VOA标准英语2009年-Rehearsals Begin for Australia's First Abo

By Phil Mercer
Sydney
21 September 2009

Rehearsals¹ are underway for Australia's first indigenous² opera. "Pecan Summer" tells the story of a historic Aboriginal³ protest in the late 1930s. Over the years Aboriginal performers have been drawn⁴ to rock music as well as reggae and hip⁵ hop⁶ but few have been attracted to opera.
 
"Pecan Summer" tells the story of a demonstration⁷ at the Cummeragunja Mission, which was part of a system to house and assimilate Aborigines.
 
Many indigenous people resented the missions and demanded their own land. Colonial administrators⁸ responded by setting up special reserves for Aborigines.
 
In 1939, a large group of indigenous Australians walked off the reserve at Cummeragunja in protest at their squalid living conditions and the treatment they endured at the hands of European settlers.
 
They had complained of shortages of food and of widespread disease.
 
The story is now being told through dramatic art.
 
Rehearsals have started under the guidance of Deborah Cheetham, who for the past decade has been Australia's only professional Aboriginal opera singer.
 
She says this type of creative expression is a perfect way to explain indigenous history.
 
"Opera, if you think about it, is just storytelling through music, drama and dance and singing, and we've been doing that for thousands of years as well so it made sense to me that to find other opera singers perhaps I'd have to create a vehicle for them and that's 'Pecan Summer,' said Cheetham."
 
Historians consider the Cummeragunja protest to be the first mass strike by Australia's Aborigines, which sparked a nationwide movement for basic rights.
 
"We must raise our expectations for indigenous people because if we raise our expectations we will change the outcomes," she said.
 
Indigenous communities suffer high rates of unemployment, imprisonment⁹ and ill-health. Aborigines have a life expectancy¹⁰ 17 years below that of most other Australians.
 
"Pecan Summer" is due to open in the southern city of Melbourne late next year.

1 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

7 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

8 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

10 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。