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VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - Artists Paint the Town in Baltimore

时间:2012-04-28 06:12:27

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AMERICAN MOSAIC1 - Artists Paint the Town in Baltimore

 
JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I’m June Simms. This week on our program, we talk to Ben Nichols, lead singer and songwriter for the band Lucero.
We also report about a program to help women newly released from prison ...
But, first, we go to colorful neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, that is now home to huge works of street art.
(MUSIC)
JUNE SIMMS: A neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, is getting a beauty treatment. Artists from all over the world have come to the east coast city to paint large, colorful pictures on the outer walls of buildings in Station North. Shirley Griffith has more on the project Open Walls Baltimore.
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Freddie Sam flew from Cape2 Town South Africa to take part in Open Walls Baltimore. He has painted murals around the world.
FREDDIE SAM: “I get to learn about the world through painting art.”
He says if he had travelled to Baltimore just as a visitor he would not be able to see the city in the same way. In fact, few tourists visit the Station North neighborhood. It has suffered for many years from difficult economic times and crime.
But Ben Stone hopes the murals will help change things. He is the executive director of North Station Arts and Entertainment District. He says it is easy to get to the area because the main train station is there. There are artists who live and work in the area, art galleries and other businesses. Ben Stone says now that the murals are another reason to visit. Or maybe stay.
BEN STONE: “We are also looking just to increase investment in the area. That could be people wanting to buy homes here, rent homes here; open businesses here.”
Station North artist Gaia is organizing the Open Walls project.
GAIA: “I wanted to choose people that weren’t necessarily the brightest stars, but were doing remarkable3 work throughout the world.”
Like the two person art team Interesni Kazki. Individually, they are known as Oleksii Bordusov and Vladimir Manzhos.
VLADIMIR MANZHOS: “We started from traditional graffiti, letters, and we understand it is not interesting to paint just letters because you cannot tell more than your name.”
Gaia painted one mural that uses two walls of a building. It shows a huge hand holding a pretty white bird. The mural got the attention of William, who grew up in Station North.
WILLIAM: “I love it. It also has a sense of peace. And if you look at the other side it has a sense of giving.”
In all, artists will create more than twenty murals for Open Walls Baltimore. The government and a private bank are providing the money for the project. Station North will hold a celebration for the artists and their work on May twenty-fifth. And the neighborhood of Station North looks even farther ahead to a brighter future.
JUNE SIMMS: Some women’s prisons in the United States offer classes for college credit. But when the women gain freedom, they do not have much chance to continue their education. Often, they must follow the terms of a parole period. They live outside prison during that time, but still are under some restrictions4. They usually have to find work and a place to live.
But there is a program to help these former prisoners get more education. Barbara Martinsons established the College and Community Fellowship, or CCF, in two thousand.
Ms. Martinsons taught at Manhattan Marymount College in New York City. And she has taught college courses at a New York state women’s prison. She believes that women should get higher education. She also believes freed prisoners should continue that education.
CCF provides advice to former prisoners. It also helps them gain admission to college. That process can be very difficult for anyone. It can be even more difficult for a person with a prison record. The group also provides financial aid to members attending college.
Today, CCF Fellows, as members are called, have earned college degrees, including masters’ degrees and a doctorate5. About seventy percent of those taking part in the program work full time while studying.
Nationally, one in three women who has served in prison returns to jail for crimes. Or, they have violated the terms of their parole. By comparison, almost no CCF fellows go back to jail.
A Christian6 minister heads CCF. The Reverend Vivian Nixon once spent prison time for falsifying documents. She says the group helps people reclaim7 the goals they had for their lives before going to jail.
The group holds meetings for the about two hundred seventy people who take part. There are talks about subjects like finance and developing a career, and there is a social hour.
Vivian Nixon says that society in general is happiest when the women do not go back to jail. But she says her greatest hope is that CCF’s members are setting high goals for themselves and their children.
JUNE SIMMS: Lucero is a rock, country, blues8, punk band based in Memphis, Tennessee. The eight-member band plays music of so many styles because they love music of so many styles. This month Lucero released “Women and Work.” Bob Doughty9 has more.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY: That is “Juniper,” a favorite song of Lucero musician Ben Nichols. He writes almost all the band’s songs and sings them, too. Reporter Caty Weaver10 talked to Ben Nichols about the craft of song writing.
CATY WEAVER: “How does the process work for you? How do you write a song?”
BEN NICHOLS: “Usually, you’ve just got a guitar in your hand and you’re just kind of noodling, playing around, until you stumble across a chord progression or a guitar lick that sounds nice. Something strikes you and you’re like, okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”
He says he will find a few more chords and a vocal11 melody that fits. But, he says the words of the song usually come later.
BEN NICHOLS: “A lot of the songs, they’ll exist for a long time without lyrics12. But there will be a verse, chorus and a bridge, a full structure. But I won’t necessarily know what the song’s about. I’ll just kind of sing nonsense lyrics over it.”
Nichols says, in time, the nonsense might lead to a few words he likes.
BEN NICHOLS: “And I’ll build around that.”
The singer says the song “I Can’t Stand to Leave You” was one of the first he wrote for the new album.
BEN NICHOLS: “When you’re going on tour all the time it is kind of easy to see where that idea originated; just having to leave home all the time. I call it the saddest song on the record.”
(MUSIC)
Reporter Caty Weaver asked Ben Nichols to identify some of his favorite lines of the album.
BEN NICHOLS: “Well, you mentioned that one from 'On My Way Downtown': Last time we drank I was a little less than behaved. And then the two lines immediately after that. They’re not Shakespeare or anything. It’s just, Come on out tonight. Oh, I’ll be good tonight."
(MUSIC)
BEN NICHOLS: When I just say the line out loud it doesn’t sound like much. But every night when I sing it -- when the music goes one way and the vocals13 go the other way and whatever that kind of clash there there is. That’s where that emotional power comes from.”
(MUSIC)
Another great line from “Women and Work” is in the song “When I Was Young.” It goes, Working never did agree with me, or maybe I never stuck around long enough to see.
(MUSIC)
Ben Nichols does not consider making music work.
BEN NICHOLS: “I always wanted to be in a band. There’s nothing I would rather do. But when you’re actually being paid to do something -- I would pay money to do this. We’re just very lucky to be able to do what we do.”
We leave you with Lucero performing “Go Easy,” from the new album “Women and Work.”
JUNE SIMMS: I’m June Simms. Our program was written and produced by Caty Weaver.
Go to www.voanews.cn to find transcripts14 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, gender15 and country.
Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 mosaic CEExS     
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 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。
3 remarkable 8Vbx6     
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。
4 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
5 doctorate fkEzt     
n.(大学授予的)博士学位
参考例句:
  • He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
  • Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士?
6 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
7 reclaim NUWxp     
v.要求归还,收回;开垦
参考例句:
  • I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
  • You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时,必须出示这张票子。
8 blues 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。
9 doughty Jk5zg     
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。
10 weaver LgWwd     
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 vocal vhOwA     
adj.直言不讳的;嗓音的;n.[pl.]声乐节目
参考例句:
  • The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
  • Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
12 lyrics ko5zoz     
n.歌词
参考例句:
  • music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
  • The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。
13 vocals fe5262cfb22a0b2ee8d36fbf8b3f4942     
(乐曲中的)歌唱部份,声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外,也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
  • Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线,较懒惰的鼓,饮小提琴,棒的钢琴和无比的声音。
14 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
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
15 gender slSyD     
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。

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