VOA标准英语2008年-Merlefest 2008 Draws International Audience

By Katherine Cole
Washington
19 May 2008

During the last weekend of April, close to 80,000 people from as far away as Japan, Australia and Germany converged¹ upon the town of Wilkesboro, North Carolina. What drew these people to the small town in the Appalachian Mountains? A gathering² of musicians including Bela Fleck³, Marty Stuart and Levon Helm. And as VOA's Katherine Cole reports, the memory of Merle Watson, and respect and love for his father, Doc, is what brought the performers.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Jim Lauderdale was one of the more than 100 artists who performed on the 14 Merlefest stages set up around the campus of Wilkes Community College.

Cole: "What is so special about this festival? Everybody talks about it with such awe⁴ …"

Lauderdale: "You know, it's just got this thing about it. I think that maybe it's the concentration of great artists. They get the cream of the crop. And it has a great reputation. Now, it's kind of something you aspire⁵ to play at, like the Newport Folk Festival, or something. It's really evolved into that, I think."

Cole: "And what is so special about Doc Watson?"

Lauderdale: "Wow! He is a real architect for a style of music really. For guitar playing, he influenced so many great pickers, Clarence White, Tony Rice are among them … Jerry Garcia. So many people revere⁶ Doc."

Doc and his son Merle Watson had been playing and recording⁷ together for nearly 20 years, and had won four Grammy Awardss before a farm accident tragically⁸ ended their partnership⁹. The first Merlefest was held two years later, as a tribute to the younger Watson.

Unlike many festivals, Merlefest is a non-profit event, and has become the major fundraiser for Wilkes Community College, allowing the school to make numerous site improvements and fund scholarships for its students. Local civic¹⁰ groups are also involved in Merlefest, either providing services like shuttle buses or vending¹¹ food. Traditionally, many have made their operational money for the year, just through their association with Merlefest.

2008 was Tish Hinojosa's third time playing at Merlefest, but her first visit since leaving Texas and setting up residence in Germany. Like many of the other performers, Tish said her festival highlight was seeing Doc Watson playing the guitar.

Hinojosa: "Just seeing him again was so wonderful. He just embraces the entire feeling of what the festival is all about. He is very kind, and his heart is in the music. As I saw in his set where he played all that wonderful music, not only his own, and not only bluegrass, but going outside the borders of bluegrass and playing popular music of the 1950s. And a little bit of Elvis and things. That was not only entertaining, but just so 'Americana.' He's just so broadminded, and I think that's the spirit of the festival, too."

Cole: "I'm always so impressed at how much he's working during the festival! Here is a man in his mid-80s, and every time you look, there he is up on stage!"

Hinojosa: "I know! We were watching that, too. Probably it's the music that helps him feel that way."

 

Cole: "Was there anyone beside Doc that you made a mental note not to miss this weekend?"

Hinojosa: "Peter Rowan. I never get tired of watching him and seeing him play in all these different configurations¹². We saw him play with Hot Buttered Rum. He played with Sam Bush and myself, and I saw him play with The Waybacks. Oh, and of course, on stage with Doc. It's wonderful to watch masters at their art. It was great!"

CoIe: "And what is next for you?"

 

Hinojosa: "A flight back to Germany, my new home."

 

Cole: "Your husband is from Germany. Was this a new type of festival for him, or has he been here before?"

Hinojosa: "No, that was really exciting for both of us! We went to Tennessee before coming here. So it was his first trip to Memphis and Nashville, and then his first Merlefest. Actually, he'd never been to an American music festival and he's a very, very big music lover. So he was like a kid in candy store here. It was amazing!"

Even with a lineup that included fan favorites Sam Bush, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, and Rhonda Vincent and The Rage, it is the opportunity to see 85-year-old Doc Watson in action that has always been one of Merlefest's biggest attractions. He played several times on each day of the four-day event, sometimes with a large band, others with just a bass¹³ player and another guitarist as accompaniment.

While he won't ever admit to having a favorite performance, Doc Watson says he always enjoys his reunion with the members of a band Merle played in called Frosty Morn, a group that now only plays together at their Merlefest reunions.

1 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 fleck   

n.斑点，微粒 vt.使有斑点，使成斑驳

参考例句：

• The garlic moss has no the yellow fleck and other virus. 蒜苔无黄斑点及其它病毒。
• His coat is blue with a grey fleck.他的上衣是蓝色的，上面带有灰色的斑点。

4 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

6 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

7 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。

8 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

11 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

12 configurations   

n.[化学]结构( configuration的名词复数 )；构造；（计算机的）配置；构形（原子在分子中的相对空间位置）

参考例句：

• Such configurations, obtained theoretically by calculation, are called models of a star. 通过理论计算得到的恒星结构称为恒星模型。 来自辞典例句
• The other two configurations have overriding advantages for special applications. 其它两种接法对特殊应用具有突出的优点。 来自辞典例句

13 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。