voa 1

01.010309.2_In the News

 

[00:04.98]This is In the News in VOA Special English.

[00:10.09]Each December, the editors

[00:12.35]and news directors of the Associated Press

[00:16.38]vote for the top ten news stories of the year.

[00:21.34]They chose the election of Barack Obama

[00:24.33]as president of the United States

[00:26.89]as the top news story of 2008.

[00:31.51]President-elect Obama is the first black man

[00:35.46]to be elected president of the United States.

[00:39.86]His decisive victory over Republican Senator

[00:43.73]John McCain brought down

[00:45.94]the last racial barrier in American politics.

[00:51.06]His campaign for the White House

[00:53.05]lasted 21 months.

[00:56.32]The American economic crisis was second

[01:00.10]on the list of top stories last year.

[01:04.09]Wall Street investment banks

[01:07.08]and other financial companies collapsed.

[01:11.30]The stock market suffered huge losses.

[01:15.54]2008 was considered the worst

[01:18.60]economic year since the 1930s.

[01:24.00]The price of oil was voted the third

[01:26.82]top story of the year.

[01:29.54]Less than 6 months ago, oil traded

[01:32.71]at a record 147 dollars a barrel.

[01:37.60]Now, oil is trading for less than 40 dollars a barrel.

[01:43.54]At the root of the sharp price decrease

[01:46.82]is reduced demand because of

[01:49.54]the economic downturn.

[01:52.27]The war in Iraq was fourth on the list.

[01:56.90]The American troop surge helped

[02:00.15]reduce violence in Iraq.

[02:03.02]But bombings and kidnappings continued.

[02:07.62]A recent security agreement between Iraq

[02:10.86]and the United States sets a plan

[02:13.87]for American troop withdrawal by 2012.

[02:19.99]The Beijing Olympic Games were next on the list.

[02:24.93]After 7 years of preparations,

[02:27.74]the Summer Olympic Games were held

[02:30.59]in China for the first time.

[02:34.13]American swimmer Michael Phelps won

[02:36.90]8 gold medals, breaking the record for the most

[02:41.52]gold medals won at a single Olympics.

[02:46.16]Also among the top news stories was

[02:50.09]the huge earthquake that struck China in May.

[02:54.77]70,000 people were killed in Sichuan province.

[03:00.13]Another 5 million lost their homes.

[03:04.99]Alaska Governor Sarah Palin also made

[03:08.43]the list of major news stories.

[03:11.94]She became well-known

[03:13.66]after Republican presidential candidate

[03:16.92]John McCain chose her as his

[03:20.10]vice presidential running mate.

[03:23.54]She was the first female vice

[03:25.96]presidential candidate of the Republic Party.

[03:30.35]In November, 10 terrorists attacked

[03:34.38]India's financial center, Mumbai.

[03:38.18]More than 160 people were killed

[03:41.69]during 2.5 days of violence.

[03:45.97]Hillary Clinton's candidacy for president was

[03:49.23]also among the top news stories.

[03:53.03]She came closer than any other woman

[03:55.86]in American history to becoming

[03:58.57]a major party's presidential candidate.

[04:02.93]Barack Obama nominated her to become

[04:05.68]the next secretary of state.

[04:09.48]And finally, the 10th news story of the year was

[04:13.85]the 5-day war between Russia and Georgia.

[04:19.20]The war was the worst violence since

[04:22.42]South Ossetia declared independence

[04:25.79]from Georgia in 1992.

[04:30.03]And that's In the News

[04:32.34]in VOA Special English,

[04:35.43]written by Brianna Blake.

[04:37.78]You can find other reports from the past year

[04:41.58]on our web site at voaspecialenglish.com.

[04:48.02]I'm Steve Ember.

[04:50.11]

[04:51.20]Subtitles: www.justlisten.cn

 

01.010109.3_The Making of a Nation

[00:00.00]THE MAKING OF A NATION

[00:02.50]American History Series No. 65:

[00:05.00]VOA Special English program

[00:07.50]2009.01.01.

[00:08.50]

[00:10.77]Welcome to the Making of a Nation -

[00:14.10]American history in VOA Special English.

[00:18.99]Last week in our series, we talked about

[00:22.15]the election of Martin Van Buren in 1836

[00:26.79]as the 8th president of the United States.

[00:31.55]Van Buren had been very close to

[00:34.12]the outgoing president, Andrew Jackson.

