VOA标准英语2015--新奥尔良重建被飓风摧毁的音乐场所

New Orleans Works to Rebuild Music Scene After Katrina 新奥尔良重建被飓风摧毁的音乐场所

NEW ORLEANS—

New Orleans is known for its music. But 10 years ago, the music was drowned out by the howling winds and rising water brought by Hurricane Katrina.

Musicians joined other residents fleeing the city. Part of the effort to bring New Orleans back to life focused on bringing back the musicians and creating a place where they could live and work, and make music.

"Losing that heritage would have taken away the beating heart of New Orleans and damaged it forever," said Jim Pate¹, executive director of the nonprofit New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. "We are such a unique and fragile environment that we needed to get our musicians back." The Musicians' Village, he said, was one of the first places to which they could return and put down roots.

With help from 40,000 volunteers, Habitat for Humanity built 72 low-cost homes in one of the city's residential² neighborhoods.  The village includes a community center named after New Orleans jazz great Ellis Marsalis that features a performance hall and recording³ studio.

More than 170 musicians, like classically trained avant-garde cellist⁴ Helen Gillet, have moved in. She joined the crew building the homes and "learned the empowering feeling of actually learning how to do construction, when I thought I would be hopeless at it.  It was a great feeling, and then meeting other musicians in that context really brought us together."

Now, she is recording CDs and collaborating⁵ with her neighbors, as New Orleans celebrates the resurgence⁶ of its vibrant⁷ music culture.

1 pate   

n.头顶；光顶

参考例句：

• The few strands of white hair at the back of his gourd-like pate also quivered.他那长在半个葫芦样的头上的白发，也随着笑声一齐抖动着。
• He removed his hat to reveal a glowing bald pate.他脱下帽子，露出了发亮的光头。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 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。

4 cellist   

n.大提琴手

参考例句：

• The cellist's bowing was very sensitive . 那位大提琴手的弓法十分细腻。 来自辞典例句
• World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded The Silk Road Project in 1998. 世界闻名的大提琴家马友友于1998年创建了丝路工程。 来自互联网

5 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

6 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

7 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。