American Mosaic - Two New
American Mosaic
Richard Williams is a member of the last family to live at Oatlands. His family still owns property next to the home. And they are involved in planting the trees.
AMERICAN MOSAIC：The American Civil War，Who Should Memorials Honor(2013-03-08)
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC.
I’m June Simms.
On the show today, we hear music from some of the performers at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.
Beth Erickson is with Journey through Hallowed Ground.
“As you see these trees, one after another, it will truly make an impact.”
The first trees were planted in November on the grounds of a large, old Virginia home and farm called Oatlands. An historic trust now owns the former plantation. Andrea McGimsey is the Executive Director of Oatlands. She says the former plantation was a good place to start.
American Mosaic - 'YouTube
Blanche comes to New Orleans to visit her sister. She stays with Stella and Stanley in their crowded, noisy apartment. Stanley is a violent and abusive man. He is not happy that Blanche is there. From the beginning, Blanche says things that are not true. She pretends to be a Southern lady with high morals.
(MUSIC)
YouTube at the Guggenheim
The video sharing website, YouTube, was created in two thousand five and became an overnight success. Google bought YouTube for more than one billion six hundred thousand dollars the following year. In May, YouTube announced that two billion videos were watched each day.
ቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱDOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I’m Doug Johnson.
Today, we listen to “Wake Up,” a new album from John Legend and the Roots.
AMERICAN MOSAIC
AMERICAN MOSAIC - November 23, 2001HOST:Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC — VOA’s radio magazine in Special English. This isDoug Johnson. On our program today:We play some award-winning country music ...answer a question about Muslims in the United States ...Lee Ann Womackand report about a historic museum in the southeastern state of North Carolina.Wright Brothers MuseumHOST:Americans Orville and Wilbur Wright will always be remembered in history as the inventors of modern flight. They made the world’s first flight in a machine that was heavier than air and powered by an engine. Shep O’Neal tells us more about the brothers and a memorial that honors their success.ANNCR:The Wright brothers did most of their research and test flights on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was a place with strong winds, hills from which to launch their flying machines and a soft place to land.Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled powered flight in history on December Seventeenth, Nineteen-Oh-Three. They carried out four tests in their first airplane they called the Wright Flyer. The first flight traveled thirty-seven meters and lasted twelve seconds. The longest and most historic test flight flew two-hundred-sixty meters and lasted fifty-nine seconds.Visitors to the Outer Banks in North Carolina can see a memorial to the Wright brothers. It is built on the same fields where they did their research. An eighteen-meter high rock memorial was completed in Nineteen-Thirty-Two. It sits on top of Kill Devil Hill. The brothers used this sand hill for more than one-thousand test flights.Two other buildings near Kill Devil Hill show how the Wright brothers lived while doing their research. One building shows where they ate, slept, and built test equipment. The other is similar to the place where they kept their flying machines.A large rock near the memorial marks where the Wright Flyer first left the ground. Numbered signs show the landing points for the first four historic test flights. Following those tests, the Wright Flyer was damaged by the wind. It never flew again. However, a model of the plane is in the visitors center at Kill Devil Hill. Today, the real Nineteen-Oh-Three Wright Flyer belongs to the Smithsonian Institution. It is hanging in the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D-C.Islam in the United StatesHOST:Our VOA listener question this week comes from Indonesia. Suherman Rosyidi asks about Islam and Muslims in the United States.There are more than one-thousand-million people around the world who are Muslims. They practice the religion Islam. About six-million Muslims live in the United States. Only about one in five Muslims in the world are Arabs.Yet some people from the Middle East are having a difficult time in the United States since the terrorist attacks September eleventh. The men responsible for the attacks were Arab. They were part of the Muslim al-Qaeda group led by Osama bin Laden. He is Muslim and has declared a holy war against the United States and the West.Some Americans believed that all Muslims agreed with what the terrorists did. Because of this, many Muslims and other people from the Middle East have said they are being treated unfairly in the United States. For example, the newspaper USA Today reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received about seventy charges by Muslim workers. The commission says forty of those charges involve workers saying they were wrongly dismissed from their jobs. Some workers say the reason they are being treated this way is because of their religion or nationality.After the terrorist attacks, President Bush told Americans not to blame all Muslim people for the acts of a few. He said the United States-led war in Afghanistan is against terrorism, not Islam. However, the United States government has begun to use unusual measures to find and stop future terrorists.Last week, the State Department said it will carry out increased investigations of Arab and Muslim men seeking permission to come to the United States. The Justice Department said it will question more than five-thousand young men. The young men are in the United States as visitors from countries where terrorist groups are active.Civil rights groups and groups representing Arab-Americans have expressed concern about this. They want to make sure that people are not treated differently because of their religion or nationality.However, not all Muslims in America have reported unfair treatment since the September attacks. Some say the tragedy has given them a chance to educate other Americans about their religion. And they are able to show that Islam does not agree with what the terrorists did.Country Music Association AwardsHOST:The Country Music Association held its yearly awards ceremony earlier this month at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Shirley Griffith plays music by some of the award winners.ANNCR:The Country Music Association honored Lee Ann Womack with her first Female Singer of the Year Award. Mizz Womack was emotional as she thanked the crowd at the Grand Ole Opry. She told them she thought her chance for the award had passed. Here is Lee Ann Womack singing “Thinkin’ With My Heart Again.”((CUT ONE: "THINKIN' WITH MY HEART AGAIN"))The Country Music Association presented songwriters Larry Cordle and Larry Shell with the award for Song of the Year. Their winning song criticizes the music industry. It says producers are destroying the traditions of country music. Larry Cordle and his band Lonesome Standard Time perform “Murder on Music Row.”(CUT TWO: "MURDER ON MUSIC ROW"))A collection of music from the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” won Album of the Year. The movie takes place in the United States during the Nineteen-Thirties. It includes traditional country songs by several performers. The awards also honored The Soggy Bottom Boys, a group of musicians in the movie. We leave you now with their performance of the song that was named Single of the Year, “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow”. ((CUT THREE: "I AM A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW"))HOST:This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And I hope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC —VOA’s radio magazine in Special English.This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Jill Moss, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver. Our studio engineer was Tom Verba. And our producer was Paul Thompson.Email this article to a friendPrinter Friendly Version。
