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VOA慢速英语2013 白色的渡船:穿越波托马克河数百年

时间:2013-09-15 14:23:53

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White's Ferry: Crossing the Potomac River for Hundreds of Years 白色的渡船:穿越波托马克河数百年

Welcome to American Mosaic1 from VOA Learning English.

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

On the show today, we play unlucky music in honor of Friday the 13th!

We also tell about a Muslim American rapper who sings about Jesus.

But first, we take a boat ride across the Potomac River near Washington.

White's Ferry

Ferry boats once were an important method of transportation across rivers. There once were more than 100 ferries in operation on the Potomac River. That is the river that runs through the Washington, DC area and into the Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of the United States.

All but one of the ferries have been gone for many years. The historic White's Ferry has served the DC area since the late 1700s. And the business is still doing very well. Faith Lapidus has more.

Cars are pulling onto the boat at White's Ferry under the watchful2 eyes of the captain. Next are the bicycles. Scott Lake and his friends use the ferry service on their way to train for a race.

"I love the ferry. It feels like it is a step back in time. You get to enjoy being close to the river while also cutting your ride back down to a manageable distance."

"The best thing is that it's nostalgic. It is not updated. It is a throwback ferry. It does its job."

Since it began running in 1786, White's Ferry has been a popular way to cross the river that separates Maryland and Virginia. The boat -- the General Jubal A. Early -- is named for a Confederate commander during the Civil War.

Over time, the business was sold. Malcolm Brown's family has owned it since 1946.

"My father came home from the war, World War II, and he and some other fellows got together and bought the rights. And in 1972 when I came home from the service they asked me to get involved with it and run it. I really didn't want to, but I agreed to do it for a year. And it got busier and busier."

As the business grew, so did the boat. The Browns' first ferry carried just three cars. That was replaced by a steel boat for 15 cars. Now White's ferry service uses a cable-pulled boat that can carry up to 24 cars.

White's is the only ferry operating on the Potomac River. It is popular among some local workers.

"It's a lot less traffic, it is a lot less headache. I use it every day. I take it on the way to work. I have been doing it for about eight years now."

"It is certainly much quicker to get where I need to go. And also it is a lovely ride."

The ride is about three minutes one way, and five minutes the other. And the price is reasonable - $5 one way or $8 round trip.

David Pierce Jr. is one of the ferry's four captains.

"Wish it was a longer ride, not three and a-half minutes. It takes really a multi-task. We have to look at the river, land, the boat and collect (money) all at the same time before we get to the other side."

There are no plans for building a bridge in the area. So, White's ferry is expected to continue connecting Maryland and Virginia over the Potomac River for some time to come.

American Muslim Raps About Jesus

Young Muslim musicians who write songs about Islam are gaining popularity in the United States. Their appeal is spreading even among non-Muslims. Mo Sabri, from Tennessee, is one such musician. Sabri wrote and recorded a song about Jesus that has gone viral on the web.

"We can go umrah, hop4 up on a jet, just to go jummah."

Mo Sabri is singing about Mecca, although rap is not generally known for spiritual messages. He says there are too many songs on the radio that urge children to do bad things. But, Mo Sabri wants to be a good influence.

One of his latest songs got more than one million views on YouTube.

"In the West, they call him Jesus, in the East they call him Isa, Messiah, Christ, the same person that you speak of."

Sabri says he really wrote "I Believe in Jesus" for the people of east Tennessee. He says he wanted them to know that Muslims respect Jesus.

"The son of a virgin3, they say it is illogical, probably improbable, but God made it possible."

"I grew up in an area that didn't really have any Muslims, and I was able to see that they were all more similar than different. I was like, ‘I want to reach out to my neighbors and show that Muslims and Christians5 as a whole can experience what I experienced.'"

Sabri says that Muslims do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, like Christians believe. But he says Muslims do believe that Jesus was a prophet, a messenger for God.

"There's so much misinformation about Muslims, to think that a Muslim can't talk about Jesus, or can't love Jesus, is, I think, just the wrong idea."

Mo Sabri says his goal is to correct that misunderstanding.

"My goal is to dispel6 that idea."

He says he was inspired by another musician, Matisyahu, a Jewish reggae artist who has also rapped about religion. Sabri praises Matisyahu's work.

"It's really nice to be a role model for the kids and the adults because there's not too many people doing what I'm doing."

And Sabri wants to continue that tradition.

Music for Friday the 13th

Do you have paraskevidekatriaphobia? It means fear of Friday when it falls on the 13th day of the month. Friday the 13th has been considered unlucky for hundreds of years. No one really is sure why. There is no scientific evidence to support the belief. But people think it just the same.

So today we are celebrating Friday the 13th with music. Here's Mario Ritter.

In 1972, Stevie Wonder released "Superstition7," a song about beliefs and fears that have no basis in fact. The song goes: "13-month-old baby broke the looking glass, seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past." The song advises against worrying about things that are not real.

Blues8 musician Albert King sings about bad luck connected to the Zodiac. Those are twelve signs linked to the apparent position of planets, the sun and other stars. Albert King's song seems to make fun of the belief that the Zodiac governs our lives.

In "Born under a Bad Sign" he sings, Born under a bad sign / been down since I began to crawl / if it wasn't for bad luck / You know, I wouldn't have no luck at all.

The California punk rock band Social Distortion celebrates a dark humor. The band's members named their recording9 company "13th Floor Records." Their albums include "Mommy's Little Monster," "Prison Bound" and "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell."

One of the group's biggest hits dismisses the power of superstition. It includes the lines, thirteen's my lucky number / to you it means stay inside / black cat done crossed my path / no reason to run and hide.

We leave you with Social Distortion performing "Bad Luck."

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver10. June Soh and Jerome Socolovsky provided additional reporting.

Do you have a question about American life, people or places? Send an e-mail to [email protected]. We might answer your question in a future show. You can also visit our website at 51voa.com to find transcripts11 and audio of our shows.

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 watchful tH9yX     
adj.注意的,警惕的
参考例句:
  • The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
  • It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。
3 virgin phPwj     
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的
参考例句:
  • Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗?
  • There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。
4 hop vdJzL     
n.单脚跳,跳跃;vi.单脚跳,跳跃;着手做某事;vt.跳跃,跃过
参考例句:
  • The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛,看谁单足跳跃最快。
  • How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远?
5 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。
6 dispel XtQx0     
vt.驱走,驱散,消除
参考例句:
  • I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑,但没有成功。
  • We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。
7 superstition VHbzg     
n.迷信,迷信行为
参考例句:
  • It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
  • Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。
8 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。
9 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。
10 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。
11 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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