VOA慢速英语2003年-Cheryl Crow

 

Broadcast: Jan 24, 2003
By Jill Moss¹, Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC²--VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

This is Doug Johnson. On our program today,

We play some music from Sheryl Crow ...

Answer a question about preparing for retirement³ ...

And tell about the popularity of cell phones.

Cell Phones

HOST:

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in eighteen-seventy-six. He might recognize the telephone we use today. But he might not like what we do with it. In most industrial countries, it seems as if almost everyone carries a small device they call a mobile, cellular⁴ or cell phone.

(RINGING CELL PHONE)

Uh, just a moment, that is my cell phone. Hello? No, not now, I am doing American Mosaic. Could you call me later? Just a minute. Uh, Mary Tillitson tells us more about this most modern telephone.

No, I will call back later. It will have to wait. Not now. Please call later!

ANNCR:

Doug Johnson was only playing a joke just now. He did not really get a telephone call. But cell phone calls have become an increasing problem these days because so many people now own these phones.

Communication1 industry experts say about forty-six-million Americans used cell phones five years ago. That number now is closer to one-hundred-twenty-million. Today it is even possible to use a cell phone linked to a satellite from anywhere on Earth. So you can pay money to use a cell phone in foreign countries while traveling.

In most industrial countries, you can see hundreds of people each day walking on the street talking on their cell phones. You see them in eating places. You hear their cell phones ring in theaters, at business meetings and even at weddings.

People use them while driving in automobiles⁵. Experts say many accidents are caused by people who do not pay full attention to their driving. They are too busy talking on their cell phones. In the United States, forty-one state governments are debating legislation to make it illegal to drive a vehicle and talk on a cell phone at the same time.

Almost everyone agrees that people should be more thoughtful when they use a cell phone in public. They should not talk too loudly. And they should turn off their cell phone when it might cause problems for others.

(RINGING CELL PHONE)

Er, excuse me, I have a cell phone call. Uh, that is all the cell phone information I had now anyway.

Hello? Hello? Yes. This is really a bad time, call again later …

Pensions2

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from China. Liang Qinyu asks about pension plans in America.

A pension is the money a worker or his or her family receives when the worker retires, is unable to work, or dies. The money comes from personal savings⁶, the government's Social Security program, and private pension plans offered through a place of employment.

Federal law requires businesses to give pension rights to all people who have worked for the company for a set number of years. The United States Department of Labor⁷ has an office called the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration. Its job is to supervise pension plans in the United States.

The federal government's Social Security program is the largest retirement program in the United States. It was established in nineteen-thirty-five. Under the plan, workers pay a little more than six percent of their wages each month into Social Security. Their employers do the same. Most self-employed workers also pay a percent of their wages into Social Security. People will receive payments after they retire for as long as they live.

The Social Security program is popular in America. But it was never meant to fully⁸ support someone in retirement. Especially today, money received through Social Security is not enough to provide for most people's needs. This is why many Americans also have personal savings or a pension or both.

Most government pensions are paid with money from workers and their agencies. Most company pension plans are paid the same way. Self-employed workers can establish an independent pension plan through a bank or insurance company. People who work for companies that do not offer pensions can do the same.

Workers pay a percent of money every month to the plan. They receive payments after they retire. People usually retire at about the age of sixty-five. However, some Americans find that they do not enjoy retirement. Or they do not have enough money to retire. So they continue working until they are older.

Cheryl Crow

HOST:

American singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow has already won many music industry awards. Last week, she won an American Music Award as favorite female pop or rock and roll artist. Three songs on her latest album have been nominated for Grammy Awards. Shep O'Neal has more.

ANNCR:

Sheryl Crow's latest album is called "C'mon, C'mon". She helped write many of its songs. She wrote this one with her sister and recorded it with country rock singer Don Henley. "It's So Easy" is nominated for a Grammy Award as best pop collaboration3 with vocals4.

(MUSIC)

Sheryl Crow says the album is her attempt to produce songs similar to those from the nineteen-seventies and eighties. The song "Steve McQueen" honors a movie actor who represented rebellion. It is nominated for a Grammy award as best female rock vocal⁹ performance.

(MUSIC)

Still another song by Sheryl Crow is nominated for a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance. She says this song is a social comment about how time passes and cannot be made to return. We leave you now with Sheryl Crow singing her third Grammy-nominated song this year, "Soak Up the Sun."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC--VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Jill Moss, Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was Glen Mattlock. And our producer was Paul Thompson.
1. communication [kE7mju:nI5keIFn] n. 传达, 信息, 交通, 通讯
2. pension [5penFEn] n. 养老金, 退休金
3. collaboration[[kE7lAbE5reIFEn] n. 协作, 通敌
4. vocal [5vEukl] n. 元音, 声乐作品

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

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 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

4 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

5 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。