(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Faith Lapidus. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA IN VOA Special English. Today we tell about jazz singer and pianist Shirley Horn. Shirley Horn was considered one of the great jazz singers of the nineteen fifties and sixties. She was often compared to the famous singers Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan. She performed for more than fifty years. Shirley Horn's voice was smooth and expressive, but never hurried. She was one of the slowest singers in jazz. When she sang a song, she wanted the audience to feel it in the same way she did. She had a small voice. But her songs had a big effect. Here, Shirley Horn sings her popular song "You're My Thrill." Shirley Horn was born in Washington, D.C. in nineteen thirty-four. She lived all her life in and around Washington. Shirley began taking piano lessons when she was four years old. Her mother recognized her skill and love for the instrument. Shirley Horn said most of the songs she performed were ones she grew up with. She said her family loved music and there was always music by the greatest singers and bands playing in her home. Horn said she lived for music. She said it was like food and water to her.
Shirley Horn studied classical music as a teenager. When she was seventeen, she had a chance to attend the famous Juilliard School in New York City. But financial difficulties prevented her from going. Instead, she studied classical music at Howard University in Washington. Shirley Horn had planned to have a career playing classical music on the piano. But she said all that changed after she began going to jazz clubs in Washington. She said she was influenced by some of the greatest jazz artists, such as Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal. When asked about her change from classical music to jazz, she would later say: "I loved Rachmaninoff, but then Oscar Peterson became my Rachmaninoff. And Ahmad Jamal became my Debussy." Horn did not plan to be a singer. She said it happened by accident when she was seventeen and playing classical music on the piano at a restaurant. A man offered to give her a huge toy teddy bear if she would sing the song "Melancholy Baby." Although she had never sung in public before, she agreed. She later realized that she could make a living singing and playing jazz. Here she sings the famous song by Cole Porter, "Love for Sale." In nineteen fifty-four, Shirley Horn began to sing jazz in clubs and started her own jazz group. In nineteen sixty, she recorded her first album, called "Embers and Ashes." The album did not get a lot of attention. But the famous jazz musician, Miles Davis, heard it. He liked it so much that he invited Horn to play music with him in New York City. She sang as the opening act before his performance at New York's Village Vanguard nightclub. Davis had refused to play unless the club owner let Horn sing. Shirley Horn and Miles Davis developed a close friendship over the years. Here she sings and he plays the trumpet on the song "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin." Shirley Horn's performance with Miles Davis in New York led to a record deal with Mercury Records. She was soon performing around the United States. She also recorded with Quincy Jones and other top musicians. But Horn soon left Mercury Records because of creative differences. She wanted to play the piano on all her recordings, but the record company did not agree. Shirley Horn stopped performing around the country in the nineteen sixties so she could spend more time at home with her husband and daughter. She played at local nightclubs in the Washington area during the nineteen sixties and seventies. Shirley Horn rebuilt her career in the nineteen eighties. She began performing more widely at jazz festivals and concerts around the world and received strong praise. In nineteen eighty seven, she signed a record deal with Verve Records and remained with the record company for the rest of her career. In nineteen ninety, Horn reunited with her good friend and teacher, Miles Davis, on the song, "You Won't Forget Me." She went on to record several successful albums and performed around the world. She also worked on several soundtracks for movies. Here are Shirley Horn and Miles Davis with "You Won't Forget Me." Shirley Horn was nominated for several Grammy Awards. In nineteen ninety-eight, she won the award for the album, "I Remember Miles," in memory of Miles Davis, who died in nineteen ninety-one.
Horn received many honors during her career. But her last years were difficult. She had a series of health problems, including treatment for breast cancer. And in two thousand two, she had her foot removed because of problems caused by diabetes. Shirley Horn continued to sing for audiences, but she did so in a chair, with someone else playing the piano. The loss of her foot made it difficult for her to work the pedals that control the way the piano sounds. However, during her last performances, she returned to playing the piano with the help of a device that took the place of her foot. In June of two thousand five, Horn suffered a stroke. She died four months later at the age of seventy-one. Critics say Shirley Horn influenced many young jazz musicians of today, including Diana Krall and Norah Jones. Critics say she will be remembered as one of the best singers in a great period of American jazz. In two thousand five, Verve Records released a collection of her work, called "But Beautiful: The Best of Shirley Horn." We leave you now with a song from that album called "Here's to Life."
重点解析
1.prevent from 阻止
To prevent and investigate illegal activities; to attack and take precautions against terrorism; to maintain the public order and prevent from activities against public order.
预防、制止和侦查违法犯罪活动；防范、打击恐怖活动；维护社会治安秩序，制止危害社会治安秩序的行为；
2.by accident 意外
I fell into this by accident, but have loved every minute of it because the work is so versatile. I never get bored writing for all my various clients.
我是偶然的机会接触到这一行的，但打那起就爱上了这份工作，因为它涉及领域及广，为形形色色的客户写文章从未让我感到厌烦。
3.make a living 谋生
Is it possible, or even desirable, to make a living as an artist in the theatre? The blogging community has been chewing it over.
你认为仅仅靠当一名剧院的艺人谋生是可能甚至是理想的吗？这个话题在博客社区引起了激烈的讨论。
4.in memory of 纪念
She set up an educational fund in memory of her mother.
她为了纪念她母亲而设立了一个教育基金会。
5.with the help of 在…的帮助下
Ice Kiss – With the help of an ice cube, gently rub the ice on her back and as the ice melts off her.
冰吻——这需要一小块儿冰的帮助。轻轻地用冰块摩擦她的后背，让它慢慢融化。
6.a series of 一系列的
There is a series of science and technology on the desk.
