AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, October 29, 2004

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

This is Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

A listener asks how the Electoral College works ...

A look at some body art ...

And a musical history of the Apollo Theater.

Body Art

 
Graphic² Image
Body art is the use of the human body as a form of self-expression. Tattooing⁴ and piercing are both forms of body art. And, as Faith Lapidus tells us, both have become more socially acceptable in the United States.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Tattooing is the art of injecting colors into the skin to create designs. Piercing is putting holes in the body for wearing jewelry⁵.

Ancient societies used body art to represent many different things, including social position and religious beliefs. In the United States, tattoos⁶ were considered mostly for military men or laborers⁷, or young people who disobeyed their parents.

But in recent years, all kinds of people have gotten tattoos -- men, women, teachers, entertainers. Some tattoos are small and hidden under clothes. But it is not so unusual these days to see young men with colorful designs that cover their arms. Some young women have large tattoos across their lower back.

Piercing used to be just for ears. But now other parts include lips, noses, eyebrows⁸ and navels.

Piercing and tattooing can involve serious risks, in addition to pain and bleeding. There is the risk of infection and the spread of disease if the artist is not careful about cleanliness.

Of course, people may later regret their decision to get a permanent tattoo³. Removal is costly⁹ and painful. So some people get a temporary one, like mehndi. Mehndi is a traditional body art done with henna, which comes from a plant. It washes off in a few weeks.

Electoral College

DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from South Africa. Clifford Riffel in Atlantis writes: "I keep hearing about an Electoral College. How does it work?" It works this way:

When Americans vote for president and vice¹⁰ president next Tuesday, their votes will not go to the candidates. Instead, Americans vote for electors to represent them in what is known as the Electoral College.

The founders¹¹ of the nation thought appointed representatives should make the choice. They saw this as a compromise between having Congress elect a president and having the people do it directly. They borrowed an idea from the ancient Holy Roman Empire. Back then, a number of princes of German states acted as electors of the king.

The term "college" comes from Latin. It can mean any group of people who act together for a common purpose. The Constitution talks about "electors," but never uses the term "electoral college." Yet Americans were calling it that by the early eighteen hundreds.

Different states have different laws on the appointment of electors. But political parties often nominate people to recognize their service to their party. In some states, the names of the electors appear on the ballot¹², below the names of the candidates.

The number of electors in each state equals the number or representatives and senators that the state has in Congress. This depends on population. So, states with more people have more electoral votes. California has the most – fifty-five.

In all, there are five hundred thirty-eight votes in the Electoral College. To become president, a candidate must win more than half, or at least two hundred seventy. If there is a tie, the election would be decided¹³ in the House of Representatives.

In general, the candidate with the most popular votes in a state wins all the electoral votes in that state. Two of the fifty states, Maine and Nebraska, no longer have a winner-takes-all system. And on Tuesday, voters in Colorado will consider a ballot measure that proposes a similar change.

Their nine electoral votes would be divided by the share of the popular vote that each candidate receives. The proposal calls for the change to take effect immediately.

No federal law requires electors to vote for the candidate who won the most votes in their state. Some states, however, do have such laws.

Usually, the candidate who wins in the popular vote nationwide also wins in the Electoral College, but not always. In two thousand, for example, Al Gore¹⁴ received half a million more votes than George W. Bush. But Mister Bush won the electoral vote when the Supreme¹⁵ Court ruled, five to four, to halt a recount of the ballots¹⁶ in Florida. The state was decided by five hundred thirty-seven votes.

Critics of the Electoral College system call it undemocratic, difficult to understand and dangerous to the political system. Supporters say it helps to guarantee the rights of states with small populations. They say it also requires candidates to reach out to many states, not just those with large populations.

There have been hundreds of proposals in Congress to end or reform the Electoral College. But amending¹⁷ the Constitution is a difficult process.

In any case, this year the election of the president and vice president will not take place, officially, until December thirteenth. That is the day for electors in each state and the District of Columbia to meet to choose America's leaders for the next four years.

To learn more about the Electoral College, go to www.unsv.com. We have a link to information from the Federal Register.

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in New York City celebrated¹⁸ its seventieth anniversary this year. Steve Ember takes us inside this historic place.

STEVE EMBER: The Apollo Theater is in Harlem, the traditional center of African American life in New York. The Apollo calls itself a place "where stars are born and legends are made."

Many singers, dancers and other artists have become famous after they performed there. One of them was Ella Fitzgerald. She performed at the Apollo for the first time in nineteen thirty-four, the year it opened.

Four years later, she recorded her first big hit, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket."

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Singer James Brown recorded a performance at the Apollo Theater in nineteen sixty-two. The following year, he released an album. Here, from "Live at the Apollo," is James Brown with "Living In America."

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In recent years, the Apollo stage has been a stepping-stone for performers like Lauryn Hill. Her music combines rap, reggae, soul and hip-hop. She wrote and produced her nineteen ninety-eighty album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill."

We leave you with a song called "Doo Wop (That Thing)."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson.

Send your questions about American life to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

Or write to [email protected]. Please include your full name and postal¹⁹ address. And if you e-mail us a picture of yourself, we'll post it at voaspecialenglish dot com.

Our program was written by Jill Moss²⁰, Lawan Davis and Brian Kim. Caty Weaver²¹ was our producer.

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 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 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

4 tattooing   

n.刺字，文身v.刺青，文身( tattoo的现在分词 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• tattooing and body piercing 文身和穿体装饰
• On earth most work of the absolute shy cattle ^s skin-tattooing world! 地球上最牛的纹身绝对惊世之作！ 来自互联网

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

8 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 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。

11 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

12 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。

13 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。

14 gore   

n.凝血，血污；v.（动物）用角撞伤，用牙刺破；缝以补裆；顶

参考例句：

• The fox lay dying in a pool of gore.狐狸倒在血泊中奄奄一息。
• Carruthers had been gored by a rhinoceros.卡拉瑟斯被犀牛顶伤了。

15 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

16 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》

17 amending   

改良，修改，修订( amend的现在分词 )； 改良，修改，修订( amend的第三人称单数 )( amends的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Amending acts in 1933,1934, and 1935 attempted to help honest debtors rehabilitate themselves. 一九三三年，一九三四年和一九三五年通过的修正案是为了帮助诚实的债务人恢复自己的地位。
• Two ways were used about the error-amending of contour curve. 采用两种方法对凸轮轮廓曲线进行了修正。

18 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

19 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。

20 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

21 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。