VOA常速英语2019--8岁的也门歌手声名鹊起

Fame Spreads Fast for Eight-Year-Old Yemeni Singer

It is a dangerous time to be a child in Yemen. Besides facing war, hunger and poverty, more than 25 percent of children are not in school.

But eight-year-old singer Amr Muqbel, known as "The Water Seller," is different.

He attends school in the morning. In the afternoons, he used to sell water to help support his family. Now, he makes extra money singing for weddings, fans and several major Arabic news channels.

"I'm proud he has become a singer," said Ahmed Muqbel, Amr's 70-year-old father, with tears in his eyes. One of their relatives is a soldier, he added, and Amr used to sing war songs.

Now, he sings about love and peace in a country where other children can be forced to join military groups.

"Children out of school face increased risks of all forms of exploitation¹, including being forced to join the fighting, child labor², and early marriage," said Sara Nyanti, UNICEF's representative in Yemen, in a statement.

Teachers in the schools have not been paid in more than two years. As the war continues, danger for children outside of the school system deepens³, workers for aid organizations say.

Growing fame

Amr first became well-known this year when a local hiker recorded him singing to a group of people. The hiker posted the recording⁴ on Facebook, where it received 20,000 likes, loves and sad faces.

Since then, the boy appears on Arab media regularly. He has appeared on BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera Arabic and RT Arabic.

Amr's family remains⁵ poor, however. He, his mother and his four siblings⁶ still struggle to survive in a small house. But as Amr gains the attention of music professionals, the family hopes his voice will help lift them further out of poverty.

"I didn't even know Amr was singing for the drivers," said Amr's mother, Muneerah, near her Sanaa home. "He sells water so he can earn money to pay for his private school fees. I used to reprimand Amr for singing while he did his homework."

Sobhi Mohammed is a renowned⁷ Syrian Kurdish music writer from Lebanon. He has expressed interest in mentoring⁹ Amr, inviting¹⁰ him through an online video to visit Lebanon. Mohammed has mentored¹¹ other young people with musical skills, like Nomer El Beik and Amir Amuri from Syria.

"I was like Amr while still a little boy," Mohammed said in an online report. "I promised myself that I would assist¹² every talented child who had no one."

Amr has not gone to Lebanon because of passport delays and competing ideas about his future. His father wants to go to Lebanon so Amr can try to get into the professional music business. His mother wants Amr to continue to be mentored locally, so he can sing more often at weddings to increase the family's income.

"I believe Amr will become a star," added Mohammed. "He has the voice and charisma¹³."

Yemenis hesitancy

Publicly, Amr has accepted Mohammed's invitation in an online video. Some of his local fans do not want him to leave.

"His songs come out from his heart," said Mohammed al-Adaimi, a 23-year-old who listens to Amr's songs on YouTube. "He should stay and sing for us and we will support him."

Like other fans, al-Adaimi is concerned Amr's musical style might change if he trains in Lebanon. He might learn a more common Lebanese style of Arab music.

Other local people said they are proud that a young Yemeni is getting international attention. "He is a talented boy," said Mabrouk al-Baqash, who has been listening to Amr sing for eight months. "It's fine to travel to Lebanon."

Words in This Story

exploitation - n. the act of to use (someone or something) in a way that helps you unfairly

hiker - n. someone who walks a long distance especially for pleasure and/or exercise

reprimand - v. to speak in an angry and critical way to (someone who has done something wrong, disobeyed an order, etc.)

mentor⁸ - v. to teach or give advice or guidance to (someone, such as a less experienced¹⁴ person or a child) : to act as a mentor for (someone)

talented - adj. having a special ability to do something well : having talent

charisma - n. a special charm¹⁵ or appeal that causes people to feel attracted and excited by someone (such as a politician)

style - n. a particular way in which something is done, created, or performed

1 exploitation   

n.开采

参考例句：

• the exploitation of children 对儿童的剥削
• the hapless victims of exploitation 受到剥削的不幸牺牲品

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 deepens   

v.变深，加深( deepen的第三人称单数 )；加浓

参考例句：

• Wine deepens on aging. 酒久藏而变醇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• \"The sand-sea deepens with fathomless ice, And darkness masses its endless clouds;\" 瀚海阑干百丈冰，愁云黪淡万里凝。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

4 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。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

7 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

8 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

9 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

10 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

11 mentored   

v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They had a fantastic dean who really mentored a lot of people. 那儿的教务长非常出色，的确为许多人提供了指导。 来自互联网
• The famous professor mentored him during his years in graduate school. 那位著名的教授在他读研究生期间指导他。 来自互联网

12 assist   

vt.协助，帮助，促进；vi.帮忙，参加

参考例句：

• He asked us to assist him in carrying through their plan.他要我们帮助他实施他们的计划。
• We'll assist at your wedding.我们将出席你们的婚礼。

13 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

14 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

15 charm   

vt.使着迷，使陶醉；n.招人喜欢之处，魅力

参考例句：

• With all imperfections the short play has a real charm.尽管有不少缺欠，这出小戏仍颇具魅力。
• He could resist her charm no longer.他再也抗拒不住她的魅力。