(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Rich Kleinfeldt with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell the story of Todd Duncan -- a concert singer and music teacher. He is the man who broke a major color barrier for black singers of classical music.
It is nineteen-forty-five. The place is New York City. The New York City Opera Company just finished performing the Italian opera "Pagliacci."
Todd Duncan is on the stage. He had just become the first African American man to sing with this important American opera company. No one was sure how he would be received. But the people in the theater offered loud, warm approval of his performance.
Duncan did not sing a part written for a black man. Instead, he played a part traditionally sung by a white man. All the other singers in the New York City Opera Company production were white.
His historic performance took place ten years before black singer Marian Anderson performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Todd Duncan opened doors for other black musicians when he appeared in "Pagliacci." Until that night, black singers of classical music had almost no chance of performing in major American opera houses and theaters. But Todd Duncan began a major change in classical musical performance in the United States.
Todd Duncan lived a very long life. He was ninety-five years old when he died in March, nineteen-ninety-eight in Washington, D.C. He taught singing until the end of his life.
Robert Todd Duncan was born in nineteen-oh-three in the southern city of Danville, Kentucky. His mother, Nettie Cooper Duncan, was his first music teacher.
As a young adult, he continued his music studies in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended both a university and a special music college in this middle western city.
In nineteen-thirty, he completed more musical education at Columbia University in New York City. Then he moved to Washington. For fifteen years, he taught music at Howard University in Washington.
African Americans had gained worldwide fame for their work in popular music -- especially for creating jazz. But not many black musicians were known for writing or performing classical music.
Teaching at Howard gave Duncan the chance to share his knowledge of classical European music with a mainly black student population. He taught special ways to present the music. These special ways became known as the Duncan Technique.
Here Todd Duncan sings "O Tixo, Tixo, Help Me" from the opera "Lost in the Stars" composed by Kurt Weill.
In addition to teaching, Duncan sang in several operas with performers who all were black. But it seemed he always would be known mainly as a concert artist. Duncan sang at least five-thousand concerts in fifty countries during twenty-five years as a performer.
However, his life took a different turn in the middle nineteen-thirties. At that time, the famous American music writer George Gershwin was looking for someone to play a leading part in his new work, "Porgy and Bess."
Gershwin had heard one-hundred baritones attempt the part. He did not want any of them. Then, the music critic of the New York Times newspaper suggested Todd Duncan.
Duncan almost decided not to try for the part. But he changed his mind. He sang a piece from an Italian opera for Gershwin. He had sung only a few minutes when Gershwin offered him the part. But Duncan was not sure that playing Porgy would be right for him.
Years later, he admitted that he had no idea that George Gershwin was such a successful composer. And, he thought Gershwin wrote only popular music. Duncan almost always had sung classical works, by composers such as Brahms and Schumann.
Todd Duncan said he would have to hear "Porgy and Bess." He did. Then he accepted the part of Porgy. But he said he found it difficult to perform because Porgy has a bad leg and cannot walk. He spends most of the opera on his knees.
Duncan used his special methods to get enough breath to produce beautiful sound. He was able to do this even in the difficult positions demanded by the part.
Here Todd Duncan sings "Porgy's Lament" from the Gershwin opera, "Porgy and Bess."
Todd Duncan sang in the opening production of "Porgy and Bess" in nineteen thirty-five. Then he appeared again as Porgy in nineteen-thirty-seven and nineteen-forty-two. He often commented on the fact that he was best known for a part he played for only three years.
His fame as Porgy helped him get the part in "Pagliacci" with the New York City Opera Company. He also sang other parts with the opera company.
Earlier, you heard him sing a song from one of the operas he enjoyed most. The part was that of Stephen Khumalo in "Lost in the Stars." It was a musical version of the famous novel about Africa, "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton.
American writer Maxwell Anderson wrote the words for the music by German composer Kurt Weill. Listen as Todd Duncan sings the title song from "Lost in the Stars."
