AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, July 16, 2004

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(THEME)

This is Doug Johnson.

On our show this week: some jazz music from Wynton Marsalis.

And a listener wants to know about a kind of horse called the Appaloosa.

But first, we remember American actor Marlon Brando.

Marlon Brando

 
Marlon Brando in 
The American movie industry lost one of its greatest stars on July first. Marlon Brando died in Los Angeles, California at the age of eighty. Gwen OUten takes a look back at the actor's long life in movies.

MARLON BRANDO: "You don't understand. I could've had class. I could've been a contender. I could've been somebody instead of a bum² which is what I am."

GWEN OUTEN: That was Marlon Brando playing a former boxer³ in the nineteen-fifty-four movie "On the Waterfront." Marlon Brando was somebody, of course. Many critics say he was the greatest actor of all time. And many actors say Marlon Brando influenced them more than any other person in the movie industry.

Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska in nineteen-twenty-four. His mother was an actress. His father was a salesman. His childhood was not happy. In a book about his life, Brando wrote that both his parents were dependent on alcohol. He wrote that his father never said anything good about his son.

Marlon Brando linked his interest in acting⁴ to the painful years of his childhood. He said a child who feels unaccepted by his parents will search for a different identity that will be acceptable.

When he was nineteen, Brando moved to New York City. He studied acting and learned what is called the "method" style of realistic acting. In nineteen-forty-seven, he became a Broadway star with his famous performance as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' play, "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Brando's fame grew in nineteen-fifty-one when he acted the same part in the film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Brando acted in more than forty movies. He won two Academy Awards for Best Actor. One was for his work in "On the Waterfront." The other was for playing Vito Corleone, the powerful head of a criminal organization in "The Godfather" in nineteen-seventy-two. He was nominated for five other Academy Awards.

Brando was a private man but he did not lead a quiet or easy life. He was married three times. He had at least seven children. Brando dealt with several tragedies. One of his sons was sent to prison for killing⁵ a man. Brando's daughter, Cheyenne, killed herself in nineteen-ninety-five.

No public service was held to honor Marlon Brando after his death. A family spokesperson said he would not have wanted one. But the actor's place in Hollywood history is secure.

The Appaloosa

 
Graphic⁶ Image
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Nice, France. Anne Claude Petit asks about the Appaloosa horse.

Appaloosa horses have colorful spots on their bodies. History experts have found the horses shown in ancient cave paintings. The horses lived in Persia, China and Egypt. Spotted⁷ horses were developed into riding horses in Spain and taken to Mexico in the sixteenth century. They spread across North America.

The Nez Perce Indians used the spotted animals to produce horses that were fast, strong and gentle. The Nez Perce lived near the Palouse River that flows through the northwestern states of Washington and Idaho. White settlers called the colorful horse "a Palouse horse." Later, the name was pronounced Appaloosa. The breed was recognized in nineteen-thirty-eight when Claude Thompson and George Hatley established the Appaloosa Horse Club. Its headquarters is in Moscow, Idaho.

Today, the Appaloosa Horse Club recognizes more than six-hundred-thousand Appaloosa horses. The club says Appaloosas are used everywhere a good horse is needed, including show racing⁸ and jumping. Appaloosas are also used for riding, on ranches⁹ and in the circus.

Appaloosas have broad heads, short bodies and strong legs. They move very smoothly¹⁰. An Appaloosa can have one of many different designs on its body.

It may be white with colored spots, or colored with white spots. It may have a white back or colored spots on the back end. It may be a colored horse with light or white spots on the hips¹¹ and legs. An Appaloosa can also be colored at birth but become almost white as the horse ages except for dark markings on the legs and face.

To be officially recognized as an Appaloosa, a horse must also have a visible white part of the eye, similar to the human eye. It should also have striped hooves and a special kind of partly colored skin around the mouth and nose.

Every year, the Appaloosa Horse Club organizes a championship contest for Appaloosas and their riders. The contest this year ended last week in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For more information about the contest and the horses, the Web site of the Appaloosa Horse Club is www.appaloosa.com.

The Magic Hour

 
Graphic Image
Wynton Marsalis is a famous jazz musician, composer and conductor. He is the artistic¹² director of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. He was the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music. That was in nineteen-ninety-seven. Wynton Marsalis has released more than forty records. He plays trumpet¹³ on his new album with the Wynton Marsalis Quartet. It is called "The Magic Hour." Shep O'Neal tells us about Marsalis and his music.

SHEP O'NEAL: Wynton Marsalis says "the magic hour" is a special hour of the day for a family. He says that for children, the magic hour is one hour before they go to sleep. For parents, it is one hour after the children go to sleep.

Marsalis says the album celebrates the child in all of us. Critics say the album is full of simple pleasures. Here is one of them, a song called "Free to Be."

(MUSIC)

Wynton Marsalis says he made the new album with three other musicians because he wanted to restate his love of jazz music in a quartet. "The Magic Hour" also includes two songs by guest singers. This one is called "Baby, I Love You." The singer is Bobby McFerrin.

(MUSIC)

One critic says Wynton Marsalis is the most recognized jazz artist in the world today. Three years ago, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan declared him an international ambassador of goodwill¹⁴. Wynton Marsalis and his group are performing in the United States and ten other countries this summer. We leave you with the song "Skipping" from "The Magic Hour."

(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.

This program was written by Shelley Gollust, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹⁵. Paul Thompson was the producer. And our engineer was Jim Sleeman.

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 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

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 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

8 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

9 ranches   

大农场， （兼种果树，养鸡等的）大牧场( ranch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They hauled feedlot manure from the ranches to fertilize their fields. 他们从牧场的饲养场拖走肥料去肥田。
• Many abandoned ranches are purchased or leased by other poultrymen. 许多被放弃的牧场会由其他家禽监主收买或租用。

10 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

11 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

13 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

14 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

15 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。