AMERICAN MOSAIC - Questions from Listeners About How America

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Questions from Listeners About How Americans Vote / Queen Latifah Explores a Musical World Before Rap
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Broadcast: Friday, October 15, 2004

(MUSIC)

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

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Music from Queen Latifah ... and questions from listeners about voting in America.

And, we'll tell you about a special program next week to mark an anniversary for Special English.

Voting

 
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On November second, Americans will choose a president and vice³ president. They will elect members of Congress and state and local officials. And they will decide local measures. Between now and Election Day, we are going to answer listener questions about voting.

Mister Nguyen from Vietnam wants to know how Americans vote for president. And C. Jayakumar of Tamil Nadu, India, and M.S. Haque of Bangladesh, both ask how old Americans must be to vote.

Voters must be at least eighteen. The voting age used to be twenty-one years old, until the Constitution was changed in nineteen seventy-one.

Here is another fact. Until nineteen twenty, the Constitution did not permit women to vote. Today women vote at higher rates than men in national elections. The Census⁴ Bureau says this has been true for more than twenty years.

Still, not all adults have the right to vote. Most of the states require voters not to have been found guilty of a major crime. Voters must also be American citizens. And they must be registered to vote in the area where they live. Their names must appear on a local election list.

In many states, a person must register at least two to four weeks before an election. Voters do not have to register again unless they move to a different area or do not vote in several elections.

On Election Day, people usually vote in a school or other public building near their home. Voting is done by secret ballot⁵. But local election officials decide what kind of voting equipment is used.

Paper-and-pencil ballots⁶ are rare these days. But many systems still do use paper. Voters mark their choices on the ballot and a computer counts the votes. Some places use machines to record votes when a person moves a lever next to the name of a candidate. These kinds of machines are old and are slowly being replaced.

Other kinds of voting machines use punch cards. Voters use a device to make holes in the ballot to mark their choices. Then a computer passes light through the holes to count the votes. But these devices are also being replaced.

The problems with vote counting in Florida four years ago led Congress to pass the Help America Vote Act. Under this two thousand two law, states are getting money to buy modern technology. Still, officials say most voters this November will vote on the same equipment they used four years ago.

The most modern voting machines today use touch screen technology. Voters press on a computer screen to enter their choices. But some people question the security of these machines, especially without a printed record of the votes.

One way to avoid any machine at all is to vote early by absentee ballot. Election officials must receive the ballot on or before Election Day. This way of voting is increasingly popular. It avoids any wait at voting stations. But there are also questions about the security of absentee ballots against the possibility of cheating.

Special English Anniversary

HOST:

Special English will celebrate its forty-fifth anniversary next week. Here is Bob Doughty⁷ with the story.

BOB DOUGHTY: Special English began on October nineteenth, nineteen-fifty-nine. VOA officials wanted a program to communicate with English learners. They wanted a way for people to get to know the language and, at the same time, learn about the United States and world events.

The writing is limited as much as possible to a list of about one thousand five hundred words. Our word book is online at voaspecialenglish-dot-com. Another way that Special English is different, as you can hear, is the speed. The rate is about one third slower than standard English as spoken on VOA.

Some language experts thought the programs would be too simple or not make sense. But listeners proved these experts wrong.

Listeners of this program know that we answer questions on the air about American life. Usually we choose one question per week. But next Tuesday, on the forty-fifth anniversary of Special English, we are going to present a special American Mosaic. We are going to answer some of the most commonly asked questions that we get. The answers will also appear at www.tingroom.com. So be sure to listen Tuesday at this same time for our special American Mosaic.

 
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Queen Latifah

The newest album from Queen Latifah contains none of the hip-hop music that made her famous. Instead, she performs jazz, blues⁸, soul and pop songs from the past. The collection is called "The Dana Owens Album." Faith Lapidus explains.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Queen Latifah became Queen Latifah in college. Before that, she was Dana Owens, the name her parents gave her. Queen Latifah is famous as a rapper. But here she sings "Hello Stranger," a hit by Barbara Lewis in nineteen sixty-three.

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Queen Latifah says she got the idea for her new album after looking at her own record collection. She says she wanted to record some songs that had influenced her. One of them is "Simply Beautiful" by Al Green. He joins her on the recording⁹.

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Queen Latifah is also an actress. She stars with comedian¹⁰ Jimmy Fallon in the new action movie "Taxi."

A few years ago Queen Latifah sang a famous Billy Strayhorn song in one of her movies. She recorded it again for her new album. We leave you with Queen Latifah -- or Dana Owens -- and a song called "Lush Life."

(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 Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹¹. Paul Thompson was the 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 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。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

9 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。

10 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

11 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。