AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
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Broadcast: Friday, February 04, 2005

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

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

Grammy-nominated music from the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas …

 
 
Answers to questions about the American flag ...

And a look at some unusual laws.

Unusual Laws

Most laws are meant to make life safer or better in some way. Lawmakers usually have a good reason for approving a law. Or, as Faith Lapidus tells us, maybe it only seemed like a good reason at the time.

FAITH LAPIDUS: There are lots of Web sites with old laws that sound stupid, or at least they do today. But who knows which laws are real, so why repeat them here? All we will say is, if you ever want to take a lion to the movies in Maryland, better investigate the local laws. Really, who would want to take a lion to the movies?

Now, here is one case you might have heard about. In nineteen ninety-nine, a man in Michigan was in a small boat that hit a rock. He fell into the water and became very angry. He said some words that we cannot repeat.

The man was arrested for using offensive language in front of women and children. He was tried and found in violation² of a law dating back to eighteen ninety-seven. His sentence was a seventy-five dollar fine and four days of doing community service.

He appealed -- and won. In two thousand two, a higher court said the Michigan law violated the First Amendment³. The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees free speech.

Other states have done away with similar old laws protecting women, but not all such laws. In Washington state, in the Pacific Northwest, a person who makes false statements about a woman may be guilty of a crime. It is not illegal, though, if the woman is what this law calls a "common prostitute."

The law is from nineteen oh nine. It has not been enforced for many years. But some people see no reason to keep it.

State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles first proposed a bill two years ago to end the law. Her bill got nowhere. Now, she is more hopeful with a new Legislature. Jeanne Kohl-Welles teaches women's studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. She argues that the law is out of date in modern society. She says it raises constitutional issues of free speech and equal protection.

Her new bill comes as the state faces a serious budget deficit⁴. The Seattle Times called her "sense of fairness" understandable. But the newspaper questioned the urgency of the bill, given the problems facing the Legislature. It said the last record of an appeal related to this crime was ninety years ago.

American Flag

DOUG JOHNSON: Two listeners have sent us questions about the same thing: the American flag. Lawrence Akingbulugbe from Ondo, Nigeria, wants to know the meaning of the red, white and blue colors of the Stars and Stripes. And M.S. Haque in Bangladesh wants to know the history of the flag.

The history goes back to the thirteen British colonies that became the first American states. Each colony had its own flag. But, during the Revolutionary War against Britain, all the colonies fought together under a common flag. It had red and white stripes, thirteen in all, one for each colony. And it had a blue square in the upper left corner. Red was for honor, white for innocence⁵ and blue for justice. Inside the blue square were the red cross and white stripes of the British flag.

The American colonists⁶ declared their independence on July fourth, seventeen seventy-six. Then, on June fourteenth, seventeen seventy-seven, the Continental⁷ Congress approved the design of a national flag. Thirteen red and white stripes remained. But now thirteen white stars replaced the British Union Jack⁸ inside the blue area. The stars were meant to represent "a new constellation⁹."

Two more stripes were added when two more states joined the Union after the Revolutionary War.

In eighteen eighteen, Congress passed a law to require that the flag return to thirteen stripes, to honor the first colonies. But the number of stars increased as new states joined the Union. Today there are fifty states, and fifty stars.

A delegate to the Continental Congress, Francis Hopkinson, took credit for the flag design. And tradition says a committee led by George Washington asked a woman with expert sewing skills, Betsy Ross, to make the first flag. Betsy Ross lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Black Eyed Peas

 
(Photo - Marina Chavez)
The Black Eyed Peas are enjoying much success. That hip-hop group will perform just before the Super Bowl of the National Football League on February sixth. And they have four Grammy Award nominations¹⁰. Shep O'Neal tells us about the Black Eyed Peas.

SHEP O'NEAL: The four members call themselves Will I.Am, Apl.de.Ap, Taboo¹¹ and Fergie. Their real names are William Adams, Allen Pineda, Jaime Gomez and Stacey Ferguson.

Their newest album is called "Elephunk." They say the name describes the sound inside. The music mixes traditional hip-hop with live instruments. This popular single is performed with Justin Timberlake: "Where Is the Love?"

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One song on the "Elephunk" album is nominated for three Grammys: Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, and Best Rap Song. The song is "Let's Get It Started."

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The Black Eyed Peas are competing with themselves for the Best Rap Song Grammy. Another song on "Elephunk" is nominated in that category, too. We leave you with the Black Eyed Peas and "Hey Mama."

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DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program this week. This show was written by Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson, who was also the producer. Our engineer was Efeem Drucker.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, 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 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

6 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

10 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

11 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？