In nineteen fifty-nine, an unusual art museum opened in New York City. What was unusual was not so much the art but the museum. 1959年，一个不同寻常的博物馆在纽约开放了。很大程度上，不同寻常的是博物馆本身而不是展品。
Most museums lead visitors through a series of rooms. But the Guggenheim Museum is round. Spaces flow smoothly from one area to another. In place of steps, a ramp goes round and round past the art on the different levels. The center of the museum is open, so people can look up toward the roof or down toward the ground floor. 多数博物馆引领参观者进入一系列房间。但古根海姆博物馆是圆的。空间缓慢的由一个地方过渡到另一个地方。在楼梯的位置，斜坡围绕展品上升到不同楼层。博物馆中心是开放的，所以参观者可以向上看到屋顶，向下看到底层。
VOICE TWO:
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. He died six months before it opened. Not everyone liked the unusual design. But it produced one of the most recognizable museums in the world. 古根海姆博物馆由弗兰克，劳埃德，赖特设计。在博物馆开放前六个月，他去世了。不是每个人都喜欢这个设计。但它确实是独特的。
A fiftieth anniversary exhibition will honor the architect and his work. From May fifteenth till August twenty-third, the Guggenheim in New York will present "Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward."五十周年展是为了纪念这位建筑师和他的作品。从五月十五日到八月二十三日，古根海姆博物馆将呈献“弗兰克，劳埃德，赖特。从内到外”作品展。
VOICE ONE:
The exhibition will show sixty-four projects that he designed, including homes, public buildings and religious spaces. More than two hundred of his original drawings will be shown. The Guggenheim says the aim is to celebrate the basic idea behind Wright's architecture -- the sense of freedom in interior space. 展览将提供他设计的六十四件作品，包括家居，公共建筑，宗教场所。超过二百件特德原稿将展出。古根海姆博物馆说，展览的目的是纪念赖特的建筑基本思想——内在的自由感。
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VOICE TWO:
The Guggenheim opened in October of nineteen fifty-nine. That same month, the Voice of America began to broadcast special programs for English learners. Some language experts thought the idea would fail. But millions of listeners welcomed Special English.古根海姆博物馆在1959年十月开放。同一个月，美国之音开始了对英语学习者的特别英语的广播。一些英语专家认为这个主意会失败。但数百万的英语学习者欢迎特别英语。
Special English is read one-third slower than VOA's other English programs. The slower speed is combined with an extra effort to make the writing easy to understand. 特别英语读的比其他节目慢三分之一。同时写作方式也比较容易理解。
Most of the words come from a vocabulary list that gets updated about every ten years. It began with one thousand words. Today it has about five hundred more. But writers can use any other words they need to report a story if the meaning is clear. 多数词汇来自词汇表，每十年更新一次。以一千词汇开始。现在多了五百个。但如果意思明确，作者也可以使用其他词汇。
VOA Special English is an example of a controlled language. Another example is called Simplified Technical English. This language was developed to make it easier to understand and translate documents used at aircraft repair centers around the world.美国之音的特别英语是语言控制的一个例子。另一个例子是简化英语。这种语言是用来使全世界飞行器维修中心用的文件更容易理解和翻译而产生的。
VOICE ONE:
Special English is popular because it helps people learn American English while they learn about world news, science, American life and other subjects. The first broadcast was ten minutes of news to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. 特别英语的流行是因为他帮助学习者在了解世界新闻，科学，美国生活和其他方面的同时学习美国英语。最早的广播是十分钟的对欧洲，非洲和中东的新闻节目。
There was no special announcement. Announcer Paul Parks just said, "Here is the news in Special English." Feature programs were added later, starting with Special English versions of short stories by famous writers. That program, AMERICAN STORIES, can be heard each Saturday. ，没什么特别的公告，播音员保罗只是说：这里是特别英语的新闻节目。后来加上了一些特写节目，开始时一些著名作家写的短篇故事的特别版。美国故事，每星期六播出。
VOICE TWO:
Today, Special English writers do a lot more original reporting and the programs are more lively. But one thing has never changed. Special English has a loyal following -- in homes, cars and classrooms throughout the world. 现在，特别英语的作者作更多原创，节目更生动了。但有一件事从没变过。特别英语拥有忠实听众——在全世界的家庭，车里和教室中。
Some people are second-generation fans whose own children are now growing up with Special English. And not just on radio, but also TV and the Web: voaspecialenglish.com is one of VOA's most heavily visited sites. 一些人是二代追随者，他们的孩子和特别英语一起长大。不但在无线电上，也在电视和网络上：特别英语的网址是美国之音访问量最大的网址。
Visitors can read and listen to programs, write comments, find shows they missed and sign up to receive programs by weekly e-mail. They can download MP3s and podcasts and access the Word Book. And they can watch videos in Special English. There is also voaspecialenglish.com/mobile. And Special English is expanding into social media. The goal, as always, is to follow English learners wherever their interests take them. 访问者可以听节目，写注解，找错过的节目，注册用户以收到每周的关于节目的信件。他们可以下载MP3和博客，进入单词本。他们也可以在特别英语中看视频节目。还有voaspecialenglish.com/mobile，特别英语正在扩展进入社会化媒体。目标就像一直以来的一样-——满足学习者的兴趣需要。
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VOICE ONE:
