(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Mary Tillotson. And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about the much-loved performer Lucille Ball. Her famous television series “I Love Lucy” was first broadcast in nineteen fifty-one. The “I Love Lucy” show was a huge success. It was the most popular television show of the nineteen fifties. The kind of television program Ms. Ball helped develop is called a situation comedy. Some television experts give her credit for inventing this kind of series. Today, some of the most popular television programs in America are situation comedies.
One reason for the great popularity of “I Love Lucy” may have been its real-life connection with Ms. Ball’s family. On the show, she was Lucy, the wife of Ricky Ricardo, a Cuban musician. Ricky was played by band leader Desi Arnaz, who was Lucille Ball’s husband in real life. The show combined issues common to the life of married people living in the city with musical performances and comic theater. Often, a show would include a part with Mister Arnaz acting seriously while Ms. Ball added a funny element. In the following piece, Mister Arnaz tries to sing normally and Ms. Ball adds the comedy. Also on the “I Love Lucy” show were Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Ms. Vance played Ethel Mertz and Mister Frawley played Ethel’s husband, Fred Mertz. On the show, the Mertzes were friends of the Ricardos and owned the building in which they all lived. Fred Mertz loved baseball, which was America’s most popular sport at the time. “I Love Lucy” often showed Fred Mertz intensely watching baseball or some other sport like boxing while Ethel added her own funny comments.
A well-known story about the “I Love Lucy Show” concerns the birth of the Arnaz’s son, Desi Junior. Officials of the broadcasting company wondered what to do when Ms. Ball became pregnant in nineteen fifty-two. Ms. Ball explains that her husband, Desi, came up with a solution. Ms. Ball’s pregnancy was made part of the show. In fact, critics say the show in which Lucy Ricardo tells Ricky that she is pregnant is one of the best. In it, Lucy goes to the entertainment place where Ricky’s band is playing to tell him that they are going to have a baby. Ricky suddenly understands that he is going to be a father after Lucy secretly requests the song, “We’re Having a Baby.” Ms. Ball gave birth to her second child on the same day that Lucy Ricardo gave birth. In fact, Desi Junior’s birth date was planned to happen on the same day as the broadcast. The show in which Lucy gave birth was one of the most popular television programs ever broadcast in America. In fact, the story is that Desi Junior’s birth replaced reports about Dwight Eisenhower’s first presidential ceremony on the front pages of America’s newspapers.
The success of the “I Love Lucy” show did not come early in Lucille Ball’s life, or easily. Instead, it was the result of years of hard work. Ms. Ball was born near Jamestown, New York, in nineteen eleven. She tried to get into show business at an early age. Early on, she went to the same acting school as the famous actress Bette Davis. However, she left when she was told that she did not have enough acting ability. In the early nineteen thirties, she moved to Hollywood. She appeared in a number of movies, but was not well known.
In nineteen forty, she met the leader of a musical group who had been born in Cuba. His full name was Desiderio Alberto Arnaz de Acha the Third. They worked together in a movie and married soon after they met. For the next ten years, she appeared in movies and on radio. He traveled a lot with his band. In nineteen fifty, the broadcasting company, CBS, decided to make a television program based on the radio show, “My Favorite Husband.” Lucille Ball was the star of the radio show. She wanted Mister Arnaz to play the part of her husband on the television show. CBS rejected the idea. But she refused to give up. She and Desi traveled around the country performing in a show together to prove that they would do well on television. Their show was a success. CBS offered them both jobs. Ms. Ball had another demand. She wanted her show to be a production of the best quality. Early television pictures were not of good quality. Ms. Ball wanted her program to be filmed, which would improve the picture, and then broadcast later. Yet she wanted people to watch the program as it was being filmed so the sound of their reactions could be captured.
