W
?wages - n. money received for work done
?wait - v. to delay acting; to postpone
?walk - v. to move by putting one foot in front of the other
?wall - n. the side of a room or building formed by wood, stoneor other material;
a structure sometimes used to separate areasof land
?want - v. to desire; to wish for; to need
?war - n. fighting between nations, or groups in a nation, using weapons
?warm - ad. almost hot; having or feeling some heat
?warn - v. to tell of possible danger; to advise or inform about something bad tha t may happen
?wash - v. to make clean, usually with water
?waste - v. to spend or use without need or care; to make bad use of; n. a spend ing of money,time or effort with no value gained or returned; something thrown away as having no value; theliquid and solid substances that result from body processes and are passed out of the body
?watch - v. to look at; to observe closely; to look and wait for
?water - n. the liquid that falls from the sky as rain or is found in lakes, rivers and oceans
?wave - v. to move or cause to move one way and the other, as a flag in the wind ; to signal bymoving the hand one way and the other; n. a large mass of water that form s and moves on thesurface of a lake or ocean
?way - n. a path on land or sea or in the air; how something is done; method
?we - pro. two or more people, including the speaker or writer ("He and I will go t ogether, and wewill return together.")
?weak - ad. having little power; easily broken, damaged or destroyed; opposite st rong
?wealth - n. a large amount of possessions, money or other things of value
?weapon - n. anything used to cause injury or to kill during an attack, fight or wa r
?wear - v. to have on the body, as clothes
?weather - n. the condition of the atmosphere resulting from sun, wind, rain, hea t or cold
?week - n. a period of time equal to seven days
?weigh - v. to measure how heavy someone or something is
?welcome - v. to express happiness or pleasure when someone arrives or someth ing develops
?well - ad. in a way that is good or pleasing; in good health; n. a hole in the grou nd where water,gas or oil can be found
?west - n. the direction in which the sun goes down
?wet - ad. covered with water or other liquid; not dry
?what - pro. used to ask about something or to ask for information about somethi ng ("What isthis?"); ad. which or which kind ("He wants to know what you would like to drink.")
?wheat - n. a grain used to make bread; the plant that produces the grain
?wheel - n. a round structure that turns around a center
?when - ad. at what time; at any time ("When will she come home?"); conj. durin
g or at the time("I studied hard when I was in school.")
?where - ad., conj. at, to or in what place ("Where is his house?"
"The house where he lives is inthe old part of the city.")
?which - pro. used to ask about what one or what ones of a group of things or pe ople ("Whichprogram do you like best?" "Which students will take the test?")
?while - n. a space of time ("Please come to my house for a while."); conj. at or d uring the sametime ("It may not be a good idea to eat while you are running.")
?white - ad. having the color like that of milk or snow
?who - pro. what or which person or persons that ("Who wants to go?"); the pers on or persons("They are the ones who want to go.")
?whole - ad. the complete amount; all together; not divided; not cut into pieces ?why - ad. for what cause or reason ("Why did she do it?"); conj. the reason for which ("I do notknow why she did it.")
?wide - ad. having a great distance from one side to the other; not limited
?wife - n. a woman who is married
?wild - ad. living and growing in natural conditions and not organized or supervise
d by humans;angry; uncontrolled
?will - v. a word used with action words to show future action ("They will hold tal ks tomorrow.")
?willing - ad. being ready or having a desire to ("They are willing to talk about th
e problem.")
