【英语听和读】牛津的音乐天才

 Jackie: Hello, welcome to Entertainment, I'm Jackie Dalton, and today we travel to

the English town of Oxford¹. Most famous, perhaps, for its University, but it's

not only academic talent that the city has produced. Among the many other

things, it's the birthplace of some very successful music groups and some

great music venues³ – music venues - places where musicians and bands play.

This week, our reporter Tim Bearder has got on his bicycle and is going to

take us on a tour of some of the best places to see live music in Oxford…

starting with The Jericho Tavern⁴, which was the birthplace of Oxford’s

modern indie-rock music scene. As you listen to Tim, try to catch the names

of two famous groups who started out there:

Tim

So here I am at The Jericho Tavern in the wealthy bohemian area of central Oxford. It's

where it was all going on in the early 90’s. On a Friday, the band, which later became

Radiohead, played their first gig here in September 1986. Jonny Greenwood, the now

internationally renowned⁵ lead guitarist for the band, played harmonica back then. Oh, and

Supergrass also played their first gig here.

Jackie: Did you catch them? Radiohead and Supergrass both played their first gigs

there. A 'gig' – spelt g-i-g is a live music performance. Tim is going to take

us inside the tavern to meet Adrienne, who organises gigs there. As you listen

to her, try to answer this question: Which words does Adrienne use to

describe the venue²?

Tim and Adrienne

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- Downstairs is a large pub area and upstairs here we go into the legendary⁶ back venue and

hopefully Adrienne should be here. Adrienne, hello there!

- Hi there!

- This is the birthplace of Radiohead and Supergrass.

- Yeah, it is. It’s a lovely, lovely venue it's got a great vibe, it's got a great atmosphere.

Jackie: Adrienne says it's got a great vibe, a great atmosphere: it feels good to be

there. So, if upcoming local bands today want to perform on the same stage

as Radiohead and Supergrass, can they call up Adrienne and ask her to let

them play? What does she say to this?

Tim and Adrienne

- It's got a great vibe, it's got a great atmosphere.

- So if a local band wanted to take the same hallowed stage that Radiohead and Supergrass

had taken, they could contact you and…

- They've got to be good enough, I'm very picky. It's got a great reputation of having great

bands, you know, and that's what I'm trying to get going again.

Jackie: Well, just being a local band isn't quite enough – they have to be good.

Adrienne says she is picky - picky, which means she won't just accept anyone

she's very fussy⁷ about who she chooses to perform and they have to be good.

Next Tim is getting on his bicycle and taking us to another venue – this one is

called the Zodiac. Tim says the Zodiac is an important venue in Oxford –

why?

Tim

The venue is easily the most important place for new music in Oxford. It has two separate

rooms; the downstairs room has a capacity of 350 and the upstairs 450. Oxford's most

famous band, Radiohead, also have a strong association with this venue - as well having

shot the video for Creep here they have also contributed in the past to its upkeep. 

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Jackie: Did you get the answer? Tim says it's the most important venue for new

music in Oxford. New bands play there. He also mentions that Radio Head

performed in the Zodiac and shot a video there – to 'shoot a video' means to

film it. So where is Tim taking us next?

Tim

So we've done the most historically important, the most currently influential⁸ - it's right that

we visit the biggest.

Jackie: Tim is taking us to Brook⁹ Student Union, the biggest venue in Oxford. He

talks to a girl who is going to watch the group – the Lemonheads play there.

What kinds of bands does she say tend to play in Brook Student Union?

Tim

- OK, so I've ended up now, on my little tour of Oxford, I've come to probably the biggest

venue we've got here, at Brook Student Union and I've caught up with two guys here who

are about to watch the Lemonheads – you've been here before you say?

- I have, a couple of times, yeah. What where the last ones you watched?

- I came to see Spiritual Eyes, then I came to see Super Furry¹⁰ Animals.

- So quite big bands, sort of, UK touring bands…

- Yeah, I do think this venue tends to be the place where the big bands play in Oxford.

Jackie: Did you get the answer? She says it's the place where the big bands - the

well-known bands - play. Well, thanks to Tim for taking us on such an

interesting tour of Oxford's music venues and thanks also to Oxford band the

Foxes, for kindly¹¹ donating their music to this programme. 

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

5 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

6 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

7 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

8 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

9 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

10 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

11 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。