(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 bring you the second part of our program about American songwriter Cole Porter. Porter wrote his songs from the nineteen twenties to the nineteen fifties. They continue to be popular today.
That was a recording of "Anything Goes", one of Cole Porter's most famous songs. Caroline O'Connor sings it in the movie about Cole Porter called "De-Lovely." Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd star in this movie about Porter's life, released in two thousand four. The title of the movie is from one of Porter's popular songs, "It's De-Lovely." In the song, Porter plays with words that start with the letter "d." Robbie Williams sings the song.
As we said in our program last week, Cole Porter went to live in France in nineteen sixteen before he became famous. He was a wealthy young man who was smart and funny and knew how to enjoy life. He and his wife, Linda, became well known for their costly and exciting parties.
Yet Cole Porter never let other pleasures interfere with what he loved most – writing songs. He worked hard on his songs. Both the words and music had to be perfect.
Porter gained fame as a musical theater writer by the early nineteen thirties. His musical plays were produced in Broadway theaters in New York City. He had a new musical every year or so during the years of America's great economic depression. His words and music gave people a few hours of pleasurable escape during difficult times.
Some critics still consider one of Porter's early musical plays, "Anything Goes," to be his best. "Anything Goes" opened on Broadway in nineteen thirty-four. It starred one of Porter's favorite singers, Ethel Merman. She sang a song that became famous immediately. It is called "I Get a Kick Out of You." That expression means I enjoy being with you.
For years, Porter was Broadway's "King Cole." His musical plays were very successful. Later, he went to Los Angeles, California and wrote music for Hollywood movies. They were very popular, too.
Cole and Linda Porter traveled all over the world. They were happily married most of the time. But Cole Porter was homosexual. He had sex with men. Homosexuality was both accepted and forbidden in high society at that time. Love affairs between men were not exactly secret. Yet they could never be admitted publicly.
All his life, Cole Porter wrote songs about love, desire and passion. He included the names of foreign countries, famous people and comments on current events. And he filled his songs with little jokes and hidden meanings.
Porter's words stretched the limits of what was socially acceptable. They spoke directly and indirectly about sex. They admitted that love is not always pure. It is often selfish. And it rarely lasts forever. Porter was not even sure what love really is. He wonders about it in this song, "What Is This Thing Called Love?" It is sung by Lemar.
Cole Porter also wrote some of the most beautiful love songs ever, full of true, deep feeling. Critics consider "Every Time We Say Goodbye" to be one of his finest songs. Natalie Cole sings the song.
In nineteen thirty-seven, Cole Porter was injured while riding a horse. The horse slid on a muddy hill and fell on top of him. His legs were crushed. Cole Porter spent the rest of his life, twenty-seven years, disabled and in severe pain. Yet he continued writing wonderful songs, musical plays and movies.
In nineteen forty-eight, he wrote what some consider his greatest work. It was a musical play called "Kiss Me, Kate." It was based on William Shakespeare's play, "The Taming of the Shrew." But it takes place in modern times, among a group of actors. The play was produced again on Broadway in nineteen ninety-nine.
One of the most famous songs in the musical is called "Too Darn Hot." It is a funny song about how hard it is to be interested in love in really hot weather. Stanley Wayne Mathis sings it in "Kiss Me, Kate."
Cole Porter had another hit show in nineteen fifty-three, called "Cancan." It was his final play. That same year, Porter's wife, Linda, died. Porter was very sad, and increasingly disabled by his old injury. He died at the age of seventy-three in nineteen sixty-four.
In nineteen ninety-one, America celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of Cole Porter's birth. Special concerts celebrated his music. New recordings were issued. Jazz singers and symphony orchestras recorded his songs.
So did several rock-and-roll artists. They made a recording and special music video to honor him. All the money earned from the recording and video was given to research on AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is a disease that was first discovered among homosexual men.
Today, Cole Porter's songs are still valued for their beauty, humor and intelligence. And for their unexpected jokes and word play. They shine like jewels, one critic wrote. They are shot through with love that sometimes feels like pain.
There seems little doubt that Cole Porter's songs will continue to be sung. They will make us laugh. They will make us cry. And they will touch the deepest truths of our emotions.
重点解析
1.interfere with干预；干扰
It will seriously interfere with the progress of the work.
它将严重干扰工作的进展。
2.start with以...开始
I'll start with some generalities and then examine a few specific examples
我首先进行概述，然后会分析几个实例。
3.based on基于...
Democracy is based on good will and mutual understanding.
民主建立在善意和相互理解的基础上。
4.gain fame获得声望
But most people, most artists do not gain fame and fortune.
可是大多数人，大多数艺人并没有得到声名和财富。
5.on top of在...之上
They stood on top of the hill, drinking in the beauty of the garden city.
他们站在小山之巅，饱览这花园城市的美景。
6.take place在中间
A total solar eclipse is due to take place some time tomorrow.
明天某个时刻会发生日全食。
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！