The American two parties
The American two-party systemStates has always had a two-party system, first in the opposition between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, then in the competition between the Republicans and the Democrats. There have been frequent third-party movements in the history of the country, but they have always failed. Presidential elections seem to have played an important role in the formation of this type of two-party system. The mechanism of a national election in so large a country has necessitated very large political organizations and, at the same time, relatively simplified choices for the voter. American parties are different from their counterparts in other Western countries. They are not tied in the same way to the great social and ideological movements that have so influenced the development of political life in Europe during the last two centuries. There have been Socialist parties at various times in the history of the United States, but they have never challenged the dominance of the two major parties. It can be argued that the main reason for the failure of Socialist parties in America has been the high degree of upward mobility permitted by a rich and continually expanding economy. The consequence of this mobility has been that class consciousness has never developed in the United States in a manner that would encourage the formation of large Socialist or Communist parties.In comparison with European political movements, therefore, American parties have appeared as two varieties of one liberal party, and within each party can be found a wide range of opinion, going from the right to the left.The American parties have a flexible and decentralized structure, marked by the absence of discipline and rigid hierarchy. This was the structure of most of the cadre-type parties of the 19th century, a structure that most liberal parties have retained. Federalism and a concern for local autonomy accentuate the lack of rigid structure and the weakness of lines of authority in the parties. Organization may be relatively strong and homogeneous at the local level, but such control is much weaker on the state level and practically nonexistent on the national level. There is some truth to the observation that the United States has not two parties but 100—that is, two in each state. But it is also true that each party develops a certain degree of national unity for the presidential election and that the leadership of the president within his party gives the victorious party some cohesion.In voting, Republicans and Democrats are usually found on both sides. An alliance between liberal Republicans and Democrats against conservative Republicans and Democrats tends to develop. But neither bloc is stable, and the alignment varies from one vote to another. As a consequence, despite the existence of a two-party system, no stable legislative majority is possible. In order to have his budget adopted and his legislation passed, the president of the United States must carefully try to gather the necessary votes on every question, bearing the wearisome task of constantly forming alliances. The American two-party system is thus a pseudo-two-party system, because each party provides only a loose framework within which shifting coalitions are formed.The Republican National Committee (RNC) is responsible for promoting Republican campaign activities. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. Its current chairman is Michael S. Steele. The chairman of the RNC is chosen by the President when the Republicans have the White House or otherwise by the Party's state committees. The RNC, under the direction of the party's presidential candidate, supervises the Republican National Convention, raises funds, and coordinates campaign strategy. On the local level there are similar state committees in every state and most large cities, counties and legislative districts, but they have far less money and influence than the national body.The Republican House and Senate caucuses have separate fundraising and strategy committees. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) assists in House races, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in Senate races. They each raise over $100 million per election cycle, and play important roles in recruiting strong state candidates, while the Republican Governors Association (RGA) assists in state gubernatorial races; it is currently chaired by Governor Rick Perry of Texas.The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign activities. While the DNC is responsible for overseeing the process of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy. In presidential elections it supervises the Democratic National Convention. The national convention is, subject to the charter of the party, the ultimate authority within the DemocraticParty when it is in session, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times. The DNC is currently chaired by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) assists party candidates in House races; its current chairman (selected by the party caucus) is Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Similarly the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) raises large sums for Senate races. It is currently headed by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), currently chaired by Mike Gronstal of Iowa, is a smaller organization with much less funding that focuses on state legislative races. The DNC sponsors the College Democrats of America (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists. Democrats Abroad is the organization for Americans living outside the United States; they work to advance the goals of the party and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is a youth-led organization that attempts to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates, but operates outside of the DNC. In addition, the recently created branch of the Young Democrats, the Young Democrats High School Caucus, attempts to raise awareness and activism amongst teenagers to not only vote and volunteer, but participate in the future as well. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents; it is currently chaired by Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana. Similarly the mayors of the largest cities and urban centres convene as the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex-officio committee members (usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects a chair. County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level. State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law. Rarely do they have much funding, but in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began a program (called the "50 State Strategy") of using DNC national funds to assist all state parties and paying for full-time professional staffers.[9]The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world.[3][4]In the U.S. political spectrum, the party's platform is considered center-left.[5]The Democratic Party has the most registered voters of any party as of 2004, with 72 million voters.[6] Polls taken over the last decade indicate 34% to 36% of American voters self-identify as Democrats.[7]Since the 2006 general elections, the Democratic Party has been the majority party in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a majority of state legislatures. Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office.The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S. political spectrum, the party's platform is generally considered center-right.The Republican Party has the second most registered voters as of 2004 with 55 million, encompassing roughly one-third of the electorate.[2] Polls over the last year have found that twenty-one to twenty-six percent of Americans self-identify as Republicans.[3][4][5]There have been eighteen Republican Presidents. Republicans currently fill a minority of seats in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, hold a minority of state governorships, and control a minority of state legislatures.。
AMERICANMOSAIC-M...
