(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Mary Tillotson. And I'm Shirley Griffith with the VOA Special English Program, People in America.
That is music from the television show "Victory At Sea" written in nineteen fifty-two. The man who composed that beautiful music is known mainly as a writer of show songs. He wrote more than one thousand songs that helped tell stories in theaters, on television and in the movies. His music has been heard in more than two hundred movies and two thousand television shows.
Some experts say his music created more happiness than that of any other American popular composer. His name was Richard Rodgers. Today, we tell his story.
Richard Charles Rodgers was born in New York City on June twenty-eighth, nineteen-oh-two. Both his parents enjoyed singing and playing the piano. His grandparents loved opera and took their grandson to many productions. Richard attended many Broadway shows as a child.
Richard Rodgers began playing the piano by the age of three. At the age of fifteen, he decided that he would work in the musical theater. That same year, he wrote the music for a stage show presented by a local group of young people. Then, he wrote music for a production by students at Columbia University.
Other future show business leaders were also involved in the Columbia productions. Two of these men would be very important in Richard Rodgers' life-- Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart.
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart worked as a songwriting team for more than twenty years. Their first hit song was in the musical "The Garrick Gaities" produced in nineteen twenty-five. The song is still performed today. Here is Mickey Rooney singing "Manhattan."
Rodgers wrote the music first, then Hart put words to the music. They also wrote songs for the movies. One of their most widely known songs comes from a movie, "Blue Moon." Many singers have recorded it since it was written in nineteen thirty-four. It was even a rock and roll hit for the Marcels in the nineteen sixties.
Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart stopped working together in the early nineteen forties. Hart was an unhappy man. He was in poor health as a result of a serious drinking problem. It was increasingly difficult for Rodgers to work with him. Richard Rodgers turned to another old friend -- Oscar Hammerstein.
Rodgers and Hammerstein worked differently than did Rodgers and Hart. Oscar Hammerstein would write the words and give them to Rodgers. Rodgers then would write music to go with the words.
Their first show together was the historic "Oklahoma!" It opened in nineteen forty-three. Critics have called it a revolution in American theater. Rodgers and Hammerstein were praised for writing songs that developed the show and helped tell the story.
"Oklahoma!" still is performed on Broadway and in other theaters around the world. Here is the famous title song from the first Broadway production.
Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the songs for nine musical plays, including "The King And I," "Flower Drum Song," and "The Sound of Music." Their musical plays were also made as movies.
Their songs expressed love and pain and told about social problems. One example is this song from the musical "South Pacific" that opened in nineteen forty-nine. One of the men in the musical is in love with a woman of a different race. He sings a song expressing the conflict between his racial feelings and his love. The song is called "You've Got to be Carefully Taught." Listen to William Tabbert who sang it first on Broadway.
Richard Rodgers wrote both the words and the music for Broadway shows following Oscar Hammerstein's death in nineteen sixty. Critics say the best of these is "No Strings". It explored a romance between a black woman and a white man. The main song is "The Sweetest Sounds." Richard Kiley and Diahann Carroll sang it on Broadway.
Richard Rodgers and his wife Dorothy had two daughters and six grandchildren. One daughter and two grandsons also write music. Richard Rogers died in nineteen seventy-nine. He was seventy-seven years old. Books written about his life describe him as a cold man who was often depressed. Family members say he was only able to express himself through music.
Richard Rodgers once said the show he liked the best was "Carousel," the second musical he wrote with Oscar Hammerstein. It is a sad story about a young girl who marries a thief. One of the songs in the show now is considered to have a religious influence. Here is the song, "You'll Never Walk Alone".
Music experts say that a Richard Rodgers show is always playing somewhere in the world -- on Broadway, in theaters in different countries, in local school productions. And people all over the world still enjoy the movies linked to Richard Rodgers. Movies with wonderful music such as "State Fair", "South Pacific", "Pal Joey", "The Sound of Music", "Oklahoma" and "Carousel".
重点解析
1.be involved in参与
They have been involved in a campaign of deceit.
他们参与了一系列的欺骗活动。
2.As a result of作为...的结果
As a result of this conflict he lost both his home and his means of livelihood.
这场冲突使他同时失去了住所和生计来源。
3.turn to向...求助
God will help you if you turn to Him in humility and trust.
如果你怀着一颗谦恭而信任的心向上帝求助，上帝会帮助你。
4.goes with伴随
For many women, the status which goes with being a wife is important.
对很多女性而言，为人之妻的名分很重要。
5.be able to能够
They may be able to help with childcare so that you can have a break
他们可以帮忙照料孩子，这样你就可以歇一歇了。
6.in poor health身体不好
Those who are in poor health can also temper themselves in doing the labour within their power.