[00:38.09]Van Buren had been successful in forming

[00:41.51]a strong political alliance that helped

[00:44.69]put Jackson in the White House

[00:46.91]in the election of 1828.

[00:50.97]Jackson was grateful for Van Buren's help,

[00:54.55]and asked him to come to Washington

[00:57.36]to serve as secretary of state.

[01:01.26]Van Buren had just been elected

[01:03.76]governor of the state of New York,

[01:06.50]but decided to accept Jackson's offer.

[01:10.27]This week, Steve Ember and Gwen Outen

[01:13.81]talk about Martin Van Buren

[01:16.27]and the start of his presidency.

[01:19.58]Van Buren quickly became

[01:21.59]the most powerful man in Jackson's cabinet.

[01:25.79]He was able to help Jackson in negotiations

[01:29.78]with Britain and France.

[01:32.40]But his greatest help was in building

[01:35.04]a strong political party for Jackson.

[01:38.78]It was this party that gave Jackson

[01:41.88]wide support for his policies.

[01:45.59]Van Buren built up the national Democratic Party

[01:49.69]with the same methods he used to build

[01:52.80]his political organization in New York state.

[01:57.35]He removed from government jobs

[02:00.04]people who had not supported Jackson.

[02:03.89]These jobs were then given to those

[02:06.99]who had supported the president.

[02:10.41]Van Buren served as secretary of state

[02:13.50]for 2 years.

[02:15.73]He resigned because he saw his resignation

[02:19.19]as the only way of solving a serious problem

[02:23.48]Jackson faced.

[02:25.45]The problem was Vice President

[02:28.17]John C. Calhoun.

[02:30.28]Calhoun had presidential hopes.

[02:33.81]He did not think Jackson would serve

[02:36.83]more than one term.

[02:39.21]And he planned to be a candidate

[02:41.36]in the next election.

[02:43.80]3 of the 5 men in Jackson's cabinet

[02:48.05]supported Calhoun.

[02:50.70]Jackson could not trust them.

[02:53.34]And he wanted to get them out of the cabinet,

[02:56.38]but without a political fight.

[02:59.68]Then, later, he named Van Buren

[03:02.83]minister to Britain.

[03:05.34]But Calhoun's supporters in the Senate

[03:08.09]defeated Van Buren's nomination.

[03:11.67]By this time, Jackson had decided that

[03:15.25]Van Buren would be the best man

[03:18.26]to follow him as president.

[03:21.61]He offered to resign after the 1832 elections

[03:26.68]and give Van Buren the job of president.

[03:31.21]Van Buren rejected the offer.

[03:34.00]He said he wanted to be elected

[03:36.95]by the people.

[03:38.94]But he did agree to be

[03:40.62]Jackson's vice president in 1832.

[03:45.56]

[04:00.76]4 years later, at Jackson's request,

[04:04.26]the Democrats chose Van Buren

[04:06.95]to be their presidential candidate.

[04:10.01]He was opposed by several candidates

[04:12.92]of the newly formed Whig Party.

[04:16.08]The opposition was divided.

[04:18.96]And Van Buren won the election

[04:21.53]with little difficulty.

[04:24.33]Andrew Jackson stood

[04:25.96]beside Martin Van Buren

[04:28.31]as the new president was sworn-in.

[04:31.67]Physically, the two men were very different.

[04:36.39]Jackson was tall, with long white hair

[04:40.32]that flowed back over his head.

[04:43.55]Jackson's health had been poor

[04:46.13]during the last few months he spent

[04:48.69]in the White House.

[04:50.85]He seemed tired.

[04:53.01]There was almost no color in his face.

[04:57.16]Van Buren was much shorter

[05:00.12]and had much less hair.

[05:02.83]His eyes were brighter than those

[05:05.12]of the old man next to him.

[05:08.59]In his inaugural speech, Van Buren noted

[05:12.68]that he was the first American born

[05:15.80]after the revolution to become president.

[05:20.18]He said he felt he belonged to a later age.

[05:25.44]He called for more unity among Democrats

[05:28.80]of the North and South.

[05:31.68]He said better times were ahead

[05:34.57]for the country.

[05:36.77]Van Buren had a strange way with words.

[05:40.94]He could talk with excitement

[05:42.82]about something, but say very little

[05:46.20]about his own feelings on the subject.

[05:50.26]Once, he spoke in New York

[05:52.38]about the tax on imports.

