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VOA慢速英语2013 洛杉矶的壁画

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Murals Add Color and Character to Los Angeles 洛杉矶的壁画

Welcome to American Mosaic1 from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

On the show today, we play new music from country star Keith Urban.

We also roll down some old train tracks in Missouri.

But first, we go to the west coast to look at some big art in the city of Los Angeles.

LA MuralsThe city of Los Angeles, California is famous for its murals – artwork covering the sides of buildings and bridges over busy roads. Katherine Cole tells us how the murals add color and character to the city.

Many drivers pass by a huge mural of the Los Angeles Chamber2 Orchestra every day as they go to and from work. It is easily seen from a major freeway near the city center. The massive work includes images of the orchestra’s violin, oboe and viola players.

Kent Twitchell created the painting in 1991. He has also made many others in the city. A piece painted in 1971 remains3 on the wall of a house a short distance from the center of Los Angeles.

“I decided4 to paint my favorite actor, Steve McQueen. I didn’t fancy myself as being some heavy-duty modernist artist. I just painted what felt good to me.”

Photographs of that Steve McQueen mural made Kent Twitchell famous.

His other works include a work in honor of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and paintings of America’s founding fathers. Some important murals, however, have been painted over or damaged by graffiti.

“I was so na?ve. I thought I was living in Florence and that people would just appreciate and love it. But that didn’t turn out to be the case in many instances, and a lot of the great L.A. murals are gone now.”

Some historic art in Los Angeles has been repaired. Leslie Rainer is with the Getty Conservation Institute. She says experts carefully repaired a mural from 1932 by visiting Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros.

“He painted this very controversial image of a crucified central figure with an eagle looming5 above him, and some revolutionaries aiming their rifles at the eagle.”

She says the message of the painting is not entirely6 clear. The eagle could represent the United States or Mexico. Each country has chosen the bird as its national symbol. But the image offended city leaders. They ordered it painted over. Experts finished restoring it in 2012.

Artist Lydia Emily shares a social message with her wall art. She tells the story of a young woman named Jessica in one of her murals. Jessica is a victim of the sex trade. The work shows her face and a bird that represents freedom, says the artist.

“I did an interview with Jessica where I learned her entire story, how she was kidnapped, how she was sexually trafficked for her whole life, how she was rescued, how she became who she is today. And then I tried to paint the narrative7.”

Lydia Emily also painted a mural in the homeless neighborhood known as Skid8 Row. It shows an African woman of the Masai tribe and the native birds of Kenya. She says it represents the difficult life of the world’s native peoples.

Los Angeles officials were once hostile to murals and other street art. Now they are providing strong support, as long as the owner of the property gives permission. Officials recently eased rules about street murals in an effort to get more art and color in the city.

Parks by Rails to TrailsRailroads once crossed the United States in every direction. Trains carried the goods that kept the economy growing. Today, the railroad system is still an important part of the nation’s transportation system but it plays a much smaller part than it once did.

Thousands of kilometers of train tracks are no longer in use. A group called “Rails to Trails” has turned many of these old tracks into parks for walking, running, biking and other activities. One such lengthy9 park extends for many kilometers in the state of Missouri.

The morning sun shines like gold on the two rails of a train track that extends through Sedalia, Missouri. A car rolls over the tracks, and then disappears up the street.

No train comes down the track until a ringing gate drops down to let one engine through. It pulls a single train car.

More than 30 people stand several streets away. They are all wearing bicycling clothes. The group is looking up a large building that looks like a palace. It formerly10 served as the Sedalia train station and now is home to the city’s train museum.

Kathleen Boswell is a museum tour guide. She says the structure dates back to the 1860s when trains ruled transportation in America.

“Well, there used to be about a dozen train tracks, both sides of the building. And we have only this one little piece left now.”

Hundreds of trains a week stopped at this station. By the 1970s, trucks and airplanes were the main carriers of goods and people. The train tracks were no longer being used. Years later, private donors11 and government officials worked together to turn the area into an attraction for visitors.

“This is our 22nd year for the Katy Trail, for bicycles.”

The former Katy railway was named for the MK&T line. Its trains served Missouri, Kansas and Texas.

A group of people now jump on bicycles and test their pedals. They are getting ready for a week of biking 50 to 80 kilometers each day. A tour guide points them toward the city of St. Louis, Missouri.