?win - v. to gain a victory; to defeat another or others in a competition, election o r battle
?wind - n. a strong movement of air
?window - n. an opening in a wall to let in light and air, usually filled with glass ?winter - n. the coldest time of year, between autumn and spring
?wire - n. a long, thin piece of metal used to hang objects or to carry electricity or
electroniccommunications from one place to another
?wise - ad. having much knowledge and understanding; able to use knowledge a nd understandingto make good or correct decisions
?wish - v. to want; to express a desire for
?with - prep. along or by the side of; together; using ("He fixed it with a tool.");
having ("the housewith the red door")
?withdraw - v. to take or move out, away or back; to remove
?without - prep. with no; not having or using; free from; not doing
?woman - n. an adult female human
?wonder - v. to ask oneself; to question ("She wonders if it is true."); n. a feeling of surprise
?wonderful - ad. causing wonder; especially good
?wood - n. the solid material of which trees are made
?word - n. one or more connected sounds that form a single part of a language ?work - v. to use physical or mental effort to make or do something; n. the effort used to make orto do something; that which needs effort; the job one does to earn mon ey
?world - n. the earth; the people who live on the earth
?worry - v. to be concerned; to continue thinking that something, possibly bad, c an happen
?worse - ad. more bad than
?worth - n. value measured in money
?wound - v. to injure; to hurt; to cause physical damage to a person or animal; n.
an injury to thebody of a human or animal in which the skin is usually cut or broken
?wreck - v. to damage greatly; to destroy; n. anything that has been badly dama ged or broken
?wreckage - n. what remains of something severely damaged or destroyed
?write - v. to use an instrument to make words appear on a surface, such as pap er
?wrong - ad. not correct; bad; not legal; opposite right
Y
?year - n. a period of time equal to twelve months
?yellow - ad. having the color like that of gold or the sun
?yes - ad. used to express agreement or to permit
?yesterday - n. the day before today
?yet - ad. at some time before now ("Have they arrived yet?"); now; at this time ( "I cannot tell youabout it yet."); conj. however ("The sun was shining, yet it was cold.")
?you - pro. the person or persons being spoken to
?young - ad. in the early years of life; not old
Z
?zero - n. the number meaning none or nothing
?zoo - n. a place where animals are kept for the public to look at and study
COMMON PREFIXES
?dis - not (dishonest, disobey)
?pro - for, supporting (pro-labor, pro-government)
?re - to do again (reorganize, reunite)
?self - used to show that the person or group acting is the one affected by the act ion, or to showthat the action is done only by its own effort or power (self-declared, self-appointed)
?un - not (unusual, unhappy)
COMMON EXPRESSIONS
?carry out - to do; to put into effect ("Please carry out the plan.")
?pass a bill - approve ("Congress is expected to pass a bill to cut taxes.")
?take steps - to start to do something ("The government will take steps to halt in flation.")
WORDS USED IN VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH SCIENCE PROGRAMS
?atom - a very small part of all things; the smallest part of an element that can jo in with parts ofother elements
?bacteria - living things that are one cell and can be seen only through a microsc ope; some causedisease
?cell - a small mass of living material that is part of all plants and animals
?chromosome - a line of genes; most human cells contain 46 chromosomes
?compound - a substance containing two or more elements
?dense - close together; thick
?electron - a small part of an atom that has an electrical force
?element - one of more than 100 substances known to science that cannot be se parated intoother substances
?enzyme - a special kind of protein; it produces changes in other substances with out beingchanged itself
?fetus - unborn young
?fission - a splitting; in atomic fission, the nucleus of an atom is split to produce nuclear energy
?fusion - a joining together; in atomic fusion, atomic particles are joined together
to producenuclear energy
?genes - parts of cells that control the growth and development of living things; g enes from themother and father are passed to the child; genes contain nucleic acid
?genetic engineering - the science of changing the genes of a living organism ?gravity - the force that pulls things toward the center of the earth
