英语标准美文100篇 047

Vienna--the Land of Music

On the first night of the New Year, people’s eyes are frequently drawn¹ to Vienna. The first-rate orchestra and its wonderful performance of the world-famous waltz build an elegant glamour² on this capital of music. A divine gift for music is believed to pervade³ the landscape, the people, the atmosphere, and even the stones of Vienna. Vienna is associated with a great musical tradition. Many of the great classical composers had lived and worked in the city. And their historical presence seems to reassure⁴ every inhabitant of Vienna that he shares in something glorious and universal. In most Viennese heads, nothing except the waltz is so firmly and so affectionately fixed⁵ as the one truly indigenous⁶ musical form. For more than a hundred years now, the waltz has set the city’s musical tone. Nobody suggests it is first-rate music, but the whole world recognizes it as Vienna’s signature tune⁷. The waltz tempo⁸ developed in the early 19th century out of the Austrian peasant dances that were ideal for conveying simple emotions simply.

The best waltzes have moods; they put across themes of longing⁹ and love, of joy and misery¹⁰ and frustration¹¹, quick-changing cloudburst of temperament¹² corresponding to our own under-the-skin sensations. Like a poem, a Viennese waltz tells us what we know about ourselves but have not yet expressed.

Vienna thought of itself as the city of dreams that came true. Nature, too, needed celebrating. Strauss’s musical sequence Tales from the Vienna Woods and The Blue Danube are supreme¹³ romanticism of the place, declarations of love for a capital as well as for its surroundings. Strauss usually rushed to get the notes down at the eleventh hour, scoring them at full speed――waltzes, and polkas and marches, too. He composed nearly 500 works in all. Two hundred copyists were at his command. He stayed up all night busily scratching away with a steel pen. He undertook sentimental¹⁴ tours abroad, to England, to America, and to Russia; he became an unmatched Viennese institution. Now, so many years have passed. The old tunes¹⁵ continue to have their appeal. The rock-and-roll revolution may have come, but not at the expense of the classical favourites. In this city, musical life still goes on. The chief musical institutions of those days are all kept alive and in good order.
维也纳--音乐的国家

在新年之夜，人满为患的眼睛常常被吸引到维也纳来，一流的管弦乐队和它演奏的世界名曲给这个音乐之乡增添了一种幽雅的光彩。人们感到，一种神圣的音乐才华不仅渗透了维也纳的景色、人民和空气，它甚至渗透在那里的草石之间。 维也纳有着伟大的音乐传统，许多伟大的古典作曲家都曾在这个城市生活和工作过。他们在维也纳历史上所留下的身影似乎使每一个维也纳人都坚信，自己在分享着某种光辉的、无所不在的东西。 大多数维也纳人坚定而充满感情地把圆舞曲看作一种属于自己的音乐形式。一百多年以来，圆舞曲一直是这个城市的音乐之声。也许没有人说它是一流的音乐，但所有人却艘承认，它是带有鲜明维也纳特征的乐曲。 圆舞曲的节奏来源于19世纪早期的乡村舞蹈，这种舞蹈能以简单的方式最完美地表达出简单的感情。最好成绩的圆舞曲是有情绪的。它向人们表达渴望、爱情、欢乐、痛苦和失意的主题，反映一种能唤起我们内心瞬息万变的、暴风雨般的性情。一曲维也纳圆舞曲就像一首诗，向我们倾述我们知道但却不能表达的东西。维也纳相信自己是一个梦想成真的城市。在这里，就是自然也需要人们为之欢唱。斯特劳斯的组曲《维也纳森林的故事》和《蓝色的多瑙河》是对那一些地区最浪漫的歌颂，他们抒发了对这个城市和它周围环境的热爱。斯特劳斯经常在夜里11点时匆匆写下歌词，又以最快的速度把它谱成曲子――有圆舞曲、波尔卡也有进行曲。他总共写下了近500首作品。他手下有200名抄写员供他使唤，他通宵达旦地用钢笔在纸上涂写着。除作曲外，斯特劳斯还对英国、美国和俄国进行了多次情感旅行，成为维也纳无与伦比的人物。现在，虽然许多年过去了，昔日的乐曲依然辉煌。摇滚乐革命的到来并没有破坏人们对古典乐曲的热爱。在这座城市，音乐生活依然在延续，昔日主要的音乐机构仍保留完好地在发挥着作用。

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

3 pervade   

v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延

参考例句：

• Science and technology have come to pervade every aspect of our lives.科学和技术已经渗透到我们生活的每一个方面。
• The smell of sawdust and glue pervaded the factory.工厂里弥漫着锯屑和胶水的气味。

4 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

8 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

9 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

10 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

11 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

12 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

15 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》