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VOA慢速英语2012--AMERICAN MOSAIC - Prisons as Art Studios

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(单词翻译)

AMERICAN MOSAIC1 - Prisons as Art Studios

 

FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I’m Faith Lapidus. Today on our show, we play music by blues2 artist Joe Louis Walker …

We also read from some of your recent comments ...

But, first we take a look at artwork created by people held in American prisons.

(MUSIC)

Prison Art

FAITH LAPIDUS: Some prisoners in the United States create works of art. Prison art is sold in art galleries in the Washington, DC, area. The profits are split among the artists and the Prisons Foundation, a not-for-profit group in the nation’s capital. The Prisons Foundation supports the arts in prisons and programs designed to help keep people out of jail. Christopher Cruise tells us more about the group and prison art.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Some prisoners create pictures filled with images of natural beauty. It helps them remember the world they left behind. Dennis Sobin served twelve years in prison. He created the Prisons Foundation while he was jailed.

DENNIS SOBIN: “Art is a very much of a redemptive, a rehabilitative3, a therapeutic4 vehicle for people.”

Mr. Sobin says prison art is often full of emotion.

DENNIS SOBIN: “Other people want to be with family. So they’ll paint pictures of family gatherings5, family scenes. And then there’s some that are so angry about the prison experience that they want to do protest type of painting, showing the harsh realities of prison life, the bars.”

Dale Johnson owns the Watergate Gallery, which sells prisoner art.

DALE JOHNSON: “There’s a lot of sensitivity in this art. You can see what people are thinking.”

Brian Driggers was released from prison recently. He created a lot of art during his eight years in prison. Some of it is in the Crime and Punishment Museum in Washington. He used a pen or pastels in his art. Paint and brushes were not permitted in the prison because they could be used for body art.

Mr. Driggers spoke6 with VOA on Skype about what he used to create a picture of his wife.

BRIAN DRIGGERS: “I created the brush out of my own hair. I would cut a lock of my hair out, fold it up, tie it up with dental floss, and then use a pen. And then paint with instant coffee. You could mix it down with different levels of water to create different tones and use it as a watercolor medium.”

Mister Driggers also created a picture of himself using pastel sticks.

BRIAN DRIGGERS: “And the shapes are broken apart, and what that alludes7 to is my life had completely fallen apart, and the meaning behind that is me kind of coming back together.”

We have placed a link to the Prisons Foundation website on our website, voanews.cn.

Comments

FAITH LAPIDUS: And now it is time to take a look at your comments about some of our recent stories.

The report that got the most comments, about one hundred, was just last week. We wrote about the best movies and books and played a mix of songs from two thousand eleven. But that was not what most of you wrote about.

We got a huge number of comments about the retirement8 of Doug Johnson, who was an important part of this program for more than twenty years. There were touching9 wishes of good luck and thanks. Many people commented on the quality of Doug’s voice. Obeid from Egypt said he likes English because of Doug’s pure accent. Sergey in Russia wrote that Doug’s clear and appealing voice was leading me many years in learning and understanding English.

And JZ from China expressed surprise about the announcement of Doug’s retirement as your voice sounds young, he wrote.

But Javier Robledo of Spain captured the emotion of all Doug’s many fans. I will miss you Doug. You are a member of my family.

The Empire State Building in New York City

Listener Jean was interested in our story about plans to sell shares in a company that operates New York’s Empire State Building. If it only costs ten dollars a share, I want to buy some. Then I could say I am one of the owners of the Empire State Building. She also commented on our story of how America bought the territory that is now Alaska from Russia. It is really the best deal I’ve ever heard. Russia must regret selling it.

Last month we wrote about the food provided to American soldiers in the field by the military. Saif in Iraq praised the story we called “Meals Ready to Eat.” I see the stuff of meal with the US troops here in Iraq. It is so easy to use and I think it contains a lot of calories. It energizes10 the troops.

