(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. And I'm Dick Rael with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell the story of Bob Hope. He was one of the world's most famous comedians. His life in show business lasted for more than seventy years. Bob Hope was born in Eltham, England in nineteen-oh-three. His parents named him Leslie Townes Hope. Many years later, he began calling himself Bob.
Leslie was the fifth of seven sons. He and his family moved to the United States in nineteen-oh-seven. They settled in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Leslie's mother taught him how to sing. As a child, he had a good singing voice. Later in life, Bob Hope often said he never wanted to be anything but a funnyman. Leslie attended Cleveland public schools. He sold newspapers and worked for a meat market and a shoe store. After high school, he learned how to dance. He also showed an interest in the sport of boxing.
When Bob Hope was eighteen years old, he asked his girlfriend to become his dance partner. They began appearing at local vaudeville theaters. Vaudeville was the most popular form of entertainment in the United States in the early nineteen hundreds. Vaudeville shows presented short plays, singers, dancers, comedians telling jokes and other acts. Bob Hope's dance act with his girlfriend did not last long. A short time later, he heard that a Cleveland theater needed performers for a show with the famous actor Fatty Arbuckle. Hope developed a dance act with another friend, and they were chosen for the show. The team performed briefly as part of Arbuckle's traveling vaudeville show. Later, Hope formed a song and dance team with George Byrne. They performed at theaters across the United States. The two men were offered work in a show on Broadway in New York City. But they did not stay very long. They left New York to change their act and start over again.
They performed at a small theater in Pennsylvania. On opening night, Hope was asked to tell the crowd about future shows at the theater. The people liked the way he sounded. So did the supervisor of the theater. Hope then expanded his announcement to five minutes. Bob Hope started to perform by himself. He became skilled at standing in front of crowds and telling jokes, often very quickly. He collected jokes and told them during his performances. Hope did not wear special clothing or use tricks when performing. But he made funny expressions with his face to make people laugh. Bob Hope returned to Broadway in the nineteen thirties. Theater critics and the public liked his performance in the musical "Roberta." The show changed his life in more than one way. One day, another performer took Hope to meet a young singer who was also working in New York. Her name was Dolores Reade. She and Hope married in nineteen thirty-four. They would stay together as husband and wife for the next sixty-nine years.
After the musical "Roberta," Bob Hope performed in a number of other Broadway shows. They included "Ziegfield Follies" and "Red, Hot and Blue." Hope's acting success led to his first major film, "The Big Broadcast of Nineteen-Thirty-Eight." In the film, he and Shirley Ross sang a song called "Thanks for the Memory." Many people think of Bob Hope when they hear this song. In nineteen thirty-seven, Bob Hope agreed to do a series of radio programs called the "Woodbury Soap Show." The next year, he agreed to do a radio show for another company that made Pepsodent toothpaste. His Tuesday night radio show soon became popular. Hope continued doing radio shows for almost twenty years. His success in radio led to a long-term relationship with a major film company, Paramount Pictures. The actors who worked in Hope's films also made appearances on his radio shows. In all, Hope was the lead actor in more than fifty films. He also had small parts in fifteen others. Bob Hope never won an Academy Award for his acting. However, the American film industry did honor him five times. His series of films with actress Dorothy Lamour and singer Bing Crosby became world famous. Hope and Crosby were close friends. Here they sing a song from the movie "The Road to Morocco."
Bob Hope began performing on television in nineteen fifty. He made a special program for NBC television. His show included a famous personality, a singer and a beautiful, young woman. Hope used this successful combination again and again. He decided to avoid all the work involved with a weekly television show. However, he continued making television specials every year until nineteen ninety-five. For more than fifty years, Bob Hope traveled around the world, giving shows for members of America's armed forces. It started in nineteen forty-one when he and several other performers went to an air base in California. Later that year, the United States entered World War Two after Japanese forces attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Hope attempted to join the armed forces. He was told he could better serve his country as a performer, building support for the war effort. So he took a team of performers to bases around the country to perform his radio show.
