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VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Remembering Dave Brubeck; Help for Stressed Parents; Rock and Roll Hall

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AMERICAN MOSAIC1 - Remembering Dave Brubeck; Help for Stressed Parents; Rock and Roll Hall 

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

I’m June Simms.

On our show this week, we play music from some nominees2 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

We look at parental3 stress and what some churches are doing to ease it…

But first, we remember jazz great Dave Brubeck, who died this week.

Remembering Dave Brubeck

Jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck died Wednesday -- a day before his ninety-second birthday. Brubeck rose to fame in the 1950s and became an international jazz star. Christopher Cruise4 has more on the life and work of this great American artist.

That is “Blue Rondo A La Turk,” from Dave Brubeck’s 1959 album “Time Out.” Many experts believe the song helped launch a new age for jazz. The song has complex and unusual beat patterns. Brubeck also borrowed sounds and rhythms from the developing world and classical music.

Dave Brubeck was born in Concord5, California. His mother was a classically trained piano teacher. He formed the Dave Brubeck Quartet after World War II, performing at jazz clubs in small towns across the country. Brubeck said those performances gave him his best training.

“When I grew up almost every bar had a small combo and there were dance halls that we used to drive across this country from one dance hall --- and maybe two or three hundred miles --- the next day we’d be in a different dance hall. Great dance halls clear across the open part of Nebraska and those towns, and we’d come across that way. It’s changed a lot because most of our jazz now is in universities and colleges have taken over the old way that we used to have…a way to learn was one-on-one next to an old veteran.”

“Take Five” was also released on “Time Out.” It is probably the song most strongly linked to Dave Brubeck. But it was written by alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, Brubeck’s long-time musical partner. The jazz piece was so successful it earned a place on pop music charts.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet performed and recorded until the late 1960s. At that time, Dave Brubeck decided6 to explore jazz-based symphonic and religious music. He also traveled a lot and recorded albums based on his experiences with other cultures.

Stressed Parents Find Help from Churches

A generation ago, stay-at-home mothers were a big help to many churches in the United States. They worked as volunteers and kept the churches operating. Today, the adult daughters of those women are struggling to balance work and children. When Sunday comes, many miss religious services.

“Sometimes we need just one day where we don’t have to get out of the house at nine.”

Deanna Troust has a media job, while her husband, Vic Fernandez, is an official with a financial business. They have two daughters in elementary school. Like countless7 other parents across the country, the family is struggling to find a balance.

“It’s really challenging and with two careers and if they’re both, I always call them 'big jobs,' if your husband has a big job too, well, you’re just sort of filling in, five minutes here, ten minutes there, to try and kind of make it all work.”

Christian8 leaders realize that stressed-out families are not good for the future of church life in America. Reverend David Gray leads the Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland. He believes religious faith can be part of the solution.

“In our congregation, we have a lot of people who are stressed at work. It comes from living in the D.C. area. It comes from a lot of professionals in the congregation. And so when I look out in the pews I need to deal with the stress that they are facing.”

Reverend Gray recently led a discussion on the subject at the New America Foundation, a public policy research organization. Newspaper reporter Brigid Schulte took part in the discussion. Ms. Schulte is writing a book about the time pressure on American families.

“We work among the most hours of any country in the world. We take the fewest days of vacation of any country in the world.”

And America is the only major industrialized society with no paid parental leave.

“There is such a feeling of ambivalence9 about whether mothers should work in this country, which is evidenced by the fact that we don’t have policies to support them. There’s a feeling that every minute that you are not at work you better be with your child.”

In a new book, Reverend David Gray argues that religious groups need to be part of the fight for workplace flexibility10. He says the future of churches like his depends on young families. The average age of Presbyterians is 61.

“So if a church is going to attract that target audience, it’s got to understand work-life imbalance.”

The Fernandez-Trousts are Presbyterians and exactly the kind of family his church is trying to interest. Deanna Troust says even with all that is going on with her the family, they still make it to church events at least once or twice a month.

“When I share with people that we go to church, often the response is, 'Wow, that’s so impressive,' rather than, 'Oh, that’s important. Oh Of course that’s we do.’ And it’s almost like, again, they're viewing it as another thing on the schedule that’s difficult to make happen.”

But church is one of the few places where Deanna Troust finds time for herself.

Reverend Gray says the goal of American churches has to be to become a haven11 for stressed-out parents, instead of just another burden.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce its newest members in several weeks. This year, for the first time ever, members of the public were permitted to vote for their favorites. The voting was held online at rollingstone.com.

The 15 nominated12 musical acts include Randy Newman, Heart, and Public Enemy. Faith Lapidus explores the histories and music of these performers.

That is “Dreamboat Annie” from the rock and roll band Heart. Sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson formed the group almost 35 years ago. Known as the “Queens of Rock and Roll,” these women are still making music.

Nancy Wilson is a gifted guitar player. Ann Wilson has one of the best voices in rock and roll. Together, they have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide. They also shared 20 top 10 singles. One of them was “Magic Man.”

Public Enemy is as loved for its sound as for its message. MC Chuck D is the leader of the hip-hop group. His rhymes tell of the struggles of the black community and the justice it deserves. Public Enemy album titles alone are powerful social commentary13. They have names like “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and “Fear of a Black Planet.”

“Fight the Power” is one of Public Enemy’s most famous songs. It was used in the Spike14 Lee film “Do the Right Thing.”

Randy Newman also gives voice to the social and political issues of the day. The 69 year old singer-songwriter from Los Angeles has made funny songs, touching15 songs, and songs deeply critical of the world around him.

Randy Newman spent much of his childhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. His 1974 album “Good Ole Boys” is mainly an exploration of active racism16 in America’s Deep South and the quiet acceptance of it in the northern states.

But there is also a deeply moving love song on “Good Ole Boys.” In “Marie,” he sings of a man with many failings and his feelings for the woman who has suffered them.


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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 nominees 3e8d8b25ccc8228c71eef17be7bb2d5f     
n.被提名者,被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
  • A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网
3 parental FL2xv     
adj.父母的;父的;母的
参考例句:
  • He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
  • Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。
4 cruise 2nhzw     
v.巡航,航游,缓慢巡行;n.海上航游
参考例句:
  • They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
  • She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。
5 concord 9YDzx     
n.和谐;协调
参考例句:
  • These states had lived in concord for centuries.这些国家几个世纪以来一直和睦相处。
  • His speech did nothing for racial concord.他的讲话对种族和谐没有作用。
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 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
8 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。
9 ambivalence ixVzV     
n.矛盾心理
参考例句:
  • She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
  • She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。
10 flexibility vjPxb     
n.柔韧性,弹性,(光的)折射性,灵活性
参考例句:
  • Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
  • The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。
11 haven 8dhzp     
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
参考例句:
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
12 nominated e2793e0460cef0e428b335fb795136f0     
adj.被提名的,被任命的 动词nominate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • She has been nominated for the presidency. 她已经获得了董事长职位的提名。
  • The movie was nominated for an Oscar. 这部电影获奥斯卡金像奖提名。
13 commentary kXeyu     
n.评论,评注;实况广播报导,现场口头评述
参考例句:
  • He is giving the commentary on the basketball game.他正在对篮球赛作评论。
  • His running commentary on the football match was excellent.他对这次足球赛所作的实况报道十分精彩。
14 spike lTNzO     
n.长钉,钉鞋;v.以大钉钉牢,使...失效
参考例句:
  • The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
  • They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。
15 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。
16 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

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