AMERICAN MOSAIC - Making Art Out of Common Materials: The Boxes ofJoseph CornellBy Melissa Etheridge / Broadcast date: Friday, February 23, 2007HOST:Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC, in VOA Special English.(MUSIC)I'm Doug Johnson. On our show this week:We answer a question about the Everglades ...Play some music nominated for an Academy Award ...And report about an artist who builds boxes.Joseph CornellHave you ever heard of art in a box? Joseph Cornell was an important artist bestknown for his beautifully constructed boxes. A large collection of his interesting artwork was shown recently at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. Faith Lapidus tells us more.FAITH LAPIDUS:You could say that Joseph Cornell became an artist because ofhis love of collecting. Cornell used to spend his free timeexploring the street life of New York City in the nineteentwenties. He soon started collecting old books, prints, postcardsand even three-dimensional objects that he found in stores thatsold used books.Cornell also attended many museum shows, gallery openingsand dance performances. He was influenced by a group ofartists called the Surrealists who combined images in unusualand often strange ways. An unnamed work by Joseph CornellJoseph Cornell started making his own works by cutting out different pictures and putting them together in creative and magical combinations. Soon, he started making boxes inside of which were carefully arranged pictures and objects. He worked on his art at night after finishing his day job. Later, when his boxes and images started selling and receiving public recognition, he worked on his art full time.Joseph Cornell died in nineteen seventy-two.The Smithsonian exhibit showed almost two hundred works made during his forty-year career. One work is called "Soap Bubble Set." A box with a glass window shows a map of the moon, several pictures of sea creatures, two glass cups and two white pipes for smoking. In another box, Cornell combines an image of a cockatoo bird with a music box and watch faces.Joseph Cornell once said his art was based on everyday experiences. He said thatwith his art he showed "the beauty of the commonplace." Visitors who came to this special exhibit found magic in regular objects - and even saw beauty in a box.The EvergladesHOST:Our listener question this week comes from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Nguyen Thanh Duc wants to know about the Everglades National Park in the southern state of Florida.in the mainland United States. President Harry S. Trumanofficially established the national park in nineteen forty-seven.He placed almost two hundred thousand hectares of land in thearea under federal control.The parkland has since been expanded several times. ThePart of the EvergladesUnited States now protects more than six hundred thousandhectares of the Everglades. This is only about twenty percent of the Everglades ecosystem.The Everglades was the first national park established to protect only biological resources. The wetlands are famous around the world for their diversity of wildlife. The United Nations has called the area "a world biological treasure."The Everglades is really a slow-moving, extremely shallow river that flows south to the ocean. It is filled with sharp, thin sawgrass. This is why the Everglades is sometimes called the River of Grass. The area was also once called the "liquid heart" of Florida. Forests of palm, cypress, mangrove and pine are also a part of the Everglades. It ishome to beautiful plants and sweet-smelling flowers. These include several kinds ofthe highly prized and rare flower, the orchid.Many kinds of animals live in the Everglades. Many colorful birds and butterflies livethere. So do snakes, frogs, foxes and even big cats, called Florida panthers. But the alligators and crocodiles are probably the animals most identified with the Everglades. No other place in the world is home to both.However, the Everglades is one of the most endangered national parks in the United States. Human activities and development around the edges of the park threaten the area's health and future. Many of the animals are in danger of disappearing.More than one million people visit the Everglades National Park each year. The park will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary next December.Oscar Nominated SongsThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present its seventy-ninth yearly Academy Awards on Sunday. These awards are known as the Oscars. They honor writers, directors, actors and others who helped create the best motion pictures last year. They also honor songs written for those movies. Barbara Klein has more.BARBARA KLEIN:One of the five nominated songs was written by Randy Newman for the animated movie "Cars." It is called "Our Town," and is performed by James Taylor.(MUSIC)A second nominated song was written by Melissa Etheridge. It is called "I Need To Wake Up." It is from the documentary about global warming called "An Inconvenient Truth."The final three nominated songs all were written by Henry Krieger for the musical movie "Dreamgirls." The movie is about a group of female singers who become famous during the nineteen sixties. One of the songs is called "Listen." Beyonce sings it in "Dreamgirls." This song is called "Patience." Eddie Murphy sings it in the movie. (MUSIC)We leave you now with the third song nominated from the movie "Dreamgirls." Jennifer Hudson sings "Love You I Do."(MUSIC)HOST:I'm Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. It was written by Dana Demange, Nancy Steinbach and Caty Weaver, who was also our producer. To read the text of this program and download audio, go to our Web site, .。
高中英语 第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第4课(文本)素材
高中英语第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第4课英语翻议讲解：1.thriving a.兴旺的, 旺盛的, 繁荣的例句：The once thriving yard is now almost deserted and covered with weeds and bushes. 原来繁盛一时的大院现如今变得荆榛满地。
2.celebrate v.庆祝, 祝贺, 举行例句：We celebrate Women's Day on March 8. 我们3月8日庆祝妇女节。
3.exchange vt.交换, 交易, 兑换例句：The shopkeeper refused my request to exchange the shirt. 店员拒绝了我换衬衣的要求。
4.tasty a.好吃的, 可口的例句：She was skilled in preparing tasty dishes. 她很会做菜。
5.alike a.相似的, 同样的例句：All good books are alike. 好书都很相似。
6.typical a.典型的, 象征性的例句：Britain provides a typical example. 英国是个典型的例子。
1.It gives me an opportunity to either visit states or countries that I either hadn't thought about or didn't realize what wonderful things they had to offer.either or用于连接两个表示选择关系的名词或代词，意为“要么……要么”。
如：He must be either mad or drunk. 他不是疯了就是醉了。
You can go swimming or play tennis. 你可以去游泳也可以去打网球。
VOA MOSAIC-AMERICAN MOSAIC
ANNCR:
The Science Talent Search is the oldest such program for high school students in the United States. An organization called Science Service created the competition in nineteen forty-two. The aim was to increase the number of young Americans choosing to work in science.
Hurricanes are ocean storms that strike mainly in the Southeast. The hurricane season is, officially, June through November. Tornadoes are a risk across the country. These are locally severe windstorms. They generally happen in the spring and summer.
The oceans affect weather along the coasts. The Pacific coast has smaller temperature changes, and calmer conditions, than along the Atlantic.
Alaska and Hawaii are the only states not connected to the forty-eight mainland states. Alaska is in the Arctic area, so it gets very cold. Hawaii, out in the Pacific, is warm all year long.
