VOA慢速英语2009-AMERICAN MOSAIC - The Empire State Building Goes

HOST:

Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

I'm Doug Johnson. This week:

We go to a birthday party for folk singer Pete Seeger, who turned ninety this month ...

And we will answer a question about religion and government in America ...

But first, a report on a "green" project for a very famous building in New York City.

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Empire State Building Goes Green

HOST:

The tallest building in New York City is "going green." No…the Empire State Building is not being painted. But it is getting an environmental make-over. Faith Lapidus tells about the planned changes.

FAITH LAPIDUS:

The Empire State Building opened in nineteen thirty-one. It stands just over four hundred forty-three meters tall. For many years it was the tallest building in the world.
　
Empire State Building

Soon, it will be one of the world's greenest. The owners of the historic building say a planned make-over will reduce energy use in the building by thirty-eight percent. They say it will save more than four million dollars a year in energy costs.

The Empire State Building has six thousand five hundred windows. New, special, thick glass will replace the glass currently in the windows. This insulated glass will make the inside of the building cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

Paul Rode is a leader of the renovation² project. He says the windows will insulate almost as well as the walls they are connected to. Workers will also add energy efficient lights and improved building control systems. These will include more modern air cooling and heating systems. The effort will help reduce carbon dioxide releases from the Empire State Building by more than one hundred thousand tons a year. Carbon dioxide is one of the gases that causes the warming of Earth's atmosphere.

Building owners say such make-overs are very important to reduce levels of greenhouse gases in New York. They say eighty percent of these gases come from city buildings.

The project is to be completed in four years. The first improvements will cost twenty million dollars. But Paul Rode says it is a sensible financial investment.

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Religion and Government in America

HOST:

Our listener question this week comes from China. Candice wants to know if there is a state religion in the United States. The answer is no and the reason why goes back to the early days of America's history.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many Europeans moved to colonial America in part to escape religious oppression. Thomas Jefferson and other early American leaders purposely designed a national government that had no established religion. They wanted to build a country that included many religions, where citizens were free to follow their own beliefs.
　
Thomas Jefferson

The First Amendment³ of the Constitution supports religious freedom and places religion outside the reach of the government. It states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

This idea is often described as "the separation of church and state." President Jefferson himself used this expression. In eighteen-oh-two, he sent a letter to a religious group in the state of Connecticut. He said that the First Amendment works by "building a wall of separation between church and state."

How the First Amendment applies to life in America has often been disputed. There is deep opposition⁴ between people who support nonreligious government policies and those who want religious values to be considered. The Supreme⁵ Court has heard many cases that test the meaning of the First Amendment.

For example, the Supreme Court ruled in nineteen forty-eight that religious classes could not be taught in public schools. In nineteen sixty-two the Court decided⁶ that public schools could not require students to say prayers.

The church and state debate is still going on today. For some people, policies about stem-cell research, same-sex marriage and abortion⁷ rights threaten religious beliefs. Other people believe it is wrong to ban these practices because of religious beliefs.

Even though there is no state religion in America, there is a large, beautiful religious center in the nation's capital called the Washington National Cathedral. The official name of this Episcopal church is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. But an official says the church calls itself the Washington National Cathedral because many services of national interest have been held there. These include the funerals of three American presidents and national prayer services. This church receives no federal money and operates entirely⁸ on private donations.

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Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Party

HOST:

You may not know Pete Seeger by name but you probably have heard his music. He has been writing songs and playing banjo for seventy years. Pete Seeger was born on May third, nineteen nineteen in New York City. That is where he celebrated⁹ his ninetieth birthday. Mario Ritter has our report on Pete Seeger and his party.

MARIO RITTER:

Thousands of people gathered at Madison Square Garden for a concert to honor Pete Seeger and his music. Artists of all ages joined Seeger on stage to sing the folk and protest songs that he made popular, like this one, "If I Had a Hammer."

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PETE SEEGER: "If I didn't think music could help save the human race, I wouldn't be making music."

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Pete Seeger at his 90th birthday celebration

Pete Seeger first became famous in the nineteen forties as a member of the Almanac Singers. He then helped form the Weavers¹¹. In nineteen fifty they had a huge hit with "Goodnight Irene," a song by blues¹² musician Leadbelly.

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Pete Seeger left the Weavers for an independent career. And he continued to be successful. But Seeger says he never planned on becoming a musician. He saw music as a way to bring about political change. He sought world peace, social justice, civil rights and workers' rights.

More recently, environmental conservation has become a chief issue for the musician. In fact, the profits from Seeger's big birthday concert went to Hudson River Sloop¹³ Clearwater. Pete Seeger established the non-profit group in nineteen sixty-nine. Its goal is to care for and protect the Hudson River and waters linked to it.

(MUSIC)

That is Emmylou Harris performing "The Water is Wide" at the concert. Other musical guests included Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, Richie Havens¹⁴ and Taj Mahal.

Of course the birthday celebrant himself sang and played banjo as well. We leave you now with Pete Seeger performing his version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land."

(MUSIC)

HOST:

I'm Doug Johnson.

This program was written by Dana Demange and Caty Weaver¹⁰, who also was the producer. For transcripts¹⁵, MP3s and podcasts of our programs, go to voaspecialenglish.com.

Send your questions about American life to [email protected]. Please include your full name and where you live.

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 renovation   

n.革新，整修

参考例句：

• The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后，将于下星期开业。
• The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。

3 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 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。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

10 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。

11 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

12 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

13 sloop   

n.单桅帆船

参考例句：

• They heeled the sloop well over,skimming it along to windward.他们使单桅小船倾斜适当，让它顶着风向前滑去。
• While a sloop always has two sails,a cat-rigged boat generally has only one.一艘单桅帆船总是有两面帆，但一艘单桅艇通常只有一面帆。

14 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

15 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