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VOA慢速英语2012 THIS IS AMERICA - A Visit to an Asian "Night Market" in Los Angeles

时间:2012-12-11 08:35:36

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THIS IS AMERICA - A Visit to an Asian "Night Market" in Los Angeles

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

And I'm Christopher Cruise.

This week on our program we take you to a night market in Los Angeles. We also talk about LA's Chinatown with a best-selling author who writes about the lives of Chinese immigrants.

Then, we take you to a beach near Los Angeles where, once a year, surfing mixes with religion. And later we find out why many television and film productions are leaving Hollywood.

Night Markets in California

Night markets in Asia are places where people enjoy street food and social gatherings1.

"This is something we need."

In Southern California, the 626 Night Market in Los Angeles reminds George Ge of a night market in Taiwan.

"Everything is cheap and food, not very clean but taste awesome2."

Six-two-six is the telephone area code for a mostly Asian neighborhood of Los Angeles. Jonny Hwang is one of the organizers of the 626 Night Market.

"Thailand, China, Korea, Japan have different variations of it. It's a staple3 of Asian societies there. Night markets have been around every day, every weekend. Thousands of people, people of all ages, families come out to have a good, safe time."

The 626 Night Market is like a market in Asia but it has a Los Angeles style. Aileen Xu enjoys it.

"What we have here is literally4 a huge melting pot, it's a fusion5 of all different Asians, and I mean, I think it's really representative of the Asian American population in L.A. because we're not all Chinese. We're, you know, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese. We're everything and we're mixed, and we have, we even have foods that are like Asian Latino."

And there is another difference with the night markets in Asia. This one in Los Angeles does not happen regularly. Jonny Hwang has only been able to organize a few night markets so far.

"Having this type of event of this scale in America, in LA, is very difficult. It's not like Asia where the rules are lax and you can almost do anything. Here, it’s a lot more structured."

He wants this night market to be held more often. He says it is a social event, but also good for the local economy.

"A lot of our vendors6 are local small business. A lot of them are entrepreneurs, first timers, and I think without this event, this platform, they would be hard-pressed to find places that they can participate."

The people who sell food and other products at the night market also have stores and restaurants, many of them in the local neighborhood. The night market lets them show their products to thousands of people in one night.

John Zhuang sells Taiwanese beef jerky, preserved plums and candied fruits. 

He says having a food stand at the night market will help his business.

People from as far east as New York and as far north as the Canadian city of Vancouver have visited and asked for the night market to continue. Organizers say they are working to have the 626 Night Market become a monthly and possibly even a weekly event.

Lisa See

Lisa See has written about the Chinese-American experience in best-selling novels like "Shanghai Girls" and "Dreams of Joy." Her recent books have been partly set in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles.

With her red hair and freckles7, Lisa See looks Caucasian. But she is one-eighth Chinese and part of a large Chinese-American family. Her ancestors came to Los Angeles many years ago. Her great-grandfather, Fong See, helped establish Chinatown. She told his story in her book "On Gold Mountain."

"My first book was about my family, and I think that that kind of set me on a course."

Her later books have explored Chinese culture in China and in America.

"And now today, in Los Angeles, we do have the largest Chinese-American community in the United States."

Many immigrants have moved out of the city to the San Gabriel Valley, east of Los Angeles. But Lisa See says Chinatown still attracts immigrants from throughout Asia. She says they come for the same reasons that earlier generations came.

"You know, we all have someone in our families who was scared enough, brave enough, crazy enough to leave their home country to come here."

Lisa See says she'll tell more stories about immigrants in her future novels. 

Sacred Surfing

An interfaith worship service recently took place at a beach south of Los Angeles. The religious service celebrated8 the Pacific Ocean and the California surfing culture. The Christians10, Muslims, Jews and others who were there believe the ocean teaches lessons about life and faith.

The coastal11 city of Huntington Beach, in Orange County, calls itself Surf City USA. Every morning at the beach, the surfers are out early to catch the waves.

Tom Morey is a longtime surfer who invented a kind of short surfboard called the boogie board. He says surfing is a passion and a lifestyle.

"Surfing to me is creation's most succinct12 metaphor13, best metaphor, for how to live your life. Surf your life."

Once a year, an interfaith service called the "Blessing14 of the Waves" brings in surfers and others to celebrate their love of the ocean.

One person leads a Muslim prayer. Another blows a ram's horn, a Jewish tradition.

Maneck Bhujwala, a Zoroastrian, reads a prayer in the ancient Avestan language.

"So we have actually prayers for all the major elements of nature, including the water."

A choir15 with immigrants from the South Pacific island nation of Tonga provides music.

Two Roman Catholic priests were also at the service. They are both surfers who have spent time at Huntington Beach. After the service, they went into the ocean.