高中英语 第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第20课(文本)素材
高中英语第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第20课（文本）素材英语翻议讲解：1.abolitionist n.废除主义者,废奴主义者2.arsenal n.兵工厂,军械库,武器，军火库3.capture vt.抓取,获得,迷住例句：A large reward is offered for the capture of the criminals. 巨额悬赏捉拿这些罪犯。
The novel captured the imagination of thousands of readers. 这部小说引起了千万读者的想象。
4.sustainable adj.(对自然资源和能源的利用)不破坏生态平衡的, 合理利用的可持续的例句：Water Resource Protection and Sustainable Utilization 水资源保护与可持续利用。
1.To some people this building is the scene of a crime, where a murderer and a traitor was captured and brought to justice.bring to justice使归案受审例句：The police must do all they can to bring the criminals to justice. 警方必须尽力把罪犯送交法庭审判。
2.She is using her fame as a race car driver to bring environmental issues to the attention of millions of racing fans.bring to the attention of引起某人的注意例句：That way, you can bring a pattern of behavior to management's attention. 这样你就可以提请公司主管注意你老板的不当行为。
高中英语 第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第7课(文本)素材
高中英语第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第7课英语翻议讲解：1.thoughtful a.深思的, 体贴的例句：A sober and steady type, he is meticulous and thoughtful in handling matters. 这个人很沉稳，处理问题细密周到。
2.exhibit v.展现, 陈列, 展览例句：These painters have a silimar painting style. We need some paintings of different styles to exhibit. 这几位画家的画风有些类同，我们需要找些画风迥异的作品做展览。
3.donate v.捐赠例句：Provided we meet our profit targets, we will donate one million dollars to charity. 如果我们的盈利达到了预定目标，我们将为慈善事业捐献100万美元。
4.endanger vt.危及例句：Home delivery of baby may endanger the mother's life. 不在医院分娩可能危及母亲的生命安全。
1.If you move closer to the sculptures, you realize they are made up of thousands of carefully stacked small plastic bottles for storing medicines.made up of由……组成例句：The team is made up almost entirely of Zimbabwean. 队里几乎全部都是津巴布韦人。
2.People buy the tickets in hopes of winning large amounts of money.in hopes of怀着...的希望, 希望能...例句：We are sending out samples in hopes of gaining comments. 我们正在寄送样品,征求批评意见。
高中英语 第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第11课(文本)素材
高中英语第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第11课（文本）素材英语翻议讲解：1.talent n. 天才,天资;才能,才干;有才能的人例句：His talent was submerged by his shyness. 他的羞怯掩盖了他的才华。
2.invisible a. 看不见的;微小得觉察不出的例句：The mends on your coat were almost invisible. 你外套上的补钉简直看不出来。
3.passion n. 热爱,强烈的感情,热情,耶稣的受难例句：The six-month's passion had aged him very considerably. 六个月的恋爱使他一下子长大了好几岁。
4.exhilarating a. 令人喜欢的,使人愉快的,爽快的例句：Our first parachute jump was an exhilarating experience. 我们第一次跳伞感到兴奋莫名。
5.expansive a. 易膨胀的,易扩张的;广阔的;辽阔的;广泛的;坦率的;豪爽的;健谈的例句：After she'd had a few drinks, Mary became very expansive. 玛丽喝了几杯酒，话就滔滔不绝了。
1.The United States Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.made up of 由…组成，由…构成例句：Everything we can see and touch is made up of matter. 我们能看见和摸到的每件东西都由物质组成。
2.Only the House of Representatives can introduce bills that deal with taxes or spending.deal with处理,涉及,对付,讨论,与…打交道例句：The branch of linguistics that deals with etymologies. 词源学有关词源的一门语言学分支。
美国马赛克计划一项多样性的全国性调查_数据挖掘_科研数据集
美国马赛克计划:一项多样性的全国性调查(American Mosaic Project: A National Survey on Diversity )数据摘要：The American Mosaic Project is a multiyear, multi-method study of the bases of solidarity and diversity in American life. The principal investigators of this project are Doug Hartmann, Penny Edgell and Joseph Gerteis at the University of Minnesota. The survey portion of the project consists of a random-digit-dial telephone survey (N=2,081) conducted during the summer of 2003 by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center. The survey was designed to gather data on attitudes about race, religion, politics and American identity as well as demographic information and social networks.中文关键词：美国马赛克计划,全国性调查,多样性,态度,明尼苏达大学,英文关键词：American Mosaic Project,national survey,diversity,attitude,University of Minnesota,数据格式：TEXT数据用途：The data can be used for data mining.数据详细介绍：American Mosaic Project: A National Survey on DiversityThe American Mosaic Project is a multiyear, multi-method study of the bases of solidarity and diversity in American life. The principal investigators of this project are Doug Hartmann, Penny Edgell and Joseph Gerteis at the University of Minnesota. The survey portion of the project consists of a random-digit-dial telephone survey (N=2,081) conducted during the summer of 2003 by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center. The survey was designed to gather data on attitudes about race, religion, politics and American identity as well as demographic information and social networks.Data FileCases: 2,081Variables: 210Weight Variable: DESWT, PSWT1, FINALWTData CollectionDate Collected: May 20, 2003 to August 27, 2003Funded ByEdelstein Family FoundationCollection ProceduresThe interviews were conducted by phone by University of Wisconsin Survey Center’s paid interviewing staff from its central phone bank on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. All interviews had been through UWSC’s general multisession training, had done “mock”one on one interviews and had listened to actual interviews conducted by experienced staff as well as having their own work systematically monitored. Specific training for this project included printed materials and a number of “briefing” sessions in which the project was discussed, the instrument reviewed and various project-specific factors were explained.During the field period, alongside the normal monitoring, productivity was watched and supervisors spoke to interviewers who seemed to be encountering difficulty with completing refusals. A number of special sessions (refusal avoidance seminars, in progress debriefings, and the like) including two plenary sessions with the PI’s present were held.Actual interviewing proceeded using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) system developed at the University of California Berkeley (CASES), which is a widely used program in academically based survey operations. Cases (phone numbers) were “delivered” to interviewers, with the computer keeping track of appointments, times the potential respondent might have asked NOT to be disturbed, and so on. Branching was handled automatically by CASES, without special intervention by interviewers as were the three split half series, to which respondents were randomly assigned. In the first stages of interviewing, no case was abandoned unless it had been finally resolved or at least fifteen separate calls had been made. This latter figure was a minimum level, and in practice many more calls were made to some hard to find numbers.Once a number was reached and determined to be a (probable) household, a randomly chosen adult was designated as the intended respondent, and no other person in the household was allowed to be substituted. If the designated respondent was not available, an appointment was sought and automatically “remembered” by the computer. If the designated respondent (or a household informant) refused to cooperate, the case went into a special refusal queue where specialists attempted to elicit cooperation. Detailed calling records made the calling history of the number available real-time and conversion proceeded where possible at a time other than when the original refusal had occurred. (Interviewers could also make comments which would