VOA慢速英语2013 ＂White House Down＂ Tells Story of Washington Under Attack

 

＂White House Down＂ Tells Story of Washington Under Attack

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning English!

I’m June Simms.

On the show today, we play music supportive of the gay rights movement.

We also talk about a new tax that is worrying some people in the American blue jeans industry.

But first, we look at the “explosive” new movie, “White House Down.”

“White House Down”

In 1996, film director Roland Emmerich destroyed the White House -- on camera. That was for his movie “Independence Day,” in which space aliens invaded Washington DC.

Emmerich is blowing up Washington again in his new movie, “White House Down.” But this time the bad guys are terrorists. Mario Ritter has more.

White House Down is an action movie, but it also has an emotional side. Between the explosions and other special effects, the film deals with the relationship between the hero and his daughter.

The hero is John Cale, a soldier who served in Afghanistan. He goes to the White House for a job interview for the Secret Service.

 “'John Cale, why do you want to be in the Secret Service?'

 'I can’t think of a more important job than protecting the President.'”

When a terrorist bomb goes off at the Capitol, the White House goes on lockdown. John is still inside with his daughter Emily. They get separated during all the danger and disorder². John has to act to save his daughter -- and, of course, the president.

Actor Channing Tatum plays John Cale. He needed to be in good shape for the movie, since he was to perform difficult physical scenes. The actor was already known for having a good looking body. Last year, People Magazine named Channing Tatum the “Sexiest Man Alive.”

Actor and singer Jamie Foxx plays the president of the United States, James Sawyer. Jamie Foxx says his character is not a modeled after President Obama although the character is African-American.

“We didn’t want to do an impersonation of him because we don’t want people to think that’s how Obama would react in this situation because we don’t know.”

Roland Emmerich says he wants his film to be like the action movies of the 80s and 90s. It explores the serious topic of American national security. But it’s also pure entertainment.

“It’s not as fun anymore like it was, like with movies such as Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of the most fun movies I have ever seen in my life. These kind of movies are missing ((today)).”

Critics are mixed about the movie. The New York Post says “you couldn’t ask for a more fun summer popcorn³ movie.” But the Chicago Tribune calls it offensive and overblown.

New Tariff⁴ on American Jeans

Americans love their jeans. These cotton denim⁵ pants, generally come in blue or black. They may first have been used as work clothes for miners. Many people link jeans to American cowboys. But whatever their history, American jeans are a big business.

They also sell very well around the world. The “Made in the USA” label alone can lift the price of the pants, especially in Europe. But recently, Europe ordered an additional import tax, or tariff, on premium⁶ jeans from the United States. And the American jean industry is protesting.

Peter Kim is the founder⁷ of Hudson Jeans and an expert on high-end, American-made jeans. From his second floor office in Los Angeles he can see rows of costly⁸ jeans and Italian denim one floor below him.

“I look at denim kind of like wine. You know, you can have the same batch⁹ of grapes. How you treat it, how you process it, you can make completely different things.”

Like wine, the cost of jeans differs greatly. One pair can cost $10; another may sell for more than $200.  Most people cannot pay for the most costly jeans. But, Peter Kim says those jeans still set the style for ones that cost less.

“Like high-fashion, you start in the runway, and there is almost nobody that wears these runway items. But what happens from there is that elements of that gets trickled¹⁰ down to contemporary fashion, mid¹¹ fashion and, ultimately, into mainstream¹² fashion.”

From the wash, to the fit, to the fabric¹³ from Italy, every element goes into the cost of making the jeans and their price for the buyer. And one more element makes jeans costly.

“We produce them in Los Angeles. So, as you can imagine it’s not cheap to produce.”

Mr. Kim says Europeans buy these jeans mainly for the “Made in the USA” label. But, he says that label may go away for some kinds of jeans. The EU’s new 28 percent tariff on American jeans is not the only tax on the product. There is also an existing 12 percent tax. Those high taxes may drive manufacturers elsewhere.

Ilse Metchek is with the California Fashion Association. Seventy-five percent of top American jeans come from that state. She says the new tax could send jobs to other countries and affect the local economy.

“The companies will make their jeans in Mexico, in South America.”

Peter Kim also warns of severe results.

“It’s just trying to decimate all of our business out here.”

American manufacturers fear other countries may see this as a great chance to get into the top-level jeans market.

For now, Peter Kim’s Hudson Jeans says it will absorb the costs of the new tax. The company says it will not make buyers pay more for their jeans and will stay in Los Angeles.

But Hudson Jeans and other manufacturers in the United States hope that American and EU officials will find a way to avoid the new tax in coming trade talks.

The Sound of Gay Rights

Supporters of same-sex marriage gathered at the United States Supreme¹⁴ Court in Washington last week. They were celebrating two rulings in support of gay marriage. Part of the Defense¹⁵ of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was found unconstitutional. As a result, married same-sex couples are permitted the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples. Another ruling cancelled a ban on gay marriage in California.

In the United States, same-sex marriage is allowed in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Many same-sex couples in the country still cannot get married. They might also face discrimination in their everyday lives. But public support for gay marriage rights has grown, and some popular music expresses support also. Madeline Smith plays some of these songs.

In the song “Same Love,” the rapper Macklemore criticizes homophobic language, or expressions of hatred¹⁶ towards gay people.

The lyrics¹⁷ say: “Gay is synonymous with the lesser¹⁸ / It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion / Gender¹⁹ to skin color, the complexion²⁰ of your pigment²¹ / The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins / It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference.”

The song also represents a pop music milestone²². It is the first single to make the top 40 charts that promotes giving marriage rights to same-sex couples.

But there have been other popular songs about gay rights. The pop star Lady Gaga is known for supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, or LGBT, community. She sings about accepting people’s differences in the song “Born This Way.” The song’s message is that being gay is a part of a person’s identity, and not a choice.

There are also songs that the LGBT community has welcomed anthems²³, songs of pride. We leave you with one. Here is Diana Ross singing her 1980 hit, “I’m Coming Out.”

I’m June Simms. Our program was written Caty Weaver²⁴ and Madeline Smith, who was also the producer.

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 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

3 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

4 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

5 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

6 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

7 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。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

9 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

10 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

12 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。

13 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

14 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

17 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。

18 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

19 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。

20 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

21 pigment   

n.天然色素，干粉颜料

参考例句：

• The Romans used natural pigments on their fabrics and walls.古罗马人在织物和墙壁上使用天然颜料。
• Who thought he might know what the skin pigment phenomenon meant.他自认为可能知道皮肤色素出现这种现象到底是怎么回事。

22 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

23 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

24 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。