VOA慢速英语20061215b

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:

We answer a question about the term baby boomers ...

Play some music from the Beatles ...

And report about changes to a traditional American board game.

Monopoly³


Monopoly: Here & Now

It is the middle of the winter holiday shopping season in the United States. Stores are crowded with people buying gifts for family members and friends. One of the new gifts this year is an updated version⁴ of the board game Monopoly. Barbara Klein tells us about it.

BARBARA KLEIN:

The Parker Brothers company began selling Monopoly in nineteen thirty-five. Players move pieces around a board to buy and sell property. The first Monopoly game represented streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey⁵. Since then, more than two hundred fifty million copies of Monopoly have been sold in eighty countries around the world. It is the best selling board game in the world.

The Hasbro company bought Parker Brothers in nineteen ninety-one. The company's Web site says more than two hundred different versions⁶ of Monopoly have been created over the years. They show streets in different American cities, places at universities and areas in national parks.

Earlier this year, the Hasbro company announced a contest to create a new and different version of Monopoly. It would represent famous places in America. The company wanted help in choosing the properties that would appear on the board. So it asked Monopoly lovers⁷ to use their computers to vote for popular places in twenty-two cities. The votes also would decide where each place would appear on the board. The place with the largest number of votes would have the most important space on the board.

Three million votes were counted to help develop the new game, called Monopoly Here and Now. These are some of the places in the new game: The White House in Washington, D.C. Wrigley Baseball Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada. And, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. New York City's Times Square received the most votes, so it occupies the highest rent property space on the new board.

Monopoly Here and Now also has new and improved pieces that the players move around the board to play the game. The old pieces included a top hat and an old shoe. Some of the new ones include a cell phone and a laptop computer.

Baby Boomers

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from Nepal. Amrit Rai wants to know the meaning of the term baby boomers.

Baby boomers are Americans who were born between nineteen forty-six and nineteen sixty-four. World War Two ended in nineteen forty-five. The number of babies born increased sharply⁸ after soldiers came home from the war.

The baby boom² describes the growth of American families and the economy during this period. Population experts say a law called the GI Bill helped create the baby boom. It gave soldiers who served in World War Two and the Korean War the financial support they needed to start families. It also provided⁹ education, training, loans¹⁰, unemployment payments¹¹ and other aid to former soldiers. Millions of them paid for their college educations or bought homes.


Two members of the baby boom generation: George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

The baby boomers were such a large group that they had a major influence on American culture. This year, the oldest members of the baby boom generation turned sixty. They include President George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton. The two men were born within sixty days of each other in nineteen forty-six. They are the country's first and second baby boomer presidents.

Some experts believe baby boomers will continue to have power in Washington for many years. For example, a great number of baby boomers will be serving in Congress¹². And another boomer may also be elected president.

The two newest members of the Supreme¹³ Court are both baby boomers. Chief Justice John Roberts was born in nineteen fifty-five; Justice Samuel Alito, in nineteen fifty. In addition to politics, many of the cultural and business leaders in the United States are baby boomers.

The population of the United States includes more than seventy-eight million baby boomers. That is more than one quarter of the American population. And this country continues to feel the social effects of the baby boom. For example, many companies make products or offer services that promise to make people look and feel younger. Right now, baby boomers are either planning for their retirement¹⁴, taking care of their aging parents or worrying about their teenage children.

The Beatles' Love

HOST:

The Beatles have released¹⁵ a new album, called Love. It contains twenty-six Beatles songs that have been remixed and combined to produce something completely new. Katherine Cole has our story.

KATHERINE COLE:

The Beatles album Love began as the soundtrack for the Canadian Cirque Du Soleil show that opened a few months ago in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cirque Du Soleil means Circus of the Sun. The show combines acrobatics¹⁶, dance, theater and music.


The Beatles

The surviving Beatles and their families had asked the Beatles' producer, George Martin, to create the music for the show. Martin and his son, Giles, made the experimental¹⁷ mixes from the master tapes, recorded in the studio, that were used to make the Beatles' records.

The famous Beatles songs on Love are edited¹⁸ together, taken apart and changed in new and creative ways. The album is part of a new musical method called a mash-up. This song on Love combines three Beatles songs. See if you can identify them.

(MUSIC)

Those songs were Drive My Car, The Word and What You're Doing.

In this song, Because, the background instrumental¹⁹ music has been removed. What remains²⁰ are the Beatles singing acapella. You can hear their voices combine beautifully with each other.

(MUSIC)

Paul McCartney, one of the two surviving Beatles, had this to say about Love: This album puts the Beatles back together again, because suddenly there's John and George with me and Ringo. It's kind of magical.

There is only one song on the album to which new music was added. George Martin added new music by stringed instruments to George Harrison's singing. We leave you with While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

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

This show was written by Shelley Gollust, Jill Moss²¹ and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver²² was the producer. To read the text of this program and download audio²³, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

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 boom   

n.隆隆声；vt.发隆隆声

参考例句：

• The country is having a great boom in industry.这个国家的工业正蓬勃发展。
• Boom!Boom!Boom!A series of explosions shook the valley.轰！轰！轰！一连串爆破声震撼山谷。

3 monopoly   

n.垄断，专卖，垄断物（商品），专卖商品

参考例句：

• His monopoly of shipbuilding in that country has been established.他对那个国家造船业的垄断已经建立起来。
• In many countries,tobacco is a government monopoly.在许多国家，烟草由政府专营。

4 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lovers   

爱好者( lover的名词复数 )； 情人； 情夫； 情侣

参考例句：

• They were off-screen lovers. 他们是真实生活中的情侣。
• Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧和朱丽叶这一对莎士比亚笔下命运多舛的恋人

8 sharply   

adj.锐利地，急速；adv.严厉地，鲜明地

参考例句：

• The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
• Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。

9 provided   

conj.假如，若是；adj.预备好的，由...供给的

参考例句：

• Provided it's fine we will have a pleasant holiday.如果天气良好，我们的假日将过得非常愉快。
• I will come provided that it's not raining tomorrow.如果明天不下雨，我就来。

10 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 payments   

n.支付，付款，缴纳，报酬( payment的名词复数 )；付出的[要付出的]款项；报答，报偿

参考例句：

• Welfare payments cease as soon as an individual starts a job. 一旦就业，即停发福利救济。
• The law can compel fathers to make regular payments for their children. 这项法律可强制父亲定期支付子女的费用。

12 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

13 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。

14 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

15 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

16 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

17 experimental   

adj.实验的，用作实验的，根据实验的

参考例句：

• This trip will be only experimental.这次旅行只是试验性的。
• The experimental farm is near the waterpower station.实验农场靠近水电站。

18 edited   

编辑( edit的过去式和过去分词 )； 剪辑（电影、录音磁带、无线电或电视节目、书等）； 主编（报纸、杂志等）

参考例句：

• I know that this draft text will need to be edited. 我知道这篇草稿需要校订。
• All references to the scandal were edited out of the tape. 所有涉及这件丑闻的内容都从录音带中删去了。

19 instrumental   

adj.仪器的，器械的，乐器的，起作用的，有帮助的

参考例句：

• It is an instrumental work.这是一部可以用乐器演奏的作品。
• He was instrumental in catching the criminal.在捉拿那个罪犯的过程中，他起了作用。

20 remains   

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。

21 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。

22 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。

23 audio   

n./adj.音频(响)(的)；声音(的)，听觉(的)

参考例句：

• Often,the meeting is recorded on audio or video media for later reference.通常这种会议会以视频或者音频形式记录下来，供以后查阅。
• You don't even have to pay for audio programs.你大可不必为自己听这些节目付费。