[05:55.75]2 men who heard the speech discussed it later.

[06:00.28]"It was a very able speech," said one man,

[06:04.33]a wool buyer.

[06:06.12]"Yes, very able," answered his friend.

[06:09.47]There was silence for a moment.

[06:12.27]Then the first man spoke again.

[06:15.24]"Was Mr. Van Buren for or against the import tax?"

[06:21.91]The new president was a warm and friendly man.

[06:25.87]He tried to keep his political life

[06:28.79]and his social life separate.

[06:32.32]It was not unusual to see him

[06:34.82]exchange handshakes, smiles and jokes

[06:38.46]with men who were his political enemies.

[06:43.41]Van Buren had a poor education as a boy.

[06:47.97]He went to school only for a few years.

[06:52.22]His father was a farmer and hotel keeper

[06:55.72]at a little town in New York state.

[06:59.67]Van Buren had a quick mind

[07:01.98]and was a good judge of men.

[07:04.64]But he always felt he could have done

[07:06.88]more had he received a college education.

[07:11.25]

[07:24.74]Van Buren had been president for

[07:26.60]just a few days when an economic crisis

[07:30.12]and a political storm struck the country.

[07:34.19]The storm had been building for many months.

[07:38.35]It really began with the death of the Bank of

[07:42.04]the United States more than a year before.

[07:46.53]Andrew Jackson had opposed

[07:48.88]the powerful bank in which

[07:51.22]the government's money was kept.

[07:54.56]He vetoed a bill that would have continued it.

[07:59.01]The bank was so strong that it was able to

[08:02.54]control the economy throughout

[08:05.27]most of the country.

[08:07.70]It did so through its loans to businessmen.

[08:12.36]By making many loans, the bank could increase

[08:17.11]economic activity.

[08:19.65]By reducing the number of loans,

[08:22.31]the economy could be tightened.

[08:26.17]The Bank of the United States also helped

[08:29.18]to control the smaller state banks.

[08:32.87]It refused to accept the notes,

[08:35.95]or paper money, of these banks,

[08:39.20]unless the state banks were ready to

[08:41.78]exchange the paper for gold or silver money.

[08:46.97]After the end of the Bank of

[08:49.19]the United States, there was little control of

[08:52.51]any kind over the state banks.

[08:56.47]Many new state banks opened.

[09:00.14]All of them produced large amounts of

[09:03.28]paper money -- many times the amount

[09:06.44]they could exchange for gold or silver.

[09:10.38]Much of this paper money was used

[09:13.35]by business speculators

[09:15.72]to buy land from the government.

[09:18.78]These men bought the land, held it

[09:22.16]for a while, then sold it for more than they paid.

[09:27.81]The government soon found itself

[09:30.42]with millions of dollars of paper money.

[09:34.83]To stop this, President Jackson ordered gold

[09:38.87]or silver payments only for government land.

[09:44.08]This made it necessary for speculators to

[09:47.74]exchange their paper notes for gold.

[09:52.75]Many banks could not do this.

[09:55.96]They did not have enough gold.

[09:59.15]There was another problem.

[10:01.61]Congress passed a law on what was

[10:04.91]to be done with federal money not needed

[10:08.41]by the national government.

[10:11.29]This extra money, or surplus,

[10:14.83]was to be given to the states.

[10:18.39]Since the closing of the Bank of

[10:20.30]the United States, the government had kept

[10:24.12]its money in a number of state banks.

[10:28.64]Now these banks had to surrender

[10:32.08]the government surplus

[10:33.92]to the state governments.

[10:37.12]This left even less gold and silver to

[10:41.28]exchange for the huge amounts of

[10:44.34]paper money the banks had issued.

[10:47.60]

[11:12.77]There was still another demand for

[11:15.68]what gold the banks had.

[11:18.41]1835 and 1837 were bad years

[11:24.19]for American agriculture.

[11:27.05]Many crops failed.

[11:30.04]Instead of the United States exporting farm

[11:33.66]products to Europe, the opposite happened.

[11:38.11]American traders had to import

[11:40.94]these things from Europe.

[11:43.64]And they had to pay for them in gold or silver.

[11:48.70]As more and more paper money was put into use,

[11:52.58]the value of the money fell.

[11:56.07]Prices rose higher and higher.

[11:59.85]Poor people found it almost impossible

[12:03.53]to buy food and other necessities.

[12:07.44]In 1835, a barrel of flour cost 6 dollars.

