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http://shairyzsy.blog.muzgame.comVOA 2008-02-28
VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Barbara Klein. Today we play music from the new movie about teenagers in
the nineteen sixties called "Hairspray."
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
"Hairspray" opened in the United States last weekend.
It is the movie version of a popular musical play in New
York City. That musical has been playing on Broadway
since two thousand two. It won several Tony Awards,
including best musical, the following year. Marc
Shaiman and Scott Wittman wrote the music for the
play and movie.
But "Hairspray" really began life in nineteen eighty-eight as a funny movie written and
directed by John Waters. It is about rock and roll music and relations between black
and white teenagers. It takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, during the civil rights
movement of the nineteen sixties.
"Hairspray" is a funny story about teenagers and their
music. The main character is a teenage girl named
Tracy Turnblad. Tracy is a big girl. She is overweight.
She also has "big hair." She wears her hair in a high
hairstyle that was popular back then. She keeps it in
place using hairspray. Tracy loves music. And she
loves to dance. After school, she and her friends watch
other teenagers dance on a popular local television
show, the "Corny Collins Show."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Tracy's dream comes true. She is chosen to be one of the dancers on the show. She
likes one of the male dancers, Link Larkin. Zac Efron, as Link, sings a love song to
Tracy called "It Takes Two."
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Tracy becomes very popular after appearing on the
television show. The owner of a clothing store for large
women wants to make Tracy a model for his clothing.
Tracy wants her mother, Edna Turnblad, to help her
become famous. Edna is also a very large woman. She
works at home washing other people's clothes. She does
not like to leave her house. Tracy tells her mother she
must take part in all of the excitement of life. Nikki
Blonsky, as Tracy, sings "Welcome to the Sixties."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother, looks unusual. That is because she is played by the
famous actor John Travolta, dressed like a large woman. Listen as Edna sings about
her love for her husband, Wilbur.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
All the dancers on the "Corny Collins Show" are white. However, once a month, the
show permits black teenagers to dance on the show. Motormouth Maybelle, who owns
a record store, organizes and leads that show. Tracy believes that black teenagers and
white teenagers should be able to dance together on the show all the time. She and
Maybelle organize a civil rights demonstration. But it turns into a riot and the protesters
are arrested. Later they are released from jail. Maybelle tells about her own struggle for
equal rights. Queen Latifah sings "I Know Where I've Been."
(MUSIC)
Nikki Blonsky in scene from
"Hairspray"
John Travolta as Edna in
"Hairspray"
VOICE TWO:
The television show organizes a contest called "Miss Teenage Hairspray." The people
at the event vote for the teenage girl they like best. The event is broadcast on
television across the country. The broadcast is paid for by a company that makes
hairspray. All of the girls in the contest use the product to keep their large hairstyles in
place. James Marsden as Corny Collins sings about hairspray.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The "Miss Teenage Hairspray" contest includes a dance competition. All of the
teenagers, both black and white, join Tracy in the contest. They dance together on
nationwide television for the first time. And they all sing "You Can't Stop the Beat."
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Our program was written by Shelley Gollust and produced by Caty Weaver. To learn
more about American life, and to download transcripts and audio archives of our
programs, go to www.unsv.com.
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VOA 2008-02-23
Former South African president Nelson Mandela celebrated his eighty-ninth birthday
last week by launching "the Elders." This is a group of men and women with almost
one thousand years of collective experience to deal with world issues. Among them are
former president Jimmy Carter and former United Nations secretary general Kofi
Annan.
Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu will
be the chairman. Other members include Indian social
activist Ela Bhatt, former Norwegian prime minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland and former Irish president Mary
Robinson. Bangladeshi economist and Grameen Bank
founder Muhammad Yunus and former Chinese foreign
minister Li Zhaoxing are also Elders.
Nelson Mandela presented the group at a news
conference in Johannesburg with his wife, Graca
Machel, a children’s rights activist. One chair was
empty. It represented the final Elder: Aung San Suu
Kyi, the pro-democracy leader under house arrest in
Burma.
The idea for the group came from British businessman Richard Branson and musician
Peter Gabriel. They proposed the idea to Mister Mandela and his wife several years
ago. Mister Branson, along with the U.N. Foundation and private donors, has helped
finance the group.
The Elders say their work will not be in conflict with the United Nations or other
international groups. Instead, they say they hope to work alongside such organizations.
Former South African President
Nelson Mandela, surrounded
from left by his wife Graca
Machel, British singer Peter
Gabriel, British entrepreneur
Richard Branson and former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter
Mister Mandela says the Elders will use their skills and collective wisdom to look for
solutions to problems such as AIDS, climate change and longtime conflicts. The idea is
that they can talk to anyone they please or get involved in any issue they wish because
they do not represent governments.
The group plans to hold videoconferences and also to meet in person two times a year.
Some people may wonder how much a group of mostly retired leaders can influence
world issues. Nelson Mandela himself has said he plans to take retirement seriously.
He left office in nineteen ninety-nine and announced his retirement from public life in
two thousand four.
His involvement on the council is expected to be largely ceremonial. But he says he
believes in the Elders because each member is fiercely independent. They are free, he
says, to put the needs of the world’s people first.