VOA标准英语2010年-African-Americans in Media and Enterta

The African-American media and entertainment community in Washington, DC is raising funds for relief efforts in Haiti.  Radio stations are asking listeners to donate, and a popular music club held a benefit featuring local artists performing hip¹ hop², a type of rap music. 

The 9:30 Club in Washington held the benefit to raise funds for Haiti. Washington hip hop artist Kingpen Slim says many African-Americans identify with what Haitians are going through.  "They were already dealing³ with economic, social and class issues.  And then to have this, it really just hit home to all of us," he said.

The proceeds from ticket sales are going to two organizations.  One is the non-profit  Partners in Health, which has a hospital in Haiti.  The other is Yele Haiti, a charity founded by the Haitian-American hip hop artist Wyclef Jean.  The group raised more than $2 million in just one week but it's been criticized for not having spent the money yet on earthquake relief. 

Audrey Schaefer, with the 9:30 Club, said club employees even donated their pay from the event. "They stepped up and said they wanted to help," she explained. "They came to us and said 'can we do this?'"

College student Erica Smith came to the benefit. "I think there has been such an outpouring, especially from the African-American community.  We all want to support our brothers and sisters," she said. "We all want to support our people and we all want to see them uplifted."

Sean Patterson also came. He thinks the Obama government and U.S. relief groups are reacting quickly to avoid the mistakes made by the Bush administration after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.   He recalls the pictures of African-Americans trapped in New Orleans. "They don't want the same embarrassment⁴ Hurricane Katrina had.  That's the main point to avoid embarrassment," he said.

Some people expressed similar views during call in segments at WKYS, a hip hop and rhythm and blues⁵ radio station in suburban⁶ Washington.  Disk jockey EZ Street talked to his audience about humanitarian⁷ relief for Haiti.   

"I think the United States, first of all, is reacting really quickly because they don't want to turn it into, oh, this is another Hurricane Katrina situation and we don't care about black people.  Being that Barack [Obama] is black, I think he responded quickly because he is part African-American as well," one caller said.

EZ Street says his audience has been moved by the devastation⁸ in Haiti. "They want to give food and clothing and they want to give as much as they possibly can to be part of the solution in the situation," he said.

Washington's African-American community is holding more fund raisers for Haiti.

 

1 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

2 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

5 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。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》