?image - a reproduction of the appearance of a person or thing
?laser - an instrument that makes a thin, powerful light
?magnet - a piece of iron or other material that has a pulling force; this pulling fo rce is calledmagnetism
?molecule - the smallest amount of a chemical substance that can exist
?nerve - a thin piece of tissue that sends information through the body to and fro m the brain
?nucleus - the center part of an atom or cell
?nucleic acid - a molecule that holds the genetic information necessary for life; t here are two kindsof nucleic acid: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid )
?nutrient - a food or substance that makes plants, humans or animals grow
?organ - a part of the body that has a special purpose, such as the heart or brain ?organism - a living thing, often so small it can be seen only through a microscop e
?particle - a very small piece of matter
?proteins - substances responsible for the growth of tissue and for fixing damage
d tissue
?robot - a machine that moves and performs tasks
?tissue - living material; a group of cells that are similar in appearance and do th
e same thing
?virus - a kind of organism that causes disease
?x-rays - a kind of radiation that can pass through most solid materials, often use
d in medicine
ORGANS OF THE BODY
?heart - pumps blood through the body
?intestines - tubes through which food passes after it is broken down in the stom ach; part of theintestines also remove solid wastes from the body
?kidney - cleans liquid wastes from the body
?liver - makes some proteins and enzymes; removes poisons from the blood
?lung - takes in and expels air from the body
?prostate - a part of the male reproductive system
?stomach - breaks down food for the body to use
?uterus - a part of the female reproductive system where a fetus develops
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture(农业的）Report. Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased the amount of salt in fresh water used on coastal farms. As a result farmers are increasingly unable to use fields close to the sea. Scientists call this process "salinization（盐渍化）." The term（术语）comes from the word "saline" （生理盐水）-- which means a mixture of salt and water. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says salinization is reducing the world's irrigated lands by 1 to 2 percent every year. Irrigation is the process of supplying land with fresh water from other areas. As saline water cannot be used for irrigation, a farm in Netherlands has managed to grow healthy and tasty vegetables in soil irrigated with salt water. But a farmer in the Netherlands is now using a mixture of sea and fresh water to grow healthy and tasty vegetables.
11.常用新闻英语词汇. 政治、法律、外交 1. Abortive coup attempt流产政变 2. Absent trial缺席审判 3. Absentee voting缺席投票 1 4. Absolute majority绝对多数 5. Absolute monarchy君主专制政体 6. Abstain from voting放弃,不投票 7. Abstention弃权 8. Accord协定,一致 9. Accredited journalist特记者 10. Acting president代总统 11. Action platform行动纲领 12. Action policy行动方针,实施方针 13. Administration party执政党 14. Administrative authorities行政当局 15. Administrative injunction行政命令 16. Administrative policy speech施政演 17. Advanced countries发达国家 18. Advisory body顾问团 19. Advisory committee咨询委员会 20. Agenda会议事项,议事日程 21. Agreed formula商定的方安 22. Aid-giving agency援助机构 23. Alien domination外国统治 24. Allied powers同盟国 25. All-out ban全面禁止 26. Ambassador-at-large巡回大使 27. Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary特命全权大使 28. Amendment修正案,附加条款 29. Amicable relation友好关系 30. Amnesty 31. Anarchy大赦 32. Annex(领土)合并,兼并 33. Anxious澳、新、美三国防御体系 34. Appeasement policy绥靖政策 35. Appropriate authorities有关当局
1．Three university students in Santiago,Chile have developed a phant-powerd device to charge their mobile phones.The three engineering students got the idea for the device while sitting in their school’s courtyard.Their invention is a small biological circuit they call E-Kaia.It captures the energy plants produce during photosynthesis.Aphant uses only a small part of the energy produced by that process,The rest goes into the soil.E-Kaia collects that energy.The device plugs into the ground and then into a mobile phone.The E-Kaia solved two problems for the engineering studnts,They needed an idea for a class project.They also needed an outlet to plug in their phones.One of the student inventors,CamilaRupcich,says the device charges the energy released from the plant into low-level power to charge phones.The E-Kaia is able to fully recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.I’m Jonathan Evans. 2．