AMERICAN MOSAIC - VOA's Online Pronunciation Guide / A Quest

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - VOA's Online Pronunciation Guide / A Question About NASA / Rosemary Clooney's Grammy-Nominated² Album, 'Last...
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Broadcast: Friday, January 23, 2004

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.

On our show today, we answer a question about the American space agency. And we continue our series about music nominated this year for a Grammy Award.

But first, some help for anyone who has trouble with names. Names in the news, that is.

VOA Pronunciation Guide

HOST:

 
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Every second of the day, someone somewhere in the world is using the Web site for the VOA Pronunciation Guide. In fact, it is one of the most visited places on the Internet. Here's more from Shep O'Neal.

ANNCR:

The Pronunciation Guide began as a tool for VOA announcers. It lists more than four-thousand-five-hundred names. There are names of political leaders, scientists and other people who appear in the news. There are also names of places and organizations. The site shows the correct way to say the name and plays a recording⁴. Jim Tedder⁵ is the VOA announcer who developed the online Pronunciation Guide. Yes, the same Jim Tedder who reads Special English!

When a new name appears in the news, Jim quickly tries to find the correct pronunciation, so he can add the name to the list. He finds a lot of help right here inside the building.

VOA broadcasts in more than fifty languages. So if, for example, someone new from China is in the news, Jim calls the China service.

Sometimes, other broadcasters may not be sure how to say the name. Jim may try to call the person directly, if possible. Or he calls an embassy⁶ here in Washington. Or a delegation⁷ in New York at the United Nations.

The Pronunciation Guide is an important tool for VOA announcers. But it has also become extremely popular with other radio and television stations throughout the world. Students and teachers also use the guide. So do businesspeople. It has become popular with anyone who needs to learn how to say a name correctly.

So how can you find the VOA Pronunciation Guide? One way is to go to the Special English Web site and click on the link. The address is voaspecialenglish-dot-com.

NASA

HOST:

 
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Our question this week comes by e-mail from China. A listener who asks that we not use his name wants to know more about NASA.

NASA is the National Aeronautics⁸ and Space Administration. It has many jobs involving flight. But it is best known as the agency that plans and supervises⁹ the exploration of space by the United States government. Thousands of scientists, engineers and others work for NASA at ten major centers across the country.

NASA began in nineteen-fifty-eight. Its first big program was Project Mercury¹⁰. That was an effort to learn if humans could survive in space. Next came Gemini, which used spacecraft only big enough for two astronauts. Later, Project Apollo aimed to explore the moon. The flight of Apollo Eleven put the first humans on the moon in nineteen-sixty-nine.

Since the nineteen-eighties, NASA has flown space shuttles. Astronauts from the United States and other countries have used these to do research and to build the International Space Station.

Last February first, Space Shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth. Seven astronauts were killed. NASA immediately suspended shuttle flights until scientists could discover the cause of the accident.

A special committee said the main cause involved a piece of heat-resistant foam¹¹. This material broke away from the support structure that connects the shuttle to its launch rocket. The object hit the edge of the left shuttle wing with strong force and created a hole. Images of the launch showed the strike. But NASA engineers decided¹² that the crew was not in danger.

The investigating committee found problems in the way NASA dealt with the situation. Problems with supervision¹³ were also found after the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch in nineteen-eighty-six.

This past September, NASA released a plan that included suggestions made by the committee. NASA's top official said the agency would work to return the remaining three shuttles to flight as soon as possible. But last week, President Bush proposed to complete the space station in two-thousand-ten and then retire the shuttles. He proposed a new spacecraft to fly to the moon between two-thousand-fifteen and two-thousand-twenty. Mister Bush called for establishing a base there to help astronauts reach Mars¹⁴ and beyond.

Rosemary Clooney's "Last Concert"

HOST:

 
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The Grammy Awards in music will be given out next month in Los Angeles. One of the nominees¹⁵ this year was nominated for an album recorded before her death. The singer is Rosemary Clooney. The album is "The Last Concert." Steve Ember has more.

ANNCR:

Rosemary Clooney died in June of two-thousand-two at the age of seventy-four. She recorded the Grammy-nominated album in November of two-thousand-one at a concert in Hawaii. One of the songs she sang was "You Go to My Head."

(MUSIC)

Rosemary Clooney talked to her audience that night about other famous singers she had worked with over the years; singers like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. She remembered them in this song, called "They Can't Take That Away from Me."

(MUSIC)

Rosemary Clooney worked in the music business for more than fifty years. In two-thousand-two she received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. Yet she never won a Grammy for her music. The producers of her last album hope that will change at the awards ceremony on February eighth.

We leave you with another song from "Last Concert." This one describes her feelings about doing the performance and returning to Hawaii. Here is "Sentimental¹⁶ Journey," sung by Rosemary Clooney.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson.

Today's program was written by George Grow, Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson, who was also our producer. The engineer was Andreus Regis. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

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 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。

4 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。

5 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

6 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

7 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

8 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

9 supervises   

v.监督，管理( supervise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The group leader supervises a dozen workers. 组长管十二个工人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He makes the wines and supervises the vineyards. 他酿酒并管理葡萄园。 来自辞典例句

10 mercury   

n.汞，水银，水银柱

参考例句：

• The liquid we can see in thermometers is mercury.我们看到的温度计里的液体是水银。
• Mercury has a much greater density than water.水银的密度比水大得多。

11 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

12 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。

13 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

14 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

15 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

16 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。