VOA慢速英语2012 Remembering Writer Gore Vidal; New Findings on Hindu Success in America; Funnyman Stephen Colbert’s Music Festival

 

Remembering Writer Gore¹ Vidal; New Findings on Hindu Success in America; Funnyman Stephen Colbert’s Music Festival

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC² in VOA Special English.

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I'm June Simms. This week, we look at plans for a just announced music festival at an unusual location in New York City.

We also remember the writer Gore Vidal.

But first, a look at the social and economic success of Hindus in the United States.

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Hindus in America

JUNE SIMMS: A new report says Hindu Americans enjoy the highest socioeconomic levels among all religions in the United States. Faith Lapdus has details.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The new report is called "Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths." It comes from the Pew Forum³ on Religion and Public Life.

Researchers found that eighty-five percent Hindu Americans have completed study programs at a college or university. The report says fifty-seven percent have some education beyond that. And it says almost fifty percent of Hindu Americans have yearly earnings⁴ of one hundred thousand dollars or more. Seventy percent make at least seventy-five thousand a year.

Experts say American immigration policy is a major reason Hindus are doing so well. Both the Nineteen Sixty-Five Immigration Act and the more recent H1-B visa program helped set a structure for success. The nearly fifty year old law enabled the immigration of professionals, especially doctors and engineers. The H1-B visa program was designed to attract highly skilled "guest workers."

The number of visas provided to Indians grew throughout the nineteen nineties and early two thousands. It rose again in two thousand seven. The Pew report says Indians received more than half of all H1-B visas approved last year.

Alan Cooperman served as director of research for the study. Mister Cooperman says Hindu success in America is linked to the kind of person who chooses to leave India and the foreigners the United States admits. He said Indian immigrants are less likely to be refugees or undocumented workers compared with other immigrant groups.

Mister Cooperman is excited about the study. He says this is the first time anybody has had really detailed⁵ information on Hindus in America. And, he says, Hindus are an extremely interesting group.

Remembering Gore Vidal

JUNE SIMMS: The literary world lost a major star this week. Writer Gore Vidal died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, California. He was eighty-six.

Gore Vidal wrote fiction and non-fiction and covered a huge expanse of subjects, including politics, history and social issues. His books "Burr" and "Lincoln" were among his best-selling novels.

Vidal was also known for his heated public disagreements with other notable writers and thinkers including Truman Capote, William F. Buckley and Norman Mailer.

Gore Vidal was born in nineteen twenty-five in West Point, New York. His father taught at the United States Military Academy. His mother's father was a United States senator.

Gore Vidal began writing while serving in the army during World War Two. His first novel "Williwaw" was published in nineteen forty-six. He was just twenty years old. 

Vidal's third novel "The City and the Pillar" explored the experience of a young man who discovers he is homosexual. It was published in nineteen forty-eight and was criticized by some for its subject.

Vidal began writing television dramas in the nineteen-fifties. One, called "Visit to a Small Planet," was turned into a successful Broadway play and movie. It was a humorous look at life in America during its "Cold War" with the former Soviet⁶ Union.

In the nineteen-sixties, Vidal wrote what became his best-known novel, "Myra Breckenridge."

Gore Vidal was known for thinking very highly of himself but with a sense of humor. He once said "there is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise."

Stephen Colbert's Summer Music Festival

JUNE SIMMS: American Stephen Colbert has hosted a talk show on Comedy Central television since two thousand five. His "Colbert Report" is popular and extremely influential⁷ among young people. Colbert is a music lover. This week, he announced plans for a summer concert. Christopher Cruise has more on the show.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Stephen Colbert's is calling the concert, "StePhest Colbchella ‘012: Rocktaugustfest." The performances will take place August tenth on the USS Intrepid⁸. The retired⁹ American military ship is a sea, air and space museum docked in New York City.

Colbert said he and concert goers would be "on deck with a boatload of rock talent."

The band fun. will be among the musicians. Here they perform "We Are Young" -- one of the most popular songs of this summer.

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The name "Colbchella" is supposed to be funny. It combines the name Colbert with Coachella. Coachella is a successful music festival that takes place every spring in California. This year, Santigold was among the performers. Stephen Colbert also asked her to perform at the "Rocktaugustfest."

Santigold's most recent album, "Master of My Make-Believe" was released in April. "Disparate Youth" was a popular song from the recording¹⁰.

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The Flaming Lips and Grizzly¹¹ Bear are also set to perform. Grizzly Bear has announced plans to release a new album, "Shields," in September. "Sleeping Ute" is one of the album's singles.

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One of the early performers of rap music is also invited to Colbchella. Here is how Steven Colbert made that announcement earlier this week.

STEPHEN COLBERT: "And...the official Colbchella aircraft carrier-based deejay is the inventor of the cross-fade, perfector of the scratch: Grandmaster Flash. Don't push him cause he's close to the edge, and on the Intrepid the edge is like a fifty-foot drop."

We leave you with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five performing the nineteen eighty-two hit, "The Message."

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JUNE SIMMS: I'm June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹². Matthew Hillburn and Richard Green provided additional reporting.

Go to 51voa.com to find transcripts¹³ and MP3s of our programs and to post comments on our relationship advice blog. If you want to ask our audience for advice, write to [email protected]. Type "relationship" in the subject line. We won't publish your name but please include your age, gender¹⁴ and country. 

1 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

2 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。

3 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

4 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

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 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

8 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 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。

11 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

12 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。

13 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

14 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。