VOA慢速英语2009年-AMERICAN MOSAIC - Seeing the Hope Diamond

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Bob Doughty². This week on our program:

We play new music from singer/songwriter Mike Doughty …

And answer a question about names of American towns, cities and states.

But first, some news about one of the most famous jewels in the world.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

The Hope diamond is one of the largest and most famous jewels in the world. For fifty years, it has been in the collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. To mark this anniversary, the museum is showing the forty-five carat blue diamond for the first time without its usual setting. Visitors can now see the Hope diamond in all its natural beauty. Barbara Klein has more.

BARBARA KLEIN:

The Hope diamond has a long and rich history. It was formed over a billion years ago far beneath the Earth's surface. Its rare blue color comes from small amounts of the element boron. The stone was discovered in a mine in India during the seventeenth century. It was more than one hundred carats in weight. In sixteen sixty-eight, the stone was sold to the ruler of France, King Louis the Fourteenth.

A few years later, the king's jeweler recut the stone to a weight of about sixty-seven carats. The stone was later lost during the French Revolution. A recut version of this blue diamond later reappeared in England.

Different families and jewelry⁴ experts have owned the stone over the years. The diamond received its name from one of its nineteenth century owners, Henry Phillip Hope. A wealthy American woman named Evalyn Walsh McLean bought the Hope diamond in nineteen eleven. During her ownership the stone was placed in a setting surrounded by sixteen small white diamonds on a long diamond chain.

Last month, the Smithsonian removed the Hope diamond from this setting. Visitors can see the diamond all by itself, in all its sparkling blue glory. In April, the Hope diamond will temporarily be placed in a new necklace before returning to its original setting. Also in April, the Smithsonian will release a new movie about the diamond's history.

The Hope diamond is one of the most visited objects in the museum. Museum organizers say they wanted people to be able to see the famous stone in a new way.

Jeffrey Post is the curator of the museum's gem⁶ and mineral collection. He says seeing the Hope diamond out of its setting also allows experts to study the rare stone. He said studying this jewel will help scientists learn more about diamonds in general.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

Our question this week comes from China. Li Wei wants to know why some American cities and states have the same name. For example, there is a New York City and a New York State. The same is true of the West Coast state of Washington and the East Coast city of Washington, D.C. And, there are more than ten other cities named Washington. They include those in Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

It is quite common for cities to have the same names as states. For example, there is a California, Maryland, and an Iowa, Louisiana. There is a Florida, New York, and a Kansas, Alabama.

Many names of American states and cities are based on Native American languages.

For example, the state of Alabama was named after a local Indian tribe called the the Alibamu. The word means "thicket⁷ clearers" or "herb gatherers." The state of Illinois comes from the Algonquian tribal⁸ word Illiniwek. It means "tribe of superior men." The states of North and South Dakota were both named for a group of Sioux Indians called Dakota. The word means "allies" or "friends."

Many American states are named after historic people. Georgia is the feminine Latin form of George and is named after King George the Second of Great Britain. Maryland was named after Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles the First of England. And Louisiana is named in honor of King Louis the Fourteenth of France.

But some names of cities and towns are unusual. Like Big Ugly, West Virginia, and Idiotville, Oregon. Also, Sweet Lips, Tennessee, and Kissimmee, Florida. There is Celebration in Florida and Santa Claus in Indiana. You could surely get something to drink in Hot Coffee, Mississippi. If you like animals, you might want to visit Monkey's Eyebrow⁹, Arizona, or Toad¹⁰ Suck, Arkansas, but not Deadhorse, Alaska. And you might decide you would rather live in Happy, Texas, than in Hell, Michigan.

(MUSIC)

HOST:

Singer and songwriter Mike Doughty keeps it simple on his new CD "Sad Man Happy Man." The CD is free of the fancy production tricks common to many studio albums. Instead, you can hear Mike Doughty's unusual voice and his excellent guitar playing. Faith Lapidus has more.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS:

"Diane" is one of thirteen songs on Mike Doughty's new CD. Doughty rose to fame in the nineteen nineties as the lead singer of the band Soul Coughing. The band was known for its unusual mix of music styles, from alternative rock, to hip⁵ hop³, to jazz and electronics. Mike Doughty was known for his ability to string words together in a skillfully artistic¹¹ and funny way. He is a poet, rapper and singer, which you can hear on the song "You Should Be Doubly Gratified."

(MUSIC)

Mike Doughty's skill with words comes as no surprise. He is a published poet and playwright¹². He is currently writing his life story.

In addition to guitar, Doughty plays keyboards on the new album and did all of the drum programming. Music partner Andrew "Scrap¹³" Livingston added the cello¹⁴ and bass¹⁵. Some critics are calling "Sad Man Happy Man" Mike Doughty's best work to date. We leave you with the song "When I Box the Days Up."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by Dana Demange and June Simms. Caty Weaver¹⁶ was the producer. For transcripts¹⁷, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com. You can also comment on our programs.

Do you have a question about people, places or things in America? Send it to [email protected] we may answer it on this show.

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 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

7 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

8 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

9 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

10 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

13 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

14 cello   

n.大提琴

参考例句：

• The cello is a member of the violin family.大提琴是提琴家族的一员。
• She plays a melodious cello.她拉着一手悦耳的大提琴。

15 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

16 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。

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句