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The first Barbie doll wore a black and white swimsuit | | |
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This year is the fiftieth birthday of Barbie. The doll first appeared at the toy fair in New York on March ninth, nineteen fifty-nine. 今年是芭比的五十岁生日，这个玩具第一次出现在纽约玩具展上，是在1959年三月九日。
Its creator was Ruth Handler, an American businesswoman. She and her husband Elliott along with Harold "Matt" Matson started the toy company Mattel. She named the new doll after their daughter Barbara. She based the design on a German doll named Bild Lilli. 它的创造者是罗斯汉德勒，一个美国女商人。她和他的丈夫艾略特和哈罗德一起开了一家玩具公司MATTEL。她以自己女儿的名字芭芭拉为玩具命名。她以德国玩具莉莉为基础设计了这个玩具娃娃。
The first Barbie wore a black and white swimsuit and had her hair in a ponytail. She looked and seemed very grown up. But any concerns that parents would not want to buy it for little girls were soon proved wrong.最初的芭比穿着黑白相间的泳衣，扎马尾辫。看起来很成熟。但是对于父母不愿给孩子买这种玩具的担心很快被证明是错误的。
Mattel sold three hundred thousand Barbie dolls in the first year at a price of three dollars. Today, a fifty-year-old Barbie in good condition might cost more than twenty-seven thousand dollars. 公司在第一年售出三百个娃娃，每个三美元。现在一个五十年前的娃娃，如果保存完好可能要值27000美元。
VOICE TWO:
Barbies have represented fifty different nationalities and are sold in one hundred fifty countries. Mattel says ninety percent of girls in the United States between the ages of three and ten own at least one Barbie doll. It says girls between the ages of three and six own an average of about twelve. 芭比代表了五十个不同民族，在一百五十个国家销售。公司说在美国，年龄在三到十岁间的女孩，百分之九十拥有至少一个芭比娃娃。在三岁到六岁之间的女孩平均拥有约十二个。
Barbie has faced recent competition from Bratz dolls. Barbie has also faced her share of critics. 芭比娃娃现在要面对贝兹娃娃的挑战。芭比也要面对批评。
A well-known example was when women's education groups objected to a talking Barbie that declared, among other things, "Math class is tough!" Mattel agreed to change it. That was back in nineteen ninety-two, the same year as the first Barbie for President doll. The dolls, though designed in California, were produced in China. Because of that, some people joked that Barbie could not legally become president of the United States. 一个著名的例子是，妇女教育团体反对会说话的芭比的那句“数学课太难啦”，玩具公司同意了修改。那是1992年，同一年也是第一个竞选总统的芭比产生的一年。这些玩具，虽然在加利福尼亚设计，却在中国生产，因此有人开玩笑说，芭比不能合法的成为美国总统。
Saudi Arabia has banned Barbie dolls. And a lawmaker in the American state of West Virginia would like to do the same. Last month, he proposed banning sales of Barbie and other dolls that influence girls to put too much importance on physical beauty.沙特阿拉伯禁止芭比娃娃。美国西弗吉尼亚州的立法者也要这样做。上个月，他提议禁止芭比销售和其他玩具娃娃，因为它们对女孩们产生过分注重外表的影响。
Some people say Barbie is an unhealthy role model for young girls. Robin Gerber disagrees. She wrote a book about Barbie. She points out dolls like scientist Barbie and race car driver Barbie. She says people who criticize Barbie should tell girls the story of the businesswoman who created her. She says Ruth Handler wanted the dolls to help girls think about what they wanted to do with their lives.一些人说芭比对女孩们来说是不健康的行为榜样。罗宾嘉博不同意这个观点。她写了一本关于芭比的书。她指出了一些玩具如科学家芭比和赛车手芭比。她说批评芭比的人应该告诉女孩们关于创造芭比娃娃的女商人的故事。她说罗斯汉德勒希望女孩们考虑在一生中她们想做些什么。
(MUSIC: "That'll Be The Day")
VOICE ONE:
Singer Buddy Holly died in February of nineteen fifty-nine. He was just twenty-two, but he was already being called a musical genius.
Buddy Holly was killed in the crash of a small plane while on a singing tour in the Midwest. The crash also took the lives of the pilot and two other singers -- J.P. Richardson, known as the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. He had a hit with this song, "La Bamba."
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VOICE TWO:
The plane went down after the singers had performed at the Surf Ballroom in the small town of Clear Lake, Iowa.
This year, some of those who performed with them that night gathered at the Surf to remember. The gathering, held over several days, was called "Fifty Winters Later." It included educational programs, dance lessons, speeches and theatrical performances. It also included a ceremony to declare the Surf Ballroom a rock and roll landmark. The events were organized by the Surf Ballroom and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Guests included Buddy Holly's wife, Ritchie Valens' brothers and sisters and the Big Bopper's son.
VOICE ONE:
The day of the plane crash -- February third -- is known in rock and roll history as "the day the music died." We end with a song inspired by that sad day. Here is Don McLean with his number one hit from nineteen seventy-two, "American Pie."
[此贴被系统于2009-4-12 22:15:10编辑过]
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