美国国家公共电台 NPR Kennedy Center Celebrates Latest Honorees, But Without The First Family

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors were a chance to celebrate among others a dancer, a rapper and a TV-sitcom pioneer. Here's NPR's Elizabeth Blair.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE¹: The Kennedy Center Honors are lifetime achievement awards. And for the first time, a hip² hop³ artist was one of the recipients⁴. LL Cool J grew up in a rough part of Queens, N.Y. Last night, Queen Latifah called him the first commercially successful rapper. Questlove called him volcanic⁵. Here's LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT")

LL COOL J: (Rapping) Don't call it a comeback. I've been here for years. I'm rocking my peers, putting suckers in fear. Making the tears rain down like a monsoon⁶. Listen to the bass⁷ go boom, explosion.

BLAIR: LL Cool J has won a number of awards, including two Grammys. He said the Kennedy Center Honor is different.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LL COOL J: Because now you're being recognized by your country.

BLAIR: TV writer and producer Norman Lear introduced generations of viewers to characters and situations other shows ignored - among his shows, "Good Times," "One Day At A Time" and "All In The Family."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ALL IN THE FAMILY")

ROB REINER: (As Michael "Meathead" Stivic) Well, what would our leaving solve? I mean, with or without protesters, this country would still have the same problems.

CARROLL O'CONNOR: (As Archie Bunker) What problems?

REINER: (Michael "Meathead" Stivic) Well, there's still war, the racial problem, the economic problem, the pollution problem.

O'CONNOR: (As Archie Bunker) Oh, come on. You want to nitpick.

BLAIR: Rob Reiner, who played Meathead, said Norman Lear was like a second father who both challenged the actors and viewers by showing them real people facing real issues.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

REINER: His shows - they are a cultural document of America. And they represent the highest quality to which all of us storytellers aspire⁸.

LIONEL RICHIE: I mean, Norman Lear, for example, let's talk about this. I'm in his class tonight. I can't talk about anything else about that.

BLAIR: Lionel Richie, another honoree, was full up with pride to be in the same class as Norman Lear. Richie, who was born and raised in Tuskegee, Ala., was a hit machine in the 1970s and '80s beginning as a member with the Commodores.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EASY")

RICHIE: (Singing) That's why I'm easy. I'm easy like Sunday morning.

BLAIR: Last night, Stevie Wonder performed for Lionel Richie. Dave Chappelle paid tribute to Norman Lear. And American Ballet Theatre ballerina Misty⁹ Copeland performed for honoree Carmen de Lavallade. In a career that spans more than six decades, de Lavallade danced on and off Broadway, performed in movies and taught movement at Yale Repertory Theatre. One of her students was Meryl Streep. Last night, Streep said that's when she fell in love with de Lavallade.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MERYL STREEP: Her kind brown eyes, her rigor¹⁰, her uprightness and her discipline - no one comes to this class late the second day. No, no.

BLAIR: The president and first lady typically attend the Kennedy Center Honors but not this year. After Lear and de Lavallade said they would boycott¹¹ the annual White House reception, President Trump¹² announced they would skip this year's event altogether. That was disappointing for Gloria Estefan, the first Cuban-American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor.

GLORIA ESTEFAN: I would have loved for him to see the example because on that stage are people, not just immigrants, but people that have battled against a lot of discrimination and prejudice.

BLAIR: At the same time, Estefan said she didn't want to make the evening political.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CONGA")

ESTEFAN: (Singing) Come on. Shake your body. Baby, do that conga. I know you can't control yourself any longer. Come on. Shake your body. Baby, do that conga. I know you can't control yourself any longer.

BLAIR: The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast later this month on CBS.

Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CONGA")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 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。

3 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？

4 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

6 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

7 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

8 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

9 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

10 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

11 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

12 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。