President usually flies on one of two specially⁹ designed planes. The two Boeing seven-forty-seven planes are very famous. The words “United States of America” are painted on the side of both planes. There are also images of the American flag and the presidential seal.

Air Force One has even been the subject of a movie of the same name. Harrison Ford¹⁰ starred in this nineteen ninety-seven action film in which terrorists try to hijack¹¹ the president’s airplane.

The Presidential Airlift Group is responsible for the operation and care of the two Boeings. The planes can fly halfway¹² around the world without re-fueling. But even if they do need more fuel, they do not have to land to get it. The Air Force will send up other planes loaded with fuel for Air Force One. The plane can be refueled while in flight.

The presidential planes are very big. Each has more than three hundred seventy square meters of space on three levels. The president has a large office, conference room and living area. There are also two kitchens that can prepare meals for large groups. And there is a room for medical treatment, even surgery. A doctor travels on all the president’s flights.

The planes are kept at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

Sometimes the president’s air travel does not require a big plane. This is when the Marine¹³ Corps¹⁴ steps in. It provides helicopter flights for the president. Can you guess the name of a Marine Corps helicopter when the president is a passenger? Yes. Marine One.

When the Marine Corps is flying the president several other helicopters fly nearby. This helps protect the president’s helicopter from possible attack.

The Marine Corps makes local travel pretty simple for the president. It picks him up and drops him off right on the grounds of the White House.

The president also has an armored limousine¹⁵ for local road travel. The armored vehicle has been nicknamed the Beast. For longer road trips, the president has armored black buses that are called Ground Force One when the president is on board.

However he travels, the president of the United States never leaves homes without guards. We will tell about the president’s protectors, the Secret Service, next week.

Rihanna “Unapologetic”

This week, the singer Rihanna released her seventh album in seven years. “Unapologetic” came out Monday. The next day Rihanna held the last show of her “777 Tour,” in which she performed seven shows, in seven countries in seven days. Faith Lapidus more on the singer and her new record.

“Unapologetic” has already made history. The single “Diamonds” rose to the number one spot on the Billboard¹⁶ Hot One Hundred. The twenty-four year old Barbadian singer has now tied Madonna and the Supremes in number of top songs on the chart. Only the Beatles, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson have had more number one singles.

“Unapologetic” has a very personal quality. Rihanna performs the song “Nobody’s Business” with her former boyfriend and rapper, Chris Brown. Several years ago, Brown was found guilty of beating Rihanna. Some critics say the song sends a bad message to abused women.

“Unapologetic” includes songs with clear disco and techno music influences. However, songs like “Stay” also have a much stronger rhythm and blues¹⁷ sound than Rihanna’s past records.

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 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 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。

4 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

7 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 proponent   

n.建议者；支持者；adj.建议的

参考例句：

• Stapp became a strong early proponent of automobile seat belts.斯塔普是力主在汽车上采用座椅安全带的早期倡导者。
• Halsey was identified as a leading proponent of the values of progressive education.哈尔西被认为是进步教育价值观的主要支持者。

9 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

10 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

11 hijack   

v.劫持，劫机，拦路抢劫

参考例句：

• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。
• The hijack take place just after the plane take off.劫持是飞机刚起飞后发生的。

12 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

13 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

15 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

16 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。

17 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。