VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Summer Ramadan; ‘Old News;’ Fleetwood Mac Tribute Album

 

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - Summer Ramadan; ‘Old News;’ Fleetwood Mac Tribute² Album

FAITH LAPIDUS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I’m Faith Lapidus. This week, we play some older music recorded by newer bands…

We also report on “Old News…”

But first, some Muslims in America tell us how they are observing Ramadan this summer…

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Ramadan in Summer

FAITH LAPIDUS: Muslims around the world have been fasting for three weeks. They are not permitted to eat or drink anything in daylight hours during the month of Ramadan.

This year, the observance falls during summer in Earth’s northern hemisphere³. In the United States, the fasting day is long and the weather can be hot. Barbara Klein tells how some American Muslims are dealing⁴ with this.

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BARBARA KLEIN: Fourteen year old Maleke Nabbus enjoys playing basketball with relatives during the summer, although they are all fasting. Maleke says they make some compromises to have fun.

MALEKE NABBUS: “It’s not that hard. Sometimes, like, you can’t play for that long, like you only play for an hour or so.”

His cousin Adeeb Baiou agrees. Adeeb also plays on an organized sports team. He says that activity is more competitive⁵ and intense. So he chooses to break his fast during games, like many other Muslim athletes.

ADEEB BAIOU: “The most challenging part is staying hydrated and not being able to drink water.”

His sister Sabrine finds it easier to fast in the summer. Why? No school.

SABRINE BAIOU: “I actually like it better because we don’t have to wake up as early and the days, they might be longer, but you can sleep in, until, like, really late in the afternoon.”

Sabrine has a summer job at a local restaurant. She has to be around other people who are eating and drinking while she is fasting.

SABRINE BAIOU: “It’s a little tough as like a person who serves food and drink to people. It’s, like, hard watching them but I kind of try not to think about it.”

Fifteen year old Serage Gerbbi says many of his non-Muslim friends wonder how he is able to keep the fast.

SERAGE GERBBI: “In the very beginning they will be in shock, like how you stay without water the whole day. They are very supportive, like sometimes they’re too shy to eat in front of me.”

Serage and his friends say they might feel hungry, thirsty and tired at times while fasting. But, they say they understand why they are doing it.

SERAGE GERBBI: “You start being closer to your religion, closer to God. Second of all, you remember the poor and people are suffering, like, we’re only staying throughout the day. People are not going to sleep hungry.”

SABRINA BAIOU: “Not eating for the whole day, you, like, realize, you don’t actually need the stuff that you put in your mouth all the time.”

Islam does not require young children to fast during Ramadan. But nine year old Nourene Nabbus is fasting this year, for the second time.

NORENE NABBUS: “I wanted to fast because I wanted to see what it felt like with my Mom and my Dad, and them all fasting like I didn’t know how it felt.”

Wafaa Elmahgob is Nourene’s mother. She says she and Nourene’s father told her she could try avoiding food and drinks half a day because the day is long. But she says Nourene was firm about fasting the whole day.

Ms. Elmahgob is happy that her daughter is joining in the tradition. She says she gets pleasure out of doing commonplace⁶ things, like cooking, during this special time. Everything slows down.

WAFAA ELMAHGOB: “During the regular day – or not the Ramadan day – usually I’d like you to prepare your food in a rush, and hurry to finish just one dish. But Ramadan, it’s different, because you’re taking your time. Actually it’s the time when I call my sisters overseas and ask them for more recipes and try new things. It’s really enjoyable.”

Wafaa Elmahgob says Ramadan is the best time of year for family members to reconnect.

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“Old News”

FAITH LAPIDUS: VOA’s Christopher Cruise⁷ has been receiving an unusual newspaper in the mail. There recently was a story about the sinking of the passenger ship Titanic⁸, and another on Thomas Edison and the electric light he invented. Other stories tell about Russian claims to Alaska, and how British leader Winston Churchill expects trouble from Nazi⁹ Germany. As Chris tells us, these stories are from what another newspaper has called “perhaps the most peculiar¹⁰ newspaper in the United States.”