[12:13.50]2 years later, the price had jumped to

[12:16.71]more than 12 dollars.

[12:19.77]The same was true with meat and other foods.

[12:24.05]Even coal, the fuel people used

[12:27.12]to heat their homes, cost twice as much.

[12:31.61]Poor people protested.

[12:34.55]But businessmen were satisfied.

[12:38.02]They wished to continue

[12:40.19]the flood of paper money.

[12:42.65]Violence finally broke out

[12:45.90]at a protest meeting in New York City.

[12:50.30]A crowd of angry people heard speakers

[12:54.39]criticize the use of paper money.

[12:59.03]Some in the crowd began demanding

[13:02.67]action against the rich traders.

[13:06.97]A crowd of about 1,000 marched to

[13:11.12]a nearby store, broke into it, and destroyed

[13:16.79]large amounts of flour and grain.

[13:21.42]In the spring of 1837, the demand on banks

[13:26.48]for gold and silver grew too heavy.

[13:31.12]The banks stopped honoring their promises

[13:34.43]to exchange their paper money for gold.

[13:38.98]They said this was just temporary.

[13:42.90]That it was necessary to stop - for a while -

[13:46.80]all payments in gold or silver.

[13:50.92]The crisis got worse.

[13:53.86]That will be our story in the next program of

[13:57.61]The Making of a Nation.

[14:00.64]

[14:10.74]Our program was written by

[14:12.68]Frank Beardsley.

[14:14.31]The narrators were Steve Ember

[14:16.74]and Gwen Outen.

[14:18.81]Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts

[14:22.07]of our programs are online,

[14:24.91]along with historical images,

[14:27.21]at voaspecialenglish.com.

[14:31.55]Join us again next week for

[14:33.97]The Making of a Nation -

[14:36.46]an American history series

[14:38.76]in VOA Special English.

[14:42.73]

[14:44.23]Subtitle: www.justlisten.cn

01.010209.2_Economics Report

[00:00.62]This is the VOA Special English

[00:03.50]Economics Report.

[00:05.80]This week, we continue our look back

[00:08.73]at the major economic stories of the year.

[00:12.95]On September 15th, Lehman Brothers,

[00:16.33]a 158 year-old investment bank,

[00:20.55]sought legal protection from its creditors.

[00:24.35]It had failed to find a buyer

[00:26.71]after months of searching.

[00:29.54]With over 600 billion dollars in debt,

[00:33.41]Lehman's failure was the largest bankruptcy

[00:36.85]in United States history.

[00:39.75]At the same time,

[00:41.18]the nation's biggest insurance company,

[00:44.23]American International Group,

[00:46.68]had gotten into trouble

[00:48.30]selling credit default swaps.

[00:51.95]These are contracts similar to insurance

[00:55.11]that protect the holder against credit risk.

[01:00.14]Credit rating agencies downgraded A.I.G.

[01:04.60]because of concerns

[01:06.35]it could not honor its contracts.

[01:09.92]Unable to get new loans,

[01:12.21]A.I.G. asked for government help.

[01:15.92]The Federal Reserve agreed to loan A.I.G.

[01:20.28]85 billion dollars

[01:22.88]in return for 80% of the company.

[01:27.43]But it was not enough.

[01:30.15]By November, the government had extended

[01:33.20]a total of about 150 billion dollars in aid

[01:38.74]to A.I.G - the most to any single company

[01:43.52]during the crisis.

[01:45.94]As banks refused to lend,

[01:48.63]Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

[01:51.04]proposed a plan to loosen credit markets

[01:55.07]by buying risky assets.

[01:58.86]Congress approved the Emergency

[02:01.15]Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

[02:05.64]on October 3rd.

[02:07.70]The bill provided 700 billion dollars

[02:11.84]to buy hard-to-value securities from banks.

[02:17.08]But within weeks, the government changed plans.

[02:21.78]The Treasury moved to invest

[02:23.84]250 billion dollars directly in banks

[02:28.78]to help them lend money again.

[02:32.59]Lack of credit not only hurt banks

[02:35.82]but manufacturers, too.

[02:38.69]Falling car sales threatened

[02:41.25]America's carmakers.

[02:43.41]The big three automakers -

[02:45.77]General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -

[02:49.44]told Congress that they needed loans

[02:52.74]or they faced bankruptcy.

[02:55.68]In December, President Bush offered

[02:58.55]G.M. and Chrysler over 17 billion dollars in loans.