University of Washington researchers say they used a laser to turn hot water into cool water. Five engineers from the university are the first in the 50-year history of the laser to refrigerate liquids under normal conditions with light beams. The group used a simple approach to the experiment. Lasers are known for producing hot temperatures. The University of Washington says they “essentially ran the laser phenomenon in reverse.” The discovery has a future in the computer and medical fields. Computer interiors could be cooled by lasers. In a medical laboratory, individual cells could be cooled to see how they react. “Few people have thought about how they could use this technology to solve problems because using lasers to refrigerate liquids hasn’t been possible before,” said researcher Peter Pauzauskie.The cool laser concept can also be used in manufacturing, telecommunications or national defense.The group has an interest in hearing from businesses or scientists who may have every day applications for the cool laser. The findings were published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I’m Marsha James. 3．The United States is marking the 14th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. U.S. officials and many other Americans attended observances Friday to remember those killed and their loved ones. Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 when hijackers used four passenger airplanes to carry out suicide attacks in the United States. In addition to the victims, the 19 hijackers also were killed. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his group claimed responsibility for the attacks. U.S. forces killed him in a surprise raid on his hiding place in Pakistan four years ago. Friday morning, President Barack Obama, his wife and White House workers observed a public moment of silence in Washington. They gathered on the White House grounds at 8:46. That was the exact time when a hijacked airplane struck the World Trade Center. In New York, families of the victims gathered for a ringing of bells and reading of the names of those killed in the terrorist attacks. Moments of silence were held at 8:46 and 9:03 in the morning, when a second hijacked plane also hit the World Trade Center. Near Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials attended an observance at the Pentagon, the home of the Defense Department. They joined in remembering those killed when a hijacked airplane hit the Pentagon, killing 184 people. Earlier Friday, a large American flag was hung down the side of the Pentagon, where the passenger jet hit. There also was a moment of silence at 10:03 a.m. That was the time when a fourth hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. All 44 people on the plane were killed. Many Americans believe the hijackers had planned to attack a target in the nation’s
2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） 2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） Apps to Help Students Do Their Best Work Evernote Application software for computers or mobile devices can do a lot of things for students of all ages. Apps?can help students get better organized, study for tests and prepare research papers. In other words, they can help the user do his or her very best work. Apps can help any users, even those who are not students, get more organized and improve their work. Whether or not you are a student, here are some apps worth considering. Quizlet Quizlet is a study aid app. It is filled with?flash cards?on many subjects to study. Use the cards that come with the app or create your own. Quizlet has links to subjects like: Arts & Literature Languages & Vocabulary Math & Science History & Geography Standardized Tests Professional & Careers The app has a mix of text, images and audio recordings, includingpronunciation?of words in different languages. Quizlet has games to play and tests to take. Cards are available on the app even when you are not connected to the Internet. Quizlet is available as a free app from Apple’s iTunes store. Quizlet for iPhone and iPad Quizlet for Android devices You can learn more at the Quizlet website. EasyBib Sometimes the most difficult part of writing a research paper is creating thebibliography. A bibliography lists all of the publications and other sources used in your research. Getting just the right?citations?to appear in the correct?format?can be difficult and take a lot of time. The EasyBib app can make creating a bibliography easier. The app can help organize the information and find citations for books, websites and more. EasyBib users can simply?scan?the barcode on a book with a mobile phone camera to get the information they need. You can also search for documentation in the app if the book is unavailable at the time. The app offers over 7,000 different citation formats, including the commonly used Modern Language Association, or MLA, style. Users can change the way in which the information is organized and stored within the app. Users can email information from EasyBib to others or to send it to a home
