环球英语 — 371：Steel Pan Music

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today's Spotlight¹ program. I'm Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I'm Adam Navis. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
In the past one hundred years people have invented only one popular music instrument that does not use electricity. Do you know what it is? It sounds like this.
Voice 2
It is called a steel pan². Today's Spotlight is all about steel pan music. There are almost one thousand different groups playing steel pan music. It is played for presidents and for kings. It is played in famous music centres. But steel pan music is connected most closely³ to one place: the island countries of Trinidad and Tobago.
Voice 1
The history of these joint⁴ countries is full of struggle. Over the years, many countries have occupied Trinidad and Tobago. At different times, Spain, The Netherlands, France, and Britain have each controlled the islands. People also came to the islands to escape from trouble or trial in their home country.
Voice 2
While many people came because they wanted to, many did not. The French brought African people to the island as slaves. Soon there were more slaves than free people. Around the year eighteen hundred there were about seventeen thousand people on the islands. Ten thousand of these people were slaves. Several years later, Britain would take control of the islands and ban the slave trade.
Voice 1
The French did not only bring slaves to the islands. They also brought the tradition of Carnival⁵. Carnival, also called Mardi Gras, is a celebration before the Christian⁶ season of Lent. As they did in Paris, French people marched through the streets singing, dancing, and playing music. The former slaves joined the parade too. They brought their own drums, and began adding their own beats to the celebration.
Voice 2
People usually make drums by stretching animal skin over an open container. On the islands, people used these drums to communicate across great distances. Although the British ruler had banned the slave trade, the British would not give up control of the islands. And they were afraid the people would use the drums to send secret messages of revolt⁷. So, in eighteen eighty three, Carnival was celebrated⁸ but the government banned the drums.
Voice 1
Many people did not want to give up their drums. The slaves had lost many things - their families, their own languages, and their religion. Music was one connection to the past. And drumming gave them a way to express their emotions without words. Also, they missed out on taking part in celebrating Carnival.
Voice 2
So people found a way to keep drumming. Every time the government banned one kind of drum, the people found a new one. For example, people started to use bamboo. This plant grows in a large tube shape. The people would cut different sizes of bamboo, and hit them on the ground. This was called Tamboo Bamboo.
Voice 1
The Tamboo-bamboo groups soon became large. They even began to fight over who was the best. Some even made their instruments into sharp pointed⁹ weapons. Also, because many people were harvesting bamboo illegally, in 1934 the British government banned Tamboo-Bamboo instruments.
Voice 2
This did not stop people from inventing more new drums. In 1936, a music group brought new steel drums to Carnival. This was the beginning of steel pan. People made these first steel pans¹⁰ out of bread containers, paint containers, or waste containers. They were so popular that soon the young people of Trinidad were stealing every waste container they could find. Young people even took locked waste containers! They were caught in the steel pan movement.
Voice 1
They made steel pans by forming the bottom of the containers with heavy tools. They shaped different thicknesses on different parts. This created many notes on a single pan. The steel pan was now able to play whole songs!
Voice 2
During World War Two the music of steel pan became popular with American soldiers. They were living at an navy¹¹ base in Trinidad. The navy base also brought a new resource for making steel pan instruments. Oil containers!
Voice 1
The navy ships needed oil. The oil came in large two hundred and eight litre oil containers. When the containers were empty, they were perfect for making steel pans. The oil containers were thick metal and lasted much longer than other materials.
Voice 2
During World War Two, the government again banned Carnival celebrations. Because of this ban it became more difficult to find materials to make steel pan instruments. Steel pan builders had to take materials from oil factories or navy shipyards. This caused conflict and violence between different steel pan groups. Sometimes, instruments were taken or destroyed.
Voice 1
But after the war, the government lifted the ban on Carnival. This began steel pans' high point. Music groups set up steel pan music celebrations. Different steel pan groups would gather and compete against each other. As Trinidad and Tobago became more independent, steel pan became a more respected kind of music.
Voice 2
In 1962, Trinidad became an independent nation and steel pan music was played at the national celebration. This was an important mark for steel pan as well as for Trinidad and Tobago. The music that was once banned street music had risen into a respected music form. It was part of Trinidad and Tobago's national character.
Voice 1
Today, steel pan music has travelled around the world and has been played by people outside Trinidad and Tobago. There are more than eight hundred steel pan groups in the world. Three hundred are in Britain. There are two hundred and forty in the United States. In Switzerland, there are one hundred and thirty groups and seventy percent of Swiss pan players are women.
Voice 2
Even while it is popular around the world, steel pan music is still closely linked with the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Steel pan was the music of the poor, of the oppressed¹², of former slaves. But like the people of Trinidad and Tobago, steel pan music would rise up and demand to be heard.
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

3 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 revolt   

n.叛乱，反抗，反感；v.叛乱，起反感，使...恶心

参考例句：

• The revolt was suppressed in a matter of hours.叛乱在几小时之内就平息下去了。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 pans   

n.平底锅( pan的名词复数 )；（天平的）秤盘；马桶；盘状凹地（尤指盆地）

参考例句：

• Pots, pans, kettles and mops are kitchen utensils. 锅、盘、壶及拖把是厨房用具。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She clashed these pans down on the floor. 她将这些盘子哗啦一声摔在地上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

12 oppressed   

adj. 被压迫的，郁闷的 动词oppress的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It'seemed that the realisation of his life's dream oppressed him with overjoy. 夙愿得偿似乎使他欣喜若狂。
• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气