(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Faith Lapidus. And this is Doug Johnson with People In America in VOA Special English.
Last week, we began the story of a blind musician who had a huge influence on American popular music. He was famous for his recordings of jazz, rock-and-roll, blues and country music. His name was Ray Charles Robinson. But the world knew him better as Ray Charles.
The name of that song is "Let's Go Get Stoned." It is an example of Ray Charles' own kind of music—his own sound. He worked hard for several years to create that sound. No one ever tried it before. He mixed black church music, blues and rock-and-roll. The sound was extremely successful. In the nineteen fifties, his records began to sell millions of copies.
At the same time, Ray Charles recorded jazz music. Those records sold well, too. Critics said they were new and exciting. Listen to his jazz song, "Sweet Sixteen Bars."
Ray Charles became famous because he could play blues, rock and jazz. He also liked other kinds of music. He told record company officials that he wanted to record an album of country-and-western music.
The president of the record company told him it would be a mistake. He said Ray's fans would not buy the album. Charles disagreed. He said he believed he would gain many new fans to replace the few he might lose. He produced the album and it was an immediate success.
The album was called "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music." Many of the songs were major hits. One of the most popular was "I Can't Stop Loving You." It is a country-and-western song with Ray Charles' sound of blues and black church music.
Ray Charles lived in a world of sound. For six months each year he traveled with his orchestra, performing in theaters. For the other six months, he worked in his recording studio in Los Angles, California. He did much of the recording work to produce his own albums.
Ray Charles would often say that sound and music were his life's blood. In fact, he said many times that he would not trade his musical ability for the ability to see again.
You begin to understand what sound meant to Ray Charles when you learn that he helped create and support the Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders. This organization helps people deal with the loss of their hearing.
You might think Ray Charles would have given his time and money to help the blind. He did not. He once said: "Being blind is my handicap. But ears are my opportunity." He said losing his hearing would have ended his life.
Ray Charles lived a long life that included his share of problems. There was a time when he used illegal drugs. He was married and divorced several times. Yet the Ray Charles sound, and his success, continued.
He received twelve Grammy Awards from the recording industry. He was one of the first musicians to be elected to the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame. Several universities honored him. So did the French and American governments. His home state of Georgia made his recording of "Georgia on My Mind" the official state song.
Several years ago, Ray Charles was asked to sing at a political convention. He performed the song "America the Beautiful." Many people thought his recording was the best ever made.
Ray Charles always said he owed most of his success to his mother. He said when he was a boy, she taught him a valuable lesson. She told him: "You can do anything you want to do. You cannot use your eyes. But you can work hard and use your brain."
Ray Charles died June tenth, two thousand four at the age of seventy-three. Music experts say he did more than anyone in the twentieth century to change American popular music.
More than one hundred years ago, Alice Cary wrote a poem that could have been written for Ray Charles. She wrote:
My soul is full of whispered song, --
My blindness is my sight;
The shadows that I feared so long
Are full of life and light.
重点解析
1.famous for以...著称
Franklin is especially famous for his contributions in the field of electricity.
富兰克林尤以其在电的领域里的贡献闻名于世。
2.trade for交换
I’ll trade you my camera for your drill.
我用我的相机来换你的钻机。
3.deal with处理；克服
She saw a psychiatrist who used hypnotism to help her deal with her fear.
她去看了精神病医师，医生用催眠治疗帮助她克服恐惧心理。
4.owe to归功于
His success does not owe to luck but ability.
他的成功应当归功于他的能力而不是运气。
5.full of充满
When I smoke, the smoke is full of memory about us.
当我抽烟的时候，烟雾里全是关于我们的记忆。
6.at the age of在...岁
She started writing advice for newspaper readers at the age of ten.
她在十岁时就开始为报纸的读者提供咨询意见。
参考译文
我是菲丝·拉伯蒂斯，我是道格·约翰逊，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。
上周，我们讲述了一位盲人音乐家的故事，他对美国流行音乐产生了巨大的影响。他以录制爵士乐、摇滚乐、蓝调和乡村音乐而闻名。他的名字叫雷·查尔斯·罗宾逊。但世人更了解他作为雷·查尔斯的身份。
这首歌曲的名字是《让我们喝的酩酊大醉》。它是雷·查尔斯自己的音乐的一个例子-他自己的音乐。他努力了很多年才创造出这种音乐。没有人曾尝试过它。他将黑人宗教音乐、布鲁斯和摇滚乐融合在了一起。这种音乐非常的成功。20世纪50年代，他的唱片销量开始高达数百万张。
同时，雷·查尔斯录制了爵士乐。那些唱片的销量也很好。评论家称，这些音乐新鲜、令人激动。听听他的爵士歌曲《甜蜜的16个酒吧》。
雷·查尔斯成名了，因为它可以演奏布鲁斯音乐、摇滚乐和爵士乐。
他也喜欢其他类型的音乐。他告诉唱片公司的官员，他想录制一张乡村和西部音乐的专辑。
唱片公司的总裁告诉他这是一个错误。他说雷的粉丝不会购买这个专辑。查尔斯不同意。他认为他会获得很多新粉丝，代替那些他可能失去的粉丝。他制作了这张专辑，它立即获得了成功。
此专辑名称为《现代乡村和西方音乐》。很多都成为了热门歌曲。其中最受欢迎的一首是《不能停止爱你》。这是一首融合了雷·查尔斯的布鲁斯和黑人宗教音乐的乡村和西部歌曲。
雷·查尔斯生活在音乐的世界。每年他都有6个月的时间和他的乐队旅行去剧院表演。另外的六个月，他会在加州洛杉矶的录影棚里工作。他做了很多录音工作来制作他自己的专辑。
雷·查尔斯经常说声音和音乐是他生命中必不可少的部分。实际上，他曾多次表示，他说过很多次，他不会用自己的音乐才能来换取重见天日的能力。
当你了解到雷·查尔斯帮助创建并支持罗宾森听力障碍基金会时，你就会开始理解声音对他的意义。这个组织帮助人们处理损失听力的问题。
你可能会认为雷·查尔斯会花时间和金钱来帮助盲人。她没有。他曾经表示，“成为盲人是我的阻碍。但是听力是我的机会。”他表示失去听力将会终结他的生命。
雷·查尔斯活了很长时间，其中也他也有自己的一些问题。有一段时间他曾使用非法毒品。他曾结婚并离婚七次。然而，雷·查尔斯的音乐和成功在继续。
他在唱片工业中获得了12座格莱美奖。他是第一批入选摇滚名人堂的音乐家之一。几所大学授予他荣誉。法国和美国政府也授予他荣誉。他的家乡乔治亚州将他的歌曲《心系乔治亚》用作州官方歌曲。
几年前，雷·查尔斯应邀在一次政治会议上演唱。他演唱了《美丽的美国》这首歌。许多人认为他的版本是有史以来最好的。
雷·查尔斯总是说他的成功大部分归功于他的母亲。他说当他还是个孩子的时候，她给他上了宝贵的一课。她告诉他：“你可以做你想做的任何事情。你不能使用你的眼睛。但是你可以努力工作，使用你的大脑。”
雷·查尔斯于2004年6月10日去世，享年73岁。音乐专家说，在改变美国流行音乐方面，他比二十世纪的任何人都做得更多。
一百多年前，爱丽丝·卡里写了一首诗，这首诗本可以写给雷·查尔斯的。她写道：
我的灵魂充满了低语的歌曲，
我的失明就是我的视力；
我担忧太多时间的阴影
充满了生命和光芒。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
