VOA慢速英语--南非歌手通过创作新音乐来适应新冠病毒

The streets of rural South Africa are far from the bright lights of American television, but that is where members of the Ndlovu Youth Choir¹ find themselves during the coronavirus health crisis³.

With a mix of song and dance moves, the choir earned the right to compete in the finals of the "America's Got Talent" television show last year. After that, the group performed at sold-out shows across the United States and Europe. It also signed a recording⁴ contract.

But the disease COVID-19 stopped the group's travels. Its members returned to Moutse Valley in the South African province of Limpopo, one of the country's poorest areas.

"We were supposed to go to Germany for a performance, but it got canceled. We are used to touring the world, doing shows everywhere, and during this corona² time it's been very difficult," said Sandile Majola, a member of the choir and its manager.

The virus has created new risks for singing together, but this is not stopping the young singers.

The group was formed in 2008 to help orphans⁶ and children of people with HIV/AIDS, said Hugo Tempelman, a Dutch doctor. Thirty years ago, he started a medical center that has become a neighborhood development project, the Ndlovu Care Group.

The project has more than 600 families, with none headed by adults. The oldest child was in charge, he said.

"We tried to assist those kids with food programs and tried to give them a more resilient way of surviving, through life skills," Tempelman said.

He saw a bigger need for the children's future.

"When I saw the kids go home, I still didn't see a smile. And I thought that if we want to provide hope, we must give them something that they can be proud of," he said.

So, he came up with the idea of forming a youth choir.

"You start a choir, because Africa sings," he said. "Africa sings everywhere. They sing at a funeral; they sing at a birth."

In 2016, the choir's members became more professional with the help of donors⁷. Two years later, their version of the Ed Sheeran song "Shape of You" earned them a place on "America's Got Talent." Their performances made them famous.

Now, the 38 young singers are developing a new plan.

Choir manager Majola said all the singers, ages from 13 to 26, have been tested for COVID-19 and have been cleared to sing together.

A recording and filming studio has been built at a nearby neighborhood theater. They have begun putting together a performance for an online show.

"We are getting together for the first time since the lockdown started," said Majola.

Choir director Ralf Schmitt said the group is rehearsing new songs for their first album with Sony Music. Online performances are also planned.

The album will be released at the end of the year, but the choir plans to release a song, "We Will Rise," to mark the birthday of former South African President Nelson Mandela on July 18.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

contract – n. a written, binding⁸ agreement between two parties

tour – v. to travel around

manager – n. one who organizes and controls labor⁹

orphan⁵ – n. a child whose parents are dead

resilient – adj. tough, hardy¹⁰

proud – adj. to feel successful

professional – adj. to behave in a mature, adult fashion

lockdown – n. the shutting down of an entity¹¹

rehearse – v. to practice a play or show without an audience

album – n. a round disc that plays music

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 corona   

n.日冕

参考例句：

• The corona gains and loses energy continuously.日冕总是不断地获得能量和损失能量。
• The corona is a brilliant,pearly white,filmy light,about as bright as the full moon.光环带是一种灿烂的珠白色朦胧光，几乎像满月一样明亮。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

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 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

6 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 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。

10 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

11 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。