VOA慢速英语2013 AMERICAN MOSAIC - A New Way to Shop: The Fashion Truck

 

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - A New Way to Shop: The Fashion Truck

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

I’m June Simms.

On our show this week, we play music by The Lumineers.

We tell about some happenings in the world of football…

But first, how about going for a shopping trip...on a parked truck?

For many years, food vendors² in American cities have offered “meals on wheels” --- selling food from trucks. Hungry people can find more than just hot dogs or pretzels in these vehicles. Many serve high-quality food from other cultures.

Now looking for new clothing is becoming as easy and satisfying as exploring the tasty offerings of food trucks. Kelly Jean Kelly tells us about a new movement: the fashion truck.

Once a month, just after sunset, trucks fill an outdoor parking lot in Los Angeles, California. Some trucks sell all kinds of food products, from sweet ice cream to spicy³ seafood⁴. Others have clothing or jewelry⁵ for sale. These vehicles are known as fashion trucks.

Many people have never seen a fashion truck before.

“When you come in, it’s kind of like like going into a closet, you know, and you sift⁶ through everything. It’s really cute.”

Janelle Shepard is exploring everything inside the J. D. Luxe fashion truck. The back of the truck is a mini-store. Clothing hangs on one side. Jewelry and purses are on the other side. The store is stylish⁷ and looks well organized. There is also a very small room for trying on clothes.

Jordana Fortaleza is one of the store’s owners.

“We have a lot of handmade jewelry, handmade clothing, handmade purses.”

She says the cost of owning a truck is much lower than making monthly payments for temporary use of store. And there is another reason to use a truck.

“You’re able to travel to your demographic.”

In other words, you can take your business to the customers. But Jordana Fortaleza admits there are difficulties.

“The biggest challenge is definitely the weather. When it’s cold, it’s cold outside and there’s no one here.”

Another issue is keeping the truck in good condition. When a vehicle breaks down, the repairs can take days. Business stops during the repair work. That is what happened to Stacey Steffe’s fashion truck. So, for now, she is stuck in the office.

“We find ourselves in the [mechanic] shop at least once a year. Things happen. Our little truck’s a little older.”

She says her 38-year-old fashion truck was the first in Los Angeles. That was two years ago. She started the West Coast Mobile Retail⁸ Association after more fashion trucks started to appear in the city. Now the group has a nationwide membership of almost fifty trucks.

Stacey Steffe says the weak economy is driving the industry.

“A lot of people have gone from brick and mortar⁹ to a mobile truck because it’s allowed them to keep their business afloat.”

Meagan Rogers is a fashion school graduate. She says owning a fashion truck has enabled her to start earning money while her classmates are still working in unpaid¹⁰ positions.

“The job market is so hard right now.”

Fashion trucks are giving Internet businesses some competition. California Fashion Association President Ilse Metchek says impulse purchases were once a big part of in-store sales. Impulse buyers are people who make purchases because of a sudden urge. Now many people make purchases online, where Ms. Metchek says impulse buying is rare. She says American shoppers may be more compulsive in fashion trucks.

“This is a way to attract impulse purchasing. There’s a lot of money out there right now, just a lot of loose change.”

And there is a lot to purchase with that loose change. Stacey Steffe says business owners are putting more than just nice stores on wheels.

“Any kind of business you can put in brick and mortar, you can put into a vehicle.”

So, there is a truck that sells flowers, and another that features specialty¹¹ sportswear. A non-profit group, St. Vincent de Paul, sells used goods from its store on wheels. Such trucks have also attracted the attention of local officials. Ms. Steffe says she is working with the city of San Francisco to create laws to rule the growing industry.

Americans this week have been asking questions about a star football player, Manti Te'o.

Manti Te’o is a linebacker for the University of Notre Dame¹², a school in Indiana. He helped the team win all of its twelve games in the 2012 regular season. His team went on to the college football’s national championship game. It lost to University of Alabama.

Te’o led Notre Dame in tackles and interceptions. He was a nominee¹³ for an important honor in college football, the Heisman Trophy¹⁴.

When asked about his performance on the field, Manti Te’o said he played well because of his girlfriend, who died recently. He said the girlfriend, Lennay Marie Kekua, was a victim of the disease leukemia. He said she died on the same day that his grandmother died last September.

But, there was a problem. The girlfriend never existed. Last week, a sports website, Deadspin, reported that the story was not true. When the website asked Notre Dame about it, university officials said the story was a “sophisticated hoax¹⁵.” 

In a statement, Te’o said he had met the woman through the Internet and continued the relationship online. He added that the whole incident had been painful and humiliating. Notre Dame Athletic¹⁶ Director Jack¹⁷ Swarbrick said Manti Te’o told the university about the problem on December 26th. He said a private investigation¹⁸ ordered by the university suggested that the player was a victim of a mean joke.

Now, Manti Te’o has admitted that he lied --- at least, in part. Te’o spoke¹⁹ to Katie Couric, a reporter for ABC News. He said he got a call from someone claiming to be Keuka on December 6th. So, Te’o said, he realized she was not dead. But he continued with that story publicly.

In other football news, the Baltimore Ravens²⁰ and the San Francisco 49ers are busy preparing for the Super Bowl. They will play for the championship of professional football Sunday, February 3rd. 

The game should be very memorable²¹. Jim Harbaugh is head coach of the 49ers, while his brother John is head coach for the Ravens. Their father Jack, a former coach, says he is giving his sons the same advice he gives to others in football: “Get ahead, stay ahead.”

The Lumineers is a band based in Denver, Colorado. The group released its first album, “The Lumineers,” last April. Recently, the record went gold, meaning 500 thousand copies had been sold.

Faith Lapidus has more on the group, The Lumineers, and the album.

The most popular song from the album is “Ho, Hey.” It is number one on three Billboard²² singles charts: rock, adult pop and alternative. A lot of people think of “Ho, Hey” as a love song. And, The Lumineers say it is. But, lead singer and guitarist Wesley Schultz says it is also about his personal struggles when he was living and working in New York City.

The three members of The Lumineers were excited when asked to perform at the Grammy nominations²³ concert. But they were also very surprised when they were named as nominees²⁴. The band is up for Grammy awards as Best New Artist and Best Americana Album. Drummer Jeremiah Fraites told reporters, “We had no idea.”

Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz grew up in New Jersey²⁵ and have been playing music together for about eight years. They found cellist²⁶ Neyla Pekarek, a native of Denver, after they moved to that city.

Critics have mostly praised “The Lumineers.” Some have called the album's sound, “expansive,” and its songs, “inventive.”

Neyla Pekarek told one reporter that the band’s style developed naturally. She said it came from a lot of writing, experimenting and making changes to let the lyrics²⁷ tell the stories they were meant to tell.

We leave you with one of those stories. This is “Stubborn Love” from the album “The Lumineers.”

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 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

4 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 sift   

v.筛撒，纷落，详察

参考例句：

• Sift out the wheat from the chaff.把小麦的壳筛出来。
• Sift sugar on top of the cake.在蛋糕上面撒上糖。

7 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

9 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

10 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

11 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

12 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

15 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。

16 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

17 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。

18 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。

19 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。

20 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

21 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。

22 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。

23 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

24 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

25 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。

26 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

27 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。