VOA慢速英语20060428b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Investigating Crimes the Scientific Way: Secrets of Forensic² MedicineBy Dana Demange, Jill Moss³ and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, April 28, 2006

(MUSIC)

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week鈥?e play music by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs鈥?nswer a question about professional wrestling鈥?nd report about a special kind of medical science known as forensics.

Forensic Science

HOST:

When life unexpectedly ends, people want to know the cause. Forensic science experts can provide answers. Forensics is a special kind of medical science that explains how people die. A show about forensic science is at the National Library of Medicine near Washington, D.C. Faith Lapidus has more.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The show is called Visible Proofs 鈥?Forensic Views of the Body. It presents the history of forensic medicine. For centuries, medical professionals have worked to develop ways to help explain death. Such methods are also used to solve crimes, protect the innocent, or prove human rights violations⁵.


Part of an exhibit on forensic science at the National Library of Medicine

Among the objects in the show are the medical tools used in the autopsy⁶ of President Abraham Lincoln. An autopsy is a detailed⁷ medical examination of a dead body to discover the cause of death. Autopsy was among the first scientific methods used by experts to help solve crimes. President Lincoln's autopsy in eighteen sixty-five confirmed his death from a gunshot wound.

The show at the National Library of Medicine also includes several small models of crime areas. These are part of a collection called the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy woman living in Boston, Massachusetts, created the collection in the nineteen forties and fifties.

Missus Lee was interested in forensic medicine and scientific crime investigation⁸. In nineteen thirty-six, she helped establish a school for legal medicine at Harvard University. She later gave her collection to the university to be used as teaching tools. Students training to become crime investigators⁹ used the models to learn about evidence.

Michael Sappol organized the show Visible Proofs 鈥?Forensic Views of the Body. He is a cultural history expert on death and medicine. Mister Sappol says people naturally withdraw in the presence of death. When a life unexpectedly ends, people need answers and seek the cause. Mister Sappol says the show is meant to help people better understand death.

Visible Proofs continues at the National Library of Medicine through February, two thousand eight. The Library is on the grounds of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

To learn more about the history of forensic medicine, listen on Wednesday to EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

Professional Wrestling

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from India. P.K. Visvesvaran asks about World Wrestling Entertainment and how much the performers are paid.

World Wrestling Entertainment is the largest professional wrestling organization in North America. It was called World Wrestling Federation¹⁰ until it changed its name because of a legal dispute. Its more than one hundred wrestlers fight each other in competitive matches that are written and practiced before they are performed.


Pro⁴ wrestlers performing

Professional wrestlers are athletes but act as entertainers. They are not seeking athletic¹² records, but instead want to excite an audience. To do this, they use unusual names and wear special clothing during wrestling matches. These wrestlers include the Stone Cold Stunner and the Undertaker.

Most professional wrestling matches are between two men or two women. They fight inside an area called a ring that is separated from the audience by ropes. Each match continues until one wrestler¹¹ forces the other's shoulders to the floor and holds them there for a count of three. Most World Wrestling Entertainment matches continue for only about four to seven minutes.

An organization official called a promoter decides before the match who will win. But who wins and who loses is not the important thing in professional wrestling. The important thing is that the audience enjoys the pretend fight. Some wrestlers rarely win, but continue to be popular.

Not all wrestling matches are between two people. Some are called tag team matches and involve teams of two, three or four wrestlers. Another kind of match is called a battle royal. It involves thirty to sixty wrestlers competing against each other. A wrestler loses when he or she is thrown out of the ring. The winner is the last wrestler still standing¹³.

Most professional wrestlers attend special schools to learn the skills they will need. Not all the students succeed. But those who do can earn a lot of money. We found a Web site that claims to show recent yearly earnings¹⁴ of sixty-five W.W.E. wrestlers. The wrestlers earned from forty-one thousand dollars to more than two million dollars a year.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

HOST:

Show Your Bones is the newest album from a musical group with an unusual name, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The energetic music made by these three rock musicians is becoming very popular in America. Steve Ember tells us more.

STEVE EMBER:

A singer, guitar player and drummer make up the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their rock sound is inventive, unusual, and full of personality. Their music is considered an example of indie rock. Indie musicians like to protect their independence or artistic¹⁵ freedom. One way to do this is to avoid using major recording¹⁶ companies.


Yeah Yeah Yeahs in concert

Lead singer Karen O is known for wearing wild clothing and hairstyles while performing. Sometimes she even pours beer over herself and the audience. Imagine Karen O dancing around on stage as you listen to her sing this song, Phenomena¹⁷.

(MUSIC)

The words to the songs on Show Your Bones are poetic¹⁸ and also a little strange. It is not always clear what the songs mean. In this song called The Sweets, Karen O describes colors and the motion of water. She wonders about meeting someone again.

(MUSIC)

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs started singing in New York City. But Karen O has moved to Los Angeles, California. She says she likes flying between the two cities and the band is now bi-coastal. Karen O also said this album was the most difficult to make. The band was trying to find a different sound from their earlier albums.

Their work seems to have been worth the effort. Critics say Show Your Bones might be one of the best albums of the year.

We leave you now with another Yeah Yeah Yeahs song. It is called Cheated Hearts.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today.

Our show was written by Dana Demange, Jill Moss and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹⁹ was our producer.

Join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC, VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

1 mosaic   

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 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

3 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

4 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。

12 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

13 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

14 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

15 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

16 recording   

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。

17 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

18 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

19 weaver   

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。