那些体弱者，在从事力所能及的劳动中，也得到了很好的锻炼。
参考译文
我是玛丽·蒂洛森，雪莉·格里菲斯，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。
这是创作于1952年的电视节目《海上胜利》中的音乐。谱写这首优美歌曲的人主要以节目歌曲作者著称。他写了一千多首歌，帮助在剧院、电视和电影中讲述故事。他的音乐已经出现在200多部电影和2000多部电视节目中。
一些专家说，他的音乐创造的快乐比任何其他美国流行作曲家都要多。他就是理查德·罗杰斯。今天我们就讲述他的故事。
理查德·查尔斯·罗杰斯于1902年6月28日出生在纽约市。他的父母都喜欢歌唱和弹奏钢琴。他的祖父母喜欢歌剧，带着孙子去看了很多演出。理查德小时候参加过许多百老汇演出。
理查德·罗杰斯从三岁开始弹钢琴。15岁时，他决定去音乐剧院工作。同年，他就为由当地的一群年轻人演出的舞台剧创作了音乐。然后，他就为哥伦比亚大学的学生的一个演出创作了音乐。
其他未来的娱乐业领袖也参与了此次哥伦比亚大学的演出。这其中的两个人在理查德·罗杰斯的一生中非常重要-奥斯卡·哈默斯坦和洛伦茨·哈特。
理查德·罗杰斯和洛伦茨·哈特作为歌曲创作团队工作了20多年。他们的第一首热门歌曲出现在1925年的音乐剧《加里克盖蒂》。这首歌今天仍然在演唱。这里是米基·鲁尼演唱的歌曲《曼哈顿》。
罗杰斯先写了曲，然后哈特写了歌词。他们还为电影写歌。他们最广为人知的歌曲之一来自电影《蓝月亮》。自从这首歌曲在1934年发行以来，许多歌手都录制了它。在20世纪60年代，它甚至是马克尔斯乐队的一首摇滚热曲。
理查德·罗杰斯和洛伦茨·哈特在二十世纪四十年代初停止了合作。哈特是个不开心的人。由于严重的酗酒问题，他的身体状况很差。这使得罗杰斯和他的合作越来越困难。理查德·罗杰斯找了另外一个老朋友-奥斯卡·哈默斯坦。
罗杰斯和哈默斯坦的工作方式与罗杰斯和哈特不同。奥斯卡·哈默斯坦会创作歌词送给罗杰斯。罗杰斯会根据歌词创作音乐。
他们合作的第一首作品是《俄克拉荷马》。它于1943年发行。评论家称它为美国音乐剧的一个革命。罗杰斯和哈默斯坦因创作歌曲而受到好评，这些歌曲使这部剧变得更好，并帮助讲述了这个故事。
《俄克拉荷马》现在仍然在百老汇和世界上的其他剧院演出。这是百老汇第一场作品中著名的主题曲。罗杰斯和哈默斯坦为九部音乐剧创作了歌曲，包括《国王与我》、《花鼓之歌》和《音乐之声》。他们的音乐剧也被拍成了电影。
他们的歌曲表达了爱和伤痛，讲述了社会问题。一个例子是1949年开演的音乐剧《南太平洋》中的歌曲。该音乐剧中的一个男人爱上了不同种族的一个女人。他演唱了一首表达了他的种族看法和他的爱之间冲突的歌曲。这首歌曲名为《你必须认真学习》。听听威廉·塔伯特第一次在百老汇演唱的这首歌。
在奥斯卡·哈默斯坦于1960年去世后，理查德·罗杰斯自己为百老汇演出创作歌词和音乐。评论家称这些作品中最重要的是《不求回报》。它表现了一名黑人女性和白人男性之间的爱情。主题曲是《最甜美的声音》。理查德·凯利和戴安·卡罗尔在百老汇演唱了这首歌。
理查德罗杰斯和他的妻子多萝西有两个女儿和六个孙子孙女。他们的一个女儿和两个孙子也写音乐。理查德·罗杰斯于1979年去世。享年77岁。有关他生活的书把他描述成一个冷酷的经常感到沮丧的人。他的家人说，他只能通过音乐来表达自己。
理查德罗杰斯曾说，他最喜欢的剧目是《旋转木马》，这是他与奥斯卡·哈默斯坦合作创作的第二部音乐剧。这是一个关于一个年轻女孩嫁给一个小偷的悲伤故事。现在剧中的一首歌被认为具有宗教影响。这首歌是《你永远不会独行》。
音乐专家称，理查德·罗杰斯的音乐剧总是在世界上的某个地方演出-无论是在百老汇，不同国家的剧院或是在当地学校。世界上的人们仍旧喜欢和理查德·罗杰斯有关的电影。这些都是有美妙音乐的电影，如《州博览会》、《南太平洋》、《好友乔伊》、《音乐之声》、《俄克拉荷马州》和《旋转木马》。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
