(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program People in America. Today, we tell about Stephen Foster, America's first popular professional songwriter. You may have heard the old traditional American songs "Oh! Susanna," "Camptown Races" and "My Old Kentucky Home". But, do you know who wrote them? Stephen Foster. He wrote those and more than two hundred other songs during the eighteen forties and eighteen fifties. His best songs have become part of America's cultural history. They have become American folk songs. Many people in America learned to sing these songs when they were children. Most Americans can sing these songs today. Stephen Collins Foster was born on July fourth, eighteen twenty-six in what is now part of the city of Pittsburgh, in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. He was the ninth child of William and Eliza Foster. He did not have much musical training. But he had a great natural ability for music. He taught himself to play several musical instruments. He could play any music just by listening to it. Stephen Foster began writing songs when he was fourteen. In eighteen forty-seven, he wrote his first successful song, "Oh! Susanna. " Ken Emerson wrote a book about Stephen Foster. It is called "Doo-dah! Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture. " Mister Emerson says "Oh! Susanna" was the first internationally popular song written by an American that everyone can still recognize and sing today. Stephen Foster married Jane McDowell in eighteen fifty. He wrote many new songs. Some of them were about love. One of the best known is "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair. " He wrote it for his wife when they were separated. Stephen Foster wrote almost thirty songs for minstrel shows. Minstrel shows became popular in the United States in the eighteen forties. White entertainers blackened their faces and performed as if they were black entertainers. Minstrel shows included music, dance and comedy. The shows were performed in almost every major American city, especially in the Northeast. One of Foster's songs written for minstrel shows is "Camptown Races." Today, it is a popular song for children. Minstrel songs described the culture of black American slaves in the southern states. Yet Foster did not really know anything about this subject. He lived in Pittsburgh for most of his life. He visited the South only once. However, some experts say Foster's minstrel songs showed he did understand how black people in the South lived before the Civil War. The people in Foster's songs love their families and work hard. Now, however, some of his songs are judged insulting to African-Americans.
So, music publishers have changed some of the words. And a few of his songs are no longer sung. In eighteen fifty, Foster made an agreement with the leader of a successful minstrel group, E. P. Christy. The agreement meant that Christy's Minstrels had the right to perform every new song Foster wrote. Foster also permitted Christy to name himself as the writer of the song "Old Folks at Home. " This became one of most successful songs written by Stephen Foster. It became the official song of the state of Florida in nineteen thirty-five. It also is known as "Way Down upon the Swanee River." Stephen Foster wrote other songs about home and memories of times past. In his book, Ken Emerson says Foster wrote songs about home in part because he almost never lived in one home for long. His father lost all his money when Stephen was a boy. So Stephen was forced to live with many different family members. Although Foster lived in the North, some of his songs suggest a desire to be back home in the American South. "My Old Kentucky Home" is an example. Mister Emerson says Foster wrote the song in honor of Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "My Old Kentucky Home" expresses great sympathy for enslaved African-Americans. The black anti-slavery activist Frederick Douglass praised the song. It later became the official song of the state of Kentucky. Stephen Foster was America's first full-time professional songwriter. He was a good songwriter. But he was a poor businessman. He sold many of his most famous songs for very little money. He was not able to support his wife and daughter. In eighteen sixty, he moved to New York City. His songs were not as popular as they had been. His marriage had ended. He had no money. For most of his life, he drank large amounts of alcohol. He died on January thirteenth, eighteen sixty-four. He was only thirty-seven years old. Stephen Foster was honored in several ways after his death. He was the first musician to be nominated to the Hall of Fame for great Americans. And he was the first American composer whose complete works were published together. Each year, on the anniversary of his death, people in Pittsburgh gather to remember Stephen Foster. They go to the church he attended as a child. They attend a show that honors him. Then they visit his burial place. The end of Stephen Foster's life was sad. But his songs have brought happiness to many people. One of his last songs was one of the most beautiful. It is called "Beautiful Dreamer."
重点解析
1.as if 好像
Right now, start acting as if the above statement is true at all times.
如果上面的那句话在任何时候都是真的，现在，就开始行动。
2.made an agreement达成一个协议
We came to /arrived at /made an agreement with them on this matter.
在这个问题上，我们与他们达成了协议。
3.known as 被称为
The key to success is the combination of transformation optics with another promising new field of science known as plasmonics.
成功的关键是转变的光学与另一个有希望的表面电浆子场组合，被称为新的科学。
4.in honor of向…致敬
First he got a flower on his heart in honor of his girlfriend, still in Iraq.
为了纪念仍留在伊拉克的女友，他首先在自己胸口上纹了一朵花。
5.be able to能够
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。
6.in part在某种程度上
He did this in part by embroidering the gown with garlands of spring flowers.
