VOA慢速英语2013 Halloween’s Real Horror? Its High Cost!

 

Halloween’s Real Horror? Its High Cost! 

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning English.

I’m June Simms.

On we tell you about a robot made with the help of medical technology.

Then, it is all about Halloween. How much will the holiday cost Americans this year? What is everybody wearing? And which music will truly scare those trick and treaters?

The Incredible Bionic Man

Have you heard about a new robot that can walk, talk, see and hear? The robot was recently demonstrated at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Mario Ritter has more.

He does not walk very well. He does not dance. But the two meter tall robot holds great promise for the future.

He is called The Incredible Bionic Man. He was built from artificial body parts and organs.

The robot is the subject of a documentary film from the Smithsonian. The film’s presenter², Bertolt Meyer, says it explores the question, ‘how far has medical technology come?’

“What parts of the human body can we already replace today? If we get all of the spare parts that exist and put them together in one piece what will it look like? And the result is, it looks like this.”

Bertolt Meyer is a psychologist with the University of Zurich, in Switzerland. Like the Bionic Man, the professor has a bionic hand. The robot also has 27 other man-made body parts.

“He has a great set of artificial organs already; he has an artificial heart, which is already used in patients. The artificial heart pumps artificial blood.”

The Bionic Man’s parts were borrowed from some of the world’s leading researchers. One is Joan Taylor, a professor of pharmaceutics³ at De Montfort University in the British city of Leicester.

“These are important not so much from the robotic point of view but from the contribution to future medicine.”

And those possibilities are huge, says Bertolt Meyer.

“This project shows that we can already replace a lot of broken parts and in the near future, technology might do away with many disabilities and with many diseases and illnesses, and society at large will benefit from them.”

But he says the Bionic Man is not a project about replacing human beings.

“There is no way to replace the human. There is no artificial brain and all of these devices are meant to interface⁴ with the human body.”

You can learn more about the Incredible Bionic Man and robotics on the Smithsonian Channel website. We have a link on our own website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

Costumes, Candy and Mass Consumption

Next Thursday is the scariest day of the year in America. No, it’s not tax day. It is Halloween!

Many people, young and old, are busy preparing. They are getting their costumes ready, looking forward to making a change in appearance on the big day. Others are adding Halloween or seasonal⁵ decorations around their home and buying candy. Like most holidays, Halloween can be a costly⁶ event.

In fact, the National Retail⁷ Federation⁸ says Americans are expected to spend about $2.6 billion just for costumes. It says the special clothing is not just for children either. Adults also dress up and some of them even dress up the pet dog or cat!

The National Retail Federation gathers information about American shopping and sales of goods. It says Americans on average will spend about $75 dollars for the holiday. This includes costumes, candy and decorations. The group says total spending is expected to be $6.9 billion.

That is a big number. But, it is less than the amount Americans spent last year. Halloween 2012 cost celebrants about eight billion dollars.

The National Retail Federation says fewer Americans are expected to take part in the holiday this year. In 2012, the group says, 170 million people celebrated⁹. That was an all-time high. This year, it expects fewer than 160 million people will mark the holiday.

And what are the millions wearing this year? The group says the number one costume for young children is that of a princess. Animal costumes are next. Batman characters are rated third.

The favored look for adults is the costume of a witch. Batman and vampires¹⁰ come second and third.

The pumpkin¹¹ costume is most popular for dogs and cats.

One new costume this year is based on a character in the popular television show “Breaking Bad.”  The TV series is about a chemistry teacher who starts making the illegal drug methamphetamine to sell. The costume looks like the protective suit and gas mask worn in the meth laboratory. But, we do not expect it to be seen on the average trick-or-treater!

Scary Songs

We are going to stay with the Halloween theme as we take a listen to some scary songs. We are not going to play “Ghostbuster” or “Monster Mash¹².” These are truly unsettling songs about the dark side of humanity.

Katherine Cole is our DJ today.

We start with musician Suzanne Vega. In 1992 she released her fourth album “99.9 Fahrenheit¹³.” It included this creepy hit “Blood Makes Noise.” The song reached number one on Billboard¹⁴ magazine’s Modern Rock chart.

The American rock band, the Violent Femmes, have produced several dark songs, including “Nighmares.” But “Country Death Song” is our pick for darkest. It is about a man who calmly plans and carries out the murder of his family.

“Dead Souls” is a Joy Division song. The band first recorded it in 1979. It tells about a man haunted by voices from evil people of the past.

Finally, we leave you with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds singing “Red Right Hand.” The song warns people not to trust a tall handsome man with a red right hand. It says he will get you all those things you think you want, like money and cars. But, you will pay dearly for them in the end.

I’m June Simms. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁵. Julie Taboh provided additional reporting.

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 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

3 pharmaceutics   

n.配药学，制药学；药物学

参考例句：

• It is combined with nano-technique, light-purge technique, catalyzation, pharmaceutics and biochemistry. 它是融纳米技术、光技术净化、触酶（催化）、药学技术、生物化学为一体的新技术、新方法。 来自互联网
• Education background of medicine, pharmaceutics and biology. Bachelor degree or above. 具备医学、药学或生物学背景。 来自互联网

4 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

5 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

8 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

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 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

11 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

12 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

13 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

14 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

15 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。