VOA慢速英语20060714b

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - After Almost 20 Years, Superman Returns to Movie TheatersBy Erin Schiavone and Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Friday, July 14, 2006

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Bob Doughty². On our show this week...

We answer a question about long English words...

Play some music from Paul Simon...

And report about Superman.

Superman Returns


Superman Returns

(SOUND: Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!)

HOST:

America's most famous comic book hero, Superman, has returned in the new movie Superman Returns. Faith Lapidus tells us the history of this popular superhero.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

Superman was the first comic book hero who had super powers. Superman can fly. He has powerful vision and hearing. He is called the man of steel because he is very strong. Superman protects innocent people from harm, fights evil and carries out justice.

Superman was born on the planet Krypton. His father sent him to the planet Earth as a baby to keep him safe. Krypton exploded soon after. When Superman landed on Earth, an old couple made him a home on their farm. As he grew, he learned that he had super powers. During the day he works as a quiet newspaper reporter named Clark Kent. He tries to keep his identity as Superman a secret.

Superman was really born in Cleveland, Ohio in the early nineteen thirties. Two young men named Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the Superman character as a comic strip. Jerry and Joe both liked science fiction. Joe drew the pictures and Jerry wrote the story.

The two friends wanted their comic to be published in the newspaper. But newspapers rejected Superman. Finally, in nineteen thirty-eight Superman was published in a comic book called Action Comics Number One. Superman was immediately popular. In less than a year, Superman became a newspaper comic strip.

Mister Siegel and Mister Shuster did not make much money from their creation. They sold the legal rights to the comic for one hundred and thirty dollars. Still, the Superman story was very successful. It is still published in comic books today.

In nineteen forty, Superman became the star of a radio show. In the nineteen fifties, George Reeves starred in the popular Superman television series. In nineteen seventy-eight, Christopher Reeve starred in the first of four Superman movies. The last was released in nineteen eighty-seven.

Sadly, Reeve was severely³ injured in a horse riding accident in nineteen ninety-five. He was paralyzed and could not move from the neck down. He died in two thousand four. The new Superman movie stars Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel. This superhero has returned to the movies after almost twenty years. Superman is still very popular. In its first week, the movie earned more than one hundred million dollars.

Longest English Word

HOST:

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Japan. Yuji Ishibashi asks us about the longest word in the English language.




The Oxford⁴ English Dictionary Web site says the longest word listed in Oxford dictionaries is this one: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. This forty-five letter word is the name of a kind of lung disease. The dictionary's Web site says that the word is like other examples of the longest words. They are not really spoken in everyday life.

The Oxford English Dictionary Web site also lists other interesting facts about words. For example, what are the longest English words containing no letter more than once? They are two fifteen-letter words鈥?uncopyrightable and dermatoglyphics. There are several one-syllable English words that have nine letters. Examples include screeched⁵, scratched, scrounged, scrunched⁶ and stretched.

Another source of long English words is the Guinness Book of Records. It says the longest real word in the English language is floccinaucinihilipilification. It is also the longest non-technical word listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. It has twenty-nine letters. It means the act of estimating something as worthless. The Guinness Book of Records says it was first used in seventeen forty-one. In recent times, United States Senator Jesse Helms used the word. So did former President Bill Clinton's press secretary.

The best known long English word is probably antidisestablishmentarianism. This is the word for a nineteenth century movement in Britain that opposed the separation of church and government. The word is twenty-eight letters long.

There is a well known song about another long English word. It is from the nineteen sixty-four Walt Disney movie Mary Poppins. It has thirty-four letters. It is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The song was written by Robert Sherman. He said he and his brother created the word when they were boys at summer camp. The song describes using the word as a way to talk oneself out of difficult situations, and even as a way to change one's life.

(MUSIC: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious)

Paul Simon's Surprise

HOST:

Paul Simon started writing and recording⁷ songs in the nineteen sixties.
Paul Simon's "Surpise"

Simon's first songs were calm and poetic⁸ with a folk music style. Now Paul Simon is sixty-four years old. Mario Ritter tells us about his latest album called Surprise.

MARIO RITTER:

This album is different from Paul Simon's earlier music because it has an electronic sound. Simon worked with Brian Eno who is known for electronic music. Eno produced music for the bands U2 and Talking Heads.

Paul Simon's voice sounds the same as in his past records. But the electronic sound makes the new album more exciting. Simon told the New York Times that he thought about the September eleventh attacks against America while making the album. Simon wanted the songs to have American sounds. One of his earlier albums, Graceland, was influenced by the music of South Africa.

The song Outrageous⁹ is from Paul Simon's new album. This song has lots of energy. It sounds like a pop song. It asks the question, Who will love you when your looks are gone?

(MUSIC)

Another song from the album Surprise is called Sure Don't Feel Like Love. In this song, Simon says there is a lack of love and caring in the world. The music has a hip-hop rhythm, unlike his past music.

(MUSIC)

We leave you with another song from Paul Simon's new album, Surprise. Another Galaxy¹⁰ has a very electronic sound. The song also has softer guitar music. Simon sings about leaving home and other changes in a person's life.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Bob Doughty. I hope you enjoyed our program today. Our show was written by Erin Schiavone and Nancy Steinbach. Caty Weaver¹¹ was our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, www.unsv.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address. Or write to American Mosaic, VOA Special English, Washington, D.C., two-zero-two-three-seven, U.S.A.

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 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。

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 screeched   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• She screeched her disapproval. 她尖叫着不同意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The car screeched to a stop. 汽车嚓的一声停住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 scrunched   

v.发出喀嚓声( scrunch的过去式和过去分词 )；蜷缩；压；挤压

参考例句：

• The snow scrunched underfoot. 雪在脚下发出嘎吱嘎吱的声音。
• He scrunched up the piece of paper and threw it at me. 他把那张纸揉成一个小团，朝我扔过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 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。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

10 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

11 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。