案头放着一套科技丛书。
参考译文
我是菲丝·拉伯蒂斯。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述雪莉·霍恩的故事。雪莉·霍恩是公认的二十世纪五六十年代最伟大的爵士歌手之一。人们经常把她与著名歌手艾拉·菲茨杰拉德、黛娜·华盛顿和萨拉·沃恩相提并论。她的演艺生涯长达五十多年。雪莉·霍恩的声音平稳而富有表现力，但从不匆忙。她是爵士乐歌手中唱得最慢的歌手之一。当她唱一首歌的时候，她希望听众也能有和她一样的感受。虽然她的声音较小，但是她的歌曲影响很大。这是她的流行歌曲“You're My Thrill”。雪莉·霍恩于1934年出生在华盛顿特区。她一生都住在华盛顿及其周边地区。雪莉四岁时开始学钢琴。她的母亲发现了她的钢琴技艺和她对钢琴的热爱。雪莉·霍恩说，她演唱的大部分歌曲都是伴她成长的歌曲。她说，她的家人喜欢音乐，而且家里经常播放伟大歌手和乐队的歌曲。霍恩说她为音乐而生，音乐对自己来说就像食物和水一样重要。
雪莉·霍恩青少年时学过古典音乐。17岁时，她有机会进入纽约市著名的茱莉亚学院学习。但是经济上的困难使她没能进入茱莉亚学院学习。相反，她去了华盛顿的霍华德大学学习古典音乐。雪莉·霍恩原计划是以钢琴演奏古典音乐为职业，但是自从她开始流连于华盛顿的爵士乐俱乐部之后，一切都变了。她说她受到了一些最伟大的爵士乐艺术家的影响，比如奥斯卡·彼得森和艾哈迈德·贾马尔。当人们问到她为何从古典音乐转向爵士音乐时，她会说:“我爱拉赫玛尼诺夫，但后来奥斯卡·彼得森成了我的拉赫玛尼诺夫。”而艾哈迈德·贾马尔则成了我的德彪西。霍恩之前并没有当歌手的打算。她说这件事是她十七岁在一家餐馆里弹钢琴时偶然发生的。一个男人说道，如果她能唱《忧郁的宝贝》这首歌，他就给她一个超大的玩具泰迪熊。虽然她以前从未在公共场合唱歌，但她同意了。后来她意识到她可以靠唱歌和演奏爵士乐为生。这是她演唱的由科尔·波特创作的著名歌曲“爱情买卖”。1954年，雪莉·霍恩开始在俱乐部唱爵士乐，并成立了自己的爵士乐队。1960年，她录制了她的第一张专辑《余烬与灰烬》。当时这个专辑并未引起太多注意。但是著名的爵士音乐家迈尔斯·戴维斯听到了这个专辑。他非常喜欢专辑里面的歌曲，所以他邀请霍恩和他一起在纽约演奏音乐。在迈尔斯·戴维斯于纽约乡村先锋夜总会演出之前，她作为开场表演嘉宾献唱。除非俱乐部老板让霍恩唱歌，否则戴维斯拒绝演出。雪莉·霍恩和迈尔斯·戴维斯多年来结下了深厚的友谊。这首是霍恩演唱、戴维斯演奏小号的歌曲“别让阳光看到你哭泣”。雪莉·霍恩与迈尔斯·戴维斯在纽约的演出为水星唱片公司带来了一笔创纪录的收入。很快，霍恩开始在全美巡演，她也和包括昆西·琼斯在内的众多顶级音乐家录制了唱片。但由于创作上的分歧，霍恩很快就离开了水星唱片公司。她想在她所有的唱片里都弹钢琴，但唱片公司不同意。雪莉·霍恩在20世纪60年代停止了在全国各地的演出，这样她可以有更多时间在家里陪伴她的丈夫和女儿。20世纪60、70年代，她只在华盛顿地区的夜总会里演出。雪莉·霍恩在20世纪80年代重建了她的事业。她开始更广泛地在世界各地的爵士音乐节和音乐会上表演，并受到了高度赞扬。1987年，她与Verve唱片公司签订了唱片合约，并一直和公司合作至她生涯结束。1990年，霍恩与她的好朋友兼老师迈尔斯·戴维斯再度合作了歌曲《你不会忘记我》。她后来又录制了几张成功的专辑，并在世界各地演出。她还为一些电影配乐。这首是雪莉·霍恩和迈尔斯·戴维斯的《你不会忘记我》。1998年，她凭借专辑《我记得迈尔斯》获奖，这张专辑是为了纪念1991年去世的迈尔斯戴维斯。
霍恩在她的职业生涯中获得了许多荣誉。但她的临终前几年过的很艰难。她有一系列的健康问题，包括因乳腺癌接受治疗。2002年，由于糖尿病引起的问题，医生切除了她的脚。后来雪莉·霍恩还是继续为观众唱歌，但她是坐在椅子上唱的，旁边还有人弹钢琴。由于失去了一只脚，她很难使用控制钢琴声音的踏板。然而，在她最后的表演中，她借助一个代替她脚的装备重新开始弹钢琴。2005年6月，霍恩中风。四个月后，她去世了，享年71岁。评论家说雪莉·霍恩影响了当今许多年轻的爵士音乐家，包括黛安娜·克罗尔和诺拉·琼斯。评论家说人们会以美国爵士乐伟大时期最优秀的歌手之一而铭记她。2005年，Verve唱片公司发行了她的作品集，名为《美丽:雪莉·霍恩最好的作品》。现在我们用那张专辑里的一首歌《向人生致敬》结束本期节目。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
