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VOA慢速英语2014 墨西哥流浪乐队大受欢迎

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AS IT IS 2014-05-19 Mariachi Music Gains in Popularity 墨西哥流浪乐队大受欢迎

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning English!

I’m Christopher Cruise in Washington.

Today on the program we will tell you about -- and listen to -- different kinds of American music. We will report on the growing popularity of mariachi music -- especially in states along the border with Mexico.

“It is a combination of everything. Like, I believe it’s the melting pot of, of the world, and music-wise.”

Then we will tell you how some Americans used music to support -- and then fight -- an amendment1 to the United States Constitution.

“There are people who stop drinking alcohol. About one in five Americans take a temperance pledge -- that is, an anti-drinking pledge.”

More listeners to mariachi music, and how music played a part in an American constitutional debate: those are our subjects today on As It Is.

Mariachi Music Gains Popularity Across Ethnic2 Lines

Mariachi music has been popular among Mexican-Americans in the United States for more than a century. It is especially popular in Texas and other states along the border with Mexico. There are now mariachi groups in all parts of the U.S. and in some European and Asian nations. 

Mariachi music has long been popular with the large Mexican-American population in San Antonio, Texas.

Among the young performers at a recent event was 12-year-old Ajani Rhames. She is not of Mexican ancestry3. She is an African-American. She says she fell in love with the songs she heard in Mexican restaurants and on local radio stations.

“I like ‘Las Margaritas,’ which is about daisies and I like ‘El Pastor,’ which is about a shepherd.”

Concert producer Cynthia Munoz says Anani Rhames shows the appeal of mariachi music.

“She feels this very strong connection and love for the music and it sends a very powerful message to our entire community that this music is truly international.”

Singer William Carlton Wayne Galvez is an example of the ethnic mix of mariachi music. He describes himself as one-third Mexican, one-third Anglo and one-third African American. He says the music represents it all.

“It is a combination of everything. Like, I believe it is the melting pot of, of the world, and music-wise.”

Singers are at the center of mariachi concerts. Guitars, violins and horns are among the instruments that create the mariachi sound.

Texas public schools and state colleges have programs that provide training and a chance to perform in public.

Music Fuels the Fight Over Alcohol Ban

The U.S. Congress approved the 21st Amendment to the Constitution more than 80 years ago -- on December 5th, 1933. The amendment cancelled an earlier ban on the production and sale of alcohol in the country. It also marked the end of a political struggle that lasted more than 100 years. The struggle had been argued, in part, through music. 

Many issues captured the attention of Americans in the years between the War for Independence in the late 1700s and the Civil War in the 1860s. They included the separation of state and religion, and US relations with France and England. While those and other issues came and went, the battle over one subject never stopped. That subject was alcohol.

The war against alcohol in the US started in the early 1800s. Before then, Americans had been heavy drinkers.

Scott Gac is a professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He wrote a book about reform in the 19th century. He says that in the 1820s and 1830s, American religious leaders began saying that God wanted people to take better care of themselves.

“So they start eating differently. There are people who actually became some of the first vegetarians4 in the United States. There are people who stop drinking alcohol. About one in five Americans take a temperance pledge -- that is, an anti-drinking pledge. The breadwinner in the family was going out, spending what little money he had, and thus creating poverty for his family. So, his, his wife had to work, his kids had to go out and beg on the street, so drunkenness was eating at the core of American families.”

Christian5 leaders were largely responsible for what became known as the “temperance movement.” As a result, many of the movement’s songs were based on popular Christian hymns6. People sang these songs at meetings of groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Its members were known to go out and attack public drinking places with axes. 

By 1900, more than half of the American states had gone “dry.” In other words, they restricted -- or even banned -- the sale of alcohol. Many other people opposed the restrictions7. They also expressed themselves in song.

Soon after World War I, temperance supporters had enough votes in Congress to approve a nationwide ban on alcohol. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned “the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating8 liquors.” 

But the Constitution still protected people’s right to argue that the prohibition9 of alcohol was a bad idea. And they did.

The ban on alcohol lasted 13 years. By 1933, the anti-alcohol forces admitted defeat. Congress cancelled the 18th Amendment, and alcohol flowed freely again in the United States. And that, too, was cause for song. 

And that’s our program for today.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 amendment Mx8zY     
n.改正,修正,改善,修正案
参考例句:
  • The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
  • The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。
2 ethnic jiAz3     
adj.人种的,种族的,异教徒的
参考例句:
  • This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏,这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
  • The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。
3 ancestry BNvzf     
n.祖先,家世
参考例句:
  • Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
  • He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。
4 vegetarians 92ca2254bb61eaa208608083177e4ed9     
n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 );素食者;素食主义者;食草动物
参考例句:
  • Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
  • Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。
5 Christian KVByl     
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。
6 hymns b7dc017139f285ccbcf6a69b748a6f93     
n.赞美诗,圣歌,颂歌( hymn的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • At first, they played the hymns and marches familiar to them. 起初他们只吹奏自己熟悉的赞美诗和进行曲。 来自英汉非文学 - 百科语料821
  • I like singing hymns. 我喜欢唱圣歌。 来自辞典例句
7 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
8 intoxicating sqHzLB     
a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的
参考例句:
  • Power can be intoxicating. 权力能让人得意忘形。
  • On summer evenings the flowers gave forth an almost intoxicating scent. 夏日的傍晚,鲜花散发出醉人的芳香。
9 prohibition 7Rqxw     
n.禁止;禁令,禁律
参考例句:
  • The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
  • They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

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