(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Welcome to PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in VOA Special English. Today Rich Kleinfeldt and Steve Ember tell about one of America's most popular singers, Elvis Presley.
That song, "Hound Dog," was one of Elvis Presley's most popular records. It sold five million copies in nineteen fifty-six. Music industry experts say more than one thousand million of Elvis's recordings have sold throughout the world. He was a success in many different kinds of music -- popular, country, religious, and rhythm and blues.
Elvis Presley won many awards from nations all over the world. Yet, he did not record in any language other than English. He never performed outside the United States, except for three shows in Canada. Yet, his recordings and films have been, and are still, enjoyed by people all over the world.
Elvis Aaron Presley was born in the southern town of Tupelo, Mississippi on January eighth, nineteen thirty-five. His family was extremely poor. During his childhood, he sang in church with his parents. He also listened to music that influenced his later singing, including country, rhythm and blues, and religious music. Elvis and his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was thirteen.
After high school, he had several jobs, including driving a truck. In nineteen fifty-three, he made his first recording of this song, "My Happiness":
Elvis Presley recorded the song at the Memphis Recording Service. The story is that he paid four dollars to make a recording for his mother. A woman who worked at the public recording studio had another job with a local independent record company called Sun Records. She made a second recording of Elvis's songs because she thought the owner of Sun Records should hear him sing.
The owner of Sun Records, Sam Phillips, had been looking for a white performer who could sing black rhythm and blues. He suggested Elvis work with a guitar player and a bass player. Several months later Mister Phillips agreed to have the group make a record. It was released on July nineteenth, nineteen fifty-four. One of the songs was "That's All Right":
The record sold well in Memphis, and was played a lot on local radio stations. To let others hear Elvis, Sam Phillips organized a series of performances at country fairs in the area. One of the people who heard Elvis perform at these shows was Colonel Tom Parker. Elvis signed an agreement that Colonel Parker would organize his appearances.
One of Elvis' first new recordings became a huge hit, and led to his many appearances on television. It was "Heartbreak Hotel":
By the middle of the nineteen fifties, Elvis Presley was known around the world as the young man who moved his hips in a sexual way as he sang rock and roll music. Many adults said he and his music were bad influences on young people. Young women loved him. Huge crowds attended his performances.
He made his first movie in nineteen fifty-six. It was "Love Me Tender." The title song was a big hit.
Elvis Presley was one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood for a number of years in the nineteen fifties. He acted in thirty-one movies.
In nineteen fifty-eight, just as he finished making the movie "King Creole," Elvis received notice that he had to serve in the United States Army. He was stationed in Germany where he lived in a large house and dated a lot of beautiful women. One young girl he met in Germany was Priscilla Beaulieu, the daughter of an Army officer. She was fourteen years old. Later, after Elvis had finished his army service, she came to live with him in Memphis. They married in nineteen sixty-seven, when she was twenty-one years old. He was thirty-two. They became parents nine months later of a baby girl, Lisa Marie.
Colonel Parker made sure that songs Elvis had recorded earlier were released during the years he was in the army. So Elvis was just as popular after his military service as he was before it.
Elvis Presley won three of the music industry's highest award, the Grammy. He received the first one in nineteen sixty-seven. It was for "How Great Thou Art," an album of religious music.
Elvis returned to performing live shows in nineteen sixty-nine, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He then traveled around the country performing before huge crowds. He began to take drugs to help him sleep. He gained a lot of weight so he took drugs to help control his weight. And he took extremely strong drugs to reduce pain.
Elvis also suffered from the emotional sickness, depression. It became worse after his marriage ended. Elvis never permitted Priscilla to stay with him in Las Vegas or travel with him around the country. He also did not want Priscilla to see other people when he was away from home. And he spent time with other women. Priscilla finally left him in nineteen seventy-two for another man.
Elvis Presley released many recordings of his performances during the nineteen seventies. He also enjoyed great success on television. His nineteen seventy-three television show from Hawaii was seen in forty countries by more than one thousand million people.
His last record album was called "Moody Blue." He recorded it in nineteen seventy-six. One of its hit songs was called "Way Down":
Elvis Presley died on August sixteenth, nineteen seventy-seven. First reports said he had a heart attack, but later tests showed many drugs in his body. Experts agree that these drugs probably caused his death.
Hundreds of thousands of people still visit his home, Graceland, in Memphis every year. Fans continue to buy his music, making him the most popular recording artist ever. Elvis Presley remains the undisputed King of Rock and Roll.
重点解析
1.other than 除了
His ribs were damaged, but other than that he's in good nick
他的肋骨受了损伤，但除此之外一切都还好。
2.release 经历
He is releasing an album of love songs.
他将发行一张情歌专辑。
3.country fairs 集市
The scholars have studied deeply on the country fair and village fair trade for ten year.
近十年来，学者们对乡村集市及集市贸易进行了进一步的研究。
4.He was stationed in Germany where he lived in a large house and dated a lot of beautiful women.
station 驻扎；安置
Reports from the capital, Lome, say troops are stationed on the streets.
来自首都洛美的报道称，部队驻扎在大街上。
5.He began to take drugs to help him sleep.
take drugs 吃药
Doyoutakedrugs,smokeordrink?
