VOA英语2010年-Remembering John Lennon 30 Years Later

Thirty years after his murder by a fan on December 8, 1980, John Lennon's music and personality still resonate strongly. This may be especially so in New York, which the former Beatle adopted as his home with his wife, Yoko Ono.

Lasting¹ memories

Strawberry Fields is a peaceful spot in Central Park which is dedicated² to John Lennon's memory. It's a mere³ 50 or so meters from the apartment building where he lived and died. The usual gaggle of tourists and fans are sitting on benches, some in contemplation, others in song.

 

"It means music. Serenity⁴. It feels like my home," says one man in the park. "I feel closer to him when I'm here. "

Three decades ago, a deranged⁵ fan got close enough to the musician to shoot him. The murder shocked the city and the world. Rock and roll photographer Bob Gruen, who knew John Lennon well as a friend, says the pain can last a lifetime.

 
REUTERS/Keith Bedford
People sing John Lennon and Beatles songs as they gather around the Imagine mosaic⁶ in Strawberry Fields in New York's Central Park to celebrate the birthday of John Lennon in New York, October 9, 2010.
"When you get a deep wound, eventually the wound heals but you still have scar and when you touch the scar you still have the pain. So it's something like that where you never get over it but somehow you get used to it," says Gruen, who tries to sum up what was special about his friend. "He didn't say things that people didn't know. In fact, what he said was everybody does know, but he said it in a very simple, easy-to-understand way. He just had a magical way of expressing things."

Meaningful music

Lennon wrote the melancholy⁷ "In My Life" during the Beatles' earlier days. Its tone is in sharp contrast with the saccharine⁸ lyrics⁹ that were typical for boy groups at the time.

Reporter Larry Kane, the author of "Lennon Revealed," got to know the Beatle during the band's American tours.

"John Lennon was a man who was very angry and embittered¹⁰ most of his life. He was born to a father who was never around, a mother who disappeared mostly. He had a best friend who died of a brain hemmorage at the age of 20," says Kane. "But on the flip¹¹ side of all that, all the drugs and all the problems - he was also one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met, in terms of his ability to overcome those demons¹² that lurked¹³ inside him and produce beautiful music and beautiful poetry."

Lennon also produced highly political music and poetry.

 
AP
John Lennon and Yoko Ono held two week-long Bed-Ins for Peace in Amsterdam and Montreal to protest the US war in Vietnam. Here the couple is pictured at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam on March 25, 1969.
"I think he was a brave person, he certainly was in the sense that he took political stands very early. He took on issues right out of the day's newspapers," says Newsweek editor Jeff Giles, who has written extensively about the late singer. "He wanted the music to matter. To be that famous and still risk everything for what you believe in, that means a lot to people."

Lennon often used his fame to make a point in theatrical¹⁴ ways. In the early 1970s, he and wife Yoko Ono recorded "Give Peace A Chance," in a Montreal hotel room with their friends during the couple's weeklong Bed-In for Peace.

Family life

A watershed¹⁵ moment for Lennon came in 1971, when he left his native England and settled in New York City with Ono. Photographer Bob Gruen says Lennon saw the Big Apple as the world's artistic¹⁶ and cultural center, and felt he could be almost anonymous¹⁷ there.

 
AP
In this Aug. 30, 1972 file photo, John Lennon performs at New York's Madison Square Garden.
"In England, people would chase him down the street and get hysterical¹⁸ when they saw him. But in New York, people see famous people a lot. But we're kind of busy, and everybody's got somewhere to go," Gruen says. "So he could go to the corner store and buy a newspaper, and go into the espresso shop and have a coffee and read the paper, and people wouldn't bother him so much. He could take a taxicab. He was like a normal person here."

In 1975, when he was 35 years old, Lennon stopped writing and recording¹⁹ music.

For the next five years, he settled into life as a house-husband and dedicated father to the couple's young child, Sean, while his wife handled his multi-million dollar music business. This reversal of gender²⁰ roles was unusual for that era.

In 1980, the couple recorded and released a new album called "Double Fantasy." Its hit single, "Starting Over," proved to be John Lennon's last.

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

3 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

4 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

5 deranged   

adj.疯狂的

参考例句：

• Traffic was stopped by a deranged man shouting at the sky.一名狂叫的疯子阻塞了交通。
• A deranged man shot and killed 14 people.一个精神失常的男子开枪打死了14人。

6 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

7 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

8 saccharine   

adj.奉承的，讨好的

参考例句：

• She smiled with saccharine sweetness.她的笑里只有虚情假意的甜蜜。
• I found the film far too saccharine.我觉得这部电影太缠绵了。

9 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

10 embittered   

v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• These injustices embittered her even more. 不公平使她更加受苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The artist was embittered by public neglect. 大众的忽视于那位艺术家更加难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

12 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

15 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

16 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

17 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

18 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

19 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。

20 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。