VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Building Begins On Long Awaited African American Museum in Washington

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Building Begins On Long Awaited African American Museum in Washington

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I’m June Simms. Today, we speak with writer Susan Orlean, who has a new book about the international dog star Rin Tin Tin…
We also play new music from The Chieftains…
But first a report on the groundbreaking ceremony for a new museum in the American capital.
(MUSIC)
Museum Groundbreaking
JUNE SIMMS: Many people have been working for years to develop a national museum specializing in African American art, history and culture. This week, organizers took a big step toward reaching that goal.
(SOUND FROM GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY)
President Obama joined a crowd at the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Now crews will begin work on the project on the National Mall in Washington. Mister Obama spoke² to the gathering³ on Wednesday. He called the planned museum, a crowning jewel for future generations.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “When future generations hear these songs of pain and struggle and sacrifice I hope they will not think of them as somehow separate for the larger American story. I want them to see it as a central and important part of our shared story --- a call to see ourselves in one another.”
Congressman⁴ and former civil rights leader John Lewis spent years persuading Congress to approve the museum project.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEWIS: “We must tell the whole story, the four-hundred year story of African American contributions to this nation’s history from slavery to the present.”
The National Museum for African American History and Culture is set to open in twenty-fifteen. The structure is expected to cost about five hundred million dollars. Thousands of historical objects will be shown at the museum, which is expected to get about three million visitors a year.
Lonnie Bunch is the museum’s director.
LONNIE BUNCH: “By helping⁵ to birth this museum so that everyone who visits will realize that we are all touched, shaped and enriched by African American history and culture all the day and everyday.”
Smithsonian officials say the new museum will go a long way in teaching about the African American experience.
Susan Orlean and Rin Tin Tin
JUNE SIMMS: Journalist and author Susan Orlean has written about lots of extraordinary men and women. She has shown special interest in people with unusual interests or who take part in exciting activities. And her latest book is no different, although this time it stars a dog, a very famous one. Christopher Cruise has our report on Susan Orlean and her new book “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.”
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Susan Orlean has very clear memories of the dog called Rin Tin Tin. As a child, she watched the German Shepherd performing rescues in a television series. But she learned a surprising fact about the dog star years later. She was doing research for a magazine story about animals in film at the time.
SUSAN ORLEAN: “What I thought was a 1950s television character had been a real dog with an extraordinary life story.”
Susan Orlean discovered that the real story of Rin Tin began in nineteen-eighteen. An American soldier named Lee Duncan rescued the German Shepherd from a World War One battlefield in France. He named the dog Rin Tin Tin after the dolls that French children gave American soldiers for good luck.
The soldier brought Rin Tin Tin back home with him when the war ended. Lee Duncan lived in California. One of his friends was a camera developer who filmed Rin Tin as he jumped over a fence during a dog show. The jump was very memorable⁶ because the fence was three and one half meters tall.
Susan Orlean says the cameraman sold the recording⁷ to a newsreel company without Lee Duncan’s knowledge.
SUSAN ORLEAN: “Lee knew nothing about it. All he knew was a few weeks after the dog show, he got a check in the mail for the footage of Rin Tin Tin. This was the moment where he thought, wow, maybe there is something to this, maybe my dog could be in movies.”
In nineteen twenty-two, Rin Tin Tin appeared in his first movie. He played the part of a wolf in a silent film called, “The Man from Hell’s River.” He went on to star in more than twenty films, earning more than his human co-stars.
Rin Tin Tin’s career in Hollywood began to suffer after talking films arrived in the late nineteen twenties. But he continued to perform in lower budget films as did his descendants for many years.
(MOVIE SOUND)
Rin Tin Tin was also used in support of the military’s campaign for dog forces during World War Two. These animals, known as the K-Nine Corps⁸, carried messages, helped guard bases and search for landmines⁹. Susan Orlean says Rin Tin Tin brought good luck to the military effort.
The real Rin Tin Tin was the father of at least forty-four dogs. Thousands of dogs today are from his bloodline. Some continue Rin Tin Tin’s work in films and television industry. Others are involved in public service, like search and rescue, and working with the disabled. But all animal heroes like Rin Tin Tin have something to teach humans about goodness, says Susan Orleans.
SUSAN ORLEAN: “Loyalty, bravery, sympathy, empathy, and steadfastness¹⁰ that is appearing to people everywhere and doesn’t have a kind of national identity. Rin Tin Tin was uniquely that way. He was a German breed of dog, born on a battlefield in France, but became a star in America.”
The Chieftains “Voice of Ages”
JUNE SIMMS: The Irish musical group The Chieftains turns fifty this year. This week, the Chieftains released an album called “Voice of Ages.” It celebrates the group’s skill of mixing traditional Irish music with the sounds of today. Barbara Klein has more.
BARBARA KLEIN: “Voice of Ages” includes the work of many different artists. Listeners can hear the American country music band Pistol Annies on one song and the alternative rock group, The Decemberists, on another. Bon Iver, Secret Sisters and Carolina Chocolate Drops also perform.
Spanish bagpipe¹¹ player Carlos Nunez was thirteen years old when he met Chieftain’s founder¹² Paddy Maloney in the nineteen eighties. Nunez started to record and appear with the band soon after. On “Voice of Ages,” he and The Chieftains perform the lively song, “Lundu.”
(MUSIC)
“Peggy Gordon” is a folk song that may have Scottish roots. It tells about a man deeply in love with a woman who does not return the feeling. One beautifully worded part of the song goes like this:
I am so deep in love that I can’t deny it
My heart lies smothered¹³ in my breast
But it’s not for you to let the world know it
A troubled mind can find no rest
(MUSIC)
The Chieftains perform “Peggy Gordon” on “Voice of Ages” with the help of the American country duo, Secret Sisters.
The Chieftains are currently performing in the United States. They have planned a special fiftieth anniversary show. It will take place in New York City on March seventeenth – Saint Patrick’s Day.
We leave you with The Chieftains and the Pistol Annies performing “Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies” from “Voice of Ages.”
(MUSIC)
JUNE SIMMS: We want to thank you for the continuing comments on our relationship blog. The problems and advice you have offered are greatly appreciated. We will talk to another relationship expert soon for advice on how to communicate better, solve disputes and deal with some other issues.
I’m June Simms. This program was written by Caty Weaver¹⁴, with additional reporting from Chris Simkins and Mike O’Sulivan. 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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

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 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 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。

8 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。

9 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

10 steadfastness   

n.坚定，稳当

参考例句：

• But he was attacked with increasing boldness and steadfastness. 但他却受到日益大胆和坚决的攻击。 来自辞典例句
• There was an unceremonious directness, a searching, decided steadfastness in his gaze now. 现在他的凝视中有一种不礼貌的直率，一种锐利、断然的坚定。 来自辞典例句

11 bagpipe   

n.风笛

参考例句：

• The bagpipe is a sweet musical instrument.风笛是一种听起来很悦耳的乐器。
• A wailful bagpipe played out in the night.夜幕中传来悲哭般的风笛声。

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

14 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。