时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2013年VOA慢速英语(五)月


英语课

 



An Unusual Instrument for Sale at the Smithsonian Craft Show


 Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC 1 from VOA Learning English.


I’m June Simms.


Today we play songs from a long-awaited album from the band Phoenix 2.


We also tell about a way to unload unwanted clothing and still have something to wear.


But first we visit a famous show at America’s Smithsonian Institution.


Smithsonian Craft Show


The Smithsonian Craft Show is the most respected show of its kind in the United States. It is also one of the most difficult for artists to enter. This year, more than 120 artists displayed their work in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Building Museum in Washington. Steve Ember tells us about one of them.


Bob McNally considers himself both an artist and a musician. He invented an instrument he calls a Strumstick. He says it is designed to get everyone to make music.


“People are capable of playing musical instruments, but if you play an instrument and get frustrated 3 with it early enough, you decide, it’s you, there’s something lacking in you. And I wanted to make an instrument that was a frontal assault on that misunderstanding.”


The Strumstick has only three strings 4. Bob McNally says that makes it easier to play than other stringed instruments.


“The frets 5 are spaced to give you just a major scale, Do-Re-Mi, and that means that when people squeeze one string, they get a couple of notes in the background for free, and they get the notes of a major scale, no wrong notes, so for beginners it's very, very unfrustrasting to learn and people get results from it right from the start.”


He sells about 3,000 Strumsticks a year. The price starts at about $170 and can go as high as $340, depending on the kind of wood used and other materials added to the instrument.


Many of Mr. McNally’s sales come from events like the Smithsonian Craft Show.


Twelve kinds of media were represented at the show last month. It included the work of fabric 6 artists, glass artists, leather workers and also furniture and basket makers 7. The admission process for artists is very competitive.


“I’m always extremely grateful when I get in because it’s obviously a good show to do in terms of business, but the thing that’s almost more important is that the people who come to the show, the public, are very educated about craft."


Profits from the Smithsonian Craft Show go towards education, research and other services at the Smithsonian Institution.


Clothing Swaps 9


A large clothing swap 8 at a high school cafeteria in Springfield, Virginia


 “Clothes-swapping 10” has become an increasingly popular activity for women in the United States.  The women can give away unwanted clothing at a clothes swap event and get something different in return.


Clothes swapping lovers are now using social media to help publicize such events. VOA’s Michael Lipin went to one recent gathering 11 in northern Virginia. Christopher Cruise has his report.


About 300 women went to the clothes swap at a high school in Springfield, Virginia.  It was the largest crowd ever for the area’s popular clothing-swap group.


“Good brands here though, God, they’re good brands. I mean, this is a J. Crew sweater!”


The women bring shirts, dresses and other clothing they no longer want. In return, they can take home almost anything they like.  Ashley Moore was having a very good day.


“I bought five, or brought, five shirts and I, like, already kind of got, I got like two nice pairs of boots. And they were like new, not even used!”


Daphne Steinberg was, too.


“For anyone who knows Ann Taylor LOFT 12, Ann Taylor is a really nice women’s designer and, you know, I will totally wear this to work. So, you know, I love that, I love that I can outfit 13 myself for work, have a good time in doing it, not totally bankrupt myself.”


Sandy Van Dusen likes the idea that clothes are finding new homes instead of being thrown away.


“Because it helps to keep the Earth green. There’s, there’s no point in my opinion in continuing to buy new clothes when we can reuse what’s already here. Give it a new home -- you know, let somebody else love what you used to love and no longer love.”


“Alright, come on down!”


Kim Pratt organized the clothing-swapping event in Springfield. She also organized a money-raising activity for the high school’s debate team. It is one of several ways that her group gives to charitable causes. Another is by donating all of the “un-swapped” clothing to shelters for victims of domestic violence.


Kim Pratt says she first heard about clothes swapping from Suzanne Agasi, who began holding private swaps in California in 1996.


“I started doing this myself four years ago, and we’ve been doing it for four years, getting bigger and bigger each time we have a swap.”


She used the social media website meetup.com to help publicize the events. The website has helped her group grow from 30 members to 1,300. Ms. Pratt says most of the members respect clothing swap rules. But she says competition for desirable fashion can be strong.


“We have to tell people sometimes not to hover 14 over the new people coming in with their clothing. As they put it out, some people tend to grab the stuff right out of their hands and it becomes like a free-for-all. We try to avoid that as much as possible.”


Phoenix “Bankrupt!”


The French band Phoenix is finally out with another album, and sales are strong.  “Bankrupt” is number four on Billboard 15 Magazine’s list of the top-selling 200 albums.