Ms. Ball also wanted to film the shows in Hollywood. CBS did not want the extra costs. So, Ms. Ball and Mister Arnaz agreed to work for less pay. In exchange, CBS let them own the program. That agreement made them owners of what would become one of the most successful programs on television. During the fifties, Ms. Ball won almost every honor there was for television actors including several Emmy Awards. Yet, even the most popular performers could not escape the political realities of the time. Conservative lawmakers accused Lucille Ball of being a communist. The Federal Bureau of Investigation kept a secret record of information about her, just as it did about many Hollywood actors at the time. Mister Arnaz supervised their company, Desilu Productions. The company produced sixteen different television programs and ran three production centers, called studios. In nineteen sixty, Lucille Ball and Mister Arnaz legally ended their marriage. Mister Arnaz sold his part of the company to his ex-wife. Ms. Ball became the first woman to head a major production company. It was one of the biggest in Hollywood.
Ms. Ball also was the star of several other shows of her own. “The Lucy Show” was broadcast from nineteen sixty-two to nineteen sixty-eight. “Here’s Lucy” followed until nineteen seventy-four. Ms. Ball later sold her production company to Paramount Studios. “I Love Lucy” showed Ms. Ball at her best. Mister Arnaz added something that was unusual for American television at the time. Many of the songs on the show were in Spanish. One song, “Babalu,” is popularly connected with “I Love Lucy”. Its words are Spanish and its sound is Latin American. It is this mixture along with the excellent performances that made the show special. Ms. Ball died in nineteen eighty-nine after a heart operation. Yet, she still makes people laugh. Her programs are rebroadcast on television and there are hundreds of Internet sites about her. After all these years, everyone still loves Lucy.
重点解析
1.real-life 现实的；实在的
Daydreams may seem to be rehearsals for real-life situations.
白日梦可能像是真实情景的预演。
2.intensely 强烈地；紧张地；热情地
The fast-food business is intensely competitive.
快餐业竞争非常激烈。
3.front page 头版；标题版
Her photograph appeared on the front page of The New York Times.
她的照片登在了《纽约时报》的头版上。
4.Some television experts give her credit for inventing this kind of series.
give credit for 给予...赞扬
We have to give Tim credit for that.
我们应为此给予蒂姆赞扬。
