2007年VOA标准英语-Country Music's Roots Seem Healthy

By Malcolm Brown
Washington
12 July 2007
 

American country music - in its various forms - has grown into a multi-million dollar industry with fans around the world. As an art form, it has crossed over into the mainstream¹ of U.S. culture. But, for all the commercial success of the present day, its origins were humble². Those roots are still very much alive, as Malcolm Brown reports from West Virginia.

Appalachian jam session

It is a far cry from the venues³ played by country's biggest stars. But if you want to trace the music's roots, the West Virginia State Folk Festival is a good place to come.

The town of Glenville has hosted this event since its inception⁴ in 1950, as a way to preserve and celebrate the region's traditional culture.

Besides the bands, entertainment includes square dancing and the chance for everyone to play in jam sessions, which form in a motel parking lot.

Traditional instruments, like dulcimers, can be heard well into the night as complete strangers and old friends play together.

Charles Salisbury

In this part of the U.S., music is part of the social fabric⁵. One festival-goer, Charles Salisbury, grew up with it. He says, "Many people play it. They don't play it professionally but they play in family gatherings⁶ and stuff. About any reunion you have, you're going to have this kind of music, if it's in this part of the country."

West Virginia is in Appalachia - a mountainous eastern region, settled in the 18th century by immigrants from Europe, many of them from Scotland, Ireland and England. Along with the settlers came their culture.

Well-known fiddler Joe Dobbs says Old World tunes⁹ survived in the mountains of Appalachia and were handed down from generation to generation.

Joe Dobbs

"When I was a kid, we always heard a tune⁸; can I play just a little of it?" he asks as he picks up his fiddle⁷. "See, we call that 'Uncle Joe', but it's really 'Miss McCleod's Reel", which is an Irish tune. So, the people who settled here brought the music with them."

Instruments on the walls of his music store reflect the various influences, which blended to create the Appalachian sound. They include the Irish fiddle -- and the banjo, which came with the slaves brought over from Africa.

Naturally, the immigrants also brought their singing traditions - especially ballads¹⁰. Over time in Appalachia, a style evolved. Singer Ginny Hawker, who plays with husband Tracy Schwarz, calls it a "lonesome mountain sound."  "It attracts people because it's real music. It's about real thing and about life close to the bone and I think those things have a universal appeal. So, I don't see it dying out."

Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz

Aficionados¹¹ credit the relative isolation¹², imposed by the Appalachian landscape, for preserving the music.

Joe Dobbs says the region acted as a cultural reservoir, from which the traditional sounds could be re-exported during the folk revival¹³ of the 1950s and 60s. "For some reason, these people stayed in these mountains and they kept playing the tunes and still do, especially after the folk revival. It's more popular now than ever."

The evident youth of some players at the folk festival suggests that Appalachian music does indeed have a future.

1 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

5 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

7 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

8 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

9 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

11 aficionados   

n.酷爱…者，…迷( aficionado的名词复数 )； 爱看斗牛的人

参考例句：

• West Coast aficionados of postwar coffee-shop architecture(Karal Ann Marling) 西海岸战后咖啡店式建筑的狂热追随者（卡拉尔安马林） 来自互联网
• Clay developed a radical style which appalled boxing aficionados. 克莱发展出一种震惊拳击迷的全新风格。 来自互联网

12 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

13 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。