VOA慢速英语 2007 1126b

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to This Is America in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. is one of the official cultural centers of America. For the past thirty years, the center has presented awards honoring five artists for their lifetime of work.

These artists were chosen this year for the Kennedy Center Honors:  The singers Diana Ross and Brian Wilson. The actor and writer Steve Martin. The pianist Leon Fleisher. And the film director Martin Scorsese.  They will be honored this Sunday, December second.

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VOICE ONE:

 
Brian Wilson
"Good Vibrations¹" and the other songs Brian Wilson wrote for The Beach Boys remain as fresh and energizing² today as they were forty years ago.  Wilson started the band with his two brothers, a cousin and a friend in the early nineteen sixties. The Beach Boys made a new kind of American rock music popular. Their songs express the fun of being young, enjoying girls, driving cars and surfing the ocean in California.

VOICE TWO:

Brian Wilson not only wrote The Beach Boys' songs. He also sang, played the bass³ guitar and keyboard, and produced the band’s records.  Some experts believe that their album “Pet Sounds‿was one of the most inventive and important records in rock music history.

The Beach Boys were also one of the most popular bands in America during a time when the British band The Beatles were capturing the attention of the world.

VOICE ONE:

(MUSIC)

 
Steve Martin
Steve Martin is a popular writer, actor and comedian⁴. He is also a skilled banjo player. Martin first started his career writing for funny television shows like “The Smothers⁵ Brothers Comedy Hour.‿In the nineteen seventies he began performing his funny jokes and acts on the weekly television program “Saturday Night Live.‿

(SOUND)

Steve Martin: “You know, a lot of people ask me if Steve Martin is my real name. Have I changed it for show business or anything like that. And, now I am not ashamed to admit it. Because I did have a funny name when I was a kid, and I decided⁶ to change it for show business. But I think enough time has gone by and audiences are more sophisticated now that they won’t laugh at my real name. My real name is bybybuhbuh ‿So my parents had a sense of humor. My sister’s name is hurhurhurhr  . And my mother would go out to  call us for dinner and she’d go bybybuhbuh! Hrrhrhr bbrbrb! So, we had to move around a lot. But other than that I had a very normal childhood.‿/I>

He also won Grammy awards for the records of his live comedy performances, one of which you just heard.

VOICE TWO:

Steve Martin has also made over thirty-five movies, many of which he helped write. These include “The Jerk‿ “All of Me‿ “Parenthood‿ and, more recently, “Shopgirl.‿

Martin has written articles, books and successful plays such as “Picasso at the Lapin Agile⁷." He wrote a book about his years of performing as a comedian, “Born Standing⁸ Up,‿that was released last week. His next movie will be “Pink Panther Deux.‿/P>

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

 
Leon Fleisher
That was a recording⁹ of the pianist and conductor Leon Fleisher playing part of Schubert’s Sonata¹⁰ in B Flat Major.  Fleisher began studying the piano at the age of four. By the time he was sixteen, he was playing with the New York Philharmonic. Leon Fleisher traveled far and wide playing in the finest concert halls in the world and also recording music. In nineteen sixty-five, a neurological disorder¹¹ called dystonia forced Fleisher to rethink his career. He lost the use of his right hand, but he did not let this stop him.

VOICE TWO:

Leon Fleisher poured his energy into teaching and also conducting groups of musicians.  He also began to specialize in performing piano music written for the left hand. In the nineteen nineties, doctors began to treat Fleisher’s damaged hand with Botox injections.

Over time, Leon Fleisher recovered and started playing piano works for both hands once again. He has said that if he could relive his life, he would not change what happened to his hand. He says his experience helped him become a much better musician and teacher.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

 
Martin Scorsese
That was a scene from the movie “Goodfellas‿ directed by Martin Scorsese. Many people consider him one of the greatest living American film directors. Scorsese is best known for his movies about characters linked to crime and violence. Many of his movies are about Italian-American characters.  Still, over the years, he has made movies about many subjects. “Kundun‿tells the story of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.  “The Aviator‿is about the American businessman Howard Hughes. Scorsese also brought to life periods from the American past in movies like “Gangs of New York‿and  “The Age of Innocence¹².‿nbsp;

His latest movie, “The Departed,‿is about opposing groups of criminals and police officers.  It won four Academy Awards last year, including best director and best movie.  Martin Scorsese has also made documentary movies about musicians, including Bob Dylan. He will soon release a movie about the Rolling Stones.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

 
Diana Ross
That was the clear, sweet voice of Diana Ross singing “You Can’t Hurry Love‿with her back-up singers. The Supremes were from Detroit, Michigan. They became one of the most popular female singing groups of the nineteen sixties. The Supremes mixed the sounds of popular music with the soulful music born in Detroit called Motown. By nineteen seventy, Diana Ross had left the band to sing on her own. She made many best-selling records including “Diana Ross‿ “Surrender‿and “diana."

VOICE ONE:

Diana Ross also acted in television shows and movies. Her performance as Billie Holiday in the movie “Lady Sings the Blues‿earned her an Academy Award nomination¹³.

Over the years, Ross has won many American Music Awards. Billboard¹⁴ magazine named her the “Entertainer of the Century.‿The Guinness Book of World Records called Diana Ross the Most Successful Recording Artist of All Time. Her most recent album “I Love You‿came out earlier this year.

VOICE TWO:

Brian Wilson, Steve Martin, Leon Fleisher, Martin Scorsese and Diana Ross are remarkable¹⁵ performers. On Sunday, the Kennedy Center will honor them for sharing their artistic¹⁶ gifts with people all over the world.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein. Our programs are online with transcripts¹⁷ and MP3 files at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 

1 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 energizing   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的现在分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• a refreshing and energizing fruit drink 提神并增加体能的果汁饮料
• The time required after energizing a device, before its rated output characteristics begin to apply. 从设备通电到它开始提供额定输出特性之间所需的时间。 来自辞典例句

3 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

4 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

5 smothers   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的第三人称单数 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• Mary smothers her children with too much love. 玛丽溺爱自己的孩子。
• He smothers his hair with grease, eg hair-oil. 他用发腊擦头发。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 agile   

adj.敏捷的，灵活的

参考例句：

• She is such an agile dancer!她跳起舞来是那么灵巧！
• An acrobat has to be agile.杂技演员必须身手敏捷。

8 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

9 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

10 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。

11 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

12 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

13 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

14 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句