VOA慢速英语2013 街头摄影家记录城市生活和艺术

 

AS IT IS 2013-09-14 Street Photographer Documents Urban Life and Art 街头摄影家记录城市生活和艺术

Hi there, and welcome to As It Is, our daily show for people learning English. I’m June Simms in Washington.

Today, we are celebrating 10 years of togetherness with the Bluegrass band Nu-Blu. To mark the anniversary, we will play some new music from the group.

But first, we begin with a report from Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is one of the most famous cities in the world, thanks to Hollywood. Now, a project called Snapshot Galleria is documenting some of the city’s hidden culture. Jim Tedder¹ has more.

Street Photographer Documents Urban Life and Art

Erwin Recinos is a photographer who records the life and urban art of Los Angeles. At a neighborhood auto² show, he takes pictures of lowriders. Lowriders are classic cars that are made to sit close to the ground, almost touching³ the road.

Car clubs in the city’s Hispanic communities make changes to American automobiles⁴ from the 1960s and 70s. Mr. Recinos captures images of the cars for a project by local photographers.

“A lot of these car clubs have been around for about 50 or 60 years. So what you're looking for is cultural influences in the community.”

Mr. Recinos walks around an industrial neighborhood looking for things to photograph. Here, many graffiti artists have painted storage buildings with colorful murals. Some of the murals are almost seven meters tall.

Erwin Recinos says inner city artists are one of the many cultures of Los Angeles.

“Different neighborhoods of surf culture, skate culture, gang culture, car culture, graffiti culture.”

The online photography project, called Snapshot Galleria, documents these cultures.

Mr. Recinos says he loves to work downtown. The area is full of surprises. Sometimes, the photographer says he even finds waste containers that are decorated with art.

Mr. Recinos says Los Angeles is rich with images. On a photo shoot in a downtown park, he comes across a group of mean-looking pit bull⁵ dogs and their owners. The dogs are taking part in behavioral training. He stops to take a picture. He says such unexpected sights can result in a great image.

“You never know what's going to happen. You've just got to go with it.”

He says these photos show a different side of a colorful city. I’m Jim Tedder.

And I’m June Simms. You are listening to As It Is, from VOA Learning English.

Celebrating 10 Years of Togetherness with Nu-Blu

Some musical acts come and go so quickly. So it is rare to find a group celebrating 10 years of togetherness. But that is exactly what the modern bluegrass band Nu-Blu is doing with its new CD “Ten.”

Carolyn Routh sings lead on most of the songs on Nu-Blu’s “Ten.” Her singing rings out so smooth and strong. Yet she was almost silenced by a series of strokes in November of 2003, soon after the band was formed.

At first, Carolyn Routh was unable to talk or use the right side of her body. But with the help of the band’s guitarist, and now her husband, Daniel Routh, she battled back. Seeing her play and sing today, you would never know the red-haired bass⁶ player had ever been sick.

In addition to the Rouths, Nu-Blu has two other members: Levi Austin on banjo and Austin Koener on mandolin.

The North Carolina group plays the same instruments as the creators of bluegrass music did back in the 1940s. Yet, few of the songs on Nu-Blu’s fifth album have that twangy, old-school sound.

What is Nu-Blu’s secret to surviving and staying on the road for 10 years when so many bands break up? Carolyn Routh says you have to love every minute of the job. Singing is all she has ever wanted to do.

“That’s my dream job and I love every minute of it. I’m also a real homebody. And I love my family and I love my home.”

Being on the road all the time takes her away from family and friends. That is the subject of a song called “That Road.”

“This song lets me be in both places. When I perform this song, I’m thinking about how much fun I’m having right there on that stage and, at the same time, how much I’m missing my family back at home. So the song sort of bridges that gap for me.”

Nu-Blu has a large number of performances planned across the United States. This includes shows on a cruise⁷ ship in the Caribbean Sea in early winter. The group hopes to add overseas dates next year.

And that is As It Is. Thanks for listening.

1 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

4 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 bull   

n.公牛，买进证券投机图利者，看涨的人

参考例句：

• It's only a hair off a bull's back to them.这对他们来说，不过九牛一毛。
• Many dogs closed around the bull.很多狗渐渐地把那只牛围了起来。

6 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

7 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。