VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Remembering Singing Superstar Whitney Houston

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Remembering Singing Superstar Whitney Houston
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE²: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I’m Christopher Cruise. Today on our show we remember the life and music of singing superstar Whitney Houston…
(MUSIC: “One Moment in Time”)
Whitney Houston Remembered
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Saturday, hundreds of people will gather in Newark, New Jersey³, for the funeral of Whitney Houston. The forty-eight year old performer died a week earlier at a hotel in California. June Simms looks back at the life of the singer, actress, and mother.
(MUSIC)
JUNE SIMMS: That is Whitney Houston performing the song, “I’m Every Woman.” And that is what many who loved the singer say: Whitney was every woman. People in her hometown of Newark say she never forgot where she came from. Her close friend and gospel singer Marvin Winans recently said that below the surface Whitney Houston was still the same little girl from New Jersey.
A childhood friend of the star, Gregory Whittle⁴, remembers growing up with her.
GREGORY WHITE: “A lot of time in the basement you could hear her singing. Singing in the back by the pool. She had a gift. It was strictly⁵ from God.”
Marvin Winans is to speak at the funeral. It will be held at the New Hope Baptist Church. Whitney Houston attended that church while growing up. It was also the first place she sang publicly. She was a member of the church choir⁶.
(MUSIC: “Greatest Love of All”)
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born in Newark in nineteen sixty-three. Her mother Cissy Houston is a gospel singer. Her father served in the military and was in the entertainment business. Cissy Houston was not the only family musician. Singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick were cousins of Whitney Houston. And her godmother was Aretha Franklin. At a performance earlier this week, Aretha Franklin remembered her goddaughter with a song and praise for the music and memories.
As a teenager, Whitney Houston performed as a back-up singer for Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls and other artists. But she also had a successful modeling career by the time she was twenty. Her picture appeared on the cover of Seventeen and inside magazines including Glamour⁷ and Cosmopolitan⁸.
In nineteen eighty three, Clive Davis, the head of Arista records, heard Whitney Houston singing in New York City. He offered her a recording⁹ agreement soon after. For the next two years, Whitney Houston worked on her first record album. “Whitney Houston” was released in nineteen eighty-five. Slowly but surely, it became a huge hit. It stayed in the number one position on Billboard¹⁰ magazine’s Top Two Hundred Albums chart for fourteen weeks. The first number one single from the album was “Saving All My Love for You.”
(MUSIC)
Another popular song from that first album was this dance number “How Will I Know.”
(MUSIC)
The album “Whitney Houston” had seven number one hit singles. It remains¹¹ the biggest-selling first album by any artist.
The singer followed that success with another. Her album “Whitney” sold twenty million copies. It also made her the first female artist to enter the Billboard Top Two Hundred at number one. Whitney Houston was clearing a path of recognition¹² for women artists.
However, her next professional move was her most important. She recorded the soundtrack for and starred in “The Bodyguard,” in nineteen ninety-two.
Kevin Costner played opposite White Houston in the movie. It is the story of a relationship between a pop music star and a former secret service agent who protects her. The movie was a big hit, making more than four hundred million dollars in ticket sales worldwide. But the film’s popularity¹³ did not even come close to the success of the album that went with it.
“The Bodyguard” is the fourth highest selling album of all time. Forty-four million copies have been sold. Among the singles is “I Will Always Love You,” a song written and recorded earlier by Dolly Parton. Whitney Houston’s version sold many more copies.
(MUSIC)
In nineteen ninety-two, Whitney Houston’s personal life also grew. She married singer Bobby Brown, of the band New Edition. The marriage surprised many people both in and outside the music industry. Bobby Brown was considered an industry “bad boy,” while Whitney Houston had an innocence¹⁴ that led to her nickname¹⁵ the “prom queen of soul.”
She and Bobby Brown had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in nineteen ninety-three. In the late nineteen nineties, Whitney Houston’s professional behavior began to come under question. She began to cancel shows and was late for important events. Her appearance changed; she lost weight and looked unhealthy. Her voice also was suffering. Many reports said she was abusing drugs and alcohol.
(MUSIC: “I Have Nothing”)
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown ended their marriage in two thousand seven. She also publicly admitted to drug abuse. But she entered a treatment program. In two thousand ten, she reported she was drug-free.
But, last Saturday, the singer and actress was found dead in her hotel room in Los Angeles. Officials have not yet released a cause of death. However, news reports say Whitney Houston’s family has been told the entertainer died from taking too many prescription¹⁶ drugs.
Her seventh and final studio album, “I Look to You,” was released in two thousand nine. Critics generally praised the effort. We leave you with Whitney Houston performing the Leon Russell song, “A Song for You.”
(MUSIC)
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: I’m Christopher Cruise. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁷.

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 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 whittle   

v.削（木头），削减；n.屠刀

参考例句：

• They are trying to whittle down our salaries.他们正着手削减我们的薪水。
• He began to whittle away all powers of the government that he did not control.他开始削弱他所未能控制的一切政府权力。

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 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。

7 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

8 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

13 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

14 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

15 nickname   

n.绰号，昵称；v.给...取绰号，叫错名字

参考例句：

• She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
• Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号？

16 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

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。