Hope and his team performed for millions of soldiers during World War Two. He performed almost all of his shows at bases across the United States, Europe and the South Pacific. Listen now to part of a show broadcast to soldiers after the war had ended. Hope began what was to become a Christmas tradition in nineteen forty-eight. That is when he and his wife went to Germany to perform for troops involved in the Berlin Airlift. Later, he performed for American soldiers serving in South Korea, Vietnam and Lebanon. In nineteen ninety, Hope and his wife performed for troops in Saudi Arabia. At the time, he was eighty-seven years old. Bob Hope was a friend to many American Presidents. He played golf with Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George Bush. Several presidents also honored the famous comedian. President John Kennedy gave Hope the Congressional Gold Medal. President Lyndon Johnson presented him with the Medal of Freedom.
United States Congress honored Hope four times. In nineteen ninety-seven, Congress made him an honorary veteran of the armed forces. He was the first individual so honored in American history. The following year, Britain's Queen Elizabeth made Hope an honorary knight. She recognized his work in films and his service to allied forces during World War Two. People in many countries celebrated Bob Hope's birthday on May twenty-ninth, two thousand three. He was one hundred years old. The celebrations included the naming of a famous area in Hollywood, California as Bob Hope Square. Sadly, Hope was too weak to attend. Two months later, he became sick and developed pneumonia. Bob Hope died at his California home on July twenty-seventh, two thousand three.
重点解析
1.settle in 安顿下来
It took me several weeks to settle in my new home.
我花了好几周时间才在新家里安顿下来。
2.offer 提供
He has offered seats at the conference table to the Russian leader and the president of Kazakhstan.
他已给俄罗斯领导人和哈萨克斯坦总统提供了大会席位。
3.opening night 首演之夜
I was at the opening night with my parents.
我和父母一起出席了第一夜的首场演出。
4.expand 扩大
Student numbers are expanding rapidly.
学生人数在迅速增加。
5.honor 给…以荣誉
I will rescue you, and you will honor me.
我必搭救你，你也要荣耀我。
6.attempt to 企图
The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias.
