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VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS - The Oldest Non-Federal Art Museum in Washington, DC and a Jewish Museum in Germany

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AS IT IS - The Oldest Non-Federal Art Museum in Washington, DC and a Jewish Museum in Germany

Hello again and thanks for joining us for another edition of AS IT IS.

I’m June Simms.

Coming up today, we visit a Jewish museum in Germany, where the number of Jews has grown greatly in the last 50 years. Even so, Jews make up only a small percentage of the country’s population.

First up, Jim Tedder1 takes us to the oldest non-federal art museum in Washington, DC. Eighty-four people are completing their studies at the Corcoran College of Art and Design this spring. The students will receive degrees in Fine Art, Photography and Graphic2 Design, among other things. VOA’s Julie Taboh spoke3 with several of the students during a special showing of their work. Jim Tedder has her report.

Gabriel Mellan is one of 84 students graduating from the Corcoran College of Art and Design. For his final project, he created a seven-sided sculpture called a Heptachord. It is made of sheet metal.

“And so there’s varying levels of sensitivity, kind of at different heights and so you can kind of lean against it, and play it.”

His project is part of a show called NEXT, created by the graduating students. Jason Tucker also presented his project at the exhibit.

“I wanted to place myself in my work somehow…”

His project deals with what it means to be gay or homosexual. For example, he took a common insult against gays, the word faggot, and turned it into a work of art.

“The root of the word comes down to ‘a bundle of sticks.’ So I ended up collecting my exact body weight in sticks. I wanted to take something that I’ve been called before, that was an epithet4, and make something beautiful out of it.”

While traditional art is represented, multimedia5 projects are more common at the exhibit. Andy Grundberg is head of undergraduate studies at the college.

“I think we’re seeing an increase every year in the number of video projects that are done. We see a lot of use of digital media and other kinds of direction.”

Kailyn Jackson used music and photography to demonstrate her artistic6 talent.

“It is an experiential project. I ask visitors of the gallery to listen to music through wireless7 headphones and to express themselves through different colored lights and at the end I’m recording8 their movements through a photographic image.”

The show also has art that is based on political issues. South Korean Robert Yi has several paintings in the exhibit. One is of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“The titles of my paintings are called Mask, Mask paintings. And it’s the idea that in society today, no matter where you are, people put on a mask. That idea is expressed in North Korea because the people of North Korea -- the citizens – will put on a face, a stern face. They’re required to act happy.”

Catherine Armour9 is the Corcoran's chief academic officer. She is hopeful about her students’ future.

“One of the big trends in education today is an emphasis on science and technology, but I’m very pleased to see more of an emphasis and increasing understanding of the role of creativity and understanding that problem-solving, motivation, perseverance10; these are really important skills for students of this next generation.”

The Corcoran College is Washington’s only accredited11 college of art and design. The 84 students are graduating in May. I’m Jim Tedder.

And I’m June Simms with AS IT IS, your daily magazine show from VOA Learning English.

Nearly 180,000 German Jews were killed during the Holocaust12, when the Nazi13 Party ruled Germany. That number represents almost all of the Jewish community in the country during the time leading up to World War Two. Since then, the number of Jews in Germany has grown. But they remain just a small percentage of the country's total population.

An exhibit at Berlin’s Jewish Museum seeks to answer commonly asked questions about Jews. Questions like are all Jews religious? What do Jews wear on their heads and why? And who can become a Jew?

In one area of the exhibit, a Jewish person sits inside a clear plastic box, which is open at the front. A Jew sits in the box every day but Saturday, the Jewish holy day. He or she answers questions from visitors to the museum.

On a recent day, Signe Rossbach, a Jew from Berlin, talked to non-Jews who were visiting. She said she wanted to take part in the display because most Germans have never met a Jew.

“I thought this was a great idea.”

Germany is the largest country in the European Union. It is home to more 80 million people. But most estimates put Germany’s Jewish population at less than 200 thousand.

A woman named Karen visited the museum with her husband.

“I always seem to find that Germans, my husband being one, and his family, are very undereducated when it comes to knowing who the victims at their hands in the Second World War were.

They don't really have any understanding of what a Jew is culturally.”

Museum curator Michal Friedlander is Jewish. She says many young Germans see the Holocaust as ancient history -- something that no longer needs to be discussed.

“We want them to continue to remember the terrible history but perhaps there is a new way to enter into dialogue.”

Historian Alexander Hasgall agrees that the box is a good idea.

“This exhibition is an experiment. It can really fail, when at the end we will see everybody’s just laughing, and nothing else.  But maybe it opens new ways to deal with Judaism, also taking into account that German society is evolving, and Jews are a part of this society.”

However, not everyone likes the idea. Some critics say the show is degrading. Others have named it “Jew in a Box.”

The exhibit continues until September.

That’s AS IT IS for today, I’m June Simms. As always, thanks for sharing your day with us. We welcome you to share your ideas with us as well.

As we leave you, I’d like to mention that today, April 27th, is World Healing Day, a day to focus human consciousness on personal and global healing. The observance was inspired by research from the Global Consciousness Project. It is observed in hundreds of cities in more than seventy nations.

Keep it here for VOA World News at the beginning of every hour Universal Time.

Kelly Jean Kelly returns with more AS IT IS tomorrow. And I’ll be back next week. See you then.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tedder 2833afc4f8252d8dc9f8cd73b24db55d     
n.(干草)翻晒者,翻晒机
参考例句:
  • Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆?特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
  • Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆?泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网
2 graphic Aedz7     
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的
参考例句:
  • The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
  • Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 epithet QZHzY     
n.(用于褒贬人物等的)表述形容词,修饰语
参考例句:
  • In "Alfred the Great","the Great"is an epithet.“阿尔弗雷德大帝”中的“大帝”是个称号。
  • It is an epithet that sums up my feelings.这是一个简洁地表达了我思想感情的形容词。
5 multimedia BnSzdj     
adj.多种手段的,多媒体的;n.多媒体
参考例句:
  • Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
  • Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题,从而引发了许多有益的讨论。
6 artistic IeWyG     
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。
7 wireless Rfwww     
adj.无线的;n.无线电
参考例句:
  • There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
  • Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。
8 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
9 armour gySzuh     
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队
参考例句:
  • His body was encased in shining armour.他全身披着明晃晃的甲胄。
  • Bulletproof cars sheathed in armour.防弹车护有装甲。
10 perseverance oMaxH     
n.坚持不懈,不屈不挠
参考例句:
  • It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
  • Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。
11 accredited 5611689a49c15a4c09d7c2a0665bf246     
adj.可接受的;可信任的;公认的;质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 );委托;委任;把…归结于
参考例句:
  • The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为,蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
  • Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。
12 holocaust dd5zE     
n.大破坏;大屠杀
参考例句:
  • The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
  • Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀,因为他像希特勒一样残忍。
13 Nazi BjXyF     
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。

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