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VOA慢速英语2013 An Unusual Instrument for Sale at the Smithsonian Craft Show

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An Unusual Instrument for Sale at the Smithsonian Craft Show

 Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC1 from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Today we play songs from a long-awaited album from the band Phoenix2.

We also tell about a way to unload unwanted clothing and still have something to wear.

But first we visit a famous show at America’s Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Craft Show

The Smithsonian Craft Show is the most respected show of its kind in the United States. It is also one of the most difficult for artists to enter. This year, more than 120 artists displayed their work in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Building Museum in Washington. Steve Ember tells us about one of them.

Bob McNally considers himself both an artist and a musician. He invented an instrument he calls a Strumstick. He says it is designed to get everyone to make music.

“People are capable of playing musical instruments, but if you play an instrument and get frustrated3 with it early enough, you decide, it’s you, there’s something lacking in you. And I wanted to make an instrument that was a frontal assault on that misunderstanding.”

The Strumstick has only three strings4. Bob McNally says that makes it easier to play than other stringed instruments.

“The frets5 are spaced to give you just a major scale, Do-Re-Mi, and that means that when people squeeze one string, they get a couple of notes in the background for free, and they get the notes of a major scale, no wrong notes, so for beginners it's very, very unfrustrasting to learn and people get results from it right from the start.”

He sells about 3,000 Strumsticks a year. The price starts at about $170 and can go as high as $340, depending on the kind of wood used and other materials added to the instrument.

Many of Mr. McNally’s sales come from events like the Smithsonian Craft Show.

Twelve kinds of media were represented at the show last month. It included the work of fabric6 artists, glass artists, leather workers and also furniture and basket makers7. The admission process for artists is very competitive.

“I’m always extremely grateful when I get in because it’s obviously a good show to do in terms of business, but the thing that’s almost more important is that the people who come to the show, the public, are very educated about craft."

Profits from the Smithsonian Craft Show go towards education, research and other services at the Smithsonian Institution.

Clothing Swaps9

A large clothing swap8 at a high school cafeteria in Springfield, Virginia

 “Clothes-swapping10” has become an increasingly popular activity for women in the United States.  The women can give away unwanted clothing at a clothes swap event and get something different in return.

Clothes swapping lovers are now using social media to help publicize such events. VOA’s Michael Lipin went to one recent gathering11 in northern Virginia. Christopher Cruise has his report.

About 300 women went to the clothes swap at a high school in Springfield, Virginia.  It was the largest crowd ever for the area’s popular clothing-swap group.

“Good brands here though, God, they’re good brands. I mean, this is a J. Crew sweater!”

The women bring shirts, dresses and other clothing they no longer want. In return, they can take home almost anything they like.  Ashley Moore was having a very good day.

“I bought five, or brought, five shirts and I, like, already kind of got, I got like two nice pairs of boots. And they were like new, not even used!”

Daphne Steinberg was, too.

“For anyone who knows Ann Taylor LOFT12, Ann Taylor is a really nice women’s designer and, you know, I will totally wear this to work. So, you know, I love that, I love that I can outfit13 myself for work, have a good time in doing it, not totally bankrupt myself.”

Sandy Van Dusen likes the idea that clothes are finding new homes instead of being thrown away.

“Because it helps to keep the Earth green. There’s, there’s no point in my opinion in continuing to buy new clothes when we can reuse what’s already here. Give it a new home -- you know, let somebody else love what you used to love and no longer love.”

“Alright, come on down!”

Kim Pratt organized the clothing-swapping event in Springfield. She also organized a money-raising activity for the high school’s debate team. It is one of several ways that her group gives to charitable causes. Another is by donating all of the “un-swapped” clothing to shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Kim Pratt says she first heard about clothes swapping from Suzanne Agasi, who began holding private swaps in California in 1996.

“I started doing this myself four years ago, and we’ve been doing it for four years, getting bigger and bigger each time we have a swap.”

She used the social media website meetup.com to help publicize the events. The website has helped her group grow from 30 members to 1,300. Ms. Pratt says most of the members respect clothing swap rules. But she says competition for desirable fashion can be strong.

“We have to tell people sometimes not to hover14 over the new people coming in with their clothing. As they put it out, some people tend to grab the stuff right out of their hands and it becomes like a free-for-all. We try to avoid that as much as possible.”

Phoenix “Bankrupt!”

The French band Phoenix is finally out with another album, and sales are strong.  “Bankrupt” is number four on Billboard15 Magazine’s list of the top-selling 200 albums.

That song, “1901,” brought huge fame to Phoenix in 2009. It was on the group’s fourth studio album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” The record went gold, selling more than 500 thousand copies. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” won the band its first Grammy Award, for Best Alternative album.

Then four years went by – with no new music from the group. Last month, Phoenix released its fifth album, “Bankrupt!” The sound is pop with an edge. The band’s members told a reporter that David Bowie was a major influence on this album. And you can hear it in the first song, “Entertainment.”

Phoenix performing at this year's Coachella music festival in California

Phoenix performed last weekend at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana. Last month, they energized16 crowds at the Coachella Festival in California. And hours from now, they are to perform at the Sweet Life Festival in Maryland.

Phoenix’s members say they enjoy performing for crowds, and that they work as hard at that as they do in the recording17 studio. Bassist Deck D’Arcy told a reporter that was partly why they called the album “Bankrupt!” He said they gave everything they had to get to this point. In his words, “in that way, it’s meant as a term for absolute commitment. There’s a notion of the absolute in ‘bankruptcy’ that we like.”

Phoenix is surely committed to one song on the album. We leave you with the more than seven minute title track from “Bankrupt!”

I’m June Simms. Our program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver18, who was also the producer. Michael Lipin and Julie Taboh provided additional reporting.

Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic from VOA Learning 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 phoenix 7Njxf     
n.凤凰,长生(不死)鸟;引申为重生
参考例句:
  • The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
  • The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。
3 frustrated ksWz5t     
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
参考例句:
  • It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
  • The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 strings nh0zBe     
n.弦
参考例句:
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
5 frets 8bb9f6d085977df4cf70766acdf99baa     
基质间片; 品丝(吉他等指板上定音的)( fret的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The river frets away the rocks along its banks. 河水侵蚀了两岸的岩石。
  • She frets at even the slightest delays. 稍有延误她就不满。
6 fabric 3hezG     
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
参考例句:
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
7 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 swap crnwE     
n.交换;vt.交换,用...作交易
参考例句:
  • I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
  • This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。
9 swaps 7852508deb41ee8610612c888aea2f12     
交换( swap的名词复数 ); 交换物,被掉换者
参考例句:
  • He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
  • Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。
10 swapping 8a991dafbba2463e25ba0bc65307eb5e     
交换,交换技术
参考例句:
  • The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
  • He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。
11 gathering ChmxZ     
n.集会,聚会,聚集
参考例句:
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
12 loft VkhyQ     
n.阁楼,顶楼
参考例句:
  • We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
  • By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下,他们就可以多出两间卧室。
13 outfit YJTxC     
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
参考例句:
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
14 hover FQSzM     
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫
参考例句:
  • You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
  • A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。
15 billboard Ttrzj     
n.布告板,揭示栏,广告牌
参考例句:
  • He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
  • Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。
16 energized bb204e54f08e556db01b90c79563076e     
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 );使通电
参考例句:
  • We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意,爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
  • I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力,感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句
17 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
18 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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