AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, July 09, 2004

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(THEME)

This is Doug Johnson.

On our show this week: some rap music by the Beastie Boys.

And a listener wants to know about the names of some cities in the western state of California.

But first, a report about activities last weekend in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.

Battle of Gettysburg

HOST:

Last weekend, many Americans visited the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. That is because the first three days in July is the anniversary of one of the most important battles in the American Civil War. Shep O'Neal has more.

ANNCR:

 
Then ... 
Gettysburg is about one-hundred kilometers north of Washington, D.C. It is a peaceful place, surrounded by low hills and rich farmland. But during the first three days of July in eighteen-sixty-three, the armies of the North and South met in one of the bloodiest² battles of the Civil War.

It began when Southern soldiers rode into the northern town of Gettysburg looking for new shoes. They found Northern soldiers instead. Other soldiers of the two armies rushed to the area. For three days, they battled fiercely near the small town.

 
... and now.
When the fighting ended, more than fifty-one-thousand soldiers were dead, wounded or missing. The Southern army fled to Virginia, never again to invade the North.

Today, the Gettysburg battlefield is a National Military Park. More than one-million people visit each year. Some visitors are interested in military history. They study the methods of the opposing generals. Others want to see the thousands of monuments and statues made by famous artists that honor the men who fought there. But most visit because Gettysburg is one of the best known names in American history.

On the anniversary of the great battle, park guides take visitors on special walks that follow the paths taken by northern and southern troops. Battle experts dressed as Northern and Southern soldiers are placed around the park to explain what happened during the battles. They also demonstrate the guns used during the Civil War. And they answer questions from visitors.

Just outside the town of Gettysburg, men and women dress as Northern and Southern troops. They re-create some of the famous battles that took place on those three days in July, eighteen-sixty-three.

All of this activity brings a lot of money to the small town of Gettysburg. Officials say the park gets about six-thousand visitors on a normal day during the summer. But on the anniversary weekend, at least ten-thousand visitors come to the park each day.

Spanish Names in California

HOST:

 
City of Angels, better known as Los Angeles.
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Brazil. Francisco de Assis Mateus would like to know why so many big cities in the western state of California have Spanish names. These include Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco.

The simple answer is that they were named by Spanish explorers. However, there is more to that story. We really have to start at the beginning in southern California near the American border with Mexico.

San Diego was the first Spanish settlement in California. Spanish soldiers built a fort there in seventeen-sixty-nine. The settlement was named for San Diego de Alcala, a Spanish saint, or holy man. Americans have called San Diego the birthplace of California.

As the Spanish soldiers moved up the coast, they found other places that would made good settlements. One of these is -- get ready for this long name – "Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula." In English it means "Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula."

Porciuncula was a Roman Catholic church in Italy linked with Saint Francis of Assisi. He was the founder³ of the Franciscan Order of religious workers and priests. Franciscan Priest Juan Crespi gave the area that name. Today it has a much shorter name -- Los Angeles or just "L.A."

We would like to tell you about one more city in California -- San Francisco. The first explorer to give the area that name was, in fact, not Spanish but Portuguese⁴. In fifteen-ninety-five, Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno named part of the California coast "Puerto de San Francisco." Or, Port of Saint Francis. Later, the Spanish discovered the great harbor where the city of San Francisco was later built. A small settlement near the present city was called Pueblo⁵ de San Francisco.

After the war between Mexico and the United States in eighteen-forty-six, Americans called the growing city San Francisco. A small island in the harbor was given the old Spanish name, Yerba Buena. So that explains the names of some cities in California.

I am sorry we do not have time to tell about Portola, Los Gatos, San Dimas, San Bernardino, Los Altos, San Carlos, San Juan Capistrano, Escondido, San Jose ...

The Beastie Boys

HOST:

 
Graphic⁶ Image
Critics are praising a new recording⁷ by the American rap group the Beastie Boys. The group has been performing and recording since nineteen-eighty-one. Faith Lapidus tells us more.

ANNCR:

The three members of the Beastie Boys are Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch and Michael Diamond. The group's first album was released in nineteen-eighty-five. It was called "License⁸ to Ill." It became the first rap album to be number one on the list of most popular records at the time. It sold more than eight-million copies in the United States. The biggest single record on the album was this song, "You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party."

(MUSIC)

In nineteen-ninety-nine, the Beastie Boys won two Grammy Awards from the American record industry. One was for Best Alternative Music Performance for the song "Hello Nasty." The other was Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for this song, "Intergalactic."

(MUSIC)

Now, the Beastie Boys have a new album, "To the Five Boroughs⁹." The album sold more than three-hundred-sixty-thousand copies in the United States in its first week of release. We leave you with the first single from that album, "Ch-Check It Out."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

Please include your name and postal¹⁰ address. We will send you a gift if we use your question.

This program was written by Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson. Paul Thompson was our producer. And our engineer was Zenab Abdulrahman.

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 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

5 pueblo   

n.（美国西南部或墨西哥等）印第安人的村庄

参考例句：

• For over 2,000 years,Pueblo peoples occupied a vast region of the south-western United States.在长达2，000多年的时间里，印第安人统治着现在美国西南部的大片土地。
• The cross memorializes the Spanish victims of the 1680 revolt,when the region's Pueblo Indians rose up in violent protest against their mistreatment and burned the cit

6 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。

7 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。

8 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

9 boroughs   

（尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇

参考例句：

• London is made up of 32 boroughs. 伦敦由三十二个行政区组成。
• Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. 布鲁克林区是纽约市的五个行政区之一。

10 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。