(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Steve Ember. And I'm Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about James Brown, the musician called "The Godfather of Soul". That was James Brown singing his famous hit song from nineteen sixty-five, "I Got You (I Feel Good.)" With this song, Brown went from a rhythm and blues singer to a pop music star. It helped him gain a huge number of white fans as well as black ones. He became a famous and wealthy singer, songwriter and performer. But this huge success was very different from the poverty of his early life.
James Brown was born in nineteen thirty-three in a one-room house near Barnwell, South Carolina. His father, Joe Brown, had a job removing fluids from pine trees in the surrounding woods. He sold the sap for making turpentine. The boy's mother left the family when he was seven years old. James and his father moved to Augusta, Georgia. Young James had musical abilities. He learned to play the guitar, piano and drums. He did this while picking crops in the fields and shining people's shoes to earn money to survive. James loved the African-American church music called gospel. He loved it when the church's religious leader would sing this music and drop to his knees with emotional shouts and screams. Brown later used this kind of emotional singing in his own performances. He also liked the sound of the jazz and rhythm and blues performer Louis Jordan. Jordan had recorded a song called "Caldonia" and other popular songs in the late nineteen forties and nineteen fifties. Brown was also called the hardest working man in show business. By the time he was thirteen, James Brown had formed his own music group. He later joined a group called the Flames. The band played at drinking places, restaurants, colleges and other places in the South. These young performers copied the sounds of successful rhythm and blues groups. They also included in their shows a song co-written by James Brown. It was called "Please, Please, Please." This was the song that launched James Brown's career. He was able to stop doing low-paying jobs. He said the success of the song gave him the chance to have some of the things he could not have dreamed of. "Please, Please, Please" was recorded in nineteen fifty-six. It sold more than one million copies. It made James Brown famous in the United States. And it became part of his electrifying stage performances. Brown would be on stage with an eighteen-piece band and a group of dancers. His emotional singing included unusual sounds and screams. He danced around the stage performing movements that had not been seen before. He created his own musical and performing style. That was another James Brown hit song, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" from nineteen sixty-five. Brown said that song was one of the most important things he ever did in the way of changing music rhythms. With that song, Brown created the music he called "funk." This later came to be called "soul" music. And James Brown became known as "The Godfather of Soul." He followed this hit a few months later with "I Got You (I Feel Good)", an even bigger hit. James Brown also became known as "the hardest working man in show business." During the nineteen sixties, he performed his exciting show almost non-stop in city after city in the United States and in other countries. At the same time, Brown worked for civil rights for African-Americans. He supported black business ownership as the most important way to what he called "real black power." He urged black people to be proud of themselves. And he urged young people to continue their education and not drop out of school. His message was positive instead of angry. He recorded this song in nineteen sixty-eight, "Say it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud.)"
Over the years, James Brown had problems in business, with taxes and in his personal life. During the nineteen seventies, his popularity decreased as disco music became popular. But he made a comeback in the early nineteen eighties, with "Living in America," his first hit in years. In nineteen eighty-six, James Brown was one of the first performers invited into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He became one of the most successful recording artists in history. With the exception of Elvis Presley, no pop artist had more hit records. He had ninety-four songs in the Top One Hundred songs. And he had more Top Twenty single records than any other recording artist up to that time. But, in nineteen eighty-eight, he committed some crimes. He spent two and one-half years in prison. He was pardoned of his crimes in two thousand three. James Brown received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in nineteen ninety-two. He later talked about what he had tried to do to help young people. He said he tried to teach through his music. He thought it was very important to make young people proud of themselves and willing to work for what they wanted. He said life is sometimes really hard, but you can make it a lot better if you try to prepare for it. James Brown saw himself as an example of "the American dream". That means that a person can rise from poverty to wealth and success if he or she works hard. Brown influenced the music of his time and many performers who came after him. He showed his personality and energy in his famous shout: "If you are an American or you're just a human being and got any blood going through your veins -- AHHOOWW! I feel good!" James Brown performed until the very end of his life and continued to help his community. Three days before his death, he joined volunteers at his yearly event to give toys to needy children in Augusta, Georgia. He had planned to perform on New Year's Eve at B.B. King's Blues Club in New York City. James Brown, "The Godfather of Soul," died December twenty-fifth, two thousand six in Atlanta, Georgia. He was seventy-three. During his fifty-year career, he made many music fans feel good.
重点解析
1.as well as 也
If they are, it will be our problem as well as theirs.
如果真的发生类似的事情，这将是我们的，也是他们的大问题。
2.be able to应该
You should then be able to save and reload these overlays as required.
然后，您应该能够根据需要保存和重新加载这些覆盖值。
3.be proud of 自豪
You have every reason to be proud of your country and nation.
你们有理由为自己的国家和民族感到骄傲和自豪。
4.instead of而不是
Have I not often made you water my garden instead of studying?
我不也是经常让你们到我的花园浇水以此代替学习吗？
5.rise from 从…升起
By improving access, the number of rehabilitated people with disabilities could rise from 2–3%.
通过改善设施，获得康复的残疾人数量可从2%增加到3%。
6.prepare for 为…准备
Dust off your old skills and prepare for new responsibilities.