Father Christian9 Mondor is 87 years old. He was helped onto a surfboard and caught a small wave. He was happy to get in the water.

"It takes a lot of skill, but it's a wonderful feeling when you're moving with the ocean, especially when you can stand up and ride it wherever you want. But just to be in the water is such an invigorating experience. And it's great to be back, all wet again."

One of the people at the service was Dean Torrence. He was half of Jan and Dean, the 1960s group that helped make surf music popular with songs like "Surf City."

"The sand, the ocean, the blue sky, the weather. I mean, what could be better? I'm very, very, very blessed to be here in a place that we call Surf City."

Hollywood

Hollywood is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, but to many people, it represents the entertainment capital of the world. Yet some television and film productions have been leaving for other cities and other countries.

We are on location in downtown Los Angeles on the set of a TV show called "Vegas" -- one of only a few new shows being filmed in the city. Steve Michelson is part-owner of one of the catering16 companies that serve food to people working on TV and movie sets. He says his business has suffered in the past few years.

"I have individuals doing jobs that two or three people used to do. A company yesterday called me; they have five catering trucks -- they want to sell them. They want to go out of business."

Some caterers are leaving Los Angeles and following productions to other cities.

Film LA is a nonprofit group that processes permits for on-location productions of movies, TV shows and commercials. Paul Audley, the president of Film LA, says there has been a big change especially in the television industry.

"This year, for example, we know of the 23 new television dramas, 21 of them are going out of state and they used to virtually all be filmed here. We had more than 80 percent of television, and now we're down to about 40."

Bela Bajaria at Universal Television says studio executives consider two main factors when deciding where to shoot a film or TV show.

"A big part of it is obviously creatively, that we can really realize what's on the page. The other equally as important part is actually, you know, a tax incentive17."

Bela Bajaria says other cities have become more attractive to studios.

"It was about ten years ago, you know, New Orleans really came out with some first tax credits and a couple of the other states really followed."

In 2004, there were 16 film or TV projects in New Orleans. Katie Williams is the director of Film New Orleans. Speaking on Skype, she said that number increased to more than 50 this year.

"I don't think we would have any of that without the tax credit."

New Orleans is in Louisiana, and Katie Williams says state tax credits for studios have helped the city's film industry grow.

"Ultimately at this point, anything a movie needs to make the project can be found here in this state, and specifically in New Orleans, so with that comes jobs."

The state of New York also provides financial incentives18 to the film and television industry. Douglas Steiner is chairman of Steiner Studios in Brooklyn. He says his studio is growing with help for the industry from Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"It makes money, it makes money for the city. Bloomberg makes it easy to shoot in New York, and Governor Cuomo has made it affordable19 to shoot in New York. It employs tens of thousands of people that would otherwise not be working."

California also offers financial incentives to television and film companies. But Paul Audley of Film LA says these are not as large as those given by other states. 

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough of that money available to truly compete."

And the competition is global. Eastern European countries as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain are all competing for some of Hollywood's business.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 awesome CyCzdV     
adj.令人惊叹的,难得吓人的,很好的
参考例句:
  • The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
  • That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.
3 staple fGkze     
n.主要产物,常用品,主要要素,原料,订书钉,钩环;adj.主要的,重要的;vt.分类
参考例句:
  • Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
  • Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。
4 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
5 fusion HfDz5     
n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接
参考例句:
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
  • This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。
6 vendors 2bc28e228525b75e14c07dbc14850c34     
n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 );小贩;(房屋等的)卖主;卖方
参考例句:
  • The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
  • At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时,界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
7 freckles MsNzcN     
n.雀斑,斑点( freckle的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时,脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
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 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
11 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
12 succinct YHozq     
adj.简明的,简洁的
参考例句:
  • The last paragraph is a succinct summary.最后这段话概括性很强。
  • A succinct style lends vigour to writing.措辞简练使文笔有力。
13 metaphor o78zD     
n.隐喻,暗喻
参考例句:
  • Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方,我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
  • In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。
14 blessing UxDztJ     
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿
参考例句:
  • The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
  • A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。
15 choir sX0z5     
n.唱诗班,唱诗班的席位,合唱团,舞蹈团;v.合唱
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。
16 catering WwtztU     
n. 给养
参考例句:
  • Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
  • Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的?
17 incentive j4zy9     
n.刺激;动力;鼓励;诱因;动机
参考例句:
  • Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中,钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
  • He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。
18 incentives 884481806a10ef3017726acf079e8fa7     
激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 ); 刺激; 诱因; 动机
参考例句:
  • tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
  • Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者,提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
19 affordable kz6zfq     
adj.支付得起的,不太昂贵的
参考例句:
  • The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
  • There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

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