VOA标准英语2014--Korean-American BettySoo Took Long Route to Music Career

 

Korean-American BettySoo Took Long Route to Music Career

Texas singer-songwriter BettySoo’s fourth CD, “When We’re Gone” is a collection of songs that deal with the messy parts of life we all go through. The Asian-American folk singer took a long route to a singing career.

When she was growing up just outside of Houston in Spring, Texas, “singer-songwriter” wasn’t near the top of BettySoo’s list of things to do when she grew up. It wasn’t that she didn’t love performing; it just didn’t seem like a serious career choice for an American-born daughter of two doctors who came here from Korea a few years before she was born.

“My parents were enough like the typical Korean parents that we did not feel like we were going to be musicians. Actually, that’s not totally true---they still really encouraged studying hard and wanted us to get straight A’s [on report cards], that whole thing," she said. "But, they always said don’t become a doctor or a lawyer because you want to please us. Of all the things you are interested in, choose one of those things. Because, you’re going to wait until we die and you’ll resent it. And it will be too late to pursue those things.”

BettySoo studied English in college and was 26 years old, in graduate school and working on a masters degree in counseling, before she even gave serious thought to singing professionally. She says she’s glad she had that time in school, even if she didn’t finish, because it taught her to listen and to also dig a little deeper to try to find the “backstory” that makes people do what they do…

“In college, I was also an education minor¹ and that was one of those things that you learn about there, too," she said. "You know, a kid walks in to your classroom and maybe they’re acting² up. Instead of just addressing the behavior, there’s this reminder³ that you always have to tell yourself that there’s more story there than you know. Something could be going on at home. Something could be going on on the playground. Something could be going on medically. Every person you encounter, there are deeper stories there. There are scars and painful histories that you might not be the one to hear, but they’re there.”

BettySoo wrote her first song in 1984, and released her first CD a year later. Soon, she was winning prestigious⁴ songwriting contests and performing at festivals and in clubs not just across the United States, but also in Canada and Europe. She credits living in the music hub of Austin, Texas for helping⁵ her learn her craft and advancing quickly.

“People taught me how to write press releases, how to do publicity⁶, how to book shows, the art of performance, all kinds of things. And it wasn’t necessarily ‘sit down and teach you,’ but you were just surrounded by it," she said. "And you were surrounded by people who did it well and people who didn’t do it well. And that was a really great education.”

Today, BettySoo is paying back that generosity⁷, making herself available to musicians who are just starting out - offering to share their songs with other singers, giving advice on publicity materials and website design.  

“I mean I guess there are now resources online or in books or in seminars or workshops where people can kind of learn how to do this ‘thing’…but I don’t think people who are trying to chase a dream should have to pay thousands of dollars to learn how to do it,” she said.

When BettySoo’s first CD appeared, much was made of how unusual it was to find an Asian-American woman singing onstage at a folk festival. Today, with four solo releases and several collaborations, reviews focus first on her stellar singing and songwriting - a sure sign she’s moved into the mainstream⁸.

1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

7 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。