VOA慢速英语 2007 1224b

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

Music is traditionally a big part of Christmas celebrations. This week on our program, we have songs from some of the new holiday albums that came out in two thousand seven.

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This is singer Patti Labelle with "Nativity." Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis wrote the song and produced her new album, "Miss Patti’s Christmas." 

So when is a Christmas album not just a Christmas album? When it is also the top selling album on pop music charts: Josh Groban’s "Noel."

 
 
Here is Josh Groban singing "I’ll Be Home For Christmas."

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Another singer with a new holiday album is Michael Buble.  Here he is with the title song from "Let It Snow."

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From "Let It Snow" we move on to "Snow Angel," the new album from the husband-and-wife team of Over the Rhine. Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist wrote most of the songs on their new album. And even traditional Christmas songs like "O Little Town of Bethlehem" get surprise elements. Here is their version¹, called "Little Town."

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Fans of the rock band the Smithereens can dance to the songs on their new release², "Christmas With the Smithereens." Here is "Rockin‿Around the Christmas Tree."

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The Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley add a touch of romance³ to the season with their new album, "I’ll Be Home for Christmas." The Isleys have performed since the nineteen fifties, but this is their first holiday album. Here is "Winter Wonderland."

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Among this year's Christmas albums, "My Holiday" from Mindy Smith might be the prettiest and it might be the best. This was the opinion of a New York Times critic. The recording⁴ artist Chely Wright wrote several of the songs. Mindy Smith wrote several others, including the title track.

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Fans of traditional holiday music with a country feel could find lots of it on "A Classic⁵ Christmas" from Toby Keith. This two-disc set includes "Little Drummer Boy."

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For a less traditional country Christmas, there is Raul Malo's "Marshmallow World and Other Holiday Favorites." Here is his version of the Spanish Christmas song "Feliz Navidad."

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Our show was written and produced by Caty Weaver⁶. I’m Barbara Klein.

We hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English, on the radio or at voaspecialenglish.com.

We leave you with a new version of one of the most popular holiday songs on American radio. Here is Johnny Mathis singing "The Christmas Song" on the new Mannheim Steamroller album, simply called "Christmas."

 

1 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？

2 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

3 romance   

n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇

参考例句：

• She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
• They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。

4 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。

5 classic   

n.经典作品；adj.经典的，一流的；古典的

参考例句：

• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
• The football match was a classic.那场足球比赛堪称典范。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。