VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - How a Family Helped

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Lomax is a name well known to historians of American musical culture. Today we have the first of two programs about how the Lomax family helped keep American folk music from being lost.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

John Lomax with Rich Brown near Sumterville, Alabama, in October 1940

John Avery Lomax was born in eighteen sixty-seven. He came from the state of Mississippi but grew up in Texas. His interest in cowboy music led him to research and collect examples of cowboy songs.

In nineteen ten he published a book called "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads¹." It contained not only the words to songs but some of the music as well. It began with an introduction by President Theodore Roosevelt.

"Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" was an important research achievement. And it started John Lomax on his lifelong work.

The book included classics like "Sweet Betsy From Pike," "Git Along, Little Dogies" and "Home on the Range." Gene² Autry was a singing cowboy in old films. Here he is singing "Home on the Range."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

At the time the book was published, John Lomax helped found the Texas Folklore³ Society. He traveled around the country raising money to establish other folklore groups. He spoke⁴ about the importance of preserving folk songs for future generations. In nineteen nineteen, he published another collection, called "Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp."

His two sons, John Junior and Alan, traveled with him around the country. In nineteen thirty-two, the MacMillan Publishing Company agreed to help them create a collection of folk songs, especially from black Americans. The Lomaxes went to Washington to examine the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress.

The library agreed to provide John Lomax with the recording⁵ equipment he needed. In exchange, he agreed to travel throughout the United States to make recordings⁶ that would become the property of the archive at the library.

VOICE ONE:

John Lomax with Billy McCrea and friends at McCrea's home in Jasper, Texas

In nineteen thirty-four, John Lomax became honorary consultant⁷ and curator of the Archive of American Folk Song at the Library of Congress. He held the title until his death in nineteen forty-eight. In all, he collected more than ten thousand recordings. Another Lomax also took an interest: his daughter Bess.

Dan Sheehy is acting⁸ head of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution.

DAN SHEEHY: "The Lomaxes, John and Alan, thrfather and son team --and then Bess to a certain extent -- worked at the Library of Congress. And they were part of this very exciting groundbreaking work in the nineteen tens, twenties, thirties, into the forties and beyond, of showing the United States what it was, what it had in terms of grassroots cultural heritage.

"And so they would travel to places where certainly white people in the thirties and forties would not work too much in black communities, because there was so much antagonism⁹ between black and white at that time – racism¹⁰ toward African Americans. And Alan Lomax had some very compelling and really engaging stories to tell about actually painting himself up in blackface so that he could go into black communities, so that some of the whites wouldn't single him out and beat him up or whatever.

"In any case, John and Alan Lomax were very dedicated¹¹ to locating these what they thought of as folk geniuses. They were looking for people who at the same time were representatives of a much bigger powerful tradition in the case of African-American music, but at the same time were really singular in their ability to express that tradition."

VOICE TWO:

The Lomaxes found one of these "folk geniuses" at the state prison in Angola, Louisiana, in nineteen thirty-three. He was a twelve-string guitar player named-- also known as Lead Belly¹². One of his best known recordings is this one, "The Midnight Special."

(MUSIC)

Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter with his 12-string guitar in a 1940s publicity¹³ photo

Lead Belly was released from prison the next year, in nineteen thirty-four. That same year, John Lomax published a book called "American Ballads and Folk Songs." He included many of the songs gathered from prisons in the South.

After that, Lead Belly became a celebrity¹⁴. He was offered recording contracts, concert performances and radio broadcasts.

VOICE ONE:

Lead Belly worked for the Lomaxes as a driver and assistant. And John Lomax served as his manager, choosing performances and media appearances.

Some music writers say John Lomax paid himself too much out of Lead Belly's income. Dick Weissman is author of the book "Which Side Are You On? An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival¹⁵ in America." He says half of Lead Belly's concert fees went to John Lomax. And when Alan was added, he says, all three shared the money, so Lead Belly got only a third.

But others say music like Lead Belly's would never have become widely known if it wasn't for the work of John Lomax.

(MUSIC: "Good Night, Irene")

VOICE TWO:

Alan Lomax

Alan Lomax was eighteen years old when he started traveling with his father. They worked together in the South. But Alan also collected recordings himself in other parts of the country -- New England, New York and the Midwest.

And he did not stop there. His desire to increase understanding among people took him to other countries as well. He collected folk songs from the Caribbean and Europe, including this "Wedding Serenade" from Italy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Alan Lomax has been called "the father of the American folk song revival." He brought attention to singers like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger in the nineteen thirties and forties.

He also made the first recording of a guitar-playing farm worker named McKinley Morganfield. Millions of blues¹⁶ fans around the world would come to know McKinley Morganfield by another name. Here is Muddy Waters is singing "Take a Walk With Me."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

We will continue our story of the Lomax family next week. You can find transcripts¹⁷, MP3s and podcasts of all of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also post a comment. And if you do, here is a question you can answer: Who do you consider a "folk genius?"

VOICE ONE:

Tell us if you have a favorite American blues or folk singer -- young or old -- and what makes that person's music special to you. Go to voaspecialenglish.com, find our program and post your answer.

VOICE TWO:

You can also find a link to John Lomax's first book "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads." I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Shirley Griffith. Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁸. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 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。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

4 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。

5 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。

6 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

7 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 antagonism   

n.对抗，敌对，对立

参考例句：

• People did not feel a strong antagonism for established policy.人们没有对既定方针产生强烈反应。
• There is still much antagonism between trades unions and the oil companies.工会和石油公司之间仍然存在着相当大的敌意。

10 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

11 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

12 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

13 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

14 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

15 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

16 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

17 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

18 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。