普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修8 Unit 1 A land of divers

 LOUIS ARMSTRONG:THE GRANDFATHER OF JAZZ
         Some people are considered great, not just because of their achievements but also because of their personalities¹. One such person is Louis Armstrong, who is without a doubt the most influential² (有影响的) jazz musician of all time.
         Born in New Orleans in 1901, Louis was so poor that he often went "shopping" in rubbish bins³ outside fancy⁴ restaurants. Although some boys in his situation might have turned to crime⁵ to get money for food and clothing, Louis never did. Instead he and several other boys sang on the streets of New Orleans to earn a few cents from passers-by.
   At the age of 12, Louis was arrested by the police for firing a gun into the air at a New Year's Eve party. He was sent to a school for problem boys where the music teacher taught him to play drums and the trumpet⁶. When he left the school two years later, Louis found work wherever he could and in the evenings went to listen and learn at clubs where jazz musicians played. He was noticed by a well-known musician called Joe "King" Oliver who began to teach him about jazz and to find him jobs in bands. When Joe Oliver left New Orleans in 1917, Louis took over his job in one of the best bands in town.
        Over the next few years, Louis improved as a musician and in 1922 he began travelling to other cities in the United⁷ States where he introduced his particular style of jazz to enthusiastic audiences. In 1924, he began recording⁸ his music and from that time on musicians from everywhere would listen to him. Before long, he had become a very big jazz star, as popular as major rock stars are today. Louis loved entertaining people and toured all over the United States before travelling to Europe in 1932.
        As well as playing with his band and recording his music for almost 50 years, Louis Armstrong acted in over 50 movies and wrote two autobiographies⁹. He was able to communicate with people from many different backgrounds - rich and poor, famous and ordinary, educated¹⁰ and uneducated, musicians and non-musicians. For this reason the government encouraged him to travel to foreign countries, especially Europe and Africa, as an unofficial goodwill¹¹ ambassador¹² (非官方亲善大使) for the United States. He spoke¹³ publicly¹⁴ about the rights of black people in America, using his fame to help in the fight for equal rights for all American citizens.
       Although he became rich and famous, Louis Armstrong continued to live a simple life in a working-class neighbourhood. Although his health was not good in the last three years of his life, he continued playing and recording until July 6th, 1971, when he died in his sleep at his home in New York. Louis Armstrong is still remembered today as the most important person in the early history of jazz. His music is as popular today as it ever was and most of the music he recorded from 1924 to 1971 is still available.

1 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

4 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

5 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

6 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

7 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

8 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。

9 autobiographies   

n.自传( autobiography的名词复数 )；自传文学

参考例句：

• The series was based on the autobiographies of the author. 这部连续剧是根据那位作家的自传拍摄的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are some songs and, recently, a few autobiographies about peasant experience. 有些歌曲描述了农民的经验，最近还出了几本自传。 来自互联网

10 educated   

adj.受过教育的，有教养的

参考例句：

• She was well educated in literature at a university.她在大学里受到良好的文学方面的教育。
• Children should be educated in a correct way.教育孩子要得法。

11 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

12 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 publicly   

adv.公然地，舆论上

参考例句：

• Extra shares of common will be sold publicly.额外的普通股份将公开出售。
• He acknowledged publicly that he might have made a mistake.他当众承认自己可能犯了个错误。