VOA慢速英语2003年-Kelly Clarkson

 

Broadcast: May 16, 2003
By Caty Weaver¹

HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC²--VOA's radio magazine in Special English.
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today,
We answer a listener's question about rainbows ...
Play music by singer Kelly Clarkson ...
and ... report about a popular American television show.

Trading Spaces
HOST:
Would you like to re-design a room in a friend's house? Paint the walls, build new furniture and maybe work on an art project or two? Would you like to do so even if you knew your friend was changing a room in your house too? That is what happens on a very popular American television show called "Trading Spaces." Phoebe Zimmermann tells about it.
ANNCR:
On a recent show, one homeowner jumped on the friend who has changed her living room. As they both fell to the floor, the homeowner yelled³ that she hates the color brown. That is the color her friend painted on the walls.
Such actions by homeowners on "Trading Spaces" are not unusual. Some people cry, some laugh and some get angry about the changes made to their homes.
"Trading Spaces" is in its third season on the cable⁴ television network TLC. American producers took the idea for the show from a British program called "Changing Rooms."
The show works⁵ with two teams of homeowners whose houses are very near each other. The homeowners move into each other's homes for two days. The homeowners work with one of the eight "Trading Spaces" designers. They all have very different ideas about home design.
Each team is given one-thousand dollars to spend on the room. And they share the help of a carpenter1 who can build things.
The host of the show is stage performer Paige Davis. She makes sure everybody follows the rules. Both rooms must be completed by the end of the second day. Sometimes the homeowners are forced to work all night to finish the room. Mizz Davis also makes sure the designers do not spend more than their budget2.
And, Paige Davis often has to play the judge when disputes⁶ arise between designers and homeowners. And, the arguing can get pretty intense⁷! Listen:
VOICE ONE:
"Are you sure we can't think of something else? "Cause I just think the girls really were against animal print…and I know it was not intended to be animal print…
VOICE TWO:
"It is not an animal print!"
VOICE ONE:
"I know it's Gottlieb! And, I love you, but I just…I can not appreciate Gottlieb!"
Sometimes the design results are beautiful. Sometimes they are horrible. But the show is always surprising. This may be a reason for its popularity⁸. The show has about fifteen-million viewers each week.
The television network TLC has released⁹ a book about the show that is selling very well. And it produced two videos of old programs for viewers who can not wait to see the shows again.

Rainbows
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from China. Liu asks how a rainbow is formed. Is its perfect circle shaped by the air or sunlight?
A rainbow is a circle of colors that appears in the sky when sunlight shines on raindrops. The sunlight and water work together to form rainbows. Think of sunlight flowing out in many lines, called rays. The rays are an equal distance from each other.
The light energy of the rays acts similar to waves. The light waves have different lengths. Sunlight is made up of several wave lengths. People see the mix of lengths as what is called white light.
But things change when a ray of white light hits a raindrop. That is when the colors that make up white light slow to different speeds. The light bends as it enters the raindrop. Shorter wavelengths¹⁰ bend more sharply¹¹. This bending separates the white light into colors, each color weakening¹² as it moves into the next color. The light rays turn or bend again when they come out of the raindrop. This continuous¹³ bending through an area of raindrops is what makes the rainbow a perfect circle.
You will not always see a rainbow when it rains while the sun shines. The sun must be in the right position over the horizon. And remember to turn your back to the sun when you look toward¹⁴ the sky. A rainbow will never appear in the path between you and the sun.
If you are on the ground, you will only see a part of the rainbow. This is because the earth blocks the rest of the circle. You can see the whole circle if you are flying high in a plane when a rainbow happens. The shadow of the plane would be in the center.
Rainbows hold an important place in the traditional stories and beliefs that make up many cultures. For example, in ancient Greek stories, Iris¹⁵ was the goddess of the rainbow. She would travel over rainbows to carry messages from the gods to humans. Other cultures say the rainbow represents a bridge between life and death. Still others see the rainbow as a sign of good things to come.
And, there is always the rainbow's famous "pot of gold." That ancient European story says if you can travel to the end of the rainbow, you will find gold there. But, of course, that is impossible! The rainbow is for our eyes only!
Kelly Clarkson
HOST:
Another popular television show in the United States today is called "American Idol¹⁶." It is a search to find the best new singers. The winner last year recently released her first album. Kelly Clarkson's record "Thankful" quickly became the most popular in the country. Shep O'Neal tells us about her and plays some of her songs.
ANNCR:
Kelly Clarkson is twenty years old. She grew up in the western state of Texas dreaming of becoming a professional singer. She heard about a new show where non-professional singers compete for a chance at a recording¹⁷ agreement. She sang for "American Idol" and got on the show. Listen now to the voice that won her that chance. Here she sings "A Moment Like This."
(MUSIC)
Kelly Clarkson then sang before millions of television viewers every week and was judged on her singing ability. She won the competition. She also won many fans who are buying her record in large numbers.
Here is a song she sings with another "American Idol" competitor, Tamyra Gray. The good friends perform "You Thought Wrong."
(MUSIC)
Kelly Clarkson wrote "You Thought Wrong" and several other songs on the album. We leave you now with a song that probably expresses how Kelly Clarkson has been feeling lately. It is called "Thankful."
(MUSIC)
HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. Write us with your questions about American life. We will try to answer them on future programs. Listeners whose questions are chosen will receive a gift.
Write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C. two-zero-two-three-seven, USA. Or send e-mail to Mosaic at v-o-a news-dot-com ([email protected]). Please include your name and mailing address.
Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Rick Barnes. Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC--VOA's radio magazine in Special English.
1. rainbow [5reInbEu] n. 彩虹, 五彩缤纷的排列, 幻想, 幻觉, 虚无缥缈的东西
2. carpenter [5kB:pIntE] n. 木匠
3. budget [5bQdVIt] n. 预算
 

1 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。

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 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

5 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

6 disputes   

n.辩论( dispute的名词复数 )；争端；（劳资）纠纷；罢工v.辩论，争论( dispute的第三人称单数 )；争夺；阻止；就…进行辩论

参考例句：

• a legalistic approach to family disputes 死抠法律条文解决家庭纠纷的方法
• a party riven by internal disputes 由于内部分歧而四分五裂的政党

7 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

8 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

9 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

10 wavelengths   

n.波长( wavelength的名词复数 )；具有相同的/不同的思路；合拍；不合拍

参考例句：

• I find him difficult to talk to—we're on completely different wavelengths. 我没法和他谈话，因为我们俩完全不对路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sunlight consists of different wavelengths of radiation. 阳光由几种不同波长的射线组成。 来自辞典例句

11 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

12 weakening   

v.（使）削弱， （使）变弱( weaken的现在分词 )；消震

参考例句：

• The currency of that country is weakening on foreign exchanges. 那个国家的货币在外汇市场上疲软。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Bad and irregular eating was weakening every function of his body. 吃得又差又没有规律，使他身体的每一个官能都在衰退。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

13 continuous   

adj.继续的，连续的，持续的，延伸的

参考例句：

• She finally got in after 10 years'continuous effort.坚持不懈地努力了十年后，她终于当选了。
• We must be continuous to study.我们必须不断学习。

14 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

15 iris   

n.虹膜，彩虹

参考例句：

• The opening of the iris is called the pupil.虹膜的开口处叫做瞳孔。
• This incredible human eye,complete with retina and iris,can be found in the Maldives.又是在马尔代夫，有这样一只难以置信的眼睛，连视网膜和虹膜都刻画齐全了。

16 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

17 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。