VOA慢速英语20060327b

THIS IS AMERICA - Library of Congress¹ Sends Music, Poems and Movies on a National Trip to Share the 'Song of America'By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, March 27, 2006

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week -- America's cultural history takes to the road.

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VOICE ONE:

The world's largest library is in Washington, D.C. It has more than one hundred thirty million items in its collection. That includes more than twenty million books. It also includes maps, movies, music recordings² and television shows.

The Library of Congress serves as a research center for the legislature. It also serves as a center of cultural history for the American people. Now the Library of Congress is sharing some of that history with people who live far from Washington.

The Song of America tour is part of a major program by the library to celebrate creativity across America. The first part of the program celebrates creativity in music. The classical singer Thomas Hampson has been presenting a traveling concert series.

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VOICE TWO:

Thomas Hampson began an eleven-city tour in November. He started in the Midwest, the American heartland. In January he appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York. The final performance is planned in California in June.


Thomas Hampson

One of the historic⁵ songs he is presenting around the country is from nineteen fifteen. It was written by an African-American musician, Henry Burleigh, also known as Harry⁶ Burleigh. He wrote the music to a poem by Walt Whitman.

Ethiopia Saluting⁷ the Colors is about a chance meeting between a Union soldier and an old slave woman during the American Civil War. The victory by Union soldiers led to the end of slavery in the South.

The woman wears a cloth around her head in the colors of the Ethiopian flag: yellow, red and green. She salutes⁸ the American colors -- the red, white and blue flag -- as the troops of General William Tecumseh Sherman march past.

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WHO are you dusky woman, so ancient hardly human,

With your woolly-white and turban'd head, and bare bony feet?

Why rising by the roadside here, do you the colors greet?

Who are you dusky woman?

('Tis while our army lines Carolina's sands and pines,

Forth⁹ from thy hovel door thou Ethiopia com'st to me,

As under doughty¹⁰ Sherman I march toward¹¹ the sea.)

VOICE ONE:

As Thomas Hampson travels for his Song of America tour, the famous baritone presents master classes to teach local musicians. People can also see old printed music and pictures and listen to recordings from the Library of Congress collection. This way they can learn about a city's musical history.

The library is also continuing its Stories of America program as part of the Song of America tour. The stories program has the recorded histories of more than two thousand Americans. The speakers are people who fought in wars, others who were active in the civil rights movement, and just average citizens.

VOICE TWO:

The Poet Laureate of the Library of Congress will also travel for the Song of America tour. Ted⁴ Kooser will hold readings and organize workshops where poets can get advice about their work.


Ted Kooser

Ted Kooser is in his second term as America's official poet. He was chosen by the Librarian of Congress, James Billington. Mister¹² Billington calls him a major poetic¹³ voice for the America of small towns and wide open spaces.

Ted Kooser is the first poet laureate from the Great Plains of the Midwest. He won the two thousand five Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book, Delights & Shadows. Here, for Special English listeners, he reads his poem A Happy Birthday:

TED KOOSER: This evening, I sat by an open window

and read till the light was gone and the book

was no more than a part of the darkness.

I could easily have switched on a lamp,

but I wanted to ride this day down into night,

to sit alone and smooth the unreadable page

with the pale gray ghost of my hand.

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VOICE ONE:

The Song of America tour will also send classic³ films around the nation, to movie houses chosen by Mister Billington. These theaters have machines that are able to show old movies.

The movies in the tour include The Great Train Robbery¹⁴, Yankee Doodle Dandee and All Quiet on the Western Front.

All Quiet on the Western Front opened in nineteen thirty. It is considered unusually well made for its time. The story comes from the German novel by Erich Maria Remarque. A young German soldier in World War One believes fighting in a war is an honorable¹⁵ tradition of manhood. He comes to understand the terrible suffering in wartime.

VOICE TWO:

Another old film to be shown is The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Warner Brothers produced this drama of mystery and adventure in nineteen forty-eight. It was the first movie in which actor Humphrey Bogart and director John Huston worked together.

Mister Smith Goes to Washington will also be shown around the country. In this nineteen thirty-nine film, Jimmy Stewart plays a young senator¹⁶ who sees only the good in politics. Others aim to get him expelled¹⁷ from the Senate¹⁸ on false accusations¹⁹. To save himself, he talks and talks for hours to try to stop a vote on the Senate floor.




VOICE ONE:

More than four thousand people work for the Library of Congress. The Song of America tour is just one of many activities organized by the library.

Last month, for example, there was a talk by former ambassador²⁰ Richard Gardner. He discussed and signed copies of his book Mission²¹ Italy: On the Front Lines of the Cold War.

Peter Schikele is a music expert who likes to be funny. Mister Schikele lectured at the library on the subject String Quartet: The Dark Horse of Contemporary Music.

VOICE TWO:

The Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress stands near the Capitol, the building where Congress meets.

There is a round copper²² top to the Jefferson building. The metal dome²³ is green with age. The building looks like an Italian palace of the fifteen hundreds. This is the heart of the Library of Congress.

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He played an important part in the history of the Library of Congress.




VOICE ONE:

That history began in eighteen hundred, when John Adams was America's second president, after George Washington. Imagine this: the library started with eleven boxes of law books. The books were kept in one room of the Capitol building.

By eighteen fourteen, the collection had grown to about three thousand books. But all of them were destroyed that year as British troops invaded²⁴ Washington and burned the Capitol building.

VOICE TWO:

Thomas Jefferson was the next president. He offered his own collection of books to help rebuild the library. Jefferson had about seven thousand books in seven languages. His wish to help the library might have made him willing to offer his books. His debts might have also played a part in his decision. In any case, Congress purchased them.

In eighteen ninety-seven, the library moved into its own building, across the street from the Capitol. A second building was opened in nineteen thirty-nine. It was named for President John Adams.

But there was still not enough space for the library. So in nineteen eighty, a third building was completed near the first two. It was named for America's fourth president, James Madison.

VOICE ONE:

And today there is another place where you can visit the Library of Congress: the Internet, at loc.gov.

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Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver²⁵ was our producer. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. You can read and listen to our programs at www.unsv.com. And join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 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

3 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

4 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

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 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

7 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

8 salutes   

n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• Poulengey salutes, and stands at the door awaiting orders. 波仑日行礼，站在门口听侯命令。 来自辞典例句
• A giant of the world salutes you. 一位世界的伟人向你敬礼呢。 来自辞典例句

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

11 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

12 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

13 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。

14 robbery   

n.抢劫；抢劫案

参考例句：

• A man is being questioned in connection with the robbery.一名男子就那起抢劫案接受查问。
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

15 honorable   

adj.光荣的，荣誉的；可敬的，高尚的

参考例句：

• I don't think I am worthy of such an honorable title.这样的光荣称号，我可担当不起。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honorable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

16 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

17 expelled   

驱逐( expel的过去式和过去分词 )； 赶走； 把…除名； 排出

参考例句：

• She was expelled from school at 15. 她15岁时被学校开除了。
• After the outbreak of fighting,all foreign journalists were expelled. 战斗开始后，所有的外国记者都被驱逐出境。

18 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

19 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

20 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

21 mission   

n.使命，任务，天职；代表团，使团

参考例句：

• He was charged with an important mission.他受委托承担一项重要使命。
• I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.我要让你承担一项重要使命。

22 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

23 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

24 invaded   

v.侵入，侵略( invade的过去式和过去分词 )；涌入；侵袭；侵犯

参考例句：

• Troops invaded on August 9th that year. 军队是在那年的8月9日入侵的。
• The diseased tissue can be easily invaded by these microorganisms. 有病的组织容易被微生物侵袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 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。