AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, October 08, 2004

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DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Music from Modest Mouse ...

A question from a listener about television talk-show host Jerry Springer ...

And a report about why the next place for travelers could be out of this world.

SpaceShipOne

How would you like to take a rocket ship into space? The flight this week that won the ten million dollar Ansari X Prize could launch² new chances for space travel. Faith Lapidus explains -- oh, and if you would like to buy a ticket, you might have to start saving³ your money now.

 
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FAITH LAPIDUS: On Monday, a rocket plane named SpaceShipOne entered the part of space just above the Earth's atmosphere. It was released⁵ from an airplane over the Mojave Desert in California. Pilot Brian Binnie was at the controls. It was the second flight of SpaceShipOne in six days.

To win the ten million dollars, a spacecraft had to be built without government help. It had to make two flights within two weeks. And each time, it had to reach a height of one hundred kilometers. It also had to carry the pilot and enough weight to equal two passengers.

Burt Rutan designed SpaceShipOne. His company, Scaled Composites⁶, built the rocket plane in an effort to win the X Prize.

Peter Diamandis is an official with the X Prize Foundation⁷. He says the prize was an effort to do for space flight what early prizes did to build the airplane industry. The goal now is to develop lower-cost space vehicles, like SpaceShipOne.

British businessman Richard Branson has an agreement with Burt Rutan and Paul Allen, Mister⁸ Rutan's business partner. Mister Branson will pay for the right to build rocket planes similar to SpaceShipOne. He will also start a new company to offer rides into space. The company will be called Virgin⁹ Galactic.

Mister Branson wants Virgin Galactic to offer two-hour space rides. The price of a ticket? It could be as much as one hundred ninety thousand dollars.

Jerry Springer

 
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DOUG JOHNSON: From New Zealand, our VOA listener question this week comes from a Chinese student named Philip. He says he has seen "The Jerry Springer Show" on television recently, thinks it is very funny and wants to know more about Jerry Springer.

On the show, people talk about their lives and their problems, but mostly their problems. Sometimes, the show surprises one of its guests. For example, a person who has betrayed¹⁰ the guest may appear. Or a person whom the guest is keeping a secret from. The show is known for times when people scream at each other or get into physical fights.

Some critics have called "The Jerry Springer Show" the worst show on television. Even Jerry Springer says his show can be "really silly and stupid at times." He also says he is sure some of the guests have made up their stories. But there is more to the story of Jerry Springer.

He was born in London in nineteen forty-four. His parents had fled Germany just before World War Two. When he was five years old, his family moved to the United States. They settled in New York City.

After college, he attended law school. He became politically active for civil rights and against the Vietnam War.

He moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and worked for a law firm. In nineteen seventy, he was a candidate¹¹ for Congress¹². He lost that election¹³. But later the people of Cincinnati elected him mayor¹⁴ of the city.

Jerry Springer also worked in Cincinnati as a news reporter and television announcer¹⁵. He won ten Emmy awards.

He started "The Jerry Springer Show" in nineteen ninety-one. As a result of its success, he has hosted television shows in England and South Africa. An opera was produced in London about "The Jerry Springer Show."

He has recorded country songs in Nashville and has appeared in movies and on the Broadway stage. A few years ago, Jerry Springer wrote a book about his life. He compared his job as a talk show host to that of the person who leads a circus. He named his book "Ringmaster!"

Modest Mouse

 
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The band Modest Mouse is preparing for a short series of concerts around the United States. The first stop is in Los Angeles on November sixth for the event called All Tomorrow's Parties. Bob Doughty¹⁶ has our report.

BOB DOUGHTY: All Tomorrow's Parties is a festival organized each year by a guest artist or band. It started in England in nineteen ninety-nine and now has a second location, in Los Angeles.

So far, about twenty bands are set to perform at the two-day event in California. These include the hosts this year: Modest Mouse. Here is their current hit, "Float On. "

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Singer and guitarist Isaac Brock, bassist Eric Judy and drummer Jeremiah Green formed Modest Mouse in nineteen ninety-three. The group started in Washington state, in the Pacific Northwest.

The band recorded on independent labels. In nineteen ninety-seven, Modest Mouse released "Lonesome Crowded West." It got more radio play than earlier albums. One of the popular songs was "Convenient Parking."

(MUSIC)

In two thousand, Modest Mouse signed with Sony. We leave you now with the band performing "Ocean Breathes Salty." It is from their latest album, "Good News for People Who Love Bad News."

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: 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 Nancy Steinbach, Caty Weaver¹⁷ and Paul Thompson, who was also our producer. 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 launch   

vt.发动，推出；发射；n.发射，下水，投产

参考例句：

• The makers are about to launch out a new product.制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。
• Would it be wise to launch into this rough sea?在这样汹涌的大海中游泳明智吗？

3 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

4 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。

5 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。

6 composites   

合成物，混合物，复合材料( composite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The main classes of materials are metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites. 材料的主要分类为金属、高聚物，陶瓷，及合成材料。
• Silane coupling agents are also used in many commercial sand-epoxy-type composites. 硅烷偶联剂亦用于许多通用的砂子环氧型复合材料中。

7 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

8 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

9 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

10 betrayed   

对…不忠( betray的过去式和过去分词 )； 背叛； 出卖； 泄露

参考例句：

• The shakes of the speaker's hands betrayed his nervousness. 发言者双手颤抖，可见他很紧张。
• He betrayed all his friends on his own account. 他为自己的利益出卖了所有的朋友。

11 candidate   

n.候选人；候补者；投考者，申请求职者

参考例句：

• Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
• The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。

12 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

13 election   

n.选举，选择权；当选

参考例句：

• There is no doubt but that he will win the election.毫无疑问，他将在竞选中获胜。
• The government will probably fall at the coming election.在即将到来的大选中，该政府很可能要垮台。

14 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

15 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

16 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

17 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。