THIS IS AMERICA - Grand Ole Opry Celebrates its 80th Anniver

THIS IS AMERICA - Grand Ole Opry Celebrates its 80th Anniversary¹ on Radio
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, October 31, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today we tell you about a program that Americans have been hearing on radio since nineteen twenty-five.

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VOICE ONE:

 
June 10, 2000 – The Opry unveils its first major set redesign in 25 years.
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its eightieth anniversary on the radio this year. Americans have heard this program longer than any other radio show.

The Grand Ole Opry broadcasts country music live on Friday and Saturday nights from Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville is famous as America's country-music capital.

The Opry has aired more than four thousand one hundred shows. The Saturday night show still comes from the medium-wave station, WSM, that began broadcasting it. But now, two million people each week listen to the program on satellite radio, cable² television and the Internet as well as WSM.

VOICE TWO:

The first programs were broadcast from the Ryman Auditorium³ in Nashville. Many years later, shows came from the program's own Grand Ole Opry theater. Some current listeners are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the first listeners.

VOICE ONE:

At first, the show was called "The WSM Barn⁴ Dance." A newspaper writer, George Hay⁵, established the program and was its first director. Hay later changed the name to the Grand Ole Opry. The new name was meant to show that the program was a kind of country opera.

The earliest days of the Opry presented "hillbilly music" played by local musicians. Hay hired eighty-year-old Uncle Jimmy Thompson to play this folk music of the American South on his fiddle⁶, or violin. People loved the show.

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SOUND: "Presenting the Grand Ole Opry. Let her go, boys!"

VOICE TWO:

 
November 1940 – Comedian⁷ Minnie Pearl⁸ joins the Opry cast.
People kept listening to the Grand Ole Opry through the Jazz Age in the nineteen twenties. Then came the great economic depression of nineteen twenty-nine and the nineteen thirties. People still kept listening to the Grand Ole Opry. They also listened as the darkness of World War Two fell on the world.

By the nineteen forties, the Grand Ole Opry had become the most important country-music radio show in America. Comedian Minnie Pearl made people laugh. And Roy Acuff was perhaps the most popular Opry artist of that time. Here are Roy Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys with "Wabash Cannonball."

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VOICE ONE:

Rock star Elvis Presley sang on the Grand Ole Opry in nineteen fifty-four. He performed his own version⁹ of a song by Bill Monroe, who was present. The show's historian¹⁰ says Elvis was nervous about the reaction, but Bill Monroe told him he liked it. Yet Elvis never came back.

Johnny Cash started on the program during the nineteen fifties. Cash met his future wife, June Carter, at the Grand Ole Opry.

Singer Patsy Cline joined the show in nineteen sixty. Here is Patsy Cline with "Walkin' After Midnight."

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VOICE TWO:

 
March 16, 1974 – Roy Acuff opens the new 4,440-seat Grand Ole Opry House with a performance of "The Wabash Cannonball." President Richard Nixon attends with his wife.
As the years passed, more great stars appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. Ceremonies were held in nineteen seventy-four for its new performance center. The Grand Ole Opry House theater opened on the edge of Nashville. President Richard Nixon played "God Bless America" on the piano at the event.

The new center gave many entertainers a chance to develop their fame. They included people like John Conlee, Lorrie Morgan, the Gatlins, Ronnie Milsap and Barbara Mandrell. Here, John Conlee sings "Rose Colored Glasses."

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VOICE ONE:

The Grand Ole Opry of today takes place much as it did eighty years ago. Performers march across the stage. They sing and play a song or two. Then they leave, and the next performers play. At least thirty entertainers usually appear in a single show.

Some of the most famous stars of country music appear at the Grand Ole Opry. People like Marty Stuart, Tim McGraw and Martina McBride. Listen as Martina McBride sings "Wrong Again."

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VOICE TWO:

Other members or guests of the Grand Ole Opry include famous names like Alan Jackson, Charley Pride, Ricky Scaggs, Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and Chely Wright. The list goes on.

Here are Brad Paisley and Chely Wright with a song about the life of a married traveling singer. The song is called "Hard to Be a Husband, Hard to Be a Wife."

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VOICE ONE:

The Grand Ole Opry has been celebrating its eightieth year with a number of special events. Diamond Rio, Ralph Stanley and Travis Tritt performed during a long celebration weekend earlier in October. Garth Brooks¹¹ appeared although he is retired¹² from performing. Listen now as Diamond Rio performs "Meet in the Middle."

 
October 6, 1990 – Garth Brooks joins the Opry cast the same night that Alan Jackson first appears on the show. Brooks was introduced by Johnny Russell.
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VOICE TWO:

The Grand Ole Opry will present a special show at Carnegie Hall on November fourteenth. Opry members set to take part in that performance and celebration include Bill Anderson, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, and Alison Krauss and her group Union Station.

We sign off now with Alison Krauss and Union Station as they present a Grand Ole Opry favorite, "Oh Atlanta."

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VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver¹³ was our producer. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Our programs can be found on the Web at voaspecialenglish.com. Please join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 anniversary   

n.周年(纪念日)

参考例句：

• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
• Today is my parents'30th wedding anniversary.今天是我父母结婚30周年纪念日。

2 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

3 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

4 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

5 hay   

n.(用作饲料或覆盖的)干草

参考例句：

• Cows feed on hay.奶牛以干草为生。
• They usually keep the hay in the barn.他们通常将干草存放在谷仓中。

6 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

7 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

8 pearl   

n.珍珠，珍珠母

参考例句：

• He bought his girlfriend a pearl necklace.他给他女朋友买了一条珍珠项链。
• The crane and the mother-of-pearl fight to death.鹬蚌相争。

9 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

10 historian   

n.历史学家，编史家

参考例句：

• As a historian,he was most typical of the times in which he lived.作为历史学家，他是他所处时代最有代表性的人物。
• He calls himself a historian,but his books are a mere journalism.他自称为历史学家，但是他的书都是些肤浅的通俗作品。

11 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

13 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。