VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Seeking 'Cultural Eq

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. This week on our program, we finish the story of the Lomax family. They were an influential¹ family of musical folklorists.

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VOICE ONE:

Alan Lomax in the Caribbean in 1962

We talked last week about John Avery Lomax and his work collecting American folk songs. He collected thousands of songs in the nineteen twenties, thirties and forties to save for future generations. His son Alan soon joined him, and continued collecting music after his father died in nineteen forty-eight.

Like his father, Alan Lomax went to work for the Library of Congress, where he directed the Folk Archive. He also produced a series of radio programs on American folk music. And he wrote one of the most influential books on early jazz, "Mister Jelly Roll." It was the result of hours of recorded discussions with New Orleans jazz great Jelly Roll Morton.

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In the nineteen fifties Alan Lomax published a series of books about world folk music. Later, he won a National Book Critics Circle award for "The Land Where the Blues⁴ Began," published in nineteen ninety-three.

He received the National Medal of Arts from President Ronald Reagan and a Library of Congress Living Legend Award. The recording⁵ industry honored his lifetime work with a Grammy Award after he died in two thousand two.

Songs from his collections were used in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Here is a song called "Po' Lazarus."

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VOICE TWO:

Dick Weissman is author of the book "Which Side Are You On? An Inside History of the Folk Music Revival⁶ in America." In it, he says it was the usual practice for folklorists to copyright songs that they collected. The copyright holder⁷ owns the rights to the song for a period governed by law.

In the nineteen forties and fifties, the publisher and songwriter equally shared income from record sales. That could include people like the Lomaxes who copyrighted a new arrangement of an old folk song.

Some of the songs collected by the Lomaxes became popular records. For example, Lead Belly⁸'s "Good Night, Irene" became a huge hit for the folk group the Weavers¹⁰. That was in nineteen forty-nine, a year after John Lomax died.

The copyrights to these songs were held not only by the singers but also by his son Alan. Other musicians like Harry¹¹ Belafonte and the Kingston Trio also recorded songs for which Alan Lomax shared in the copyright.

VOICE ONE:

Some observers have criticized Alan Lomax and his father for earning money from the traditional music they collected, including from black musicians in the South.

Ted³ Gioia is author of "Delta¹² Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music."

One example he uses in his two thousand eight book is Huddie Ledbetter, the singer and guitarist known as Lead Belly. The author says Lead Belly's contract with the Lomaxes' prevented him from being represented by anyone else for five years.

In the nineteen fifties Alan Lomax traveled to Europe where he collected folk music. Ted Gioia says the folklorist² largely paid for his travels with royalty¹³ money from the Weavers' recording of "Good Night, Irene."

The author notes that Alan Lomax apparently¹⁴ claimed composer credit on about eight hundred songs. But to be fair, he says the Lomaxes did nothing illegal -- they were not the only ones holding copyrights to folk songs. Many performers who have recorded traditional material have listed themselves as the composer.

Still, Ted Gioia calls Alan Lomax the self-appointed "custodian¹⁵ of America's music traditions." He also points to his position with the Library of Congress. The author argues that the folklorist should have aimed for "a higher standard of ethics¹⁶ in such matters."

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VOICE TWO:

The Lomax family's involvement with folk music also included John Lomax's youngest child, Bess. Bess Lomax helped her father with his folk music collection.

In the nineteen forties, she joined the Almanac Singers. The group was active in the social protest and union movements of the time.

Different members came and went from the Almanac Singers. They included Bess' brother Alan as well as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and Baldwin "Butch" Hawes, who became her husband.

Here she sings a song called "I Never Will Marry."

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VOICE ONE:

In nineteen forty-nine she and Jacqueline Steiner wrote new words to an old song. It became a campaign song for Walter O'Brien, a Progressive Party candidate for mayor of Boston, Massachusetts. One of his promises was to fight a fare increase on what was known as the M.T.A. subway system.

In the song, a man named Charlie has to ride forever because he does not have enough money to leave the train. Here are Bess Lomax, Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger:

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Walter O'Brien lost the race. But the song became a lasting¹⁷ hit with a version recorded in nineteen fifty-nine by the Kingston Trio.

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VOICE TWO:

Bess Lomax Hawes

Bess Lomax Hawes later taught music and became an anthropology¹⁸ professor in California. In the nineteen seventies, she worked at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. She went on to direct the folk arts program at the National Endowment for the Arts. In nineteen ninety-three President Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Arts. She died in two thousand nine.

VOICE ONE:

Dan Sheehy at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage says the influence of the Lomax family can still be felt. And not just with music, but also other areas of culture. Modern folklorists use new technology like social media and the Internet to do their work, Dan Sheehy says. But they continue to pursue a goal set by the Lomaxes.

DANIEL SHEEHY: "Following Alan Lomax's philosophy that he sometimes called 'cultural equity¹⁹.' That is, seeing what we didn't see on television. What we didn't see on the big stages. What we didn't hear on the radio and on major recordings²⁰. And finding ways to help those voices, those songs, those stories, those craft traditions make it into the lives of a much broader public."

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver⁹. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Doug Johnson. You can find the first part of our program about the Lomax family at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also post comments and subscribe²¹ to podcasts. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

2 folklorist   

民俗学研究者

参考例句：

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 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。

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 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。

7 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

8 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。

9 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。

10 weavers   

织工，编织者( weaver的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Navajo are noted as stockbreeders and skilled weavers, potters, and silversmiths. 纳瓦霍人以豢养家禽，技术熟练的纺织者，制陶者和银匠而著名。
• They made out they were weavers. 他们假装是织布工人。

11 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

13 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

15 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

17 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

18 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

19 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

20 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

21 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。