2007年VOA标准英语-The Who Still Rocks

By Larry London
Washington
16 April 2007
 
Watch video report of The Who

 
The Who
They were punk rock before punk was rock. They were art rock, before rock became art.  The Who wrote the anthems¹ of a generation's rebellion against authority and conformity², and rocked harder, and possibly smashed more guitars and wrecked³ more hotel rooms than all those who followed in their footsteps.  Now, The Who is back after 25 years of silence.  Last year, the two surviving, original members returned as senior citizens to reclaim⁴ their throne.  VOA's Larry London has more on one of rock's most popular bands, The Who.

The Who's world tour gives fans a sentimental⁵ replay of the band's unforgettable songs.  But in the mix of old anthems and new songs, the tour also ended a 25-year wait for inspiration, and brought together the competing visions of the two surviving, founding members: singer Roger Daltrey and songwriter Pete Townshend.   

 
Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend explains the band concept. "He (Daltrey) acts as an advocate.  He carries his view of The Who as a brand name with him, and he is more of a fan than I am.  I act as an insider, and see the band as being almost like an art installation, not like The Beatles, not like The Rolling Stones, not like Genesis, not like (the) Police, not like Bruce Springsteen.  I see The Who as having a function, which is entirely⁶ expressed through its audience.

I love this band.  I carry the 'it' but Roger carries the performance, so together once we decided⁷ we had the songs, we knew we had the album.  So, it has been 25 years of waiting."

 
Roger Daltrey
Daltrey says he and Townshend continue to generate the energy that defines The Who. "We're a rock and roll band.  For me, it is the live arena⁸.  Recording⁹ is one thing.  The record industry that we grew up with is no longer, so the only thing for us is the arena, and it is just great to be able to do it.  In some ways, it comes from what we are.  It kind of exists in the space between the two of us, and it's in that energy that we create together.  That is The Who.  It's always fantastic and it's still there."

Anywhere they go, The Who brings out four generations of fans who still remember such rebellious¹⁰ acts as smashing guitars and amps [guitar amplifiers] on stage.

Townshend says the band survived beyond the short-lived art project for which it was conceived, because it helped him rediscover himself as a musician. "The band was supposed to be very, very short-lived.  We saw ourselves as a precursor¹¹ punk.  We saw ourselves lasting¹² maybe a year, a year and a-half, and then, literally¹³ blowing ourselves up one day, as we nearly did on The Smothers¹⁴ Brothers Show [a U.S. variety TV program from the late-1960s], which you can see some of that.

You know what happened was that I started to really love the fact that I thought I was doing better work as a songwriter than I was as an installation artist in The Who.  In other words, I started to get less arty-farty [pretentious] about it.  But by then, the guitar smashing had become symbolic¹⁵.  It had become something, an expression, in a sense, maybe, maybe this is stretching it too far, maybe an anti-materialistic thing. You know, when you are kid, you long to have that particular toy, that particular car, that particular guitar, that particular girl.  In a sense, I have been through that.  So, having been in the place where I could just go, 'Hey, this is the guitar.  You know, what really counts is the fact that I am here and I am alive, and I am free.'  So, we have been through a few phases with guitar smashing, and I don't do it anymore, if I can help it."

The Who's tour is anything but a nostalgia¹⁶ trip, featuring songs from their new album, "Endless Wire," recorded last year.

Townshend, adds, "It is nice to be playing some new songs as well as the old songs.  We are celebrating the old stuff, and even the new stuff is celebration of the old stuff in disguise.  The success of the new songs is partly because they are based on The Who lineage, of the music we have been writing for most of our career." 

1 anthems   

n.赞美诗( anthem的名词复数 )；圣歌；赞歌；颂歌

参考例句：

• They usually play the national anthems of the teams at the beginning of a big match. 在大型赛事开始前，他们通常演奏参赛国国歌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rise please, rise for the anthems of & . 请全体起立，奏和两国国歌。 来自互联网

2 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

3 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

4 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

5 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

6 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

7 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。

8 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

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 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

11 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

12 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 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。

15 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

16 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。