VOA新闻词汇表 accredited journalist n.特派记者advertisement n.广告 advance n.预发消息；预写消息 affair n.桃色新闻；绯闻 anecdote n.趣闻轶事 assignment n.采写任务attribution n.消息出处；消息来源 back alley news n.小道消息backgrounding n.新闻背景Bad news travels quickly. 坏事传千里banner n.通栏标题beat n.采写X围blank vt.“开天窗” body n.新闻正文 boil vt.压缩(篇幅) box n.花边新闻 brief n.简讯bulletin n.新闻简报byline n.署名文章
caption n.图片说明 caricature n.漫画carry vt.刊登 cartoon n.漫画censor vt.新闻审查 chart n.(每周流行音乐等)排行榜 clipping n.剪报column n.专栏，栏目 columnist n.专栏作家 continued story 连载故事，连载小说contributing editor 特约编辑 contribution n.(投给报刊的)稿件，投稿contributor n.投稿人 copy desk n.新闻编辑部 copy editor n.文字编辑 correction n.更正(启事)
correspondence column 读者来信专栏correspondent n.驻外记者，常驻外埠记者cover vt.采访，采写 cover girl n.封面女郎covert coverage 秘密采访 crop vt.剪辑(图片) crusade n.宣传攻势cut n.插图 vt.删减(字数) cut line n.插图说明daily n.日报dateline n.新闻电头deadline n.截稿时间dig vt.深入采访，追踪(新闻线索)，“挖”(新闻)
No.1 This is the VOA Special English Education Report. A program in the eastern United States invites young people into a prison to try to scare them away from prison. The goal is to teach them to avoid bad choices and bad influences that could put them behind bars for life. Students can take a tour of the prison, in school groups or by themselves. At the end, the young people sit down for a discussion with some of the inmates. The program is called Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy, or PATT. It takes place at the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown, a medium-security prison for men. Sal Mauriello is a case specialist there. SAL MAURIELLO: "We have a group of eleven inmates who are in the PATT program. They tell the youth what they went through as a child, what their crimes consist of. They try to teach them about peer pressure. They try to teach them about bad choices." The Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy program also includes an essay-writing contest. Tomi Dare is a seventeen-year-old student at Hagerstown Community College. She saw an announcement for the contest on her college website. To enter, students had to write about peer pressure and why they do not do drugs. The prize: five hundred dollars for school. In her essay, Ms. Dare wrote about her own experience growing up as an African-American girl interested in sports. T OMI DARE: "Drugs and alcohol not only slow a person down, it doesn't make you feel like you are a winner. It doesn't make you feel like you are the best. As an athlete, I'm 6-2 [188 centimeters], so I feel that I should be above peer pressure because I'm bigger than everybody that I’m around. "So I was talking about that and I was talking about how I consider myself a queen. And if I’m royalty, I need to not put substances in my body. Drugs and alcohol are not what a queen should be taking." The scholarship is presented by the Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy program. Prison spokesman Mark Vernarelli says most teens who visit come to understand what even one bad decision can mean. MARK VERNARELLI: "A lot of men and women serving life in prison in the state of Maryland didn't pull a trigger or plunge a knife into anybody. They were accessories to a crime. They
accredited journalist n.特派记者advertisement n.广告 advance n.预发消息；预写消息 affair n.桃色新闻；绯闻 anecdote n.趣闻轶事 assignment n.采写任务 attribution n.消息出处；消息来源 back alley news n.小道消息backgrounding n.新闻背景 Bad news travels quickly. 坏事传千里banner n.通栏标题 beat n.采写范围 blank vt.“开天窗” body n.新闻正文 boil vt.压缩(篇幅) box n.花边新闻 brief n.简讯 bulletin n.新闻简报 byline n.署名文章 caption n.图片说明 caricature n.漫画 carry vt.刊登 cartoon n.漫画 censor vt.审查(新闻稿件)，新闻审查chart n.(每周流行音乐等)排行榜 clipping n.剪报 column n.专栏，栏目 columnist n.专栏作家 continued story 连载故事，连载小说contributing editor 特约编辑contribution n.(投给报刊的)稿件，投稿contributor n.投稿人 copy desk n.新闻编辑部 copy editor n.文字编辑 correction n.更正(启事) correspondence column 读者来信专栏correspondent n.驻外记者，常驻外埠记者cover vt.采访，采写 cover girl n.封面女郎covert coverage 隐性采访，秘密采访 crop vt.剪辑(图片) crusade n.宣传攻势 cut n.插图 vt.删减(字数) cut line n.插图说明 daily n.日报 dateline n.新闻电头 deadline n.截稿时间 dig vt.深入采访，追踪(新闻线索)，“挖”(新闻) digest n.文摘 editorial n.社论 editorial office 编辑部 editor's notes 编者按 exclusive n.独家新闻 expose n.揭丑新闻，新闻曝光 extra n.号外 eye-account n.目击记，记者见闻 faxed photo 传真照片 feature n.特写，专稿 feedback n.信息反馈 file n.发送消息，发稿 filler n.补白 First Amendment (美国宪法)第一修正案(内容有关新闻、出版自由等) five "W's" of news 新闻五要素(注：请知道5W含义者联系编辑 flag n.报头，报名 folo (=follow-up) n.连续报道 Fourth Estate 第四等级(新闻界的别称) freedom of the Press 新闻自由 free-lancer n.自由撰稿人 full position 醒目位置 Good news comes on crutches.好事不出门。 grapevine n.小道消息 gutter n.中缝 hard news 硬新闻，纯消息 headline n.新闻标题，内容提要 hearsay n.小道消息 highlights n.要闻 hot news 热点新闻 human interest 人情味