be of assistance to those making later calls, which were displayed along with the case history).Sampling ProceduresThe intent of the project was not only to derive a dataset from which the characteristics of the adult U.S. non-institutionalized population could be estimated and analyzed, but to gain sufficient numbers of African-Americans and Hispanics so these two key groups could be examined. Specifically, while the original target was approximately 2000 persons for the nation as a whole, the goal was also to find approximately 400 African-Americans and 400 Hispanics. This required oversamples.The original scheme was to begin with a nationwide RDD sample but oversample areas with higher concentrations of blacks and/or Hispanics so that these targets could be met. This would actually produce three partially overlapping datasets. One would represent the country as a whole, one would represent black residents of the United States, and one would represent the Hispanic residents. The sampling scheme was operationalized by grouping telephone exchanges into five basic categories. Two were “high” in minority prevalence for blacks and Hispanics respectively, two were “moderate” and the fifth was neither.Consultation with UWSC’s sampli ng expert determined that this was the best way of meeting the goals expeditiously without too much wasted effort “screening out” non-Hispanics and non-African Americans and/or having to put a racial screening question to close to the front of the questionnaire with possible harmful impact on cooperation and raised salience of race as other questions were being asked.Telephone numbers were delivered to interviewers without explicitly reminding them of the existence of oversamples or whether a number fell into one of the special strata (though since this code was imbedded in the case ID, it was not entirely invisible to them). Originally the sample had been divided into 150 replicates with each stratum represented in each replicate. The sample was intended to be added whole replicate by whole replicate with the plan that if one were running too far ahead (or behind) for either desired subsample, that strategy might be modified. As it turned out, this scheme was more efficacious for blacks, while Hispanics were lagging a bit as we got into July. With consultation with our sampling expert and the PI’s, it was determined to stop putting in the two especially black strata while after replication 120, while the two Hispanic and residual stratum would be put in up to replicate 135. This wound up producing a black oversample somewhat overachieving its target (494 overall, 424 for black but not Hispanic), and a Hispanic oversample (399) that came within one case of the theoretically desired number.Principal InvestigatorsDoug Hartmann, Penny Edgell and Joseph GerteisRelated PublicationsCroll, Paul R. "Modeling Determinants of White Racial Identity: Results from a New National Survey." Social Forces, forthcoming.Edgell, Penny and Danielle Docka. 2007. "Beyond the Nuclear Family?Familism and Gender Ideology in Diverse Religious Communities."Sociological Forum 22 (1): 26-51.Edgell, Penny, Joseph Gerteis, and Douglas Hartmann. 2006. "Atheists as 'Other': Moral Boundaries and Cultural Membership in American Society." American Sociological Review 71 (2): 211-234.Edgell, Penny and Eric Tranby. 2007. "Religious Influences on Understandings of Racial Inequality in the United States." Social Problems 54 (2): 263-288.Hartmann, Douglas and Joyce Bell. "Diversity in Everyday Discourse: The Cultural Ambiguities and Consequences of 'Happy Talk.'" American Sociological Review, forthcoming.Hartmann, Douglas and Paul R. Croll. 2006. "Measuring Whiteness." in Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society, edited by Richard T.Schaefer. SAGE Publications, Inc.Hartmann, Douglas and Joseph Gerteis. 2005. "Dealing with Diversity: Mapping Multiculturalism in Sociological Terms." Sociological Theory 23(2): 218-240.Hartmann, Douglas, Xeufeng Zhang, and William Wischstadt. 2005."One (Multicultural) Nation Under God? Changing Uses and Meanings of the Term 'Judeo-Christian' in the American Media." Journal of Media and Religion 4 (4): 207-240.King, Ryan D. and Melissa Weiner. 2007. "Group Position, Collective Threat, and American Anti-Semitism." Social Problems 54 (1): 57-77.King, Ryan D. and Darren Wheelock. 2007. "Group Threat and Social Control: Race, Perceptions of Minorities and the Desire to Punish."Social Forces 85 (3):1255-1280.Weight VariablesThere are three separate variables (DESWT, PSWT1, and FINALWT) each of which is stored to eight significant digits after the decimal point.The first step reflects characteristics of the sample design which gave different cases different likelihoods of coming into the final sample. First, telephone exchanges had a different probability of being selected with those relatively high on blacks and those high on Hispanics having the highest probability, followed by those moderate on blacks or moderate on Hispanics. The final stratum was of exchanges neither especially high on blacks or Hispanics relative to the population overall. In order to locate more African-Americans and Hispanics for the oversamples, those strata were overrepresented and the weights begin for“correcting” for this and the related fact that as the study proceeded it was clear that we were “overachieving” on blacks and slightly underachieving on Hispanics, so fewer replicates from the black strata were included. The fact that strata achieved different response rates was taken into account in the next step, which also equalized the distribution of respondent selection codes across strata so that the number with RND1 of “1” (male preference) was weighted to be equal to that for RND of “0” (female preference). Taken together these led to a household design weight to correct for unequal probabilities of numbers coming into the sample. The last “design” component was household size, since if all telephone households had equal chances of being selected, and since only one respondent was taken from a given household, those in one person households had twice as great a chance of being interviewed, all else equal as those from two person households, who themselves had twice as much chance as someone from a four person household, and so on. This weight is shown as DESWT and corrects for factors stemming from sampling design and procedures. It is normed so that the total weighted “N” is the same as the unweighted number of cases (2081). A second stage of weighting involved “pos t-stratification”. Specifically this adjusted the weights from the design phase to recover the age group by gender distribution pulled from Census estimates. For completeness, this factor (which is identical for each case falling into one of the eight cells of the agegroup by gender table) is shown, but its major role was to be multiplied against the “design weight” to yield the final weight taking both design and post-stratification into account.Studies differ on what will go into any post-stratification weight. In this case, after experimentation, it was determined not explicitly to include race, since the way questions were asked – in order to identify persons thinking of themselves in a way to qualify for either the black or