部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。
参考译文
我是菲比·齐默尔曼。我是迪克·雷尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述鲍勃·霍普的故事。他是世界最著名喜剧人之一。他在娱乐圈七十多年。1903年，鲍勃·霍普出生于英格兰埃尔特姆。他的父母给他取名莱斯利·汤斯·霍普。多年之后，他开始自称鲍勃。莱斯利是七个儿子中的老五。1907年，他和家人搬到了美国。他们在俄亥俄州克利夫兰市定居。莱斯利的母亲叫他唱歌。孩童时期，他就有一副好嗓音。后来，鲍勃·霍普常说自己只想成为一名喜剧演员，除此之外，别无其他。莱斯利去克利夫兰公立小学读书。他卖报纸、在肉店和鞋店工作。高中毕业后，他学会了跳舞。他还对拳击表现出了兴趣。
18岁的时候，鲍勃·霍普邀请他的女友做他的舞伴。他们开始在当地轻歌舞剧剧院中演出。轻歌舞剧是二十世纪早期美国最流行的娱乐形式之一。轻歌舞剧中有短剧、歌手、舞者和讲笑话的喜剧演员。鲍勃·霍普和女友的舞蹈表演并没有持续多久。很快，他听说一家克利夫兰剧院要为著名演员阿伯克利的表演招聘演员。霍普和另一个朋友搭档跳舞，他们被选中了。他们在阿伯克利巡回轻歌舞剧表演中表演。之后，霍普和乔治·伯恩搭档创作了一首歌和一支舞。他们在美国剧院中表演。两人在纽约百老汇获得了一份工作。但是他们并没有呆多久。
他们离开了纽约，改变了演出形式，从头开始。他们在宾夕法尼亚州的一家小剧院演出。首场演出中，有人让霍普讲一讲未来的表演。人们喜欢他的声音。剧院的老板也喜欢。然后霍普将自己的演讲延长五分钟。鲍勃·霍普开始自己表演。很快，他便十分擅长站在众人前讲笑话。他收集笑话并在演出中将给观众听。霍普并没有穿特制的衣服或是使用什么技巧。但是他会做很多搞笑的表情让众人大笑。
二十世纪三十年代，鲍勃·霍普回到百老汇。剧院评论家和大众喜欢他在音乐剧《Roberta》中的表演。这场秀不仅在一方面改变了他的生活。某天，另一名演员带霍普去见一名年轻的歌唱家，这位歌唱家也在纽约工作。她的名字叫做多洛雷斯·荷蒲。1934年，她和霍普结婚了。在接下了的69年里，他们相亲相爱。音乐剧《Roberta》之后，鲍勃·霍普参演了百老汇其他几个戏剧，包括《Ziegfield Follies》以及《Red, Hot and Blue》。霍普演绎的成功为他迎来了首个主演电影《The Big Broadcast of Nineteen-Thirty-Eight》。在这部电影中，他和雪莉·罗斯合唱了一首歌《Thanks for the Memory》。很多人在听到这首歌的时候都会想起鲍勃·霍普。1937年，鲍勃·霍普同意做一系列广播节目《Woodbury Soap Show》。第二年，他又为另一家生产Pepsodent牙膏的公司做了一场广播节目。
他的周二晚间秀很受欢迎。在将近20年中，霍普继续做广播节目。在广播节目中的成功为他迎来了与另一主要电影公司派拉蒙影业的长期合作。参演霍普电影的演员也会在他的广播节目中露面。霍普总共在50多部电影中担任主角。他还客串了15部其他电影。鲍勃·霍普没有获得过奥斯卡奖。但是美国电影业确实五次授予他荣誉。他与女演员多萝西·拉莫尔以及歌手平·克劳贝斯的系列电影世界知名。霍普和克劳贝斯是密友。以下是歌曲出自电影《The Road to Morocco》。
1950年，鲍勃·霍普开始上电视。他为NBC制作了一个特别节目。他的节目中有名人、歌手和一位美丽年轻的女性。霍普一次又一次成功运用了这种结合模式。他决定避开所有和每周电视节目相关的工作。但他每年都会制作特别电视节目，直到1995年。五十多年来，鲍勃·霍普环游世界，为美国武装部队演出。演出开始于1941年，当时他和几个其他演员来到加利福尼亚的空军基地。那年之后，日军攻击夏威夷珍珠港美国海军基地，美国加入二战。霍普想参军。他被告知他可以以一名演员的身份为国家效力。因此，他带领着一组演员来到美国各基地表演广播节目。霍普和他的团队在二战期间为数百万士兵表演。他在美国、欧洲和南太平洋各基地表演了几乎所有节目。现在播放的是战争结束后，他为士兵献上的表演。1908年，霍普开始了一种之后成为圣诞传统的表演。当时他和妻子来到德国为参加柏林空运的军队表演。之后，他为在韩国、越南和黎巴嫩服役的美军表演。1990年，霍普和他的妻子在沙特阿拉伯为军队表演。那时，他已经87岁了。
鲍勃·霍普是很多美国总统的朋友。他和德怀特·艾森豪威尔、理查德·尼克松、杰拉尔德·福特以及乔治·布什打过高尔夫。一些总统为这个著名喜剧人授予荣誉。约翰·肯尼迪总统授予了霍普国会金质奖章。林登·约翰逊总统授予了他自由勋章。美国国会四次授予他荣誉。1997年，国会授予他武装部队荣誉老兵称号。他是美国历史上获得诸多殊荣的第一人。第二年，英国伊丽莎白女王授予霍普荣誉爵士称号。她认可霍普在二战期间为电影和盟军所做的贡献。2003年5月29日，多个国家的人民都在庆祝鲍勃·霍普的诞辰。那时他已经100岁了。庆典包括将加利福尼亚好莱坞的一个著名地区命名为鲍勃·霍普广场。可惜的是，霍普身体过于虚弱而无法参加。两个月后，他生病并患上了肺炎。2003年7月27日，鲍勃·霍在位于加利福尼亚的家中逝世。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