你服用药物，抽烟或喝酒吗？
6.Fans continue to buy his music, making him the most popular recording artist ever.
continue to 继续做...
We hope to continue to have her close support and friendship.
我们希望她能继续大力支持，并能与她维持亲密友谊。
参考译文
欢迎来到VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天里奇·克林沸德和史蒂夫·恩贝尔将为大家讲述美国最受欢迎的歌手之一埃维斯·普里斯利。《Hound Dog》这首歌是埃维斯·普里斯利最受欢迎的歌曲之一。1956年，该唱片共售出五百万张。音乐界专家表示埃维斯的唱片全球销量超过十亿。他在众多不同音乐风格中都取得了成功—流行乐、乡村音乐、宗教音乐以及节奏布鲁斯音乐。埃维斯·普里斯利在不同国家都获得过奖项。但是他只录制过英文唱片。除了在加拿大的三场演出外，他也没有在美国之外的任何国家有过演出。可是他的唱片和电影一直到现在都为世界各国人所喜爱。
1935年1月8日，埃维斯·亚伦·普里斯利出生于密西西比州南部的图佩洛镇。他家里很穷。童年时期，他就和父母在教堂里唱歌。他也听音乐，这些音乐对他后来的歌曲深有影响，包括乡村乐、节奏布鲁斯音乐以及宗教音乐。13岁的时候，埃维斯和家人搬到田纳西州孟菲斯市。高中毕业后，他找了几份工作，包括开卡车。1953年，他录制首支歌曲《My Happiness》埃维斯·普里斯利在曼菲斯录音服务中心录制了这首歌。他花了四美元为他的母亲录制了这首歌。在公共录音室里工作的一位女性同时也在当地的一个独立录音公司太阳唱片公司兼职。她为埃维斯·普里斯利录制了第二张唱片，因为她认为太阳唱片公司的老板应该听听他的歌。太阳唱片公司的老板萨姆·菲利普斯一直在寻找一位能唱黑人节奏布鲁斯的白人歌手。他建议埃维斯·普里斯利和一名吉他手以及一名贝斯手组团。几个月之后，萨姆·菲利普斯同意为这个组合录制专辑。1954年7月19日，第一张唱片发行。其中一首歌是《That's All Right》，
该唱片在孟菲斯市畅销，当地的很多电台都经常播放这首歌。为了让别人都能听到埃维斯·普里斯利的歌声，萨姆·菲利普斯在该地举办了一系列演出。前来听演唱会的观众之一就是哈兰德·汤姆·帕克。埃维斯和哈兰德·帕克签约安排工作。埃维斯新专辑中的一首歌非常受欢迎，并为他获得很多上电视亮相的机会，这首歌是《Heartbreak Hotel》。
1950年代中期，埃维斯·普里斯利作为一个演唱摇滚音乐时性感地扭臀的年轻人而举世闻名。很多年轻人表示他和他的音乐对年轻人造成了不好的影响。年轻的女孩子喜欢他，大群人来看他的演出。1956年，他拍摄了首部电影《Love Me Tender》，其主题曲获得了巨大的成功。1950年代，埃维斯·普里斯利是当时好莱坞身价最高的演员之一，他共出演了31部电影。
1958年，刚拍完电影《硬汉歌王》后，埃维斯接到通知要去美国陆军服役。他被安排驻扎德国，他住在一所大房子里和很多美丽的女士约会。其中一位是普瑞希拉·普雷斯利，她是一名军官的女儿，那时她14岁。埃维斯服役完后，她来到孟菲斯市和他住在一起。他们于1967年结婚，当时她21岁，而他32岁。九个月后，他们的女儿莉萨·普雷斯利出生了。
哈兰德·帕克在埃维斯服役期间发布了他之前录制的所有歌曲。所以埃维斯服后也一样受欢迎。埃维斯·普里斯利获得三项德国音乐节最高奖项。1967年，他因一张宗教音乐专辑《How Great Thou Art》获得第一个奖。1969年，埃维斯·普里斯利在内华达拉斯维加斯重返现场表演舞台。之后，他开启了国内巡回演出。他开始借助药物入睡。他体重增加，所以他用药控制体重，还服用强效药缓解疼痛。埃维斯还患有抑郁症，离婚后，情况更加严重。埃维斯从不让普瑞希拉和他一起待在拉斯维加斯，也不让她跟着一起巡回演出。当他不在家时，他也不让普瑞希拉和其他人见面，而他却和其他女人待在一起。
1972年，普瑞希拉最终为了另一个男人离开了他。1970年代，埃维斯·普里斯利发行了很多演出录音专辑。他在电视行业也取得了成功。1973年的电视节目在40个国家播出，收获十亿观众。他的最后一张专辑《Moody Blue》录制于1973年。其中一首热门歌曲是《Way Down》。
埃维斯·普里斯利于1977年8月16日去世。首份报道称他死于心脏病发作，但是之后的测试表明他体内有大量药物。专家认为很可能是这些药物夺走了他的生命。每年仍有成千上万人参观他位于孟菲斯市的家，恩赐之地。粉丝们仍购买他的音乐，让他成为了迄今最受欢迎的唱片艺术家。埃维斯·普里斯利仍是那个毫无争议的摇滚之王。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