Hispanic samples – did not yield estimates that precisely paralleled the Census divisions (related to, among other things, at what stage if any categories were suggested, how multiple racial/ethnic classifications were handled and whether a single explicit question on the order of “do you consider yourself Hispanic” is included. As it turns out, the weighted proportion falling under Blacks and Hispanics is quite reasonable, without subjecting the sample to the vagaries of trying to match each of the cells in a multi-dimensional age by gender by racial/ethnic category. DESWT 'SAMPLING BASED WEIGHT'Weight, as described above to equalize the different probabilities of coming into the sample based on selection of exchanges, release of replicates, response rates, respondent selection procedures, andnumber of households. Normed for a mean of 1.00 and a total of 2081.0 (to match the raw “N”).PSWT1 'POST-STRATIFICATION ADJUSTMENT'Weight adjusting the age group by gender distribution from the above weighted procedure to match the corresponding distribution based on census estimates. Normed for a mean of 1.00 and a total of 2081.0 (to match the raw “N”). DESWT was multiplied by PSWT1 to get the unnormed version of FINALWT. This weight is included for completeness. If one desires to poststratify based on a combination of variables other than age group by gender, one would create a new weight in the place of PSWT1 and use that to create the new “final”weight.FINALWT 'TOTAL WEIGHT'Final weight multiplicatively “correcting” for both design and sampling related components and to recover the age by gender distribution. This is the weight which is applied by default in the SPSS system file, and should normally be used. Normed for a mean of 1.00 and a total of 2081.0 (to match the raw “N”).Constructed VariablesIn addition to the variables coming directly from answers to questions on the survey (shown in the order asked) there are several “supplemental variables” in the ASCII dataset and the SPSS system file.Notes pertaining to each are appended.LDAT 'DATE OF INTERVIEW'Mmddyyyy format, date interview completedGENDER 'RECORDED GENDER'1 'male'2 'female'SPLTHLF 'SPLIT HALF FOR STERXX, MARRXX, 151XX-152XX'This determined, except for about 100 cases at the start of interviewing, who were asked both halves, which half of the three “split-ballot” series was asked. For instance, a code of “2” meant that the case was randomly assigned to be asked the B series for the first battery, the B series for the second, but the A series for the last.0 'BOTH HALVES ASKED'1 'STERB-MARRB-RACEB'2 'STERB-MARRB-RACEA'3 'STERB-MARRA-RACEB'4 'STERB-MARRA-RACEA'5 'STERA-MARRB-RACEB'6 'STERA-MARRB-RACEA'7 'STERA-MARRA-RACEB'8 'STERA-MARRA-RACEA'GRP1 'RANDOM START POINT FOR GROUPS'Respondents were asked how much members of ten groups agreed with their general view of society (questions in the 121a-n range). The “start point” was determined randomly as was the direction in which the groups were presented. Thus, for instance, a 3 for this variable and a 1 for the next meant that the respondent was first presented with “recent immigrants” and then proceeded down the list (white Americans, Jews, Muslims, etc. to Asian Americans, who would be presented last.) A 5 and a 2 mean that Jews were mentioned first, followed by white Americans and so on in reverse order ending up with conservative Christians and Muslims.0 'AFRICAN-AMERICANS'1 'HISPANICS'2 'ASIAN AMERICANS'3 'RECENT IMMIGRANTS'4 'WHITE AMERICANS'5 'JEWS'6 'MUSLIMS'7 'CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIANS'8 'ATHEISTS'9 'HOMOSEXUALS'GRPDIR 'RANDOM DIRECTION FOR GROUPS'See directions for GRP1 (above)1 'DOWN (a->b=>c)'2 'UP (f->e->d)'ETHOPEN 'BLACK-HISP ANSWER TO OPENENDED RACE'Race was determined first by asking, without prompting, about a person’s backg round, and the answers were classified by interviewers into one of several precoded categories, including mixed, other, and multiple. This question was followed up by another, for those who named more than one race by a query asking for respondent’s designation of the best descriptor for them. Finally, a last question asked if there were any other special group with which respondents identified. For each of these, verbatim responses were noted for any unclear case. These were examined to determine if any answer would have classified the individual as either Black (African-American) orHispanic or both. This code allows users to determine which if any of these classifications applied.1 'BLACK-CODED ANSWER ONLY'2 'HISP-CODED ANSWER ONLY'3 'BOTH BLACK & HISPANIC ANSWERS'RND1 'RANDOM CHOICE FOR RESPONDENT'In making random selection of respondents from multiperson households, one asked either how many of the adults were men or how many were women. If both genders were represented, this variable also determined among which set a second selection would be made if there was more than one of the “preferred” gender. This variable is included for completeness and because this factor also figured into the weighting scheme, which will be noted below.0 'FEMALE PREFERENCE'1 'MALE PREFERENCE'STAT 'FIRST TWODIGIT OF FIPS CODE'CNTY 'DIGITS THREE TO FIVE OF FIPS'BLKDUM 'DUMMY FOR BLACK'Respondents may be treated as black if they gave an answer originally coded as black in the first of the race questions (128) or in the followup for best single choice (129) or gave an openended answer which belonged under black or African American (see ETHOPEN above). This variable appears as 1 for all cases meeting any of the criteria. The unweighted number of such cases was 494, which makes up the black subsample.0 'NOT BLACK'1 'BLACK ON 128,129 OR OPEN'HISPDUM 'DUMMY FOR HISPANIC'Respondents may be treated as Hispanic is they gave an answer in the same series falling under Spanish surnamed or Hispanic. Note that it is possible for a person to meet both criteria. The overall number of such persons (unweighted) was 399, comprising the Hispanic subsample.0 'NOT HISP'1 'HISP ON 128,129 OR OPEN'AGEGRP1 'GROUPED AGE (2003-BIRTHYR)'Respondents were asked for their year of birth, from which – treating all those born in the same calendar year the same –chronological age may be calculated and grouped as shown below. Those who did not answer the birth year question fell into one of the two special categories for “dk” and “ref”, respect ively.1 '18-29 YEARS'2 '30-44 YEARS'3 '45-54 YEARS'4 '55 OR MORE'8 'DK BIRTHYR'9 'REF BIRTHYR'AGEGRP2 'IMPUTED AGE (MISSING SET TO MEAN)'In order to calculate weights, it was necessary to assign cases missing birthyear to one or another of the agegroups. For this purpose, the 20 case for which the full information was not present were assigned the mean age of 46, placing them in category “3”.1 '18-29 YEARS'2 '30-44 YEARS'3 '45-54 YEARS'4 '55 OR MORE'HHSIZE 'HH SIZE'Number of adults from among whom respondent was chosenLANGREST 'LANGUAGE RESTRICTION'Cases where it appeared an interview would have to be done in Spanish were split off into a special “Spanish queue” for handling by multilingual interviewers. If these were later determined NOT to require Spanish, they were restored. This variable operates also as dummy for whether the interview was conducted in Spanish. Note that the latter is not a perfect indication of which language a given question was asked in, since interviewers had the ope ration of “toggling back and forth”between Spanish and English.0 'NOT RESTRICTED INTERVIEW IN ENGLISH'1 'RESTRICTED TO SPANISH INTERVIEWERS, INTERVIEW INSPANISH'数据预览：点此下载完整数据集。
