英语访谈对话 297 Music

 　　Michael: OK, so then. Hi! I'm Michael. I'm from Toronto.

　　Simon: Yeah, Hi! I'm Simon from Vancouver.

　　Michael: Simon!

　　Simon: That's right!

　　Michael: So, are you francophone?

　　Simon: No, I'm not Francophone. That's a common mistake that other Canadians make. My parents were German so they use the German pronunciation of Simon, which is SimonMichael: Oh, reallySimon: Yeah!

　　Michael: OK, so the German and the French are.

　　.

　　Simon: Pretty similar. Ah, similar! Ah, yeah, Spanish, French, German. Pretty much only English has the Simon pronunciation of that, that name.

　　Michael: OK, so you're from Vancouver.

　　Simon: Yeah, that's right.

　　Michael: I'm from Toronto but some of my favorite music came from Vancouver. Ah, I'm not quite sure, you look quite young, you may not have ever seen DOA play.

　　Simon: I'm very familiar with DOA. Actually, I'm older than I look. I'm 33, so I come from the DOA generation.

　　Michael: Excellent, so did you go to the Commodore Ballroom¹?

　　Simon: That's right, and I've actually seen DOA at the Commodore and almost got hit in the head by a beer can that they throw out during their concerts. They like to throw beer cans into the crowd.

　　Michael: Well, I saw DOA at the university of Windsor where I went to do my undergraduate degree, and it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. It was great.

　　Simon: Yeah! I mean when I was in high school, they were already old, so but uh, they kept rocking'.

　　Michael: So how bout² the, do you know, how long have you been in Japan? Do you go back and have you seenany new bands in Vancouver.

　　Simon: Ah, well, I've been in Japan just over a year so not that long. I did go back one time but we didn't see any concerts and the commodore has changed since those days of DOA.

　　Michael: OK, just to show you how out of it I've become, but I've just recently discovered Nickel Back which is from Vancouver as well and also a band that I don't think die hard DOA fans would like cause it's pretty conventional rock I guess, but I like them.

　　Simon: Yeah, I don't. I mean, they've got catchy³ tunes⁴ that many people like, for example my girlfriend who's Japanese loves Nickle Back, but I didn't even know they were from Vancouver. You know, they're just I thought there were from the Prairies or something like that. Yeah, there not cool enough.

　　Michael: They're not cool enough.

　　Simon: I think their music is crap.

　　Michael: Do you really?

　　Simon: Yeah, it's, I mean they sound the same as any number of bands, you know.

　　Michael: OK, can you think of any group from Vancouver that is cool? A new band!

　　Simon: A new band. Well, you've caught me at a time because I'm in Japan and so new music doesn't really resonate here. Is that the correct word to say?

　　Michael: Well, what's your definition of new then? Is it like a minute old?

　　Simon: I can't say, you know, you stumped⁵ me on new music. Yeah, how bout you? Do you want to tell me about some music that you're listening to now?

　　Michael: Oh, you see, once you become middle-aged⁶ you start listening to a lot of stuff that you listened to when you were in high school or you actually find yourself nauseatingly⁷ wanting to hear things that you hated when you were in high school and it brings back memories, like I can actually say that I enjoy doing a lesson where I have to play ABBA for my students, whereas I hated it when I was a kid. When I was in high school if you put an ABBA record on I probably would have punched you.

　　Simon: Oh, sure as and ESL teacher, we both have to play, you know, cheesy ballads⁸ and things like that for our students because that's what they like. Yeah. OK, let's get back to the music. You know, they're probably already old, yeah, if you want good solid Rock, I mean, the next best thing was The White Stripes a few years ago and their still quite good.

　　Michael: And they're from Vancouver?

　　Simon: No, they're from somewhere in the states. But they play, you know, really edgy⁹ sort of classical style rock for the modern age. I don't know, for the 2000, yeah.

　　Michael: I'm reading this book now about the so called Cam-Rock Renaissance¹⁰, during the period 1985 to 1995. Bands like DOA of course, we've already mentioned, also from Vancouver, Skinny Puppy, would probably.

　　Simon: Skinny puppy! There's a name I haven't heard in awhile.

　　Michael: Yep, and The Tragically¹¹ Hip¹².

　　Simon: Overplayed group.

　　Michael: Overplayed! Tragically Hip is probably the most popular group in Canada, though.

　　Simon: Yeah, I lived with a techno DJ in university, so we often had parties at our house and he would play his new stuff that he was very proud of, you know, acid jazz, hip-hop beats, and all kind of weird¹³ stuff, but good, and he had a rule because people kept on coming up to him and saying, "Can you play 'The Hip' man?" and he always said, "They'll be no 'Hip' played at this house!"Michael: That sounds like something I did when I was DJing in bar. Everyone would ask me to play Guns n' Roses and I absolutely despised them. I even went to the extent of buying one of the waitresses their album so that she would never request them again, but unfortunately I didn't have enough money to buy everyone the album and I found myself playing them sometimes two or three times, and the same song two or three times. It wasn't my place. I couldn't make the rule your friend made.

　　Simon: Yeah, I could hear the recurring¹⁴ theme. Play GNR man!

　　Michael: Yeah!

　　Simon: Well, let's wrap up that, this conversation.

1 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

2 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

3 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

4 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stumped   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。
• He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。

6 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

7 nauseatingly   

adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ballads   

民歌，民谣，特别指叙述故事的歌( ballad的名词复数 )； 讴

参考例句：

• She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一个接一个地大唱民谣和乡村小调。
• She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他读书，还教他唱两三首民谣，弹着她的旧钢琴为他伴奏。

9 edgy   

adj.不安的；易怒的

参考例句：

• She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考试结果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。
• He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他紧张不安，还在一根接一根地抽着烟。

10 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

11 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

12 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。

13 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

14 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。