Todd Duncan gained fame as an opera singer and concert artist. But his greatest love in music was teaching. When he stopped teaching at Howard, he continued giving singing lessons in his Washington home until the week before his death.
He taught hundreds of students over the years. Some musicians say they always can recognize students of Todd Duncan. They say people he taught demonstrate his special methods of singing.
Donald Boothman is a singer and singing teacher from the eastern state of Massachusetts. He began studying with Todd Duncan in the nineteen-fifties.
Boothman was twenty-two years old at the time. He was a member of the official singing group of the United States Air Force. He had studied music in college. But he studied with Duncan to improve his singing.
Boothman continued weekly lessons with Duncan for thirteen years. After that, he would return to Duncan each time he accepted a new musical project.
He says he considered Duncan his teacher for a lifetime. Many other students say they felt that way, too.
Todd Duncan was proud of his students. He was proud of his performances of classical music. And, he was proud of being the first African-American to break the color barrier in a major opera house.
He noted in a V-O-A broadcast in Nineteen-Ninety that blacks are singing in opera houses all over America. "I am happy," he said, "that I was the first one to open the door -- to let everyone know we could all do it."
重点解析
1.In addition to除了
In addition to the quiz, we have tests once every month.
除了小测验以外，我们每个月还有一次测试。
2.at least至少
So it's true that Ale knows that at least one person in the room has a pink hat on their head.
所以艾尔确实知道,至少有一个人戴着粉色的帽子。
3.have no idea不知道
I have no idea what he said behind me.
我不知道他在我背后说些什么。
4.Over the years多年来
Over the years we have had our differences, but I always love you.
多年来，虽然我们常有意见不合的地方，但我一直敬爱着您。
5.be proud of为...感到自豪
Only you could have got the prize. You should be proud of your school.
只有你才能拿到这样的奖。你应当为你的学校感到自豪。
6.be able to会；能够
They should be able to read and understand everything on the printout.
