AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By Caty Weaver² and Jill Moss³

Broadcast: Friday, February 06, 2004

(THEME)

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC -- a program in VOA Special English about music and American life. And we answer your questions.

(THEME)

This is Doug Johnson.

This week, we answer a question about heavy metal music in American. And, we tell about black history month in the United States.

But first, some news about the death of a long-time children's television performer, Captain Kangaroo.

Captain Kangaroo Dies

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HOST:

Children's television performer Bob Keeshan died last month. He was seventy-six years old. The actor was known as Captain Kangaroo. His program was on television for many years. Shirley Griffith tells more.

ANNCR:

Bob Keeshan was born in nineteen-twenty-seven on Long Island, New York. He finished high school and joined the Marines in nineteen-forty five. But fighting in World War Two had ended before he was deployed⁴.

Bob Keeshan worked in television for several years before he got the chance to launch his own children's program. The "Captain Kangaroo" show first appeared in nineteen-fifty-five. It was broadcast on the C-B-S network for twenty-nine years. Then, in nineteen-eighty-four, the program moved to public television. It appeared for six more years.

 
Captain Kangaroo
Millions of American children grew up with Captain Kangaroo. Each day, Bob Keeshan wore a big red coat with large pockets on the side. Some people said the pockets were big enough to hide a baby kangaroo, like the animals do in Australia. That is how Bob Keeshan got his show name.

Some characters always appeared on the Captain Kangaroo show. One was a friendly man named Mister Green Jeans. He always had some strange, new mechanical device that he could never get to work. Mister Moose and Bunny Rabbit were talking hand puppets. There was also an old grandfather clock that told poems.

Bob Keeshan was an activist⁵ for children. He often warned parents against the influence of television. He also helped launch the Coalition⁶ for America's Children. This organization works to inform politicians about the importance of young people. It also tries to educate voters about positions that elected officials take on children's issues.

On television Bob Keeshan tried to teach children something new everyday. He was known for being very calm.

Bob Keeshan won six Emmy awards and three Peabodys for his work. He also wrote six books during his years performing as the man everyone knew as Captain Kangaroo.

Black History Month

HOST:

February is Black History Month in the United States. This year the observance honors the fiftieth anniversary of an important civil rights case. Shep O'Neal reports.

ANNCR:

In nineteen-fifty-four, the highest court in the nation ruled that racial separation in public schools violated the Constitution. The case was known as Brown versus⁷ the Board of Education of Topeka.

 
Thurgood Marshall
Oliver Brown was an African American father who lived in Topeka, Kansas. The city refused to permit his daughter to attend a school near her home. That school accepted only white students. So Mister Brown took legal action.

Many public places were divided by race at that time. It was legal to separate blacks and whites as long as the services were separate but equal. Many towns and cities, for example, had schools for white children and schools for black children.

Thurgood Marshall was the top lawyer for a civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement⁸ of Colored People. He took the case brought by Oliver Brown and several similar ones to the Supreme⁹ Court.

Thurgood Marshall argued that it was impossible to have racial separation and racial equality at the same time. He said that separation made minority students feel of lesser¹⁰ value. He said this affected¹¹ their ability to learn.

Thurgood Marshall won the case. Schools were forced to educate whites and blacks together.

Thirteen years later, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American justice on the Supreme Court.

Heavy Metal Music

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Bangalore, India. Ravindra Kashyap wants to know about American heavy metal music.

This kind of music has been played for more than thirty years. So there is a lot to tell. But we will mostly let the music speak for itself.

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This group became popular in the nineteen-seventies. Alice Cooper was one of the first heavy metal bands in the United States. Its leader, Vincent Furnier, was famous for his wild concert appearances.

 
Graphic¹² Image
Heavy metal music often has long parts with only guitar or drums. The songs may sound out of control at times. But they often depend on simple three-chord melodies. "Enter Sandman" by Metallica is one example.

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"Enter Sandman" was a huge hit when it was released in nineteen-ninety-one. Metallica is still popular. In fact, the group is nominated for a Grammy Award this Sunday for this song, "Saint Anger."

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Heavy metal music has risen and fallen in popularity many times. Other musical styles have developed from it. Another Grammy nominee¹³ this year is the band Korn. That group is considered "Nu Metal." We leave you with the song that Korn is nominated for, "Did My Time."

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HOST: This is Doug Johnson.

If you have a question about American life, send it to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name and mailing address. If we use your question, we'll send you a gift. Our postal¹⁴ address is American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, USA.

Our program was written by Caty Weaver and Jill Moss, and produced by Caty Weaver. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for 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 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。

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 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

8 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

13 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

14 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。