Kim in South Korea wrote that he learned from our story about the meaning of Black Friday. Before reading and listening to this article, I had no idea of what Black Friday was and why it is called so. I thought it was a certain day bad things are likely to happen like Friday the Thirteenth.

No. Just a big day for stores that includes lots of sales. But, to Americans who do not like crowded shopping malls or the traffic that results, Black Friday IS a bad day!

Thanks to all our website visitors for their comments. And please keep them coming. Maybe we will read one of your on a future show.

Joe Louis Walker

FAITH LAPIDUS: Blues musician Joe Louis Walker will release his twenty-third record album at the end of the month. However, “Hellfire” is Walker’s first album with Alligator11 Records. The company’s president calls Walker “everything a bluesman should be” with a commanding voice that “comes right out of church.”

June Simms has our story.

JUNE SIMMS: Joe Louis Walker was born sixty-two years ago on December twenty-fifth, the day when many people celebrate Christmas. So it was no surprise that he grew up on Christian12 music. His family also enjoyed blues music.

Joe Louis Walker

Joe Louis Walker was playing guitar by the age of fourteen. He was good at it early on. Before turning twenty, he started performing as the opening act for blues greats like B. B. King, John Lee Hooker and others.

But the new album shows that Walker also can play other kinds of music. “Ride All Night” is undeniably rock and roll.

(MUSIC)

“Hellfire” also contains some very traditional blues. “I’m On To You” is an example.

(MUSIC)

Listeners can always find the Christian influence in Joe Louis Walker’s albums. “Hellfire” contains many such songs. One critic says the album seems to be mostly about the battle between good and evil. Here is “Soldier for Jesus.”

(MUSIC)

Tom Hambridge was the man who produced “Hellfire.” He was responsible for two recent Grammy-winning albums from Buddy13 Guy. Hambridge plays drums and wrote songs for “Hellfire.” We leave you with Joe Louis Walker performing one of them. Here is “What’s It Worth.”

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: I’m Faith Lapidus. This program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver14, who was also our producer.

If you have a question about American life, please email us. The address is [email protected]. We will try to answer your question on a future show.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mosaic CEExS     
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 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 rehabilitative 8896da64481d1a8794d8855a79a28353     
使复原的,复职的
参考例句:
  • Objective To desacribe self concept and sub concept of rehabilitative schizophrenic patients. 目的探讨恢复期精神分裂症病人的自我概念。
  • Objective To desacribe self concept and concept of rehabilitative schizophrenic patients. 目的探讨大学生自我概念与心理健康之间的关系。
4 therapeutic sI8zL     
adj.治疗的,起治疗作用的;对身心健康有益的
参考例句:
  • Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
  • When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候,音乐有治疗效力。
5 gatherings 400b026348cc2270e0046708acff2352     
聚集( gathering的名词复数 ); 收集; 采集; 搜集
参考例句:
  • His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
  • During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次,其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 alludes c60ee628ca5282daa5b0a246fd29c9ff     
提及,暗指( allude的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • In the vegetable kingdom Mr. Mivart only alludes to two cases. 在植物界中,密伐脱先生仅提出两点。
  • Black-box testing alludes to test that are conducted at the software interface. 黑箱测试是指测试软件接口进行。
8 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
9 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
10 energizes 787792af160c07b0ff338767569e77bb     
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的第三人称单数 );使通电
参考例句:
  • However, heating energizes the vibrational, rotational, and electronic motions all at once. 但是,加热会一下子把振动、转动和电子运动统统加强。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
  • Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. 目的往往会带来热忱,没有任何东西比清晰的目的更有动力。 来自互联网
11 alligator XVgza     
n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)
参考例句:
  • She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
  • Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。
12 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
13 buddy 3xGz0E     
n.(美口)密友,伙伴
参考例句:
  • Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气,老兄。有什么麻烦吗?
  • Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了,你这家伙!
14 weaver LgWwd     
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。

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