VOA慢速英语听力练习（学案） Most US Front-Line Workers Are Women, Minorities Step 1 Words in This Story front line(s) –n.the most important and active position in a job or field of activity essential–adj.extremely important and necessary pandemic–n.an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world invisible–adj.impossible to see delivery–n.the act of taking something to a person or place tendon–n.a tough piece of tissue in your body that connects a muscle to a bone customer(s) –n.someone who buys goods or services from a business insurance–n.an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen quarantine(d) –v.to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading anxiety–n.fear or nervousness about what might happen pistol(s) –n.a small gun made to be aimed and fired with one hand Step 2 Listen and fill in the missing words. It is becoming clear that the coronavirus crisis has had a major effect on the people working on the front
常用BBC,VOA英语新闻词汇1)名词+现在分词。如： cancer-causing drug 制癌药物 oil-producing country 产油国 peace-keeping force 维和部队 policy-making body 决策机构 2)形容词+现在分词。如： far-reaching significance 深远意义 high-ranking official 高级官员 long-standing issue 由来己久的问题 wide-spreading AIDS 到处蔓延的艾滋病 3)名词+过去分词。如： blood-cemented friendship 鲜血凝成的友谊 export-oriented economy 外向型经济 poverty-stricken area 贫困地区 wasp-waisted road 蜂腰路段 4)形容词+过去分词。如： deep-rooted social problems 根深蒂固的社会问题foreign-owned enterprise 外资企业 long-faced job loser 愁眉苦脸的失业者 quick-frozen food 速冻食品 5)副词+过去分词。如： dimly-lit room 光线昏暗的房间 highly-sophisticated technology 尖端技术 richly-paid job 薪水丰厚的工作 well-informed source 消息灵通人士 6)名词+形容词。如： inflation-proof deposit 保值储昔 interest-free loan 无息贷款 labour-intensive enterprise 劳动力密集型企业 vehicle-free promenade 步行街 7)名词+名词.如： arms-reduction talks 裁军谈判 labour-management conflict 劳资冲突 supply-demand imbalance 供求失调 year-endreport 年终报告 8)形容词+名词。如：
By VOA 22 July, 2015 From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. International students and workers must take a standardized test of English to move into higher levels of education and employment. There are three popular tests that universities or employers can use. They are the Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL, the Test of English for International Communication, TOEIC, and the International English Language Testing System, IELTS. In most cases, the choice is clear. A student applying to a school learns which test the program requires. However, some programs or universities will accept scores from any of the international tests of English. Then, a student may choose which test to take. The TOEIC tests workplace communication The Educational Testing Service, ETS, in Princeton, New Jersey, develops and administers both the TOEFL and the TOEIC. It says the TOEIC measures the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment. A TOEFL preparation class The TOEIC test started in the 1970s. The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry asked ETS to develop a test for corporations to use. They wanted to know if non-native English speakers could carry out business in English. The TOEIC is based on English used in the workplace. But the test does not require knowledge of special business words. The questions come from real situations like attending a company meeting. Organizations sometimes use the TOEIC to measure progress in English training programs. They also use it to consider people for placement at the right level in language programs. ETS says that 14,000 organizations in 150 countries use the TOEIC. The TOEFL tests English used in the classroom There are several versions of the TOEFL. Students take the Internet-based TOEFL, or TOEFL IBT, on a computer. Many U.S. universities require the TOEFL IBT for international student admissions. Another TOEFL is the paper-based TOEFL, or TOEFL ITP. It is part of ETS's institutional testing program. TOEFL ITP is used within institutions for the purpose of placement or to evaluate progress of students. It is not accepted for entrance to universities.
