VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Music Flows at Summe

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus. Summertime in the United States always means many outdoor activities. They include outdoor fairs, carnivals², theater and lots of music. Many music festivals and concerts are in full swing this summer.

But some have had to cancel or cut back because of the weak economy. For example, organizers of the Street Scene festival in San Diego, California, cancelled this year's event because of poor ticket sales last year. The American Idols³ Live tour cancelled dates in seven cities.

Rihanna, Maxwell, the Eagles and the Jonas Brothers have also cancelled appearances. Still, there are plenty of performers to see and music festivals to attend. Some music festivals present one hundred or more performers during a weekend.

Summerfest calls itself the World’s Largest Music Festival. It was held for eleven days earlier this summer in a park along a lake in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. More than eight hundred bands performed.

Today we talk about some other music festivals taking place this summer.

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VOICE ONE:

Lady Gaga performs on the NBC "Today" television program in New York on July 9

That was "Window Seat" by R&B singer Erykah Badu. She is one of many artists performing at this year’s musical festival known as Lilith Fair. The festival features all female acts.

Grammy award-winning singer Sarah McLachlan and a few others created the traveling music festival in nineteen ninety-seven. The singer was upset by what she believed was inequality for women in the music industry.

She created Lilith Fair as a way to bring attention to female musicians. The festival was one of the top money-making music tours during its first three years.

This year, Lilith Fair returned for the first time since nineteen ninety-nine. It has traveled to more than fifteen states before ending this week in Columbia, Maryland.

Lilith Fair was also affected⁴ by the current economy. Organizers cancelled twelve of the original dates due to poor ticket sales.

Each stop on the tour featured a different lineup of famous musicians. Singer Sheryl Crow returned for her third appearance at Lilith. Rockers Ann and Nancy Wilson from the nineteen seventies band Heart also took to the stage.

Other top artists included the country duo Sugarland, R&B singer Mary J. Blige, the nineteen eighties band The Bangles and Mexican-American artist Jenni Rivera. The founder⁵ of Lilith Fair, Sarah McLachlan, also performed. Here is "Loving You Is Easy" from her new album "Laws of Illusion."

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VOICE TWO:

A few days after Lilith bids farewell, another popular music festival begins. Lollapalooza takes place this weekend. The event was formerly⁶ a traveling music festival. Now it is held every year in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

The three-day festival features music by heavy metal, alternative rock and hip-hop bands. The newly reunited rock band Soundgarden is one of the top bands performing at this year’s Lollapalooza festival.

Other big acts include pop star Lady Gaga, the punk rock band Green Day, the alternative rock band from Canada called Arcade⁷ Fire and the nineteen eighties techno-rock band Devo.

Other lesser⁸ known acts include a fairly new band from Australia called Violent Soho and the Nigerian-German soul singer Nneka Egbuna. Here is her song "Heartbeat."

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Lollapalooza also features dance music by live bands and famous DJs like Felix Da Housecat. And, there will be music and activities for people age ten and under. This section of the festival is called Kidzapalooza. Kids can play video games, learn to dance or get temporary tattoos⁹ and punk rock hairdos.

VOICE ONE:

Another popular music festival takes place that same weekend in Mammoth¹⁰ Lakes, California. It takes place in the mountains of the Eastern High Sierra near Yosemite National Park. It is called the Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza.

The festival was started fifteen years ago in the parking lot of a store that sold alcoholic¹² beverages¹³.

As the name suggests, the Beers and Bluesapalooza festival features beers from more than fifty breweries¹⁴ across the United States. A number of noted¹⁵ blues¹¹ musicians and groups will perform.

One of those bands is Los Lonely Boys. The three Mexican brothers from Texas have earned high praise for their mixture of rock, blues, soul and a kind of Mexican-Texan music called Tejano. Here Henry, JoJo and Ringo Garza sing their two thousand five Grammy award-winning song "Heaven."

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Other performers at this year’s Bluesapalooza include blues artist Duke Robillard and the Los Angeles-based blues band The Delgado Brothers.

Blues singer Ruthie Foster is also performing. Her album, "The Truth According to Ruthie Foster," was nominated for a two thousand ten Grammy Award. The album is a mixture of blues, gospel and folk. Here Foster sings "Dues Paid in Full."

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VOICE TWO:

Jazz music fans will be attending the Long Beach Jazz Festival in California. That festival is being held next weekend. Some of the biggest names in jazz will be performing. They include saxophonists Boney James and Dave Koz and pianist and composer Joe Sample.

The Latin jazz musician and conga player Poncho¹⁶ Sanchez will also perform. We leave you with the title track from his latest album "Psychedelic Blues."

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written and produced by June Simms. You can find transcripts¹⁷ of our programs and download audio at voaspecialenglish.com. We are also on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 carnivals   

狂欢节( carnival的名词复数 )； 嘉年华会； 激动人心的事物的组合； 五彩缤纷的颜色组合

参考例句：

• The Venice Carnival is one of the oldest and most famous international carnivals in the world. 威尼斯嘉年华是世界上最古老、最富盛名的国际嘉年华会之一。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年2月号
• A few exceptions would be made, he said, such as for carnivals. 他说一些免责条款将被制定出来，例如嘉年华会。

3 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

4 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。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

7 arcade   

n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道

参考例句：

• At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。
• In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场，你可以发现许多的纪念品。

8 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

9 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mammoth   

n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的

参考例句：

• You can only undertake mammoth changes if the finances are there.资金到位的情况下方可进行重大变革。
• Building the new railroad will be a mammoth job.修建那条新铁路将是一项巨大工程。

11 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。

12 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

13 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

14 breweries   

酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下，这是很理想的，但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
• Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前，全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。

15 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

16 poncho   

n.斗篷，雨衣

参考例句：

• He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠，把身子再蜷拢点儿，往雨披里缩了缩。
• The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。

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