VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - Psy's Gangnam Style

 

AS IT IS - Psy's Gangnam Style

Welcome to AS IT IS! … your daily magazine show from VOA Learning English. 

Today we visit the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Efforts are underway to return the area to its former glory. 

We also hear about a new dance craze named for the area called the “Harlem Shake”…. 

And another YouTube video sensation that also shook the world. 

New Yorkers often say Harlem is “The Capital of Black America.” Harlem has acted like a magnet for African Americans. Until recently, it has also been one of the poorest areas in New York. It was difficult for local businesses to succeed. As we hear from Mario Ritter, that picture is starting to change. 

Nikoa Evans-Hendricks has spent 14 years organizing small business owners and marketing¹ the Harlem name.

“I’ve watched it evolve from essentially² the forgotten land above 96th street, where no one really saw any value, to the goldmine and the gold coast that it has become of Manhattan.” 

From 2000 to 2010, median household earnings³ in Harlem rose 30 percent. That enabled Seven Brown to open a skin care shop, the kind of business once considered too upper class for the neighborhood. 

“It’s been a great experience to be able to live and work in the same community that you’ve lived in for a long time. The bad part of it is watching a lot of the mom and pop organizations, mostly black-owned businesses, close on a daily basis.” 

Major stores and developers are using tax breaks and other assistance to open stores in Harlem. The new investment puts rental⁴ payments for commercial space beyond the reach of many small businesses. Murphy Scott Jr. puts it this way… 

“Big fish eat the small fish. That’s what’s happening. 

His furniture and upholstery store has been in Harlem for over 40 years. 

“Because I can’t afford a place out there to rent, I have to shut it down. They done shut down maybe 20 stores like this already.” 

Harlem native Hans Hageman and his wife Bernadette want to combine the old and the new in Brownstone Fitness, their personal training center. 

“One of the things about having a business here and particularly where we live is that our kids get to see both whatever successes we have – and we hope to accelerate those. But they also get to see the struggles that small business people have.” 

Harlem to join with outsiders to define the future of the neighborhood. This is especially important to Harlemites who value the black history of Harlem because African-Americans are no longer a majority. Many say a changing Harlem that honors its past will be good both for business and for the rest of New York. 

I’m Mario Ritter. 

You are listening to As It Is from VOA Learning English. I’m June Simms. Thanks for joining us. 

A new YouTube dance craze called the Harlem Shake is gaining a huge Internet audience. In the past few weeks, thousands of people have posted short videos of themselves and their friends dancing to the formerly⁵ little-known song by a New York DJ. 

Most of the videos follow a basic formula that has been easy to copy for fans around the world. On a recent day in Washington, DC’s Dupont Circle Park, two people dressed as penguins⁶ started to dance. Park visitors appeared not to notice what was going on. When the music started to play, the once normal scene suddenly turned into a dance-filled celebration. 

A dance and fitness studio in Washington called Jordin's Paradise organized the event through Facebook. 

“Thank you so much everybody for coming!” 

“I think the song is really catchy⁷, and since Gangnam Style was very difficult for everybody to get, this is really simple. So, even if you can't even dance, just do whatever, and it's just so awesome⁸.” 

In early February, five Australian teenagers were among the first to post a Harlem Shake video on YouTube. YouTube officials say since then, tens of thousands of versions of the dance have been uploaded, resulting in more than 175 million views. 

American rock duo Matt & Kim’s version of the Harlem Shake achieved seven million views in a week. They performed the dance at a concert hall with 5,000 fans serving as their back-up dancers. 

Vocalist Matt Johnson spoke⁹ to VOA via Skype. 

“As far as I know, no one’s really done it with as many people as we have. And there's just a certain energy that you get from just watching the 30 seconds of this that I think people really have found enjoyable.” 

DJ Baauer released Harlem Shake last year to little praise. He has seen sales of the song skyrocket on iTunes since the dance videos went viral. 

Vocalist Matt Johnson says he is surprised the craze has lasted this long. 

“That's the thing, the nature of these Internet memes, is that they can be so large so quickly. It's not like it can maintain. Everything is about doing it right then and moving forward. And there is something fun and very 2013 about that.” 

Just maybe the Harlem Shake will go on to achieve the success of last year’s big dance craze. Our Dupont Park Harlem Shake dancer mentioned that one earlier. Jim Tedder¹⁰ has more on the “Gangnam Style” video dance craze by South Korean pop artist PSY. 

In December, the “Gangnam Style” video became the first YouTube video to receive one billion views. The video was first posted to the site in July. 

PSY raps in Korean in the video while dancing as if he is riding on an invisible horse. The 34 year old pop star is the first Korean artist to receive mainstream¹¹ success in the United States. 

Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Gangnam Style” at number 25 on its top 50 list of best songs for 2012 and nicknamed PSY “Seoul Brother Number One.” 

I’m Jim Tedder, today’s “Soul Brother Number Two.” 

And remember, we want to cover the issues and ideas that matter to you, in your world, as it is.

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 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%。

4 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

6 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 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。

10 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

11 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。