VOA标准英语2011--Yodeling’s Still Big in Mississippi

Yodeling’s Still Big in Mississippi

 

In the hot and humid piney woods of the Deep South, you’ll find a small industrial city that has become a hub for trucks that crisscross the nation. But Meridian¹, Mississippi - population 40,000 - was once an important railroad center.

It was there, more than 80 years ago, that the man known as the “Father of Country Music” lived and wrote lonesome tunes², including several mournful train songs.

As the nation’s first known professional country singer, Jimmie Rodgers recorded hit after hit. They featured his distinctive³ yodeling sound that inspired cowboy singers such as Roy Rogers and Gene⁴ Autry.

On “Blue Yodel No. 8,” for instance, Jimmie Rodgers sang:

“Good morning, captain, good morning, shine.
“Do you need another muleskinner out on your new mud line?
“Yodel-ay-ee-ee, yodel-ay-ee-ee-ooh.”

Jimmie Rodgers learned music from black Mississippi cotton workers. He took their blues⁵ sound and embellished⁶ it with a backwoods twang that suggested deep mountain hollows far from big-city life. Rodgers worked as a railroad brakeman in Meridian, and he contracted tuberculosis⁷ on the job.

A mural in Bristol, Tennessee, which calls itself “The Birthplace of Country Music,” includes an ample tribute to “The Singing Brakeman” to the right.

But as the disease slowly took his breath - and his life - away, “The Singing Brakeman” got a recording⁸ contract and became famous throughout the land.

As Rodgers’ tuberculosis worsened, he recorded a song about the disease before he died at the age of 32 in 1933. He called it “The T.B. Blues.”

Rodgers is still a hero in his hometown. In fact, there’s a Jimmie Rodgers Museum in Meridian in a building designed to look like a railroad depot⁹. Inside are some of his outfits¹⁰, his sheet music and records, lots of photographs, and his old guitar.

Country music has become slick and enormously popular, of course. The economies of cities such as Nashville, Tennessee, are built around the country-music phenomenon. And many a night at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, the biggest country stars of the day take a moment to thank the man who started it all.

In 1961, Jimmie Rodgers - the “Singing Brakeman” - was the first person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

1 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

2 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

4 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 embellished   

v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• The door of the old church was embellished with decorations. 老教堂的门是用雕饰美化的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The stern was embellished with carvings in red and blue. 船尾饰有红色和蓝色的雕刻图案。 来自辞典例句

7 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

8 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。

9 depot   

n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站

参考例句：

• The depot is only a few blocks from here.公共汽车站离这儿只有几个街区。
• They leased the building as a depot.他们租用这栋大楼作仓库。

10 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句