(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Faith Lapidus. And this is Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the life and music of American songwriter Cole Porter.
That was "Begin the Beguine" played by Artie Shaw's orchestra in nineteen thirty-eight.
It is one of almost one thousand songs Cole Porter wrote. In his seventy-three years, more than five hundred of those songs were published. Porter wrote most of his songs in the nineteen twenties, thirties and forties. Yet they remain as fresh as when he wrote them.
Cole Porter's songs are still being sung and played today. They are performed at musical theaters, jazz clubs, even rock-and-roll concerts. A movie about his life, called De-Lovely was released in two thousand four. Kevin Kline stars in the movie as Cole Porter. Ashley Judd plays his wife, Linda Porter. Popular young performers of today sing his songs in the movie. We will play some songs from that movie later in this program.
Cole Porter was born June ninth, eighteen ninety-one, in the middle western state of Indiana. His family was wealthy and educated. His mother, Kate, guided him to music at an early age. He wrote his first song at the age of ten.
As a young man, he was sent east to study at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In his extra time, he continued to write songs. Two were for the university: the "Yale Bulldog" song and "Bingo Eli Yale." They are still sung there today.
After finishing his studies at Yale, Cole Porter went to Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts to study law. That plan lasted only a year. At a party one night, he played some of his songs for the students and professors. The head of the law school spoke to him. "Why are you studying law? he asked. "You are no good at it. Why don't you go to Harvard's Music School and then write for the musical theater?" Later, Porter said: "That idea had never entered my head before. "
At the time, musical theater was extremely popular in America. This is because there were few music records. And radio programs were still being developed. So, songwriters had to work in the musical theater to be successful. Cole Porter wrote his first musical show in nineteen sixteen. He was still a student at Harvard. The show was called "See America First." It was produced in the Broadway theater area of New York City.
The show was a complete failure. Porter wanted to leave town until people forgot it. So, he went to Europe. He stayed there for most of the next thirteen years.
During this time, Cole Porter became famous for his parties. His guests were wealthy, pleasure-loving people from all over Europe. They liked him because he was smart and funny and knew how to enjoy life. And they loved his songs, which he played at his parties. Here Cole Porter sings his song, You're the Top.
In France, Cole Porter met the woman who became his wife. She was a beautiful and rich American named Linda Lee Thomas. They were married in nineteen nineteen. The Porters gave parties that lasted for days. They had so much money they could do anything they wanted. And they did. Their life together was a search for excitement, adventure and pleasure.
Still, Cole Porter remained a serious, hard-working songwriter. He wrote both the words and the music for his songs. The words and music always fit together perfectly. His songs were funny, sexy and intelligent. They were playful -- full of little jokes and hidden meanings.
One of his earliest big hits is called "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)." It was written in nineteen twenty-eight for a show called "Paris. Alanis Morrissette sings the song in the movie about Cole Porter called De-Lovely.
Some of Porter's friends thought he might not be a success. One friend, Elsa Maxwell, told him: "You are too good. The humor and poetry of your words are far beyond the people. One day, however," she added, "you will bring the public up to your own level. Then the world will be yours."
Most of Cole Porter's songs are about love and desire. When they were written, they stretched the limits of what was socially acceptable. The words were often unexpected, sometimes even shocking. They spoke both directly and indirectly about sex, about drug use. Some songs he sang only for his friends.
Critics consider "Love for Sale" to be one of Porter's finest songs. He wrote it in nineteen thirty for a Broadway musical called "The New Yorkers." For years, the song was banned on American radio. Here is a new version by Vivian Green.
Many of Porter's songs were written in a minor musical key. This gives them a feeling of sadness and longing. Yet they also can have a feeling of great excitement. American songwriter Alan J. Lerner said only Cole Porter could really "write" passion. One example is "Night and Day." It is considered perhaps the finest song Cole Porter ever wrote. It is about the kind of romantic love that is almost a form of insanity.
Porter got the idea for the song while traveling in Morocco. He heard drums and a man singing a prayer. The song has a sound that beats endlessly, over and over. It is like a lover who thinks of nothing but his love, over and over, night and day.
The song "Night and Day" was introduced in a nineteen thirty-two Broadway musical comedy called "The Gay Divorcee." The great dancer and singer Fred Astaire played the leading male character and sang the song.
"Night and Day" became famous around the world. And Cole Porter was becoming one of the greatest songwriters America had ever produced. Today there are many recordings of the song by different singers and musicians. Here is Night and Day from the movie about Cole Porter called De-Lovely. John Barrowman and Kevin Kline sing it.
On our program next week, we will tell more about Cole Porter's life, and bring you more of his music.
重点解析
1.full of充满
All Party members and the people as a whole are full of vigour.
党员和人民的精神状态很好。
2.bring up养育；提出
I had the terrible feeling of being left behind to bring up the baby while he had fun.
我感觉糟糕透顶，我被留下抚养孩子，而他却在寻欢作乐。
3.famous for以...闻名
Julie Burchill is famous for her precocity and rapier wit.
朱莉·伯奇尔因其早慧和机敏而闻名。
4.think of想到；考虑
You want to be with a man who thinks of you the minute he wakes up.
你会想和那个一醒了就想起你的人在一起的。
5.search for搜索；寻找
Her search for love has often caused her excruciating misery and loneliness.