“Which direction are we going?”

“We’re going east, all the way.”

“Which way is east?”

“Follow the sun…”

Soon the cyclists are riding along the car-free path through forests and tunnels, past cornfields and along the wide Missouri River. Almost a half-million people take trips on the Katy Trail every year. Over 20,000 of them come from outside of Missouri. Cyclist Stacy Heikes lives in Colorado.

“Yeah, I love biking. I love biking. That’s why I’m here. But, I love biking in new places so you can see new stuff, you’re not looking at your same old path every time. You’re looking at something new. Right up the road, we hear, there is a burr oak (tree) that’s the state champion burr oak in size.”

A tour agency called Road Scholars organized this group’s trip. It urges cyclists to make side trips to train museums, wine grape farms and the state capital along the way. Californian native Alice Frost says the historic wall paintings at the capitol building in Jefferson City captured her heart.

“The one mural in the senator lounge was just magnificent. I had never been to Missouri before and I sort of put it on my low list of places I might like to go. But after seeing it, I see it has many things here that are very good…for vacationing and I’m enjoying it.”

The 390 kilometer long Katy Trail cost six million dollars to build. Today, the state of Missouri spends only a small percentage of that amount each year to keep the trail in good condition.

Todd White is owner of Katy Bike Rental12 in the town of Defiance13. He praises the decision to set up the trail.

“The economic impact study says 18 and a half million dollars every year is getting sprinkled along this trail. 250 thousand meals, and of course, the bike shops and different support services along the trail as well.”

Mr. White adds that many Missouri cities now require major roads and bridges to include a bicycle path. He says neighborhoods are also building bike paths to link to the Katy Trail.

Keith Urban “Fuse”

It has been three years since country music star Keith Urban released a studio album. The singer from New Zealand used that time to create a collection of songs that he describes as “liberating.” Mario Ritter plays some for us.

“Little Bit of Everything” was Keith Urban’s first single from his new album, “Fuse.” The song became his fourteenth number one hit on the country charts. The album also entered Billboard14 Magazine’s Top 200 Albums chart at number one.

Urban experimented with different sounds on “Fuse,” and worked with nine producers from the R&B and rock worlds. Urban says that experimentation15 was what led him to name the album “Fuse.”

“It started with just trying to bring things together -- instruments, sounds, rhythms, and so forth16 -- to fuse things together that I hadn’t done before, to this degree.”

Urban says working with others is his favorite part of making an album. He says his goal for “Fuse” was to bring a new energy to his sound. Urban performs on the album with other country singers, including Miranda Lambert and Eric Church.

“Eric I’ve known for a couple of years and I came upon this song called ‘Raise ‘Em Up.’ It was just a perfect song for us, and I’m really glad that he wanted to be on the record. And then Miranda opened some shows for us many years ago. We used to sing together at the end of the night and I always loved the way our voices sounded together. So, in the back of my mind, I’ve always had a hope that I could find a song one day that we could do and this song called ‘We Were Us’ came along. It was just the right song at the right time.”

 His duet with Miranda Lambert entered Billboard Magazine’s Top 20 Country Airplay Chart just three weeks after it was released. That makes it one of the fastest-climbing songs of his career. 


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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 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
3 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
4 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。
5 looming 1060bc05c0969cf209c57545a22ee156     
n.上现蜃景(光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼)v.隐约出现,阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 );隐约出现,阴森地逼近
参考例句:
  • The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看,在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
6 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
7 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
8 skid RE9yK     
v.打滑 n.滑向一侧;滑道 ,滑轨
参考例句:
  • He braked suddenly,causing the front wheels to skid.他突然剎车,使得前轮打了滑。
  • The police examined the skid marks to see how fast the car had been travelling.警察检查了车轮滑行痕迹,以判断汽车当时开得有多快。
9 lengthy f36yA     
adj.漫长的,冗长的
参考例句:
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
  • The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。
10 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
11 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 rental cBezh     
n.租赁,出租,出租业
参考例句:
  • The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
  • We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。
13 defiance RmSzx     
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗
参考例句:
  • He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
  • He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。
14 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。
15 experimentation rm6x1     
n.实验,试验,实验法
参考例句:
  • Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
  • Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。
16 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

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