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VOA慢速英语2014 Ellen DeGeneres Makes History at the Oscars and In China 艾伦·德杰尼勒斯在奥斯卡上创造历史

时间:2014-03-12 14:41:37

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 Ellen DeGeneres Makes History at the Oscars and In China 艾伦·德杰尼勒斯在奥斯卡上创造历史

Welcome to American Mosaic1 from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

Last week, the show was all about the Oscars.  This week we talk about the host of that ceremony, comedian2 Ellen DeGeneres. She broke an Internet record last Sunday and she’s making history in China too.

Then, we tell about a museum in Virginia that helps tell the story of slavery in America and now has an Academy Award connection.

"We Crashed And Broke Twitter"

Sunday night, Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California.  It is Hollywood’s top awards event and many entertainers hope to be asked to host. Jim Tedder3 tells us how DeGeneres did and about her new broadcasts in China.

Ellen DeGeneres has to be pleased with her Oscar performance last week. She did exactly what producers ask for --- bring in a big television audience without creating any societal debates. Last year, Academy Awards host Seth MacFarlane made jokes about female body parts than many people did not find funny.

 

DeGeneres as host won a larger television crowd.  A reported 43 million people watched the broadcast.  That is two-and-a-half million more people than 2013.  DeGeneres also stuck mainly to her style of warm and friendly humor instead of insulting jokes. One exception may be a comment she made early in the show. She suggested that singer/actress and ceremony attendee Liza Minelli looked like a man trying to look like a woman.

DeGeneres also made a move that was very popular among Oscar goers.  She ordered pizza for several of the actors and other moviemakers in the audience.  Actors Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence were among the pizza eaters. Director Martin Scorsese also took a piece.

Although many in the crowd laughed, the pizza was also eaten up quickly. The Oscars ceremony has a strong rule barring any food from the event. Those who attend get very hungry.  Few people have much time to eat before the event.  It takes most attendees hours to fix their hair and makeup4, and dress for the event. 

Then, stars must take their time walking the so called “red carpet” into the Dolby Theater where the ceremony takes place. Fans, photographers and members of the press line the carpet.  All expect, and get, attention from the Oscar goers. So by the end of the ceremony most people have not eaten in many hours.

But the most talked about moment that night in Los Angeles had to be Ellen DeGeneres’ “selfie.”  A selfie is a picture one takes of oneself for placement on the internet. Ellen DeGeneres took her smart phone out into the audience.  She got close to actor Bradley Cooper and asked others to join in for the selfie. Lots of stars jumped into the picture including some 2014 Oscar winners, like Jared Leto and Lupita N’yongo.

Ellen DeGeneres then posted the photo to Twitter. The post was retweeted more than two million times within hours.  Later, in the show, DeGeneres excitedly told the crowd: “We got an email from Twitter and we crashed and broke Twitter. We have made history.”

Many television critics have noted5 that the phone DeGeneres used for the selfie photograph was a new Samsung.  Samsung was a major corporate6 supporter of the Oscars.

Ellen DeGeneres made Twitter history last Sunday.  She is also making broadcast history in China. Her popular daily television talk show now can be seen in China. American and Chinese companies jointly7 announced the move in January.

People can watch “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on the Chinese online video service Sohu Video 48 hours after it is shown in the United States.  The service shows it with Chinese subtitles8.

VOA recently spoke9 about the news with Larry Namer.  He is the head of a company that makes television shows to be shown in China.  He also created the E! Entertainment Television channel.  He told us many American television programs can now be seen in China.

“We’ve been there for about five years now.  We’ve seen what’s called an opening up, of the new acceptance of other countries, and we think it’s just continuing the trend that we’ve been noticing.  It’s not really all that surprising for us quite honestly.”

Mr. Namer believes Ms. DeGeneres will be successful in China.

“There are certainly cultural differences between American culture and Chinese culture.  I wouldn’t profess10 myself to be an avid11 follower12 of the Ellen show, although I do watch it on occasion when I’m in the US.  But a lot of her stuff seems to deal with human values and feelings and I think her stuff is pretty universal.  My gut13 feel is that it will do rather well there.  I think a lot of Chinese people will be able to relate to her and what she talks about.”

I’m Jim Tedder in Washington.

Slavery Museum Linked to Oscar Winning Movie

“Twelve Years A Slave” is based on the writings of Solomon Northup.  It won the 2014 Academy Award for best motion picture.

Mr. Northup was captured and sold into slavery in 1841. His kidnapper14 was a well-known slave trader named James Birch.

Mr. Birch owned property in Alexandria, Virginia where he would imprison15 the men, women and children before their sale. The large property was called a slave pen.

Today, all that remains16 of the slave pen is one building. It has been turned into a museum about slavery. At the Freedom House Museum visitors get a close look at what slaves experienced.