[03:05.34]As the year ended, the Federal Reserve

[03:08.58]tried to support economic growth

[03:11.59]by lowering its main interest rate to

[03:15.43]nearly zero for the first time.

[03:19.15]But there was one more bad surprise.

[03:23.22]New York money manager Bernard Madoff

[03:26.68]admitted he had cheated investors

[03:30.02]out of 50 billion dollars.

[03:33.65]The news only added to the sense that

[03:37.46]2008 was the worst economic year

[03:41.73]since the 1930s.

[03:45.12]And that's the VOA Special English

[03:48.74]Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter.

[03:53.12]I'm Steve Ember.

01.010109.2_New Year Special

[00:00.51]NEW YEAR SPECIAL

[00:03.71]VOA Special English

[00:06.88]2009.01.01.

[00:08.89]Now, a VOA Special English

[00:11.88]holiday program.

[00:14.10]January first.

[00:16.04]The beginning of a new year.

[00:19.09]As far back in history as we can tell,

[00:22.08]people have celebrated the start of a new year.

[00:26.24]Today, most people celebrate New Year's Day

[00:30.07]on January first.

[00:32.46]People observe the New Year's holiday

[00:35.35]in many different ways.

[00:37.92]The idea of admitting mistakes

[00:41.00]and finishing the business of the old year

[00:43.96]is found in many cultures.

[00:47.17]So is the idea of making New Year's resolutions.

[00:52.23]A resolution is a promise to change or

[00:55.34]do something different in the coming year.

[00:59.23]Making New Year's resolutions

[01:01.56]is a common tradition.

[01:03.94]We talked to some people

[01:05.54]in Washington, D.C. and Miami, Florida

[01:08.90]about their resolutions, hopes

[01:11.63]and wishes for 2009.

[01:14.91]My name is Ashley Preston.

[01:16.70]I'm from Canfield, Ohio and I'm 24 years old.

[01:19.86]This year I hope to graduate with

[01:21.92]my Master's and be healthy and happy.

[01:25.98]Ashley's friend, Charlotte Cicero from

[01:28.75]Rochester, New York, is also to graduate this year.

[01:33.19]Her resolution went a step farther.

[01:36.12]I hope to graduate and find a job

[01:38.20]teaching somewhere.

[01:39.85]Other people mix wishes small and large.

[01:43.51]Like Ryan Krysiak, a student at the College of

[01:47.38]William and Mary, in Williamsburg, Viriginia.

[01:50.93]For the New Year, I want the Eagles to go to

[01:53.03]the Superbowl and world peace.

[01:56.21]Some resolutions are about helping others.

[01:59.78]I'm Elnie Goodman and I live in Washington, D.C.

[02:03.78]But I was born in Haiti.

[02:06.06]In the summer of 2009 I would like to

[02:08.22]lead a humanitarian trip to Haiti.

[02:11.34]In Miami, Florida, one man hopes

[02:14.07]a resolution from last year will go better in 2009:

[02:19.35]My name's Glenn Mitchell.

[02:21.29]I live in Miami.

[02:22.88]And personally I have a resolution

[02:24.49]to do more artwork.

[02:26.45]And I had the same resolution last year

[02:28.30]and I wasn't able to.

[02:30.22]This next woman wishes a little brain power

[02:33.26]for everybody.

[02:34.55]Hi, I'm Peggy.

[02:35.86]I'm from Grafton, Wisconsin.

[02:37.80]I'm 48 years old.

[02:39.84]In the New Year, I just hope things start to

[02:42.08]get right again.

[02:43.56]Everybody's happy, healthy and

[02:45.59]a little bit smarter, so that things go well.

[02:48.68]Many people agreed with Miz Rice.

[02:51.51]Ian McMann of Miami said

[02:54.37]the election process in the United States

[02:57.09]in 2008 brought a return to hope.

[03:01.43]Ellen Wade is a 42 year old businesswoman

[03:05.39]and student in Waynesboro, Virginia.

[03:09.09]She expressed similar feelings

[03:11.31]about the political change.

[03:14.18]She said she hoped that the new president

[03:16.95]could help lead the way to better relations

[03:20.35]among the nations of the world.

[03:23.35]But many people we spoke to

[03:25.58]kept their resolutions very simple, like this boy.

[03:30.55]My name is Noah Goodwin.

[03:32.68]I live in Arlington, Virginia.

