AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, January 16, 2004

(THEME)

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC -- a program in VOA Special English about music and American life. And we answer your questions.

(THEME)

This is Doug Johnson.

This week, we answer a question about an American hero from the time of slavery. And we have music by Lenny Kravitz -- the singer is nominated² this year for another Grammy Award.

But first, we kick off our show with a dispute³ that a lot of American sports fans are talking about.

BCS Controversy⁴

HOST:

 
Louisiana State University quarterback Matt Mauck jumps over Oklahoma's Gayron Allen at the Sugar Bowl Jan. 4.
The Super Bowl in the National Football League is February first. The two teams that do the best this season will meet in Houston to decide the champion of the N-F-L. College football has tried to develop a championship system like the professionals have. This effort, however, has run into problems. Shep O'Neal explains.

ANNCR:

College football teams in the United States end their season in November, then play championship games. One of the most famous is played in the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, on New Year's Day. Another is the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Still another is the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

For years, the teams that played in "bowl" games were the champions of groups of universities. These groups are called conferences. For example, the two teams in the Rose Bowl are the best from the Big Ten and the "Pac Ten" schools. The Big Ten conference is in the middle of the country. The Pacific Ten conference is in the far west. But bowl games have grown over the years. There is a lot of money to be made from broadcasting football games on television. This time there were twenty-eight bowl games.

In the nineteen-nineties, football fans demanded that the final bowl games be played to decide a national champion of college football. So bowl officials ended up with the Bowl Championship Series. In this system, experts and computers decide which top teams play in which games. The idea is to have the two teams considered to be the strongest in the nation play for the national championship.

This year, the Sugar Bowl was the national championship game. Louisiana State University won. But, in the media, and in public opinion, L-S-U split⁵ the championship with the University of Southern California. That highly⁶ rated team won the Rose Bowl.

A lot of people say another game should be played to decide the national champion. Others say it will hurt the student athletes to extend⁷ the football season. The Gateway⁸ computer company even offered thirty-million dollars in scholarship money for a game between L-S-U and Southern California. But national college athletic⁹ officials rejected the idea.

Bowl Championship Series officials say they hope to avoid disagreements in the future. They plan to change the computer system so that it weighs the opinions of the humans more than it does now.

Harriet Tubman

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Akwa Ibom State, in Nigeria. Samuel Bassey asks who was Harriet Tubman.

 
Graphic¹¹ Image
Harriet Tubman was an African-American woman who fought slavery and oppression. Stories about her say she was born in eighteen-twenty. No one really knows.

We do know that Harriet Tubman helped many people escape from slavery through the Underground Railroad¹². This was a transportation system, but not in the traditional sense. It was an organized effort by people to help slaves from the Southern states get to areas that banned slavery.

Her parents belonged to a farmer in Maryland. Slaves lived with the fear that they could be sold at any time. Families often were separated.

Harriet married a free black man named John Tubman in eighteen-forty-four. Yet she remained a slave. She decided¹³ to escape. In eighteen-forty-nine, the farmer who owned her and her family died. Harriet Tubman heard that she was to be sold immediately. She ran to the home of a white woman who had offered to help.

This woman told her how to reach another home where she could hide. Harriet Tubman went from place to place this way. Each place was a little closer to the northern states where slavery was illegal. This is how the Underground Railroad operated. Finally, she crossed the border into the northern state of Pennsylvania.

But Harriet Tubman did not forget the slaves in Maryland. During the next ten years, she led a much expanded Underground Railroad. She freed her parents and other family members. She traveled back and forth¹⁴ eighteen times. She helped three-hundred slaves escape.

Harriet Tubman found another way to fight slavery after the Civil War began in eighteen-sixty-one. She went into the Southern states to spy for the North. She also helped people as a nurse.

After the North won the Civil War, Harriet Tubman settled in New York state. She traveled and gave speeches to raise money for better education for black Americans. She also worked for women's rights and improved housing¹⁵. And, she sought help for older adults who had been slaves.

Harriet Tubman died in nineteen-thirteen. By that time, she was recognized as an American hero.

Lenny Kravitz

HOST:

 
Graphic Image
The American music industry will present its Grammy Awards on February eighth in Los Angeles. Shirley Griffith tells about one of the nominees¹⁶ this year for best male rock vocal¹⁷ performance.

ANNCR:

Lenny Kravitz was born in New York City in nineteen-sixty-four. He comes from a show business family: His father was a television producer; his mother, an actress. He taught himself to play the piano, bass¹⁰ and drums as a child. Lenny Kravitz also writes a lot of his own songs. You might remember this one from nineteen-ninety-eight, which earned him a Grammy.

(MUSIC)

The song is "Fly Away." It was on the fifth album Lenny Kravitz recorded; the album is called "Five." A song included on "Five" as a bonus track also won a Grammy. It was used in an "Austin Powers" movie: his version¹⁸ of "American Woman."

(MUSIC)

The newest album from Lenny Kravitz is called "Lenny." It contains the song that earned him a Grammy nomination¹⁹ this year. We leave you with "If I Could Fall in Love."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

And remember to send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name and mailing address. If we use your question, we'll send you a gift. Our postal²⁰ address is American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

This program was written by Nancy Steinbach and Jerilyn Watson. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer was Andreus Regis.

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 nominated   

adj.被提名的，被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
• The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。

3 dispute   

n.争端，分歧；v.争论，争吵，辩论，辩驳

参考例句：

• They are trying to find a way of settling the dispute.他们正设法寻找解决争端的办法。
• The parties to the dispute should be more polite to each other.争执双方应相互礼貌些。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

6 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

7 extend   

v.伸开；展开，伸展；扩大；加大

参考例句：

• Can you extend your visit for a few days more?你能把你的访问再延长几天吗？
• The examinations extend over two weeks.考试持续两个星期。

8 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

9 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。

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

11 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

12 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

16 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

17 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。

18 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

19 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

20 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。