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: The newspaper is called simply “Old News.” One critic said it “provides nuggets of old news from every corner of Western Civilization, changing historical events into great stories of remarkable¹¹ people.” Another critic said, “you might feel as though you’ve stepped back in time.”

“Old News” reports on events from the nineteen-thirties back to about four hundred years before the start of Christianity. Rick Bromer and his parents began publishing the newspaper in nineteen eighty-nine. Now, he and three other people write many of the stories.

RICK BROMER: “Been doing it for a long time. The basic idea is we’re trying to make history entertaining. We try to tell a story about a particular character in history and we try to structure it like a short story. We don’t fictionalize¹² and we don’t use the usual devices of fiction. But we start with one character who’s got a goal he’s trying to reach and their difficulties. And the story’s all about his attempts to overcome those difficulties. And when he does overcome them and succeeds, or if he fails, that’s the end of the story.

A subscription¹³ to “Old News” costs seventeen dollars a year in the United States. About ten years ago, over thirty-three thousand subscribers were receiving the newspaper. But, like other papers, “Old News” has been affected¹⁴ by the Internet. The readership has dropped to about twenty-three thousand, all of them in the United States. Mr. Bromer says another reason for the drop is a reduction in the number of issues produced. He now publishes six times a year – down from a high of eleven. 

Mr. Bromer says his readers are history lovers and teachers, including his daughter -- who uses the paper in her classes.

The publication is now available on the Internet. Some of the stories were recorded, and can be purchased online. Here is sound from one of them, a story about Amelia Earhart, from Audible.com.

(SOUND)

Fleetwood Mac Tribute

FAITH LAPIDUS: That is “The Chain” by the band Fleetwood Mac. The song was on the band’s nineteen seventy-seven record album “Rumours,” the eighth highest selling album of all time.

Fleetwood Mac formed about forty-five years ago and is still performing today. The group had numerous hit songs that have influenced many musicians. Now, some of them have joined together and recorded a CD called “Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac.”

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That is Best Coast performing “Rhiannon,” a nineteen seventy-six Fleetwood Mac release. Stevie Nicks wrote and sang the original version.

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An indie group from Canada also performs on “Just Tell Me That You Want Me.” The New Pornographers play a song from the Fleetwood Mac double album “Tusk.” Here is “Think About Me.”

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“Gypsy” is from Fleetwood Mac’s thirteenth studio album, “Mirage.” Stevie Nicks has said the song is partly about her life before joining Fleetwood Mac. Back then, she had little money and few possessions. Yet, she found a certain beauty in that.

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Gardens & Villa¹⁵ is a five member band from Santa Barbara, California. We leave you with their version of “Gypsy.”

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FAITH LAPIDUS: I’m Faith Lapidus. This program was written Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver¹⁶, who was also the producer. Faiza Elmasry provided additional reporting.

Go to www.voanews.cn to find transcripts¹⁷ and MP3s of our programs and to post comments on our relationship advice blog. If you want to ask our audience for advice, write to [email protected]. Type "relationship" in the subject line. We won't publish your name but please include your age, gender¹⁸ and country. 

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA 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 tribute   

n.颂词，称赞，(表示敬意的)礼物；贡品

参考例句：

• She accepted their tribute graciously.她慈祥地接受了他们的致意。
• Many conquered nations had to pay tribute to the rulers of ancient Rome.许多被征服的国家必须向古罗马的统治者朝贡。

3 hemisphere   

n.半球，半球地图

参考例句：

• This animal is to be found only in the Southern Hemisphere.这种动物只有在南半球才能找到。
• In most people,the left hemisphere is bigger than the right.多数人的左脑比右脑大。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

6 commonplace   

adj.平凡的，普通的；n.寻常的事物，常见的事

参考例句：

• Soon it will be commonplace for men to travel to the moon.人们去月球旅行很快就会成为常事。
• What he has said is a mere commonplace view.他所说的不过是尘俗之见而已。

7 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

8 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

9 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

10 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

12 fictionalize   

把（历史事件等）编成小说，使小说化

参考例句：

• We had to fictionalize names. 我们得化用假名。 来自柯林斯例句

13 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

14 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

15 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

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

18 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。