通过在礼服上装饰了春天的花环，他在某种程度上做到了。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲思，我是史蒂夫·恩伯，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述史蒂芬·福斯特的故事，他是美国第一位有名的专业作曲家。你可能听过古老的美国传统歌曲《哦！苏珊娜》、《坎普顿赛跑》和《我的肯塔基故乡》。但是，你知道这些歌曲是谁写的吗?是斯蒂芬·福斯特。他在19世纪四五十年代创作了这些歌曲和其它的200多首歌曲。斯蒂芬·福斯特最棒的歌曲已成为了美国文化历史的一部分。这些歌曲已成为了美国民谣歌曲。许多美国人在小时候就学唱了斯蒂芬·福斯特的歌曲，今天大多数美国人也会唱这些歌曲。斯蒂芬·柯林斯·福斯特于1826年7月4日出生在现在属于宾夕法尼亚州东北部的匹兹堡市的一个地方。他是威廉和伊丽莎·福斯特的第九个孩子。斯蒂芬·福斯特没有接受过多少音乐训练。但他天生就有很强的音乐才能。他自学了几种乐器。只需要听听音乐，他就能演奏它们。斯蒂芬·福斯特14岁时开始写歌。在1847年，他写了他的第一首成功的歌曲，《哦！苏珊娜》。肯·爱默生写了一本关于斯蒂芬·福斯特的书。它叫《嘟嘟!斯蒂芬·福斯特与美国流行文化的兴起》。爱默生先生说:《哦！苏珊娜》是第一首由美国人创作的国际流行歌曲，至今仍为大家所熟知。斯蒂芬·福斯特于1850年与简·麦克道尔结婚。他写了许多新歌。其中一些是关于爱情的。其中最著名的是《金发的珍妮姑娘》。这首歌是他和妻子分居时为她创作的。斯蒂芬·福斯特为吟游表演创作了将近30首歌。在19世纪40年代，吟游诗人表演在美国变得流行起来。白人艺人把脸涂黑，像黑人艺人表演。吟游歌手的表演包括音乐、舞蹈和喜剧。这些节目几乎在美国每个大城市都有演出，尤其是在东北部。福斯特为吟游歌手创作的歌曲之一是《露营小镇竞赛》。今天，它是一首流行的儿童歌曲。吟游诗人的歌曲描述了美国南部各州黑人奴隶的文化。然而福斯特对这些文化一无所知。他大半生都住在匹兹堡。他只去过南方一次。不过，一些专家认为，福斯特的吟游诗人歌曲表明，他确实了解美国南方黑人在南北战争前的生活方式。福斯特歌曲中的人们爱他们的家人，努力工作。然而现在，他的一些歌曲被认为是对非洲裔美国人的侮辱。因此，音乐出版商已经改变了福斯特歌曲中一些词语。他的一些歌曲也不再传唱了。在1850年，福斯特与一个成功的吟游诗人团体的领导人E·P·克里斯蒂达成了一项协议。这项协议意味着克里斯蒂的歌手有权演唱福斯特写的每一首新歌。福斯特还允许克里斯蒂自称为《故乡的亲人》这首歌的作者。这首歌成为斯蒂芬·福斯特创作的最成功的歌曲之一。它在1935年成为佛罗里达州的官方歌曲。这首歌曲又名《斯旺尼河下游》。史蒂芬·福斯特还创作了其它一些关于家乡和过去记忆的歌曲。肯·爱默生在他的书中说福斯特写了一些关于家的歌，部分原因是他几乎从来没有在一个家里住过很久。当斯蒂芬还是个孩子的时候，他父亲就破产了。所以斯蒂芬被迫和许多不同的家庭成员住在一起。虽然福斯特住在北方，但他的一些歌曲表明他渴望回到美国南方的家乡。《我的肯塔基故乡》就是一个例子。爱默生先生说福斯特写这首歌是为了纪念哈里特·比彻·斯托的反奴隶制著作《汤姆叔叔的小屋》。《我的肯塔基故乡》表达了对受奴役的非洲裔美国人的深切同情。黑人反奴隶制活动家弗雷德里克·道格拉斯称赞了这首歌。它后来成为肯塔基州的官方歌曲。斯蒂芬·福斯特是美国第一个全职职业作曲家。他是一个优秀的作曲家。但他是一个贫穷的商人。他以极低的价格出售了许多他最著名的歌曲。他无法养活妻子和女儿。1860年，他搬到了纽约市。他的歌不像以前那么受欢迎了。他的婚姻走到了尽头。他没有钱。在他一生的大部分时间里，他都大量酗酒。他死于1864年1月13日。当时年仅37岁。斯蒂芬·福斯特去世后，人们在许多方面对他表示敬意。他是第一位经提名进入伟大美国人名人堂的音乐家。他是第一个完整的作品一起出版的美国作曲家。每年，在他逝世周年纪念日这一天，匹兹堡的人们都会聚集在一起纪念斯蒂芬·福斯特。人们去了斯蒂芬·福斯特小时候去的教堂。人们参加了一个纪念斯蒂芬·福斯特的演出。然后他们参观了斯蒂芬·福斯特的墓地。斯蒂芬·福斯特晚年的生活是悲惨的。但是他的歌给许多人带来了快乐。他最后创作的歌曲中有一首是最优美的歌曲之一。这首歌名为《美丽的梦想家》。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
