AMERICAN MOSAIC - What to Call a Storm? How Scientists Name

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - What to Call a Storm? How Scientists Name Hurricanes
By Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, September 23, 2005

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

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

We hear some music by a rock group with an unusual name …

Hurricane Rita at 1945 UTC on September 22 as it moves toward² Texas and Louisiana
Answer a question about the naming of hurricanes …

And report about some popular American writers.

National Book Festival

On Saturday, September twenty-fourth, the Library of Congress³ will hold its fifth yearly⁴ National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. More than eighty writers, artists and poets will be on the National Mall to talk about their work. Faith Lapidus tells us about three of them.

FAITH LAPIDUS: One of the writers at the National Book Festival this year is R.L. Stine. He writes books for children. Mister⁵ Stine is well known around the world for his series of books called "Goosebumps." The books have been translated into thirty-two languages. They are frightening and also fun. Titles of Goosebumps books include "Welcome To Camp Nightmare," and "A Night in Terror⁶ Tower."

R.L. Stine has been writing since he was a child. He wrote his first successful horror⁷ book in nineteen eighty-six. Goosebumps began in nineteen ninety-two. Today, he is working on three different book series. They are called "Mostly Ghostly," "Rotten⁸ School" and "Fear Street."

Another American writer at the Book Festival this year is popular around the world as well. Karin Slaughter's work is published in twenty-three different languages. Her books are about imaginary⁹ crimes that take place in a small town in the American South. The latest book in the series is called "Faithless."

Critics praise Karin Slaughter's books for developing characters that readers recognize as real. And they say the violence she describes clearly shows her anger at crimes against women and children.

A third writer at the Book Festival is David McCullough. He writes about real people in American history. Mister McCullough has won many writing awards, including the Pulitzer Prize. His new book is called "Seventeen Seventy-Six." It is about what he calls the most important year in the most important struggle in American history. It is the year that American colonial¹⁰ leaders approved the Declaration¹¹ of Independence and demanded freedom from British rule.

David McCullough says he tried to describe that year in the words of the people who lived through it. He used writings of soldiers in the colonial army to help tell the story. Critics say David McCullough's work helps readers experience historical events.

Hurricane Names

People leave Houston, Texas, to avoid Hurricane Rita
HOST: Our VOA question this week comes from listeners in India and Vietnam. Anandkumar Bussi and Hoa Nguyen ask about the meaning of hurricane and Katrina.

A hurricane is a violent ocean storm near the equator¹² in the eastern Pacific or Atlantic oceans in late summer or early autumn. The same kind of storm is also known by other names. Scientists call them cyclones¹³ when they happen just north or south of the equator and in the Indian Ocean. They are called typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean or the China Sea.

Weather scientists call hurricanes by names to make clear just which storm they are talking about, especially when two or more take place at the same time. They say using short names is especially important when exchanging storm information among weather stations and ships at sea.

An Australian weather scientist began giving women's names to storms before the end of the nineteenth century. Weather scientists used the names of their girlfriends or wives for storms during World War Two. The United States weather service started officially using women's names for storms in nineteen fifty-three. In nineteen seventy-eight, it began including men's names as well.

Today, scientists make up lists of names years in advance. They agree on them at meetings of the World Meteorological Organization. The lists include both American and international names.

The United States National Hurricane Center near Miami, Florida, watches for the development of storms. It gives a name to each one that reaches a wind speed of sixty-two kilometers an hour. A different list of names is used each year. The first name begins with the letter "A". The second begins with "B" and so on. The same list will not be used again for at least six years. Names of storms used so far this year include Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, Emily and Franklin and the recent ones: Katrina and Ophelia.

The names of storms that have caused extremely severe damage may be retired¹⁴ at the request of the country that was affected¹⁵. That name will not be used again for at least ten years. This is done to avoid legal problems or confusion¹⁶. It may be reasonable to believe that the United States soon will ask that the name Katrina be retired.

You can learn more about hurricanes on the Special English program Science in the News on Tuesday, September twenty-seventh.

Death Cab¹⁷ For Cutie

Death Cab For Cutie
A popular rock band has an unusual name: Death Cab for Cutie. The four young men in the group are from the western state of Washington. They took the unusual name from a song written by a British group from the nineteen sixties. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN: Death Cab For Cutie is considered an "indie" or independent rock group. It is part of a movement of musicians who like to protect their artistic¹⁸ freedom. One way they do this is by remaining independent from major production companies.

Death Cab for Cutie recorded its first albums with a small record company. Its latest album was released¹⁹ by the large company, Atlantic Records. The musicians hope to show that a group can be successful and also keep total artistic control.

The new album is called "Plans." Its songs express the many qualities of love. Some songs are about the end of love. Others describe the way love survives through everything, even death. This song celebrates the joy of being in love. Here is "Marching Bands of Manhattan".

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Ben Gibbard wrote and sings most of the songs on "Plans." He says this is an album about growing up and understanding loss. Here he sings "Someday You Will be Loved".

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Death Cab for Cutie will be traveling throughout the United States and Canada this fall to play their latest music. We leave you now with a song that expresses love and undying loyalty²⁰. It is "I Will Follow You into the Dark".

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HOST: I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program. This show was written by Dana Demange and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver²¹ was the 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 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

3 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

4 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

5 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

6 terror   

n.恐怖；可怖的人(事)

参考例句：

• We were in mortal terror of being found out. 我们非常害怕被发现。
• That guy is a proper terror. 那家伙真是讨厌。

7 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation.公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

8 rotten   

adj.腐烂(朽)的；令人不愉快的；糟糕的

参考例句：

• The book was pretty rotten.这本书糟透了。
• Rotten eggs give off a bad smell.臭蛋散发出难闻的气味。

9 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

10 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

11 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

12 equator   

n.赤道，（平分球形物体的面的）圆

参考例句：

• Singapore is near the equator.新加坡位于赤道附近。
• The United States is north of the equator.美国位于赤道以北。

13 cyclones   

n.气旋( cyclone的名词复数 )；旋风；飓风；暴风

参考例句：

• The pricipal objective in designing cyclones is to create a vortex. 设计旋风除尘器的主要目的在于造成涡旋运动。 来自辞典例句
• Middle-latitude cyclones originate at the popar front. 中纬度地区的气旋发源于极锋。 来自辞典例句

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 confusion   

n.困惑，迷乱，混淆，混乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• His answers to my questions have only added to my confusion.他对我的问题的回答只是使我更加困惑不解。
• His unexpected arrival threw us into total confusion.他的突然来访使我们完全不知所措。

17 cab   

n.计程车，出租车，出租单马车；vi.乘出租马车

参考例句：

• The cab drove over his legs.马车从他腿上碾过。
• Shall we walk or take a cab?我们步行还是坐出租车？

18 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

19 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。

20 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

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。