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VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Cirque du Soleil; Nuns Who Make Cheese; Music of Teens

时间:2012-10-06 11:25:49

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AMERICAN MOSAIC1 - Cirque du Soleil; Nuns2 Who Make Cheese; Music of Teens

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

I’m June Simms.

On our show this week, we play some music suggested by a few iPod armed teenagers.

We also explore cheese making as a religious experience.

But first, we go to the circus.

Cirque du Soleil “Totem”

Cirque du Soleil has been entertaining people around the world for almost thirty years. Today, the Montreal-based company has 20 different shows, offering a mix of acrobatic tricks, clowns, music and dance. Some shows have permanent homes in Las Vegas, Orlando and Los Angeles. Others travel from city to city.

Mario Ritter takes us to the Circus of the Sun on its stop near Washington, DC.

The travelling show is called “Totem.” It explores the development of human civilization.

Twenty-year-old Shandien Larance is a Native American hoops5 dancer and one of the show’s performers.

“I am Hopi Tewa Assiniboine and Navajo. I come from Arizona and New Mexico. I’ve been hoop4 dancing for about ten years.”

Shandien Larance uses the hoops to change her appearance during the dance. 

“The hoop dance originally a healing ceremony. It was originated in Taos, New Mexico and it signifies nature, man and the circle of life.”

Her brother, Nakota, was the first hoop dancer to perform in “Totem.” The show’s creators wanted him because they believed his dance worked extremely well with the idea of evolution. Francis Jalbert is a publicist for “Totem.”

“The show is inspired by many ancient civilizations and their views on how we ended up on Earth.”

“Totem” includes the “flying” acts normally found in Cirque du Soleil productions. Olli Torkkel was a gymnast in his native Finland before joining the show as an acrobat3.

“I saw Cirque shows on TV in Finland when I was a little kid, and I got really excited about how they looked. I decided6 a long time ago that I wanted to try to apply, I wanted to be a part of it."

There are fifty-two performers in “Totem” from all over the world. But it takes many more people to keep the show on the road. As Francis Jalbert notes, it takes three people to care for the costumes worn by the performers.

“Because you can imagine, with all of the acrobatic acts that are performed on stage, there is a lot of rip and tear that goes into those costumes.”

After the performances in Washington have ended, the costumes will be put in folding cases. In fact, everything under the tent, including the tent itself, will be taken down and loaded into sixty-four trucks. The show and its performers will move on to create magic under the big top in another city.

Very Good Gouda

Food lovers know Gouda cheese was first made in the Netherlands. But for the past twenty years, a group of religious workers has been making and selling their own version of Gouda in the eastern United States. Christopher Cruise has more.

Every day, thirteen nuns gather for prayer at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery7 in the Blue Ridge8 Mountains of Virginia. Theirs is a simple, Christian9 life. They praise God and study Catholic teachings. They also follow the Benedictine tradition of combining prayer with work.

Sister Barbara Smickel helped to establish the monastery twenty-five years ago. She says work may not be the most important part of their life, but it is important. 

“That we use our bodies and the gifts God has given us of mind and heart and body to support ourselves.”

The women support themselves by making cheese on a farm down the hill from the monastery grounds. The cheese-making operation was the idea of the farm’s former owner.

On this day, the nuns start the process with a truck full of warmed, pasteurized milk. More than twenty-seven hundred liters are pumped into a huge steel vat10. Sister Maria Gonzalo-Garcia adds a starter culture to the container.

This speeds the process of turning milk into cheese. Mechanical equipment beats the mixture. After half an hour, Sister Maria adds what is called a synthetic11 enzyme12. It separates the milk into solids and liquid.

This is Sister Barbara Smickel.

“This is the magic time because it either sets up and turns into cheese or it doesn’t. This is the time when we pray, that it does happen.” 

Today, the magic works. The cheese mixture is pumped into a large vat. The mixture is pressed into a solid block. At this point, a machine could do the work. But the nuns like to do almost everything by hand.

They separate, weigh and prepare the cheese for a final pressing. Sister Barbara says this is a community effort.

“We saw a video one time of cheese made in a big factory in Holland, all computerized. And my comment was ‘poor, little cheese, never touched by human hands.’ So ours is all day long, touched by human hands.”

The one kilogram wheels of buttery yellow cheese are placed in salty water. Then they are aged13 in a cool storage room, and covered in wax before being shipped out.

The nuns do most of their business by mail order. But people can also make purchases directly from the monastery.

Eric Gertner buys three hundred to four hundred wheels a year. He sells the cheese at his specialty14 food store in the nearby city of Charlottesville.

