AMERICAN MOSAIC

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹
By

Broadcast: Friday, February 13, 2004

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.

On our show today, we answer a question about education for Americans who cannot see. And we play some songs that won Grammy awards earlier this week.

But first, a report about a new museum in New York City.

Louis Armstrong Museum

(MUSIC)

HOST:

 
Graphic² Image
That is singer and trumpet⁴ player Louis Armstrong performing his famous song, "Hello Dolly". Louis Armstrong is considered one of the greatest jazz musicians who ever lived. His voice, trumpet- playing skills and creativity continue to influence jazz artists today.

Louis Armstrong died in nineteen-seventy-one. In nineteen-seventy-seven, his home was declared a national historic⁵ place. Recently, it opened as a museum. Shep O'Neal tells us about it.

ANNCR:

 
Graphic Image
The Louis Armstrong House and Archives is in Queens, an area of New York City. Louis Armstrong shared the house with his fourth wife, Lucille, from nineteen-forty-three until his death almost thirty years later. The house was not changed after Lucille Armstrong died in nineteen-eighty-three.

Years later, the city of New York, the National Endowment for the Humanities⁶ and the Save America's Treasures program spent more than one-million dollars on the house. They made it look exactly as it did when Louis Armstrong lived there.

Louis Armstrong could have lived anywhere he wanted. Yet he chose a simple home in a common area of Queens. Visitors appear every day to see where the famous jazz musician lived.

For most of his life, Louis Armstrong was performing about three-hundred days of the year. But when he was home, he spent most of his time in a room where he produced most of his work. Today, the room looks as if Louis Armstrong might still be there. He often recorded people talking, music and the sounds of daily life. More than six-hundred-fifty of his recordings⁸ were discovered in his home. Here is an example of one of these recordings. Louis is talking with his wife, Lucille.

(SOUND)

Louis Armstrong collected many things from his travels and from the people he met. He wrote many letters to friends and fans. And he wrote about everyday things that took place in his life. Thousands of pages of his personal writings, pictures, trumpets⁹ and other things can be found at the Louis Armstrong Archives at Queens College in New York. For more information about Louis Armstrong, his archives and his house, you can go to the museum's computer web site. The address is w-w-w dot s-a-t-c-h-m-o dot n-e-t.

Education for the Blind

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Pakistan. Habib Nawaz wants to know about education for blind students in the United States.

 
A blind student feels a raised version of Van Gogh's 1888 painting 
The American Federation¹⁰ for the Blind says there are about ten-million blind or visually disabled people in the United States. A federal law approved in nineteen-seventy-five guarantees blind students a free public education. It requires that all states provide a free public education in the best environment to children who suffer mental or physical problems.

To help blind students learn, schools are also required to provide special books published in Braille. This is a system of printing and writing for the blind. Words are formed using raised areas of paper which blind people feel with their fingers. Schools also provide other services and equipment to help blind or visually impaired¹¹ people learn.

Many children with sight problems attend their local public schools with other children. They are taught the same subjects as other students their age. But they also receive special life skills training. This could include learning how to move and work successfully within the community. It could also mean special training on equipment to make life easier. Some schools even have special vision instructors¹². These are trained professionals who work directly with blind students.

Blind or visually impaired students can also attend separate schools for people with disabilities. Often, students at these schools have other physical or mental problems. Many of these special services schools are paid for by the states. Others are private. Blind or visually impaired students have the right to attend either. It is the responsibility of the school to provide them with a full education.

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States also have programs and special services for blind and visually impaired students. These are not free, however. At the university level, all students must pay for their education.

Grammy Winners

HOST:

 
Andre 3000 of OutKast performs at the Grammy Awards.
The National Academy of Recording⁷ Arts and Sciences presented its yearly Grammy Awards last Sunday, February eighth. It has been doing this every year for forty-six years. Phoebe Zimmermann tells us about the Grammies and plays some of the songs that won this year.

ANNCR:

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was organized by recording artists, songwriters and technicians. They wanted to recognize excellent musical recordings and those who create them. The award the Academy gives is called a Grammy.

The award is a small statue. It is shaped like the early record player called a gramophone¹³. The word "Grammy" is a short way of saying gramophone. Members of the Academy vote to choose the best recordings of the year. More than one-hundred awards were given this year.

One of these is Song of the Year. It goes to the writer of the best song. The winners were Luther Vandross and Richard Marx for writing the song, "Dance With My Father." It is performed by Luther Vandross.

(MUSIC)

Another Grammy Award was for Record of the Year. The winners were the artists and producers of the song "Clocks." It is performed by the group Coldplay.

(MUSIC)

The Grammy Award for Album of the Year went to the rap³ group OutKast for its album "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below." We leave you with a song from that album, "The Way You Move."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed AMERICAN MOSAIC. Join us again next week for VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

Our program was written by Cynthia Kirk, Jill Moss¹⁴ and Nancy Steinbach. Our producer is Paul Thompson, and our engineer is Andrea Kominars.

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 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。

3 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。

4 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

6 humanities   

n.人文学

参考例句：

• Dalian University offers courses in science and in the humanities. 大连大学开设自然科学和人文科学课程。
• She has a background in humanities and modern languages. 她学过人文学科和现代语言。

7 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。

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

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 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

13 gramophone   

n.留声机，唱机

参考例句：

• The telephone and the gramophone were contemporary.电话和留声机是同一时代的产物。
• Gramophone records warp in very hot weather.天气太热时，唱片会弯翘。

14 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。