VOA慢速英语 2007 0909

VOICE ONE:

I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about Beverly Sills. Her clear soprano voice and lively spirit made her one of the most famous performers in the world of opera. Sills worked hard to make opera an art form that the general public could enjoy. She spent the later part of her career as a strong cultural leader for three major performing arts centers in New York City.

(MUSIC: “Les Oiseaux Dans La Charmille‿

VOICE ONE:

That was Beverly Sills performing a song from the opera “The Tales of 
Beverly Sills
Hoffman‿by the French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sills is singing the role of Olympia, a female robot who keeps breaking down while singing a series of high notes. This difficult aria¹ gives a good example of the sweet and expressive² voice that made Beverly Sills famous.

VOICE TWO:

Beverly Sills was born Belle³ Silverman in nineteen twenty-nine. Her family lived in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Morris, came from Romania and her mother, Shirley, was Russian. Sills said that her father believed that a person could live the real American dream only with an educated mind. Part of her early education came in the form of listening.

Beverly’s mother played old opera records. The young child learned to sing by repeating the words of the songs. Shirley Silverman pushed Beverly at a young age to become a performer. By the age of four Beverly was singing on a weekly children’s radio program and also making radio advertisements.

(SOUND)

Beverly also had roles in several short movies. By the age of nine, she had a voice teacher, Estelle Liebling, who taught her the art of coloratura. Coloratura is a method of singing in which notes are added to make a part of a song more complex. Most coloratura sopranos can sing very high notes.

VOICE ONE:

Beverly graduated from professional school in nineteen forty-five. She then started singing with traveling opera companies performing the works of such composers as Gilbert and Sullivan. During these ten years she also made guest appearances at opera companies throughout America. She tried seven times to audition⁴ and be accepted into the New York City Opera. Finally, in nineteen fifty-five she succeeded. Also that year, Beverly Sills met Peter Greenough while she was performing in Cleveland, Ohio. She married him the next year and moved to Cleveland.

VOICE TWO:

Sills continued singing for the New York City Opera and traveled back and forth⁵ to Cleveland. In nineteen fifty-nine she had a daughter named Meredith. Two years later, she had a son, Peter. Beverly Sills and her husband soon learned that their daughter was deaf.

They also found out their son had major developmental problems. He was mentally handicapped⁶ and autistic. In nineteen sixty-one, Sills stopped singing to take care of her children during this difficult time. Her daughter slowly learned to go to school and lead a normal life. But her son later had to live in a care center with medical professionals.

VOICE ONE:

In time, Beverly Sills returned to work. Here she talks about how her family’s situation changed her professionally. The recording⁷ is part of a two thousand six documentary⁸ movie about her life:

BEVERLY SILLS:

“My whole attitude about life is different and naturally it affected⁹ my singing. It affected my whole attitude about my career. How can I be affected by a trivial¹⁰ thing that someone will say to me backstage, that perhaps that they did not like my singing? How can I be affected by that? That’s something that’s a million miles from me! I felt that as far as my singing was concerned that the only person I really had to please was me.‿/P>

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills‿big break into fame took place in nineteen sixty-six when she performed Cleopatra in Handel’s “Julius Cesar.‿Her performances received some of the greatest critical praise of her career. Here is a song from that opera.

(MUSIC: “Se Pieta Di Me Non Senti‿

VOICE TWO:

Two years later Sills received more praise for her role in the French opera “Manon.‿One critic wrote that if he had made a list of the wonders of New York City to give a traveler, he would put Beverly Sills as “Manon‿at the top of the list. She would even be ahead of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building!  Here is Beverly Sills singing the part of Manon.

(MUSIC: “Je Marche Sur Tous Les Chemins‿

VOICE ONE:

Over the next twenty years Beverly Sills became known as "the queen of American opera." In addition to singing, she often appeared on popular television shows. Audiences liked her because of her laughter and funny jokes. Most American opera singers at the time went to Europe for training and jobs. But Sills learned her art in America and that is where she performed. She limited her visits to foreign countries so she could always be near her children.

VOICE TWO:

 
Beverly Sills as Lucia in "Lucia Di Lammermoor"
When she did perform internationally, critics highly praised her performances. In nineteen seventy-three she performed Donizetti’s “Lucia de Lammermoor‿at Covent Garden in London. Here is the famous mad scene where Lucia becomes wild with sadness over a lost love. It is one of the more difficult songs in opera to sing, but Sills performs the aria beautifully.

(MUSIC: “Il dolce suono ‿

VOICE ONE:

Beverly Sills retired¹¹ from singing in nineteen eighty. But she did not leave the opera world. She became director of the New York City Opera. For eight years she worked hard to modernize¹² the City Opera. She also raised millions of dollars to keep it operating. She later held other important positions, including chairwoman of the board of supervisors¹³ for New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In two thousand two, she became chairwoman of New York’s Metropolitan¹⁴ Opera House before retiring for good three years later.

Beverly Sills died in two thousand seven of lung cancer. She was seventy-eight. She once said that she had never been a happy woman. But she said she had always been able to feel cheerful because her work kept her going.

We leave you with Beverly Sills singing the role of Violetta in Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “La Traviata.‿In this magical performance you can hear the joyous¹⁵ celebration she found in music.

(MUSIC: “Sempre Libera‿

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Steve Ember. You can learn more about famous Americans and download scripts and audio of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com.  Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.

1 aria   

n.独唱曲，咏叹调

参考例句：

• This song takes off from a famous aria.这首歌仿效一首著名的咏叹调。
• The opera was marred by an awkward aria.整部歌剧毁在咏叹调部分的不够熟练。

2 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

3 belle   

n.靓女

参考例句：

• She was the belle of her Sunday School class.在主日学校她是她们班的班花。
• She was the belle of the ball.她是那个舞会中的美女。

4 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 handicapped   

a.残疾的，有智力缺陷的

参考例句：

• a visually handicapped child 弱视儿童
• mentally and physically handicapped 身心俱残

7 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。

8 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 trivial   

adj.琐碎的，不重要的，无价值的

参考例句：

• Be patient.Don't lose your temper over trivial matters.忍着点，别为了一点小事发火。
• It's useless to fire away with such trivial details.喋喋不休地谈这些琐碎细节是无用的。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

13 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

14 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

15 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。