That song, “1901,” brought huge fame to Phoenix in 2009. It was on the group’s fourth studio album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” The record went gold, selling more than 500 thousand copies. “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” won the band its first Grammy Award, for Best Alternative album.


Then four years went by – with no new music from the group. Last month, Phoenix released its fifth album, “Bankrupt!” The sound is pop with an edge. The band’s members told a reporter that David Bowie was a major influence on this album. And you can hear it in the first song, “Entertainment.”


Phoenix performing at this year's Coachella music festival in California


Phoenix performed last weekend at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana. Last month, they energized 16 crowds at the Coachella Festival in California. And hours from now, they are to perform at the Sweet Life Festival in Maryland.


Phoenix’s members say they enjoy performing for crowds, and that they work as hard at that as they do in the recording 17 studio. Bassist Deck D’Arcy told a reporter that was partly why they called the album “Bankrupt!” He said they gave everything they had to get to this point. In his words, “in that way, it’s meant as a term for absolute commitment. There’s a notion of the absolute in ‘bankruptcy’ that we like.”


Phoenix is surely committed to one song on the album. We leave you with the more than seven minute title track from “Bankrupt!”


I’m June Simms. Our program was written by Christopher Cruise and Caty Weaver 18, who was also the producer. Michael Lipin and Julie Taboh provided additional reporting.


Join us again next week for music and more on American Mosaic from VOA Learning English. 




n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的
  • 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。
n.凤凰,长生(不死)鸟;引申为重生
  • The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
  • The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧
  • It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
  • The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.弦
  • He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上,随意地拨着吉他的弦。
  • She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
基质间片; 品丝(吉他等指板上定音的)( fret的名词复数 )
  • The river frets away the rocks along its banks. 河水侵蚀了两岸的岩石。
  • She frets at even the slightest delays. 稍有延误她就不满。
n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织
  • The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
  • I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.交换;vt.交换,用...作交易
  • I will swap you my bicycle for your radio.我想拿我的自行车换你的收音机。
  • This comic was a swap that I got from Nick.这本漫画书是我从尼克那里换来的。
交换( swap的名词复数 ); 交换物,被掉换者
  • He swaps his old car for a new motorcycle. 他用旧车换了一辆新摩托车。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语
  • Swaps the anchor and end points of the current selection. 交换当前所选内容的定位点和结束点。
交换,交换技术
  • The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
  • He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。
n.集会,聚会,聚集
  • He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
  • He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。
n.阁楼,顶楼
  • We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
  • By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下,他们就可以多出两间卧室。
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装
  • Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
  • His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。
vi.翱翔,盘旋;徘徊;彷徨,犹豫
  • You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
  • A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。
n.布告板,揭示栏,广告牌
  • 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。
v.给予…精力,能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 );使通电
  • We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意,爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
  • I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力,感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句
n.录音,记录
  • 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。
n.织布工;编织者
  • 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。
学英语单词
AACRAO
acceptance of materials report
airdrying
angle beam ultrasonic examination
arthrodia
automatic water quality monitor
balancing layer
Ban Huai Pong
Banbān, 'Irq
brand marketing
buyout repo
cantilever hood
carbohydrate recognition domain
cauterisations
ceramic fiber felt
complex value
constringence
correctly
counter-clockwise rotation
crystal fiber laser
cuneiform bones
dielectric membrane
doctuss
drynursed
duckish
effective distortion
epic film
fashion element
flat sliding
fund warrant
gauge glass cutter
geologic-topographic map
get an egg on the head
go flatting
gollania varians (mitt) broth
grand pas de basque
herringboning
high pressure arc discharge
histabutyzine
horizontal filter
hot isostatic bonding
hypotyposes
Iatrobdella
induction field
infective stricture of ureter
Intermarket spread swaps
isentropic procedure
Kharabali
kinetic energy in rotation
Krivorozh'ye
lea management
magnetic instrumentation tape
magnetic original
Max Perutz
methoxylvalue
Monggo
motor gliders
MVCF
nasus cartilagineus
negative ignore gate
nepro
not care for
osteogeny
paccha
parjure
pass-port
perforated wall
perore
Philodemus
pooling
pretype
proteinomimetic
regular closed subset
remede
repairable system
restricted publication
ride the bench
robbinss
root/shoot ratio
rozinski
runner-up finish
Santa Irene
secant conic chart
second law of motions
Shetland sheep dog
shunt coil
slave pedestal
soil water belt
spindle drive
super-duty fire clay
superheater external covering
ticketsnow
trival
tunkhannock
Ucar
weak topology
weighted squared error loss function
wet crepe
whip-fish
white clover
Zamboanguita
zdpr