她对爱情的寻觅常常给她带来极大的痛苦和孤独感。
6.in the middle of在中间
Howard stood in the middle of the room sipping a cup of coffee
霍华德站在房间中央，小口抿着一杯咖啡。
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》。今天我们讲述美国词曲作家科尔·波特的生活和音乐的故事。
这是由阿蒂·肖的乐队在1938年演奏的音乐《漫步起舞》。
这是科尔·波特创作的近一千首歌曲之一。在他73年的生命里，他出版了500多首这样的歌曲。波特的大部分歌曲创作于20世纪20年代、30年代和40年代。然而，它们仍然像他写的时候一样鲜活。
科尔·波特的歌曲至今仍在演唱和演奏。这些歌曲在音乐剧院，爵士俱乐部，甚至摇滚音乐会演出。一部关于他生活的电影于2004年上映，名为《小可爱》。凯文·克莱恩在电影中饰演科尔·波特。阿什利·贾德饰演他的妻子琳达·波特。现在流行的年轻演员在电影中演唱他的歌曲。我们将在稍后的节目中播放这部电影中的一些歌曲。
科尔·波特于1891年6月9日出生在美国中西部的印第安纳州。他的家庭富有且受过良好的教育。他的母亲凯特在他很小的时候就指导他学习音乐。他十岁时写了第一首歌。
年轻时，他被送到东部康涅狄格州纽黑文的耶鲁大学学习。在业余时间，他继续写歌。其中两首献给了耶鲁大学：《耶鲁斗牛犬》和《宾戈·伊莱·耶鲁》。人们现在依然在那里演唱这两首歌曲。
在耶鲁大学完成学业后，科尔·波特前往马萨诸塞州剑桥的哈佛大学学习法律。那个计划只持续了一年。一天晚上，在一个聚会上，他为学生和教授们演奏了他的一些歌曲。法学院院长对他说。“你为什么学法律？”他问道。“你不擅长这个。你为什么不去哈佛音乐学院，然后为音乐剧写剧本呢？”后来，波特说：“我以前从未有过这种想法。”
当时，音乐剧在美国非常受欢迎。这是因为当时几乎没有音乐唱片。广播节目还在发展中。因此，词曲作者必须在音乐剧领域工作才能获得成功。科尔·波特在1916年创作了他的第一部音乐剧。当时他还是哈佛的学生。这个节目的名字叫“先看美国”。它是在纽约市百老汇剧院地区制作的。
演出完全失败了。波特想离开这座城市，直到人们把它遗忘。于是，他去了欧洲。在接下来的13年里，他大部分时间都呆在那里。
在此期间，科尔·波特因他的派对而出名。他的客人是来自欧洲各地富有、爱好享乐的人。他们喜欢他，因为他聪明有趣，知道如何享受生活。他们喜欢他在派对上演唱的歌曲。科尔·波特在这里唱他的歌《你是最好》。
在法国，科尔·波特遇到了后来成为他妻子的那个女人。她是一个美丽而富有的美国人，名叫琳达·李·托马斯。他们于1919年结婚。波特夫妇举行了一连几天的聚会。他们有那么多钱，可以做任何他们想做的事。他们也确实做了。他们共同的生活是寻找刺激、冒险和快乐。
尽管如此，科尔·波特仍然是一位认真、勤奋的作曲家。他为他的歌曲写歌词和乐曲。歌词和音乐总是完美地结合在一起。他的歌有趣、性感、聪明。它们很有趣——充满了小笑话和隐藏的含义。他最早的热门歌曲之一是《来做吧(让我们相爱)》。这是在1928年为一个名为“巴黎”的节目写的。艾拉妮丝·莫莉塞特在关于科尔·波特的电影《小可爱》中演唱了这首歌曲。
波特的一些朋友认为他可能不会成功。一位叫埃尔莎·麦克斯韦尔的朋友对他说：“你太棒了。你的话的幽默和诗意远远超出了人们的想象。然而，总有一天，”她补充道，“你会让公众达到你自己的水平。”那么世界就是你的了。”
科尔·波特的大部分歌曲都是关于爱和欲望。在这些歌写成的时候，他们延伸了当时社会可接受的极限。这些话往往出人意料，有时甚至令人震惊。他们直接或间接地谈论性和毒品使用。有些歌他只唱给他的朋友听。
评论家认为《出售爱情》是波特最好的歌曲之一。他在1930年为百老汇音乐剧《纽约客》写了这首歌。多年来，这首歌曲都禁止在美国电台播放。这是薇薇安·格林演唱的新版本。
波特的许多歌曲都是用小调写的。这给了歌曲一种悲伤和渴望的感觉。然而，他们也会有一种非常兴奋的感觉。美国作曲家艾伦·J·勒纳说，只有科尔·波特才能真正“写出”激情。一个例子是《夜以继日》。这首歌被认为是科尔·波特写过的最好的歌。这是一种近乎疯狂的浪漫爱情。
波特是在摩洛哥旅行时想到这首歌的。他听到了鼓声和一个人的祈祷声。这首歌有一种不断跳动的声音，一遍又一遍。就像一个情人，日夜不停地想着他的爱。
这首歌《夜以继日》是在1932年百老汇音乐剧《同性恋离婚者》中引入的。伟大的舞蹈家兼歌手弗雷德·阿斯泰尔扮演男主角并演唱了这首歌。
《夜以继日》在全世界都很有名。科尔·波特成为美国有史以来最伟大的词曲作家之一。今天有许多不同歌手和音乐家都录制了这首歌曲。这是关于科尔·波特《小欢喜》中由约翰·巴罗曼和凯文·克莱恩演唱的《夜以继日》的版本。
在下周的节目中，我们将讲述更多关于科尔·波特的生活，并为您带来更多他的音乐。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