“We carry the monastery Gouda because the story behind it is really so compelling. We have right here in our backyard a cheese made in ages-old monastic tradition. And they’re doing this to support and sustain their spiritual practice so it’s just such a beautiful story. And then the cheese is delicious in and of itself.”

Sister Barbara Smickel understands the feeling.

“I think people buy it because it’s good, but also because they feel a certain solidarity15 with our way of life and want to support it in the way they can. We try to put a lot of that love and prayer into the cheese. We say that’s the secret ingredient.”

In more than twenty years of cheese-making, the nuns have never had any bad Gouda. Call it luck…or the power of prayer.

What’s On Your iPod?

For our music piece this week, on American Mosaic, we decided to ask the experts: American teenagers. We wanted to know what they were listening to right now; what was on their iPods. Reporter Caty Weaver16 talked to some young people at a Starbucks in Arlington, Virginia and at a nearby high school.

“What’s your name?”

“My name’s Colson.”

“Who’s the most recent band or musician you put on your iPod?”

“That would be ‘Lil’ B. It’s kind of in the category of comedy-rap.”

Colson described ‘Lil’ B as “based.” We told the ninth grader that we did not know what that meant.

“Based in an adjective. A positive one.”

Colson suggested we play the ‘Lil’ B song “Wonton Soup.” We listened to it. There was no way we could clean that song up enough for broadcast. So here is Lil B with “I Seen That Light” from his album “I’m Gay (I’m Happy).”

We spoke17 next with Jessie, a year ahead of Colson at Arlington’s Yorktown High School. She said she likes alternative rock and country.

“I do a lot of My Chemical Romance or, like, Toby Keith.”

“That is so eclectic. I mean, they are like the opposite of each other. So what My Chemical Romance song would you suggest I play this week?”

“I really like “Planetary Go.”

Gabe is a sixteen year old friend of both Jessie and Colson.

“My favorite music right now is either Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, or Bob Marley.”

We thanked Gabe for the classic rock choices. But we wondered why he happened to look back in time for good music.

“It’s really just…it’s what I like to play on the guitar. And, that’s what appeals to me.”

Gabe suggested we give a listen to Bob Marley perform “Stir It Up.” We were happy to honor the request.

Finally, we spoke with Amanda. The eleventh grader had just finished exercising at Yorktown with two of her friends. She has been listening a pretty far out band --- like far out in the Atlantic Ocean.

“Well the last music that I listened to was “Of Monsters and Men” which is an Icelandic group. I just downloaded their song “Mountain Sound.”

And here it is.

I’m June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver. 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 nuns ce03d5da0bb9bc79f7cd2b229ef14d4a     
n.(通常指基督教的)修女, (佛教的)尼姑( nun的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句
3 acrobat GJMy3     
n.特技演员,杂技演员
参考例句:
  • The acrobat balanced a long pole on his left shoulder.杂技演员让一根长杆在他的左肩上保持平衡。
  • The acrobat could bend himself into a hoop.这个杂技演员可以把身体蜷曲成圆形。
4 hoop wcFx9     
n.(篮球)篮圈,篮
参考例句:
  • The child was rolling a hoop.那个孩子在滚铁环。
  • The wooden tub is fitted with the iron hoop.木盆都用铁箍箍紧。
5 hoops 528662bd801600a928e199785550b059     
n.箍( hoop的名词复数 );(篮球)篮圈;(旧时儿童玩的)大环子;(两端埋在地里的)小铁弓
参考例句:
  • a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
  • Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎,这个季节的裙圈比较宽大,裙裾却短一些。 来自飘(部分)
6 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
7 monastery 2EOxe     
n.修道院,僧院,寺院
参考例句:
  • They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
  • She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。
8 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
9 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。
10 vat sKszW     
n.(=value added tax)增值税,大桶
参考例句:
  • The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
  • His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。
11 synthetic zHtzY     
adj.合成的,人工的;综合的;n.人工制品
参考例句:
  • We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
  • It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。
12 enzyme cPozF     
n.酵素,酶
参考例句:
  • Above a certain temperature,the enzyme molecule will become unfolded.超过一定温度,酶分子将会展开。
  • An enzyme that dissolves the fibrin of blood clots.能溶解血凝块中的纤维的酶。
13 aged 6zWzdI     
adj.年老的,陈年的
参考例句:
  • He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了,也老点了。
  • He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老,然而记忆力还好。
14 specialty SrGy7     
n.(speciality)特性,特质;专业,专长
参考例句:
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
  • His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。
15 solidarity ww9wa     
n.团结;休戚相关
参考例句:
  • They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
  • The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。
16 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。
17 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。

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