Julian Kiganda is the supervisor17 of the museum. She says she cannot imagine how the captured felt about the possibility of never seeing their families again.

“Seeing that African-Americans had experienced on a regular basis, the separation of family. That for me was just so heartbreaking.”

Most of the slaves picked tobacco on local farms.  They were also sold to cotton farmers farther south.

Audrey Davis is the head of Alexandria’s Black History Museum. She says slaves came from many different places.

“They were coming from a variety of places, and then being held in the slave pens until they were shipped out, or until someone was buying them directly from the pen, and then they would be brought out for inspection18.”

James Birch’s slave pen was one of the most profitable in the country. There was a kitchen, an eating area, a hospital and a space for exercise. 

The traders knew that slaves who looked healthy would sell for higher prices. Ms. Kiganda says some traders would even give slaves new clothes.

“The tailor shop would create the clothes that the slaves would wear at the market so they would look expensive.  The slaves, they would actually try to get rid of these clothes as soon as they could because they did not want to be reminded of being sold at market.”

Ms. Kiganda says slaves were sold for as much as four times what the traders had paid for them.

“People would pay 1200 dollars for a slave, back in those days, which is the equivalent of almost 30,000 dollars in today’s money.”

Jacquelyn Nordorf visited the museum from California. She says it is scary to imagine slaves crowded against the museum walls.

“It saddens me but it is our history. It was scary to be in a place where the slaves were actually kept and these people were sold for their lives.”

The victims were chained together and shipped to markets in North America. Sometimes after sale they were forced to walk long distances to farms.  

Visitors to the Freedom House Museum are permitted to touch the slave chains. Ms. Kiganda explains why.

“We felt it was important for people to have the ability to actually feel these things and feel the reality of what happened here.”

The Northern Virginia chapter of the Urban League owns the building. The Urban League is an organization that works to empower African-Americans. Cynthia Dinkins is the Chief Executive Officer of the chapter.

Ms. Dinkins says she and other workers feel the presence of the dead in the museum. Ms. Dinkins says they have seen and heard things they cannot explain.

“I felt something brush against me, but I didn’t feel threatened at all.  And they’re like, oh no, yes, yes, we’ve experienced things like that, doors opening and closing, footsteps.”                         

The slave pen was closed during the American civil war. The city of Alexandria surrendered to U.S. government soldiers in 1861. The slave pen was turned into a prison used to jail disobedient government soldiers and rebel soldiers who were captured.

I’m June Simms. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver19.


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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 comedian jWfyW     
n.喜剧演员;滑稽演员
参考例句:
  • The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
  • The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。
3 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
4 makeup 4AXxO     
n.组织;性格;化装品
参考例句:
  • Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
  • Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗?
5 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
6 corporate 7olzl     
adj.共同的,全体的;公司的,企业的
参考例句:
  • This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
  • His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。
7 jointly jp9zvS     
ad.联合地,共同地
参考例句:
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
  • She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。
8 subtitles 2ed599c1a6d0321e20001bc46d236f37     
n.说明字幕,印在外国影片上的对白翻译字幕,译文对白字幕;小标题,副标题( subtitle的名词复数 );(电影的)字幕
参考例句:
  • subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing 为耳聋和听力不佳者打出的字幕
  • a Polish film with English subtitles 附有英语字幕的波兰影片
9 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
10 profess iQHxU     
v.声称,冒称,以...为业,正式接受入教,表明信仰
参考例句:
  • I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
  • What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教?
11 avid ponyI     
adj.热心的;贪婪的;渴望的;劲头十足的
参考例句:
  • He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
  • She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。
12 follower gjXxP     
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒
参考例句:
  • He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
  • Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
13 gut MezzP     
n.[pl.]胆量;内脏;adj.本能的;vt.取出内脏
参考例句:
  • It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
  • My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。
14 kidnapper ApAzj1     
n.绑架者,拐骗者
参考例句:
  • The kidnapper was shot dead then and there by the armed policeman.绑架者被武装警察当时当地击毙。
  • The kidnapper strangled the child with a piece of string.绑票的人用一根绳子把这孩子勒死了。
15 imprison j9rxk     
vt.监禁,关押,限制,束缚
参考例句:
  • The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life.而这件事的影响力则会让你被终身监禁。
  • Dutch colonial authorities imprisoned him for his part in the independence movement.荷兰殖民当局因他参加独立运动而把他关押了起来。
16 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。
17 supervisor RrZwv     
n.监督人,管理人,检查员,督学,主管,导师
参考例句:
  • Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说,我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
  • He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。
18 inspection y6TxG     
n.检查,审查,检阅
参考例句:
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
  • The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。
19 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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