美国国家公共电台 NPR Pink Cadillacs Will Line Up For Aretha Franklin's Funeral

Pink Cadillacs Will Line Up For Aretha Franklin's Funeral

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

When Detroit celebrates the life of Aretha Franklin on Friday, there will be more than a hundred pink Cadillacs lining¹ the road in front of the church where her funeral will occur. It's a tribute to the queen of soul and one of her biggest Grammy-winning hits.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FREEWAY OF LOVE")

ARETHA FRANKLIN: (Singing) We goin' ridin' on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac. We goin' ridin' on the freeway of love...

GREENE: From Detroit, here's NPR's Cheryl Corley.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE²: "Freeway Of Love" is a joyous³ driving song about a particular automobile⁵, and Crisette Ellis happens to own one.

CRISETTE ELLIS: OK. Well, are you all buckled⁶ in? All right. We are rolling.

CORLEY: Ellis pulls out of the parking lot at Greater Grace Temple, where her husband is the pastor⁷. She drives her big, pink Cadillac Escalade down Seven Mile Road and talks about how she and her husband got the idea. Ellis says parking pink Cadillacs on the road is just how police line up their cars during the funerals of fallen officers.

ELLIS: And my husband said, wow, wouldn't it be awesome⁸ if we could have a sea of pink Cadillacs parked on Seven Mile Road to greet Ms. Aretha Franklin as she arrived?

CORLEY: Ellis is an independent national sales director for Mary Kay cosmetics⁹. That's the company that rewards their top sellers with pink Caddies. When she decided¹⁰ to make the "Freeway Of Love" tribute real, she appealed to others with the pink ride.

ELLIS: They're coming from everywhere. They're coming from as far as Texas; Omaha, Neb.; Florida, North Carolina, Maryland.

CORLEY: At last count, 130 pink Cadillacs says Ellis, including a few classic big ones from the 1960s. The automobiles¹¹ are expected to stretch for blocks in each direction in front of the church.

ELLIS: So any cars or any of the limousine¹² - they literally¹³ will come through a tunnel of pink Cadillacs.

(SOUNDBITE OF SAXOPHONE PLAYING)

CORLEY: Late Monday night, there was a rehearsal¹⁴ underway for a musical tribute that will be held tomorrow night to honor the Queen of Soul. And you know what song is on the set list.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FREEWAY OF LOVE")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) We goin' ridin' on the freeway of love, wind's against our back.

CORLEY: Kern Brantley, who is leading the rehearsal, is a music director. He worked as a bass¹⁵ player and producer for Aretha Franklin. He says there's a reason why the song was such a hit, especially in the Motor City.

KERN BRANTLY: "Freeway Of Love" is just kind of like an anthem¹⁶ for us Detroiters, you know, freeway in a soulful city. You know, "Freeway Of Love" starts off with a Motown beat, and that's the pulse of this city.

CORLEY: The mostly black-and-white video of the song is a Detroit love letter. There are scenes of auto⁴ assembly lines, the city skyline, the Motown Museum and local interstate signs. So Crisette Ellis says lining up pink Cadillacs on the day of Franklin's funeral is the right thing to do.

ELLIS: This is a show of respect for Ms. Aretha Franklin.

CORLEY: Now, my rental¹⁷ car is no pink Cadillac, but I can still pay tribute to Aretha Franklin by taking a drive along the freeway.

Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Detroit.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FREEWAY OF LOVE")

FRANKLIN: (Singing) We goin' ridin' on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac. We goin' ridin' on the freeway of love, wind's against our back. And we're ridin' on...

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 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。

3 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

4 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

5 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

6 buckled   

a. 有带扣的

参考例句：

• She buckled her belt. 她扣上了腰带。
• The accident buckled the wheel of my bicycle. 我自行车的轮子在事故中弄弯了。

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

15 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。

16 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

17 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。