高中英语 第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第14课（文本）素材
高中英语第二部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第14课（文本）素材英语翻议讲解：1.outreach v. 超越;超过;伸出could not allay the outreach of human intellect.不能控制人类才智的发展2.neurosurgeon n. 神经外科医生3.extraordinary a. 非常的,特别的,非凡的例句：They all showed extraordinary equestrian skill. 他们的骑术都很高超。
4.seizure n. 捕获,夺取,占领,捕获物,没收,充公；(病的)发作收押财物例句：The seizure in execution of such a writ. 扣押依此种命令没收的财产5.discrimination n. 差别,岐视,辨别力例句：There is no racial discrimination to be felt in this city. 在这个城市里感觉不到种族歧视。
6.restrictive a. 限制的,拘束的,限定的例句：He finds the job too restrictive. 他觉得这份工作束缚太多。
1.The Green Summer program provided young people with hands-on experience and education on issues of environmental importance.provide sb with 提供例句：They can provide food for us. 他们能为我们提供食物。
2.Others carried out energy studies of city school buildings to make sure the equipment and systems work effectively.make sure查明,弄清楚;保证,务必例句：Make sure that your seat belt is securely fastened. 请确认你的安全带系牢了。
高中英语 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第23课(文本)素材
高中英语 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第23课（文本）素材英语翻议讲解：1.continual adj.不间断的, 不停的例句：I am tired of this continual rain. 不停的下雨使我厌倦。
Church Street is continual with High Street. 教堂街与高街相连。
2.unease n.不安例句：He felt a worm of unease. 他感到一阵忐忑不安。
3.veteran n.经验丰富的人; 老兵例句：The baseball veteran loved to coach young players. 这位棒球老手喜欢指导年轻选手。
My grandfather is a veteran of the Second World War. 我祖父是二战时的老兵。
4.imaginable adj.可想像的;想像得到的例句：We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。
5.traumatic adj.经历)痛苦难忘的,造成精神创伤的例句：this deeply traumatic incident in his past 这件给他留下深深的精神创伤的往事She has been through a very traumatic experience. 她经历了一件很痛苦的事。
6.unconditionally adv.无条件地7.wag vt.vi.(使)摇动, 摇摆例句：The dog wagged its tail with pleasure. 那条狗高兴得直摇尾巴。
8.vulnerability n.易受伤,易受责难,弱点例句：What's more, social pressure often compounds biological vulnerability. 而且，社会压力经常增加男孩生物学上的脆弱性。
惠特尼休斯顿 英文介绍
CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.(MUSIC)I'm Christopher Cruise. Today on our show we remember the life and music of singing superstar Whitney Houston...(MUSIC: "One Moment in Time")Whitney Houston RememberedCHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Saturday, hundreds of people will gather in Newark, New Jersey, for the funeral of Whitney Houston. The forty-eight year old performer died a week earlier at a hotel in California. June Simms looks back at the life of the singer, actress, and mother.(MUSIC)JUNE SIMMS: That is Whitney Houston performing the song, "I'm Every Woman." And that is what many who loved the singer say: Whitney was every woman. People in her hometown of Newark say she never forgot where she came from. Her close friend and gospel singer Marvin Winans recently said that below the surface Whitney Houston was still the same little girl from New Jersey.A childhood friend of the star, Gregory Whittle, remembers growing up with her.GREGORY WHITE: "A lot of time in the basement you could hear her singing. Singing in the back by the pool. She had a gift. It was strictly from God."Marvin Winans is to speak at the funeral. It will be held at the New Hope Baptist Church. Whitney Houston attended that church while growing up. It was also the first place she sang publicly. She was a member of the church choir.(MUSIC: "Greatest Love of All")Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born in Newark in nineteen sixty-three. Her mother Cissy Houston is a gospel singer. Her father served in the military and was in the entertainment business. Cissy Houston was not the only family musician. Singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick were cousins of Whitney Houston. And her godmother was Aretha Franklin. At a performance earlier this week, Aretha Franklin remembered her goddaughter with a song and praise for the music and memories.A 22 year-old Whitney Houston performing in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986As a teenager, Whitney Houston performed as a back-up singer for Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls and other artists. But she also had a successful modeling career by the time she was twenty. Her picture appeared on the cover of Seventeen and inside magazines including Glamour and Cosmopolitan.In nineteen eighty three, Clive Davis, the head of Arista records, heard Whitney Houston singing in New York City. He offered her a recording agreement soon after. For the next two years, Whitney Houston worked on her first record album. "Whitney Houston" was released in nineteen eighty-five. Slowly but surely, it became a huge hit. It stayed in the number one position on Billboard magazine's Top Two Hundred Albums chart for fourteen weeks. The first number one single from the album was "Saving All My Love for You."(MUSIC)Another popular song from that first album was this dance number "How Will I Know."(MUSIC)The album "Whitney Houston" had seven number one hit singles. It remains thebiggest-selling first album by any artist.The singer followed that success with another. Her album "Whitney" sold twenty million copies. It also made her the first female artist to enter the Billboard Top Two Hundred at number one. Whitney Houston was clearing a path of recognition for women artists.However, her next professional move was her most important. She recorded the soundtrack for and starred in "The Bodyguard," in nineteen ninety-two.Kevin Costner played opposite White Houston in the movie. It is the story of a relationship between a pop music star and a former secret service agent who protects her. The movie was a big hit, making more than four hundred million dollars in ticket sales worldwide. But the film's popularity did not even come close to the success of the album that went with it."The Bodyguard" is the fourth highest selling album of all time. Forty-four million copies have been sold. Among the singles is "I Will Always Love You," a song written and recorded earlier by Dolly Parton. Whitney Houston's version sold many more copies.(MUSIC)In nineteen ninety-two, Whitney Houston's personal life also grew. She married singer Bobby Brown, of the band New Edition. The marriage surprised many people both in and outside the music industry. Bobby Brown was considered an industry "bad boy," while Whitney Houston had an innocence that led to her nickname the "prom queen of soul."APSinger Whitney Houston, her husband Bobby Brown, left, and Clive Davis, president and founder of Arista Records in New York City, 1998She and Bobby Brown had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in nineteen ninety-three. In the late nineteen nineties, Whitney Houston's professional behavior began to come under question. She began to cancel shows and was late for important events. Her appearance changed; she lost weight and looked unhealthy. Her voice also was suffering. Many reports said she was abusing drugs and alcohol.(MUSIC: "I Have Nothing")Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown ended their marriage in two thousand seven. She also publicly admitted to drug abuse. But she entered a treatment program. In two thousand ten, she reported she was drug-free.But, last Saturday, the singer and actress was found dead in her hotel room in Los Angeles. Officials have not yet released a cause of death. However, news reports say Whitney Houston's family has been told the entertainer died from taking too many prescription drugs.Her seventh and final studio album, "I Look to You," was released in two thousand nine. Critics generally praised the effort. We leave you with Whitney Houston performing the Leon Russell song, "A Song for You."(MUSIC)CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: I'm Christopher Cruise. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver.Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.。
