AMERICAN MOSAIC - Will Smith's New Album / Meet a Child Help

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Will Smith's New Album / Meet a Child Helping² Other Children Deal with Difficulty / Popular State Park
By Nancy Steinbach,Lawan Davis

Broadcast: Friday, April 08, 2005

(MUSIC)

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

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

Music by Will Smith …

A question about a waterfall in the American Middle West ...

And a report about a fourteen-year-old girl who leads an organization that helps other children.

Children to Children

 
Children to Children
Makenzie Snyder is a teenager who leads an organization that helps displaced³ children in the United States. Faith Lapidus tells us about Makenzie and the organization she started.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Makenzie Snyder lives in Bowie, Maryland. She was seven years old when she started Children to Children. The organization helps children in foster⁴ care. Foster care is the name of a system used when parents are no longer able to take care of their children. The children are placed in the homes of people who have agreed to care for them. More than five hundred thirty thousand children in the United States are now in foster care.

Makenzie met two children in foster care in nineteen ninety-eight. They had moved from home to home. Makenzie learned⁵ that many foster children have nothing in which to carry their clothes and other personal objects. They are given plastic bags made for carrying waste or trash.

Makenzie says she thought it was wrong for children to have to treat their belongings⁶ as if they were trash. With help from her parents, she started an Internet Web site and the organization Children to Children.

Children to Children helps children in the foster care system to feel better about themselves during times when their families are in crisis⁷. The organization provides high quality travel bags for the children's clothes. The children also receive a soft toy animal. Makenzie says this gives them something to hug and to love. She says the toy helps the children to not feel alone. She also writes a note to each child. She tells them that they should never lose hope and that she loves them.

Makenzie Snyder is now fourteen years old. She continues her work with Children to Children after seven years. She says her goal is to help all children in foster care in the United States. Children to Children has provided⁸ about thirty thousand bags to children in need. The experts who work with the children say Makenzie is doing a good job. They say the children are happy to receive her gifts.

Makenzie Snyder has won many awards for her work. She says she would like to meet the children she helps. But she is not permitted to do so. American laws protect the names of children in foster care.

Takquamenon Falls State Park

 
Photo - National Park Service
DOUG JOHNSON: Our VOA listener question this week comes from Gombe State, Nigeria. Abdulkadir Usman asks about a waterfall in the state of Michigan. It is called Tahquamenon (tah-QUA-meh-non) Falls.

Hundreds of years ago, the northern part of what is now Michigan was home to native Americans known as the Chippewa or Ojibwe Indians. They lived along what is now called the Tahquamenon River. The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a long poem about them. It is called "The Song of Hiawatha." Here is Barbara Klein reciting the part of the poem about the river:

BARBARA KLEIN: Thus aloud cried Hiawatha

In the solitary⁹ forest,

By the rushing Taquamenaw (tah-qua-MEE-naw),

When the birds were singing gaily¹⁰,

In the Moon of Leaves were singing,

And the sun, from sleep awaking,

Started up and said, "Behold¹¹ me

"Gheezis (GHEE-zis), the great Sun, behold me."

DOUG JOHNSON: Today, the falls and the river are part of the Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Park officials say they are not sure where the name came from. Whatever the meaning of the name, Tahquamenon Falls State Park today means outdoor fun for many people. The park extends¹² over sixteen thousand hectares of mostly undeveloped forestland. Most of the area has no roads, buildings or electric power. The river and its waterfalls are in the center of the park.

The Upper Falls is one of the largest waterfalls east of the Mississippi River. It is more than sixty meters across. The water drops almost fifteen meters. Park officials say they have recorded its largest flow at more than eighteen thousand liters¹³ of water per second. About five hundred thousand people visit the park each year. They walk through the forest to the bottom of the Upper Falls where the water crashes into the Tahquamenon River.

In another part of the park, visitors can see five smaller waterfalls from an area near the river or from a nearby island. Visitors can rent boats to reach the island and watch the falling water. The park also includes four campgrounds and forty kilometers of walking paths.

Some visitors go to Tahquamenon Falls State Park to watch the many birds and other animals who make the park their home. These include cranes¹⁴, woodpeckers, bald eagles, moose, bears, coyotes, and mink¹⁵.

Will Smith: 'Lost and Found'

Actor and rapper Will Smith stars in a new movie, "Hitch," that was released¹⁷ in February. On March twenty-ninth, he released his first new album in three years. Gwen Outen tells about the busy entertainer and plays songs from his new record.

 
Will Smith: Lost and Found
GWEN OUTEN: It is called "Lost and Found." On a number of songs Will Smith tries to answer critics of his hip-hop style. Some critics say it is too "clean." In the song, "Wish I Made That," Will Smith says radio stations that play rap¹⁶ music will not play his music. He says they do not think he is "black enough." Then he offers a few ideas on what rap stations might want from artists:

(MUSIC)

Will Smith invited several popular performers to help create this album. Here he is with singer Mary J. Blige. The song expresses the difficulty of explaining life's tragedies to children. It is called "Tell Me Why."

(MUSIC)

Will Smith made his past three albums with Columbia Records. He won two Grammy Awards and several American Music Awards with that label. "Lost and Found" is his first work with Interscope Records. We leave you now with the title song from the new album.

(MUSIC)

DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program this week.

Our show was written by Nancy Steinbach, Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver¹⁸, who was also our producer.

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 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

4 foster   

vt.收养，培养，促进；adj.收养的，收养孩子的

参考例句：

• Nowadays young couple sometimes foster.现今年轻夫妇有时领养别人的孩子。
• The captain did his best to foster a sense of unity among the new recruits.队长尽力培养新成员之间的团结精神。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

7 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

8 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

9 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

10 gaily   

adv.欢乐地，高兴地

参考例句：

• The children sing gaily.孩子们欢唱着。
• She waved goodbye very gaily.她欢快地挥手告别。

11 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

12 extends   

v.（空间、时间等）延伸，延续( extend的第三人称单数 )；伸展；给予；延长

参考例句：

• This country extends its power and influence into neighbouring countries. 这个国家将其势力与影响扩大至邻国。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His domain extends for 20 miles in every direction. 方圆20英里之内都是他的地产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 liters   

n.升( liter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This can holds five liters of water. 这个容器可装五升水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 cranes   

n.鹤( crane的名词复数 )；起重机，吊车

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》
• Huge cranes are swinging cargo up. 巨大的起重机正在吊运货物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

15 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。

16 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。

17 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。

18 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。