5.Ms. Ball gave birth to her second child on the same day that Lucy Ricardo gave birth.
give birth to 产生，造成；生孩子
I intend to master and give birth to a unity based life in this lifetime.
我要在此生掌握并诞生基于一致与和谐的新生活。
6.Mister Arnaz supervised their company, Desilu Productions.
supervise 监督，管理；指导
She supervised the children playing near the pool.
她照料着在水池附近玩的几个孩子。
参考译文
我是玛丽·蒂洛森。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天，我们将讲述深受喜爱的演员露西尔·鲍尔的故事。她最著名的电视连续剧《我爱露西》于1951年首播。《我爱露西》取得巨大的成功，成为1950年代最受欢迎的电视节目。鲍尔小姐帮助开创的这类电视节目被称为情景喜剧。一些电视专家赞扬她开发了这种电视系列。如今，一些美国最受欢迎的电视节目都是情景喜剧。
《我爱露西》广受欢迎的原因之一或许是因为这部喜剧和鲍尔小姐家庭存在真实的联系。在节目中，她扮演露西，是一位古巴音乐家瑞奇·里卡多的妻子。瑞奇一角由乐队主唱德西·阿南兹演绎，在现实生活中，他也是露西尔·鲍尔的丈夫。这部喜剧将城市夫妻生活中的普遍问题和音乐表演与喜剧戏剧相结合。通常一期节目中包括阿南兹先生充当严肃角色，而鲍尔小姐则添加一丝趣味元素的场景。在接下来的场景中，阿南兹先生尝试正常唱歌，鲍尔小姐加入喜剧元素。《我爱露西》中还有维维恩·万斯和威廉弗·劳利和的参演。万斯小姐扮演埃塞尔·默茨，而劳利先生则扮演埃塞尔的丈夫佛瑞德·默茨。电视中，默茨夫妇是里卡多夫妇的朋友，他们拥有一幢大楼，两对夫妇都住在这里。佛瑞德·默茨喜欢棒球，棒球是那时美国最流行的运动。《我爱露西》中常有佛瑞德·默茨狂热的看棒球比赛或其他运动，比如拳击的场景，而埃塞尔则加入她自己的搞笑评论。关于《我爱露西》最为人所知的一个故事是关于阿南兹的儿子小德西的出生。1952年，鲍尔小姐怀孕的时候，广播公司的领导想知道这部剧该怎么继续。鲍尔小姐解释称，她的丈夫德西想出了一个办法。鲍尔小姐的怀孕成为了这个节目的一部分。事实上，评论家表示节目中露西·里卡多告诉瑞奇她怀孕的片段是其中最好的。在这个片段中，露西去到瑞奇乐队演出的娱乐场所，告诉他他们要有孩子了。在露西悄悄地点了一首《We're Having a Baby》之后，瑞奇突然明白自己要做父亲了。露西·里卡多生产的同一天，鲍尔小姐也生下了自己的第二个孩子。事实上，小德西的出生日期本应是在节目播出的同一天。露西生下孩子的节目是美国有史以来最受欢迎的电视节目。其实，这个故事应该是小德西的出生代替德怀特·艾森豪威尔参加首次就职典礼的报道登上报纸头条的。
《我爱露西》的成功并不是在露西尔·鲍尔演艺生涯的早期，其成功也是来之不易。相反，这是多年努力的结果。1911年，鲍尔出生于纽约詹姆斯敦。小时候她就想进入娱乐界。早期，她和著名女演员贝蒂·戴维斯念同一所表演学校。但是，当她被告知自己没有足够的演绎能力后，她离开了。1930年代早期，她搬到好莱坞。她出演了一些电影，但并不出名。1940年，她遇到了古巴出生的音乐团体主唱。他的全名是Desiderio Alberto Arnaz de Acha the Third。他们共同出演电影，他们相遇后不久就结婚了。接下来的十年中，她出演电影，而他和乐队到处演出。1950年，广播公司CBS决定制作一档基于广播节目《我最喜爱的丈夫》的电视节目。露西尔·鲍尔是广播节目的明星。她希望阿南兹在电视剧中出演她的丈夫。CBS拒绝了这个想法，但是她没有放弃。她和德西去往各地共同演出以证明他们能够演好电视剧。他们的演出取得了成功。CBS给他们两人提供了工作。鲍尔小姐提出了另一个要求，她希望这部剧拥有最好的品质。早期电视的画面质量都不太好。鲍尔小姐希望拍摄她的节目，这样能提高画面质量，然后才能播放。她希望大家能去现场观看他们的录制，这样观众们的反应就能被捕捉到节目中。
鲍尔小姐还希望在好莱坞拍摄她的节目。但CBS不想额外花钱。鲍尔小姐和阿南兹同意降低报酬，作为交换，CBS让他们成为这个节目的拥有者。这个协议让他们成为了这个节目的所有者，而这部剧即将成为最成功的电视节目之一。五十多年间，鲍尔小姐几乎获得了所有电视节目奖项，包括几座艾美奖。然而，即使是最受欢迎的演员也逃不过那时的政治现状。保守派立法者指控露西尔·鲍尔是一名共产主义者。联邦调查局保留了关于她的秘密信息记录，就像那时对许多好莱坞演员所做的一样。阿南兹先生监管他们的公司—德西路制片公司。公司制作了16部不同电视节目，经营三个制作中心，即工作室。1960年，露西尔·鲍尔和阿南兹先生结束了他们的婚姻，阿南兹先生将自己的股份买给了前妻。鲍尔成为首位掌管制作公司的女性。这是好莱坞最大的公司之一。鲍尔还出演了自己的公司的节目。《露西秀》在1962年和1968年之间播出。紧接着是《露西在这里》，直到1974年。之后鲍尔将她的制片公司卖给了派拉蒙影业。《我爱露西》展现出了最好的鲍尔。阿南兹先生在这部剧中加入了不同于那时美国电视的东西。剧中很多歌曲都是西班牙语。其中一首歌《Babalu》与《我爱露西》紧密相连。其歌词是西班牙语，曲风是拉丁美风格。正是这种融合以及绝妙的演出让这部剧那么特别。1989年，鲍尔在一次心脏手术后去世。但是她仍是大家的笑果。她的节目在电视上重播，网络上有很多关于她的网站。这么多年后，大家仍然爱着露西。
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