他们应该能够阅读和理解打印输出上的所有内容。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲斯，我是里奇·克林沸德，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述托德·邓肯的故事。他是一位音乐会歌手和音乐老师。他打破了黑人古典音乐歌手的主要肤色界限。
那是1945年，地点是在纽约市。纽约市歌剧院刚刚完成意大利歌剧《丑角》的演出。
托德·邓肯在台上演出。他是首位在这个重要的歌剧院演出的非裔美国人。没人知道他会受到怎样的对待。但是剧院里的人们对他的表演给予了热烈的掌声。
邓肯没有扮演一位为黑人创作的角色。相反，他扮演了一个传统上由白人演出的角色。在纽约市歌剧院演出的其他歌手都是白人。
他的历史性表演发生在黑人歌手玛丽安·安德森在纽约大都会歌剧院演出前10年。
托德·邓肯出现在《丑角》中，为其他黑人音乐家打开了大门。在那天晚上之前，黑人古典音乐歌手几乎没有机会在美国的主要歌剧院和剧院演出。但是托德·邓肯开始了美国古典音乐表演的重大变革。
托德·邓肯活了很长时间。1998年3月，他在华盛顿特区去世，享年95岁。他一直教授歌唱直到生命结束。
罗伯特·托德·邓肯1903年出生在肯塔基州南部城市丹维尔。他的母亲妮蒂·库珀·邓肯是他的第一位音乐老师。
年轻时，他继续在印第安纳州的印第安纳波利斯学习音乐。他在这个中西部城市上了大学和一所特殊的音乐学院。
1930年，他在纽约市哥伦比亚大学完成了更多的音乐教育。然后他搬到了华盛顿。他在华盛顿的霍华德大学教了15年音乐。
非裔美国人因在流行音乐上的贡献而享誉全球，尤其是创造了爵士乐。但是创作或表演古典音乐的著名黑人音乐家并不多。
霍华德大学的教学让邓肯有机会与以黑人学生为主的学生群体分享他对欧洲古典音乐的知识。他教授表现音乐的特别的方式。这些特别的方式后来被称为邓肯技巧。
在这里，托德·邓肯演唱了库尔特·威尔创作的歌剧《迷失在星空下》中的“OTixo,Tixo,HelpMe”。
除了教学，邓肯也在几个歌剧中与全是黑人的表演者一块演唱。但他似乎总是以音乐会艺术家的身份为人所知。邓肯在25年的演艺生涯中，在50个国家至少演唱了5000场音乐会。
然而，在20世纪30年代中期，他的生活改变了方向。当时，美国著名的音乐作家乔治·格什温正在寻找一个人在他的新作品《波吉与贝丝》中担任主角。
格什温听了试图扮演这个角色的一百名男中音的演唱。他一个也没看上。然后，《纽约时报》的音乐评论家向他推荐了托德·邓肯。
邓肯几乎决定不演这个角色。但是他改变了主意。他为格什温演唱了一个意大利歌剧的一段歌曲。他只唱了几分钟，格什温就给了他这个角色。但是邓肯不知道他是否是扮演波吉的合适人选。
多年后，邓肯承认，他当时不知道乔治·格什温是一位如此成功的作曲家。而且他认为格什温不仅仅创作流行音乐。邓肯经常演唱像布拉姆斯和舒曼等作曲家的古典作品。
托德·邓肯表示他得先听听《波吉与贝丝》。他听了。然后他接受了波吉这个角色。但他说，他发现表演很困难，因为波吉的腿不好，不能走路。歌剧的大部分时间他都得跪着。
邓肯用他的特殊方法来进行充足的呼吸来发出美妙的声音。即使在角色要求的困难处境下，他也能做到这一点。
这里是托德·邓肯演唱格什温的歌剧《波吉与贝丝》中的《波吉的挽歌》。
托德·邓肯在1935年《波吉与贝丝》的首演中演唱。然后他在1937年和1942年再次以波吉这个角色亮相。他经常评论道，使他最出名的是他只演了三年的角色。
他扮演的波吉的名声帮助他在纽约歌剧院获得了《丑角》中的角色。他还在纽约歌剧院演唱了其他部分。
刚才，你听到的是他最喜欢的歌剧之一中的一首歌曲。这个角色是斯蒂芬·库马洛在《迷失在星空下》中的角色。这是关于非洲的由艾伦·帕顿创作的著名小说《哭吧，亲爱的祖国》的音乐剧版本。
美国作家马克斯韦尔·安德森为德国作曲家库尔特·威尔的作品写了歌词。听托德·邓肯演唱《迷失在星空下》的同名主打歌。
托德·邓肯以一位歌剧演唱者和音乐会艺术家而闻名。但是他对音乐最大的热爱是教学。当他停止在霍华德大学任教后，他继续在华盛顿的家中教授声乐课程，直到去世前一周。
多年来他教授了许许多多的学生。一些音乐家称，他们总是能认出托德·邓肯的学生。他们称他带出的学生展示出了他特别的演唱方法。
唐纳德·布斯曼是来自东部马萨诸塞州的一名歌手和歌唱教师。他在1950年代开始和托德·邓肯一起学习。
当时布斯曼22岁。他是美国空军官方歌唱团体的成员。他在大学学习过音乐。但是他和邓肯一块学习来提升他的演唱能力。
布斯曼连续13年每周都和邓肯一起上课，那之后，每次接受一个新的音乐项目，他都会回到邓肯身边。
布斯曼称邓肯是他一生的老师。很多邓肯的学生也是这样认为的。
托德·邓肯为他的学生感到骄傲。他对自己的古典音乐的演出感到骄傲。而且，他为自己是第一个在大型歌剧院打破肤色界限的非洲裔美国人而感到自豪。
他在1990年的一次电视广播中指出，全美国的歌剧院里都有黑人演唱。他表示，“我很开心，我是第一位打开这扇门的人，我让每个人知道我们可以做到这个。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