把你荒疏已久的技艺重新练好，准备担负新任务。
参考译文
我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。我是芭芭拉·克莱恩。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述音乐家詹姆斯·布朗的故事，人们称他为“灵魂乐教父”。这是詹姆斯·布朗演唱他1965年的流行金曲“我感觉很好”。凭借这首歌，布朗从一名节奏布鲁斯歌手转变成了一名流行音乐明星。这首歌帮助他赢得了大量的白人和黑人歌迷。他成为了一个著名而富有的歌手、词曲作者和演员。但是他获得的巨大成功与他早年经历的贫困截然不同。
詹姆斯·布朗于1933年出生在南卡罗来纳州巴恩威尔附近的一间一居室的房子里。他的父亲乔·布朗曾做过一份从周围树林里的松树中提取树液的工作。他卖掉树液做松节油。小詹姆斯的母亲在他七岁时就离开了家。詹姆斯和他的父亲搬到了乔治亚州的奥古斯塔。年轻的詹姆斯有音乐才能。他学会了演奏吉他、钢琴和鼓。同时，他靠种庄稼和擦鞋赚钱谋生。詹姆斯喜欢叫做福音音乐的非裔美国教堂音乐。当教堂的宗教领袖唱着这种音乐，激动地尖叫着跪倒在地的时候，布朗喜欢极了。布朗后来在自己的表演中使用了这种情绪化的歌唱方式。他也喜欢爵士乐和节奏布鲁斯演奏家路易斯·乔丹的声音。乔丹曾在20世纪40年代末和50年代录制了一首名为“卡尔多尼亚”的歌曲和其他流行歌曲。到13岁时，詹姆斯·布朗已经组建了自己的音乐组合。他后来加入了一个名为“火焰”的组合。乐队在南方的酒家、餐馆、大学和其他地方演出。这些年轻的表演者们模仿成功的节奏和布鲁斯组合的声音。他们还在表演中加入了詹姆斯·布朗与人合写的一首歌。它叫“请，请，请”。这首歌开启了詹姆斯·布朗的事业。从此他告别了低收入的工作。他说，这首歌的成功让他有机会拥有一些他做梦也想不到的东西。“请，请，请”录制于1956年。这首歌销量超过了100万。这首歌使布朗在美国一举成名。这首歌也成为他激动人心的舞台表演的一部分。布朗将与一支18人的乐队和一群舞者一起登台。他富有情感的演唱包含着不寻常的声音和尖叫声。他在舞台上跳舞，表演着人们以前从未见过的动作。他创造了属于自己的音乐和表演风格。这是詹姆斯·布朗1965年的另一首热门歌曲，“爸爸有了一个全新的包”。布朗说，在改变音乐节奏方面，这首歌曲是他创作的最棒的歌曲之一。凭借这首歌，布朗创造了一种他称为“放克”的音乐类型。后来称这种音乐类型为“灵魂乐”。自此詹姆斯·布朗作为“灵魂教父”而为人熟知，几个月后他又推出了一首热门歌曲”我感觉很好“，并成为一首更流行的金曲。从这之后，人们也开始称布朗为演艺界工作最努力的人。在20世纪60年代，他几乎不间断地在美国和其他国家的一个又一个城市带来他激动人心的表演。与此同时，布朗还为非洲裔美国人争取民权。他支持黑人创业，认为创业是获得他所说的“真正的黑人权力”最重要的途径。他敦促黑人要以他们自己为豪。而且，他还敦促年轻人不要辍学，而是要继续自己的学业。他传达是积极而不是愤怒的信息。他在1968年录制了这首歌，“大声说出来(我是黑人，我骄傲)”。
多年以来，詹姆斯·布朗都有商业上的问题，税务问题和私人生活问题。在20世纪70年代，随着迪斯科音乐的流行，布朗的人气下降了。但他在20世纪80年代初东山再起，推出了他多年来的第一部热门歌曲“生活在美国”。1986年，詹姆斯·布朗成为第一批进入摇滚名人堂的演艺人员之一。他成为历史上最成功的唱片艺术家之一。除了猫王埃尔维斯·普雷斯利，没有流行歌手的唱片比他更畅销了。在百佳歌曲排名中，有94首都是布朗的歌。他的排名前二十单曲数量，比当时的任何其他唱片艺术家都要高。但是在1988年的时候，他犯了一些罪，在监狱里面呆了两年半。人们在2003年的时候，原谅了布朗的罪行。1992年，詹姆斯·布朗获得格莱美终身成就奖。后来他谈到了为帮助年轻人而所做的一些努力。布朗说他试着用音乐来教化年轻人，他认为让年轻人以自己为豪并为自己想要的生活而奋斗是很重要的。布朗说生活有时候确实是很艰难的，但是如果你能试着去做好准备，你会做的更好。詹姆斯·布朗将自己视为“美国梦”的一个榜样。这意味着如果一个人努力工作的话，他就可以从贫困走向富有和成功。布朗影响了他那个时代的音乐，也影响了后来的许多演奏家。他在那个著名的呐喊中展示了他的个性和能量:“如果你是美国人，或者你只是一个普通人，并且你的血管里有血在流动——啊哈!我感觉良好!”詹姆斯·布朗在去世前一直在演出，并持续的帮助他的社区。在布朗去世前三天，他参加了自己一年一度的活动，为佐治亚州奥古斯塔的贫困儿童捐赠玩具。他原计划在新年前夜在纽约市的比比金的布鲁斯俱乐部演出。灵魂乐教父詹姆斯·布朗，于2006年12月25日在乔治亚洲亚特兰大去世。享年73岁。在他50年的音乐生涯中，他让很多的乐迷感觉很棒。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
