AMERICAN MOSAIC - Ladies Sing the Blues: Women in Blues and

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Ladies Sing the Blues²: Women in Blues and Jazz in the 20th Century
By Nancy Steinbach, Dana Demange

Broadcast: Friday, August 05, 2005

(MUSIC)

HOST: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

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

We hear some female blues and jazz artists …

Answer a question from a listener about American states …

And report about a huge sale taking place outdoors in the American South.

World's Longest Yardsale

Anyone can hold a yard sale. Just collect some things you no longer want and put them outside your home. You can sell just about anything. Clothing. Cooking equipment. Old toys, tools, books and chairs. Even objects you consider to be extremely ugly or useless. Chances are, someone will buy them. Faith Lapidus tells us about one special yard sale taking place this weekend in the American South.

 
 

FAITH LAPIDUS: They call it the world's longest yard sale. It extends for seven hundred twenty kilometers, through four states, from Covington, Kentucky to Gadsden, Alabama.

Thousands of people who want to sell things have placed their objects along the side of the road. People drive along the road in search of things to buy. Some people drive the whole length of the sale. Many are collectors, searching for special old or unusual objects. Reports say more than sixty thousand people from every part of the United States visit the world's longest yard sale.

A local government official started the sale nineteen years ago. He was trying to develop a way to bring visitors to the less traveled roads of Tennessee and Kentucky. It worked! The event has grown every year.

Last year, organizers extended it from four to nine days. But many people thought that was too long. So this year it is taking place from August fourth through the seventh.

Many sellers provide food and cold drinks to travelers on the road. It can get extremely hot in the South during this time of the year. Still, organizers tell people to bring plenty of water with them, and plan to walk a lot. They also advise people to start planning their trip to the area in January, especially if they need a place to stay. Most hotels are reserved well in advance.

Organizers of the world's longest yard sale say people who live far away also enjoy visiting the beautiful areas nearby. For example, they may spend some time at the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. It has more than forty-eight thousand hectares of land for camping, hiking, fishing, hunting and horseback riding. Also nearby is the Sergeant³ Alvin York Grist Mill and Homeplace. That is the home and museum honoring American World War One hero Alvin York. But we think most people who attend the world's longest yard sale want to take home some unusual objects. And to have fun at the same time.

How Many States?

 
 

HOST: Our listener question this week comes from Sri Lanka. Rajah Vanthana asks about the number of American states. She says she learned in college that there are fifty but some of her friends tell her there are fifty-two!

Well, maybe Miss Vanthana should trust her teachers more than her friends! There are fifty states in the United States. They are Alabama… Alaska… Arizona… just kidding! We are not going to name all of them.

Some people might mistakenly believe that the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico is a state. It has been a United States possession since eighteen ninety-eight. It became a commonwealth⁴ in nineteen fifty-two. Some Puerto Ricans want the island to become an American state. Others there want full independence. But most want to remain a commonwealth.

The commonwealth of Puerto Rico is called a United States "insular⁵ area." People on the island are United States citizens and must obey the laws of that country. But, Puerto Rico governs itself.

The people of Puerto Rico do not pay federal tax. They cannot vote in national elections. Their congressional delegation⁶ in Washington does not have voting power either. But, Puerto Ricans can serve in the United States military.

The United States has other insular areas. They include Guam, American Samoa and the American Virgin⁷ Islands. The relationship between the United States government and each of its insular areas is different. The United States capital, Washington, D.C., is not a state either. The District of Columbia, or Washington, is a federal area. Lawmakers established it in two congressional acts of the late seventeen hundreds. It was created from land owned by the states of Virginia and Maryland.

People who live in Washington, D.C. pay taxes, serve in the military and serve on juries⁸. They can vote in national elections. Citizens elect a delegate⁹ to the House of Representatives. But, the delegate does not have full voting rights in Congress. Citizens also elect local officials. But the officials do not have total control over the city's budget and laws. The Congress makes the final decision concerning such issues.

Many people who live in Washington consider this situation unfair. Some are demanding full voting rights. If you visit Washington, you might see a special message on some of the cars in the city. Some citizens have license¹⁰ plates that read "taxation¹¹ without representation¹²."

Women in Jazz and Blues

Today we visit a museum in Washington, D.C. with a special show about women and the part they played in twentieth century music. Barbara Klein tells us more.

BARBARA KLEIN: A new exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts tells about the importance of women in blues and jazz music. It explains the development of this music using photographs of the many female musicians. It also includes short movies showing some of the most famous singers such as Bessie Smith and Billie Holliday.

This exhibit also tells the story of less well-known female musicians, both African-American and white. They also had very important roles in the music industry during the first part of the twentieth century.

 
 

One of the few female country blues singers was known as Memphis Minnie. She was one of the first performers to use an electric guitar. She wanted to be sure people could hear her. Here she is singing "Bumble Bee Blues."

(MUSIC)

Mildred Bailey was another important singer. She was one of the first female singers to lead a major national dance band. Here she is in a nineteen thirty-two recording¹³ called "Rocking Chair."

(MUSIC)

Ruth Brown is often thought to be the first Rhythm and Blues singer. She was extremely popular in the nineteen fifties. And she is still singing today! We leave you now with Ruth Brown singing "Lucky Lips."

(MUSIC)

HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program. Our show was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver¹⁴. It was produced by Dana Demange. 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 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。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

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。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

6 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

7 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。

8 juries   

n.陪审团( jury的名词复数 )；评判委员会

参考例句：

• Grand juries have enormous powers to investigate wrong-doing by public officials as well as private citizens. 大陪审团拥有极大权力调查政府官员及平民的过失。
• Juries for a state court are drawn from the county in which the court is located. 州法院的陪审员一般从该法院所在的县选取，而联邦法院的陪审员则从整个地区选取，包括许多县。

9 delegate   

n.代表，会议代表；vt.委派...为代表，授权

参考例句：

• They drafted her to serve as their delegate.他们选她当代表。
• The Chinese people delegate their power to the People's Congress.中国人民授权人民代表大会。

10 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

11 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

12 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。

13 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。

14 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。