[03:34.87]I'm 12 years old

[03:36.46]and I resolve to get a girlfriend this year.

[03:38.87]Our resolution is to wish all of our listeners

[03:42.31]a happy, healthy and productive New Year!

[03:46.89]I'm Mario Ritter for VOA Special English.

[03:51.46]Subtitles: www.justlisten.cn

01.010209.3_American Mosaic

[00:00.01]AMERICAN MOSAIC

[00:02.00]VOA Special English program

[00:04.00]2009.01.02.

[00:06.14]Welcome to American Mosaic

[00:09.26]in VOA Special English.

[00:12.77]

[00:16.51]I'm Doug Johnson.

[00:18.26]This week, we listen to music from

[00:21.23]young singer Jazmine Sullivan,

[00:24.56]answer a listener question

[00:26.43]about the word 'mosaic',

[00:29.31]and, head to Miami, Florida for a visit

[00:32.99]to an unusual museum.

[00:35.57]

[00:37.49]The Wolfsonian Museum

[00:41.19]

[00:44.63]The Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach, Florida

[00:48.75]is filled with modern design objects

[00:52.37]that tell a story about political, social

[00:56.15]and technological change.

[00:59.17]It was formed in 1986 to house

[01:03.39]the decorative and propaganda collection

[01:07.01]of Mitchell Wolfson.

[01:09.86]Now the museum is part of

[01:12.36]Florida International University.

[01:16.05]The museum's exhibits provide a lesson

[01:18.85]in modern European and American history.

[01:23.33]Faith Lapidus has more.

[01:26.20]Visitors to the Wolfsonian Museum last month

[01:29.83]received a bold red printed brochure

[01:33.40]filled with propaganda.

[01:35.91]The brochure called itself a form of

[01:39.27]propaganda designed to persuade, teach

[01:43.28]and influence visitors to the museum.

[01:46.91]It says visitors should think about the objects

[01:50.76]around them and ask how they were made

[01:53.99]and for what social and political reasons.

[01:58.91]These ideas are repeated

[02:01.68]in the museum's current exhibitions.

[02:04.82]One exhibit is about American President

[02:08.18]Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" plan.

[02:12.76]His plan included programs to help

[02:15.80]the country recover from the failing economy

[02:20.03]of the 1930s.

[02:22.88]One federal program employed artists

[02:26.23]to capture images of American life.

[02:30.63]In this exhibit, you can see examples

[02:34.25]of this public art effort.

[02:37.43]There are striking images of poor farmers

[02:41.33]by photographers including Dorothea Lange.

[02:45.58]Some artists were hired to create

[02:48.60]large paintings for the inside of

[02:51.88]government buildings.

[02:54.31]These paintings show Americans

[02:56.78]hard at work in different industries.

[03:00.92]Other artists made posters to advertise

[03:05.49]government programs.

[03:07.77]The images on these posters are meant to

[03:11.55]express the strength of the government.

[03:15.33]The objects in the exhibit tell a story

[03:19.54]about government expansion

[03:22.00]during a difficult period in American history.

[03:26.23]Another exhibit is about

[03:28.92]American streamlined design.

[03:32.67]Streamlining developed from scientific studies

[03:36.84]aimed to reduce the wind and water resistance

[03:40.99]of ships, trains and cars.

[03:44.71]In the 1930s, industrial designers

[03:48.84]began to make cars and other objects

[03:52.32]with smooth, curving lines.

[03:55.94]Streamlining soon extended to furniture

[03:59.65]and other objects for the house and office.

[04:03.80]The look became a sign of

[04:06.23]scientific progress and modernity.

[04:10.24]The museum's permanent collection

[04:13.10]contains propaganda posters

[04:15.81]from the United States and Europe.

[04:18.94]The bold images were made to capture

[04:22.45]the hearts and minds of citizens.

[04:26.22]They tell stories of war, peace,

[04:29.45]industry, and politics.

[04:33.07]

[04:35.74]About American Mosaic

[04:38.53]

[04:41.57]Our listener question this week

[04:44.03]comes from China.

[04:46.42]Shen wants to know the meaning of

[04:49.55]"American Mosaic,"

[04:52.24]the name of this program.

[04:54.98]We will begin with a little history.

[04:58.82]The Special English staff decided to broadcast

[05:02.32]a new radio magazine program in 1985.

[05:08.81]We wanted a special show for young people.

