VOA标准英语2013--The Four Freshmen Celebrate Their 65th Anniversary

 

The Four Freshmen¹ Celebrate Their 65th Anniversary

The Four Freshmen’s current lineup features Brian Eichenberger, Curtis Calderon, Vince Johnson and Bob Ferreira and they have a new album, “Love Songs.”

Founded in 1948 by two brothers, Ross and Don Barbour, at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, the group was first known as Hal’s Harmonizers, then The Toppers, and finally, The Four Freshmen. Two years later, they signed with Capitol Records and produced a string of hits in the 1950s.

Singer and drummer Bob Ferriera says the quartet became popular not only on the strength of their vocal² harmonies but also on their original musical accompaniment.

"The group started out as four freshmen in college and they were just trying to get around and get some gigs and play around. So, they played these little bowling³ alleys⁴ or supper clubs and different things," he said. "They’d sometimes do two shows in a day, so they would just throw all of their instruments in a car and run from show to show. A lot of it was that it was kind of hard to hire out musicians to do all these shows when you’re young and you’re broke and in college. They were all playing instruments anyway so they figured ‘let’s just do it.’”

The songs performed now are from those early years, going back to the 1940s and 1950s - keeping intact⁵ the sound that the Four Freshmen were best known for.

“The group over the years has experimented in different styles of music as many musical acts do. They will take contemporary songs and adapt them to their style, with mixed success," Ferreira said. "I think our approach, the four of us, even though we were raised in a different time with different styles of music being our initial⁶ influences, we know and understand that the Four Freshmen sound is best when it is applied⁷ to the Great American Songbook.”

The Four Freshmen is the longest running musical group in pop history. Today, the group performs more than 100 shows a year across the globe. Bob Ferriera says most fans have a favorite Four Freshmen song in mind.

“More often than not they’re coming to share these songs and hear this style of harmony they grew up with," he said. "They have so many memories that were created around this period in their lives and around these songs in their lives. So they get songs like ‘It’s a Blue World’ or ‘Graduation Day.’ They say, ‘I was graduating college in [19]’56 when ‘Graduation Day’ came out, or ‘I met my first love to this song.’” It’s great. It’s wonderful to hear these stories and to know that these people still have that passion for the music and the nostalgia⁸, but also, they’re coming to hear a different group of four guys singing these songs and accept us.”

The Four Freshmen - Bob, Brian, Curtis and Vince - will be on tour throughout the year, including a stop at the annual International Four Freshmen Society Convention⁹ in Fort¹⁰ Wayne, Indiana. From September 5 to September 7, members from previous groups and fans from around the world will celebrate The Four Freshmen’s 65th anniversary, as well as the release of the new CD.

1 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

2 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

3 bowling   

n.保龄球运动

参考例句：

• Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
• Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动，高尔夫还是保龄球？

4 alleys   

胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径

参考例句：

• I followed him through a maze of narrow alleys. 我紧随他穿过一条条迂迴曲折的窄巷。
• The children lead me through the maze of alleys to the edge of the city. 孩子们领我穿过迷宫一般的街巷，来到城边。

5 intact   

adj.完整无缺的，未经触动的，未受损伤的

参考例句：

• The glasses remained intact after being dropped.眼镜坠地后依然完好无损。
• He can scarcely survive this scandal with his reputation intact.他经此丑闻名誉很难不受损。

6 initial   

adj.最初的，开始的，词首的；n.首字母，姓名的开头字母；vt.标注姓名的首字母于

参考例句：

• After she'd overcome her initial shyness,she became very friendly.她克服了起初的羞怯之后，变得十分友善。
• The experiments have given initial results eventually.那些试验总算初见成效了。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 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。

9 convention   

n.惯例，习俗，常规，会议，大会

参考例句：

• How many delegates have checked in at the convention?大会已有多少代表报到？
• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。

10 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。