By Dana Demange 2011-10-4 STEVE EMBER: I'm Steve Ember. BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. you might see two cowboy boots. They are painted with a design of clouds and stars. They look like boots that you could wear on your feet. But they are really made out of carefully formed clay material. The artist William Wilhelmi made these ceramic pieces. How did he make these colorful boots? Today, we answer that question as we explore the world of clay art. (MUSIC) Smithsonian American Art Museum William Wilhelmi made "Cowboy Boots" in 1980. STEVE EMBER: Clay is one of the most universal materials known to humans. Throughout history and around the world, people have developed the art of forming clay to make ceramic objects, or pottery. Clay is m ade of water and earth. It is formed into different shapes. The n high levels of heat harden it to produce many kinds of ceramics. Different kinds of clay contain different minerals such as silicon or iron dioxide. The kinds of minerals in clay affect how soft or hard it is to work with. The mineral content of clay also affects the temperature level at which it hardens.
VOA.BBC--------新闻常用词汇,强援我羸弱的听力................P到W P parachute - n. a device that permits a person or thing to fall slowly from an airplane or helicopter to the ground降落伞 parade - n. a group of people and vehicles moving together to celebrate a special event or anniversary游行 parliament - n. a government lawmaking group议会 passport - n. a document permitting a person to travel to another country护照 patient - n. a person being treated by a doctor for a health problem病人 peace - n. the condition of freedom from war, fighting or noise; rest; quiet和平 perｆｒｏｍ- v. to speak, dance or sing in front of others表演 permanent - ad. never changing; lasting for a very long time or for all time永久的 permit - v. to let; to make possible允许 physical - ad. of the body身体的 physics - n. the study of motion, matter and energy物理 pilot - n. one who guides or flies an airplane or helicopter飞行员 planet - n. a large object in space that orbits the sun ("Earth is a planet.")行星 plot - v. to make secret plans密谋; n. a secret plan to do something wrong or illegal阴谋poem - n. words and their sounds organized in a special way to express emotions诗 point - v. to aim one's finger toward; to aim指向; n. the sharp end of something尖端policy - n. an established set of plans or goals used to develop and make decisions in politics, economics or business制度 politics - n. the activities of government and of those who are in public office政治pollute - v. to release dangerous or unpleasant substances into the air, soil or water污染popular - ad. liked by many people; generally approved by the public流行的，受欢迎的port - n. a city where ships load or unload goods; a place on a coast where ships can be safe from a storm港口 position - n. a place; the way of holding the body; the way a thing is set or placed; a job (or level of a job) in an organization位置 possess - v. to have; to own; to control or be controlled by拥有 postpone - v. to delay action until a later time拖延 pour - v. to flow; to cause to flow倾泻 praise - v. to say good things about; to approve赞扬 pray - v. to make a request to a god or spirit; to praise a god or spirit祈祷 pregnant - ad. carrying a child within the body before it is born; expecting to give birth to a baby怀孕的 present - v. to offer for consideration表明("We will present our idea to the committee."); n. a gift礼物("I gave them a present for their anniversary."); now ("The present time is a good time."); ad. to be at a place出席的("I was present at school yesterday.") press - v. to urge strongly逼迫; n. newspapers, magazines and other publications出版pressure - n. the force produced when something is pushed down or against