[05:13.18]We wanted to report on American culture,

[05:17.05]answer questions from listeners

[05:19.65]and play popular music.

[05:23.47]But we could not agree about

[05:25.80]what to call the program.

[05:28.52]It was first broadcast

[05:30.38]under a very simple and uninteresting name,

[05:34.22]"The Friday Program."

[05:37.34]So, we turned to our listeners for help.

[05:41.19]We announced a contest for listeners

[05:43.62]to send in suggestions for better names.

[05:48.75]Two people won the contest.

[05:51.98]Listeners from China and Egypt

[05:55.30]both suggested the same name:

[05:58.90]"American Mosaic."

[06:01.74]Mosaic is spelled m-o-s-a-i-c.

[06:09.01]The dictionary says that the word "mosaic"

[06:12.70]means a picture or design that is made by

[06:17.62]placing small colored pieces together.

[06:21.93]You can see colorful mosaics in art

[06:24.83]and in designs on buildings.

[06:28.16]We chose the name "American Mosaic"

[06:31.87]because the purpose of the show

[06:34.70]is to create a picture of life in the United States

[06:39.30]through many small stories.

[06:42.99]Each story is different,

[06:45.35]like the different pieces of a mosaic.

[06:49.57]But together, they form a complete picture.

[06:53.83]We hope American Mosaic provides

[06:57.03]a complete and interesting picture of life

[07:00.50]in the United States.

[07:03.42]If you have questions about life in America,

[07:07.69]we might be able to answer them

[07:10.26]on this program.

[07:12.32]Send your questions to mosaic@voanews.com.

[07:18.53]Or go to our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com

[07:24.77]and click on Contact Us on the left side.

[07:31.03]Or write to American Mosaic,

[07:34.98]VOA Special English,

[07:38.19]Washington, D.C., 20237, U.S.A.

[07:45.76]Whichever way you contact us,

[07:48.66]please include your full name and where you live.

[07:54.30]

[07:57.06]Jazmine Sullivan

[08:02.19]

[08:44.62]Singer and songwriter Jazmine Sullivan

[08:47.85]has a voice unlike most popular

[08:51.00]young singers today.

[08:53.47]Her voice is strong, edgy and emotional.

[08:58.86]Her first album, "Fearless,"

[09:01.26]was released recently.

[09:03.48]It has won her five Grammy nominations

[09:07.09]including best new artist

[09:09.86]and best rhythm and blues album.

[09:13.75]Katherine Cole has more.

[09:16.68]Jazmine Sullivan uses imagination

[09:20.12]and storytelling to write songs.

[09:23.50]She wrote all the songs on her album "Fearless."

[09:27.89]The songs describe many deeply

[09:30.80]emotional situations.

[09:33.33]In the song "Bust Your Windows"

[09:36.24]she sings about a lover

[09:38.50]who has treated her badly.

[09:40.55]Her hurt and anger results

[09:42.60]in property damage.

[09:45.01]

[10:59.17]Jazmine Sullivan was born

[11:01.39]in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[11:04.02]The 21 year old singer began performing

[11:07.87]at a very young age.

[11:10.13]She went on to perform at the city's

[11:12.56]popular Black Lily event.

[11:15.39]Black Lily is an organization

[11:18.10]that supports women artists,

[11:20.59]especially musicians and filmmakers.

[11:24.20]Sullivan says when she was writing

[11:27.13]and recording songs for her album

[11:29.98]she knew she had to develop her own style.

[11:33.78]She says she did not know reggae music well,

[11:37.51]but was not afraid to try new musical styles.

[11:41.71]Her efforts made "Need U Bad" a hit song.

[11:46.09]

[12:54.17]We leave you with another song

[12:57.02]from Jazmine Sullivan's album "Fearless."

[13:00.22]Here she sings "Lions, Tigers and Bears."

[13:04.64]

[14:06.24]I'm Doug Johnson.

[14:07.99]I hope you enjoyed our program today.

[14:11.55]It was written by Dana Demange,

[14:14.42]Lawan Davis and Caty Weaver,

[14:18.06]who was also the producer.

[14:21.05]To read the text of this program

[14:23.70]and download audio, go to our Web site,

[14:27.97]voaspecialenglish.com.

[14:32.66]Join us again next week for

[14:35.18]American Mosaic,

[14:37.51]VOA's radio magazine in Special English.

[14:42.92]

[14:44.44]Subtitles: www.justlisten.cn