VOA标准英语2011--Yale Glee Club Hits a High Note

American universities inherited a choral tradition from England where, centuries ago, student choruses gathered to sing songs with different vocal¹ parts known as glees. Today, dozens of U.S. colleges have glee clubs - a cappella choruses open to students who pass an audition².
The Yale Glee Club is the nation's third oldest collegiate chorus. What began as a group of friends serenading passersby³, has grown into a powerhouse vocal ensemble⁴. This year marks its 150th anniversary, and this month, decades' worth of Yale Glee Club alumni head to New Haven⁵, Connecticut for a reunion.
Diverse group
Singing has always been a big part of life at Yale, no matter what you're studying. Art major - later actor - Vincent Price and music major - later minister - William Sloane Coffin⁶ sang in the Glee Club. And so did Cole Porter, one of America's most popular composers, who wrote a football song celebrating Yale's mascot⁷, "Handsome Dan the Bulldog."
Another alum is Richard Brookhiser, who's now senior editor at the conservative magazine National Review. In college, he was already active in politics and recalls he enjoyed the wide cross section of people he met in the Glee Club.
"These were people who weren't into politics, or didn't share my politics necessarily," says Brookhiser. "But when you were singing, that didn't matter, because you were all focused on the music, and having a good time doing the music."
The Glee Club performs a mixture of folk songs, spirituals and classical music.
"And that also showed someone who was maybe snobbish⁸ like I was, that all these different kinds of music have a value," says Brookhiser.
Courtesy Yale University Glee Club
Fenno Heath, who conducted the Glee Club from 1953 until 1992, in front of a portrait of his predecessor⁹, Marshall Bartholomew.
Rich tradition
The Yale Glee Club dates back to February 1861, and in all that time, there've only been seven conductors. Stowe Phelps, 93, sang under the fourth one, Marshall Bartholomew - known as Barty.
"Barty was a wonderful, affable teacher and conductor," says Phelps. "He made us work hard and insisted upon perfection."
Barty arranged dozens of folk songs and spirituals for what was then an all-male Glee Club. Jeffrey Douma, current conductor of the Glee Club, says it was no wonder that a music publisher snapped up those arrangements to sell to other groups.
"From our vantage point in 2011, they seem very old fashioned, but they were very fresh, and very exciting," says Douma, "and that's why his collection of Songs of Yale was the staple¹⁰ of male chorus repertoire¹¹ for decades. Still is, actually."
Barty led the Glee Club for over three decades, and his successor, Fenno Heath, spent nearly four decades conducting and composing for the group. Yale went co-ed during his tenure¹² - in 1969 - and so did the Glee Club.
Courtesy Yale University Glee Club
The all-male Yale Glee Club appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969.
Phelps had mixed feelings about the change. "There is a passion, there is a vigor¹³, there is a forcefulness, which is more thrilling," he says of an all-male Glee Club.
Common language
But the Glee Club survived and thrived as a mixed chorus. Yale Students down through the years have found the Glee Club's rehearsal¹⁴ room in Hendrie Hall a refuge from academic, and other pressures.
Roy Byrd, a Glee Club soloist¹⁵, was there in the 1960's. "Being black at Yale was a big deal. Being black in the Glee Club was no bigger deal than Yale generally. And in fact, because we had something in common with one another in the Glee Club, it was a small deal."
Prochie Mukherji arrived at the Yale Law School in 1972. "There I was, a student from India, very far away from home. And the Yale Glee Club really was my door to making friends and to meeting people. It was a wonderful experience to have a common language in music."
For many, the people they met in the Glee Club are friends for life. Touring reinforced those friendships, with concerts across the country every winter, and tours abroad every other summer.
Courtesy Yale University Glee Club
Conductor Jeffrey Douma leads a rehearsal of the current Yale Glee Club.
Conductor Jeffrey Douma considers the social element key to his group. "When the personal connections are strong, we're not only trying to serve the music and the composer, and we're not only singing for the audience, but we're also singing for each other. And we want to get it right for each other."
Current Glee Club members are just beginning to appreciate the group's rich history.
"The continuity of Glee Club across time, for the last 150 years - that's something I hadn't thought about as much until my senior year," says Mari Oye, a senior studying political science. "I'm hoping we'll still be kicking for the 200th reunion, and we'll be able to come back to Hendrie and bawl¹⁶ our eyes out."
Seventy-five years worth of Glee Club members were scheduled to take to the stage together at the reunion - from Stowe Phelps, class of 1939, through current Glee Club freshmen¹⁷, class of 2014.

1 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

2 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

3 passersby   

n. 过路人(行人,经过者)

参考例句：

• He had terrorized Oxford Street,where passersby had seen only his footprints. 他曾使牛津街笼罩了一片恐怖气氛，因为那儿的行人只能看到他的脚印，看不到他的人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• A person is marceling on a street, watching passersby passing. 街边烫发者打量着匆匆行人。

4 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

7 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

8 snobbish   

adj.势利的，谄上欺下的

参考例句：

• She's much too snobbish to stay at that plain hotel.她很势利，不愿住在那个普通旅馆。
• I'd expected her to be snobbish but she was warm and friendly.我原以为她会非常势利，但她却非常热情和友好。

9 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

10 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

11 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

12 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

13 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

14 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

15 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

16 bawl   

v.大喊大叫，大声地喊，咆哮

参考例句：

• You don't have to bawl out like that. Eeverybody can hear you.你不必这样大声喊叫，大家都能听见你。
• Your mother will bawl you out when she sees this mess.当你母亲看到这混乱的局面时她会责骂你的。

17 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句