VOA标准英语2008年-Chicago Musician Travels to Mideast, Plays in I

The leader of a small suburban¹ village near Chicago made his name as a small town politician and big city prosecutor². Little did his constituents³ know that by the time he had entered college, nearly two decades earlier, Mark Damisch was an accomplished⁴ pianist.

After Damisch revived his musical career nearly a decade ago, he began playing for audiences around the world to raise awareness⁵ of worthy⁶ issues. This week [August 4th to August 9th], the man known as the "musical mayor" is in the Middle East, playing for peace.

VOA's Kane Farabaugh has the story in the latest in our series: Making a Difference.
　
Mark Damisch says passionate⁷ music is best for his Middle East mission

People around the northern suburbs of Chicago might recognize Mark Damisch as the former village president, or mayor, of Northbrook -- or as the successful former prosecutor who, along with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, aggressively pursued corrupt⁸ police officers in the 1980s.

In between cases as an attorney at a downtown Chicago law firm, Damisch ran for but lost an election for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000.

But few people knew at the time he was also once a professional pianist.

"I was never going to be a quarterback on the football team or the starting pitcher⁹ on a baseball team," Damisch said. "But I found that I could find myself through playing the piano."
In the early 1980's, Damisch quietly put away his music and pursued a more practical career.

The Musical Mayor, performing for peace

As the new millennium¹⁰ approached, Damisch looked at the piano that had gathered dust for almost two decades, and began playing professionally again.

"In the year 2000, I did 12 concerts between here and western Europe, and that's grown to where last year I did eighty concerts in 120 days," he recalls.

He is known now at home as the "Musical Mayor."
　
Mark Damisch performs in China during a recent tour

He has performed as far away as China, where he has used music to raise money for causes such as the Red Cross. Now, Damisch has taken on the role of musical ambassador in the conflict-torn Middle East.

"It's more important, I think, for artists to go over there and perform now than maybe at any time in the history of the world," Damisch said.

Damisch chose Beethoven's Appassionato Sonata¹¹ for a reason. "To me, everything about the Middle East is passion," he said. "It's my land. It's your land. It's my home. It's your home -- my religion, your religion and the Appassionato Sonata is all about Beethoven's passion at a time when he realized he was about to lose his hearing."

Damisch admits that there is only so much a musician can do to encourage peace. He says he hopes that by traveling to places not often visited by artists, he can in some small way draw attention to the issues at stake.

"The point is to go and play in places where they need people to reach out and to reach across the divide," Damisch said.

He encounters a region engulfed¹² conflict for at least three quarters of a century, with a peace process that, once again, is in tatters.

Mark Damisch, a mayor, a prosecutor, a lawyer and, once again, a pianist says he hopes as an artist he can make a difference.

 

1 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

2 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

3 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

6 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

7 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

8 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

9 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

10 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

11 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。

12 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》