高中英语 第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第2课(文本)素材
高中英语第一部分 VOA慢速英语《美国万花筒》第2课英语翻议讲解：1.moneymaker n.很会赚钱的人2.underground a.地下的, 秘密的例句：When he was doing underground work he was arrested because a renegade informed against him. 他做地下工作时，曾因叛徒告密而被捕。
3.vi cious a.邪恶的, 堕落的, 品性不端的, 恶毒的, 恶性的, 有错误的4.widespread a.充分伸展的, 广布的, 普及的, 流传广的例句：We can affiliate the widespread panic to the irresponsible words of the minister. 我们可以把这大范围的恐慌归咎于那位部长不负责任的发言。
1.Movie lovers have adventure, comedy, animated and horror films to look forward to this summer.look forward to期待, 盼望，后跟名词或动名词例句：The parents look forward in anxiety to the early and safe return of their sons and daughters studying afar. 父母悬望外出的学子早日平安归来。
与之意思相近的是be eager to，但是后面要跟不定式，例如：I'm sure everybody will be eager to come to this evening's party.今晚的晚会大家肯定会踊跃参加的。
ter this month, older children are expected to flood the theaters for "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."flood比喻，像洪水一般涌入，就好象之前出现的，some information streams out,tears well out of eyes，都是比较形象的说法。
迈阿密中英文
South Beach nightclub because it is very close to that of Latin America, Latin America regional headquarters in Miami is so many Multi-National Corporation, such as American Airlines, Cisco, Disney, Exxon Mobil, Federal Express, Microsoft, Oracle, American Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (AT&T) and Sony etc.. Miami Intercontinental Airport and Miami port is one of the USA's busiest ports, especially from South America and the Caribbean goods. In addition, Miami city is the largest international banks USA gathered. Miami in 2003 the free trade area of the Americas (Free Trade Area of the Americas) held talks, is one of the contenders for the trade organization headquarters. One of the most important tourism industry is also in Miami, greater Miami area beaches attracted from national and international tourists, the Art Deco nightclub district (the Art Deco nightclub district) is considered one of the world's most charming place. Miami is an industrial center, especially quarrying and storage.
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Since the three congresswomen are all mothers, they have a lot in common. They work in Washington during the week. On weekends, they travel to their home states to see their families. Ms. Wasserman Shultz says the best thing about living together is the friendship they share each evening. They share the good times as well as the difficult times.
DOUG JOHNSON: Welcome to American Mosaic in VOA Special English.
(MUSIC)
I’m Doug Johnson.
Today, we listen to music by John Prine.
And we answer a question about aircraft pioneer Igor Sikorsky.
In nineteen-oh-three, in the American state of North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright took off, flew through the air, and landed a powered airplane. When a fourteen-year-old boy from Kiev, Russia, heard the news, his life changed. Igor Sikorsky decided he would study aviation.
Igor Sikorsky moved to the United States in nineteen nineteen. Four years later, he opened the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation in New York. For the next fifteen years he built many new kinds of airplanes. His S-38 amphibian flew through the air and then landed on water. His Flying Clipper was the first airplane to fly forty passengers across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The R-4 did not need an airport. It could take off and land almost anywhere. In wartime, it was used to carry troops into battle and to fly injured soldiers to hospitals quickly. Many lives were saved because of this.
In nineteen thirty-eight, Igor Sikorsky began work once again on his “vertical lift machine” -- the helicopter. He built nineteen different models before he found success. Soon his helicopter, the R-4, was being manufactured in great numbers. It was the world’s first mass produced helicopter.
(MUSIC: “Glory of True Love”)
John Prine
DOUG JOHNSON: Singer songwriter John Prine has always seemed to fly a little "under the radar." His folksy, country and soft rock songs are more famous than he is. They have been recorded by artists including Bonnie Raitt, the Everly Brothers, Bette Midler, Johnny Cash, the Seldom Scene and many others. But some fans would argue that no one sings John Prine like John Prine.
Representatives Carolyn Maloney, at left, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Melissa Bean
For Ms. Wasserman Shultz the bad times started in two thousand seven. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is cancer free today, but she remembers how important it was to have her roommates for support. Ms. Maloney says she needed the help of her two friends when her husband died last September. He was on a trip to the Himalayas and died on a mountain trail.
John Prine performing during the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Carolyn Maloney, Melissa Bean and Debbie Wasserman Schultz work together in Congress each day. They are all members of the Democratic Party. They represent people in the states of New York, Illinois and Florida. After the work day is over, they all go home -- to the same place. They share a house in Washington, D.C., near the Capitol building, that belongs to Ms. Maloney. They have lived together for five years.
No matter what happens, Melissa Bean says their friendship will continue. She says: “You don’t come to Congress to make friends, because if you do, you’re not coming to be independent and have your own mind. What a great surprise it has been to make such good friends.”
The VS-300, Sikorsky's first successful helicopter
When it failed, he decided he would try to make airplanes. Success came quickly. In nineteen thirteen Igor Sikorsky built the world’s first four-engine airplane. He called it “The Grand.” After that he built a larger plane that was used as a bomber in World War One.
Sikorsky spent the rest of his life designing and building aircraft. He was awarded many prizes for his work. Igor Sikorsky often said: “The work of the individual still remains the spark which moves mankind ahead.”
Carolyn Maloney says she thought of the Founding Fathers of the United States when she bought the home. The first political leaders of the country often lived in rooming houses. They ate dinner together and shared their ideas.
The young man began his studies at the Saint Petersburg Naval Academy. Then he studied engineering in Kiev at the Polytechnic Institute. When he was only twenty years old, Igor Sikorsky designed and built his first helicopter.