中英双语新闻——139 New albums spring forth

 　　For most people spring means renewal¹ and the start of a new year. For music fans, spring means thrilling outdoor festivals, and hot new albums.

 

　　对于大多数人来讲，春天意味着万物复苏和新年伊始。而对于乐迷们来说，春天则代表着激动人心的户外音乐节，以及新出炉的全新专辑。

 

　　From breakthrough performers to singers without new music in a while, here we present some exciting Western music in prospect².

 

　　这里我们为您奉上西方乐坛上值得期待的超棒音乐，从取得突破的艺人到好久没有新作问世的歌手皆悉数列出。

 

　　Love Is a Four Letter Word

 

　　《Love Is a Four Letter Word》

 

　　Artist: Jason Mraz

 

　　歌手：杰森?玛耶兹

 

　　Record label: Atlantic

 

　　唱片公司：大西洋唱片

 

　　Release date: April 17

 

　　发行日：4月17日

 

　　Jason Mraz makes music for sunny days, for barefoot walks along the seashore and bike rides on nature trails. His music is organic enough to fit in a coffeehouse and sufficiently³ soulful to play an after-hours club.

 

　　杰森?玛耶兹的歌很适合在阳光普照的天气听，你可以一边听歌一边赤脚漫步在海滩上，或者可以边听边骑着单车徜徉在景色优美的乡间小径上。他的音乐带有天然的气息，适合在咖啡厅里播放；也同样深情款款，适合在下班后的闲聚中弹唱。

 

　　Love Is a Four Letter Word, his successor to 2008’s million-selling We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, picks up where the last record left off. On songs such as The Freedom Song and I Won’t Give Up, Mraz once again merges⁴ feel-good melodies and lyrics⁵.

 

　　继2008年的白金唱片《活出自我》后，这张《Love Is a Four Letter Word》延续了上张专辑的风格。在《自由颂》和《永不放弃》等歌曲中，玛耶兹再次将优美的旋律和歌词完美结合在一起。

 

　　Throughout the album, Mraz balances well, being both artistically⁶ exceptional and commercially viable⁷. He does it with a wide smile and an infectious lilt.

 

　　整张专辑既具有非凡的艺术价值，又可以成功地进行商业运作。玛耶兹凭借着灿烂的笑容和极富感染力的轻快曲调，在艺术性和商业性之间游走的游刃有余。

 

　　Little Broken Hearts

 

　　《破碎的心》

 

　　Artist: Norah Jones

 

　　歌手：诺拉?琼斯

 

　　Record label: Blue Note

 

　　唱片公司：蓝音符唱片公司

 

　　Release date: April 30

 

　　发行日期：4月30日

 

　　With her fifth studio album, Norah Jones explores the concept of heartbreak, investigating its unpleasant aspects with refreshing⁸ candor⁹ and sardonic¹⁰ wit.

 

　　诺拉?琼斯在其第五张录音室大碟中剖析了心碎的概念，用令人耳目一新的直率风格和睿智的嘲讽去探索其令人神伤之处。

 

　　Albums about heartbreak certainly aren’t new, but Jones puts a fresh spin on the familiar topic. Musically, Jones brings a dark and alternative pop sound to the album. So, don’t expect any pop jazz song she used to make.

 

　　虽然以“心碎”为主题的唱片已然不再新鲜，但琼斯却为这一大众熟稔的话题进行了全新的诠释。从音乐本身来讲，琼斯为这张专辑加入了一些忧郁且另类的流行唱腔。因此，不要再期望能听到她以往的那种流行的爵士歌曲了。

 

　　However, Jones never sounds too depressed¹¹ on this album. Instead, she keeps the mood fairly moderate. Heartbreak is inevitable¹² if you love hard enough, yet Jones makes it enjoyable.

 

　　尽管如此，琼斯这张专辑的音乐听上去毫无颓废之感。相反，她对于情绪的拿捏十分得当。如果你爱得太深，伤心在所难免，而琼斯却让心碎之声变得动听起来。

 

　　Blown Away

 

　　《随风而去》

 

　　Artist: Carrie Underwood

 

　　歌手：凯莉?安德伍德

 

　　Record label: Arista

 

　　唱片公司：Arista唱片公司

 

　　Release date: May 1

 

　　发行日期：5月1日

 

　　When she started her career, American Idol¹³ winner Carrie Underwood came across as the friendly girl next door, with songs about Jesus and of compassion¹⁴ for the less fortunate.

 

　　刚出道时，顶着《美国偶像》冠军头衔的凯莉?安德伍德以亲切的邻家女孩形象示人，吟唱着关于耶稣以及悲悯人间疾苦的歌曲。

 

　　However, the cover of her fourth album depicts¹⁵ the modern Underwood as a supermodel heroine, and illustrates¹⁶ her evolution since she introduces herself as a young Oklahoma woman with a powerful voice.

 

　　然而，安德伍德第四张专辑的封面则将打扮入时的她塑造成一位绝对的超级名模，表明当年那个用坚定声音介绍自己的俄克拉荷马州女孩已然蜕变成长。

 

　　Unlike her peers such as Taylor Swift, Underwood hasn’t opened herself to fans through songs that reveal her personality. Instead, in this album, she has got an attitude that’s more brassy, modern entertainment.

 

　　与同辈歌手泰勒?斯威夫特不同，安德伍德并没有通过这些彰显其个性的歌曲，向自己的歌迷们敞开心扉。相反，在这张专辑中，她采用了一种更为浮华和时髦的态度。

 

　　Everything in the World

 

　　《这世上的一切》

 

　　Artist: Wanting Qu

 

　　演唱者：曲婉婷

 

　　Record label: Nettwerk Records

 

　　唱片公司：内特沃克唱片公司

 

　　Release date: April 24

 

　　发行日期：4月24日

 

　　If you are a fan of the film Love in the Buff, you must remember Qu’s song in it, You Exist in My Song ?.

 

　　如果你是影片《春娇与志明》的影迷，那么你一定会记得片中曲婉婷的那首《我的歌声里》。

 

　　Now, as the first Chinese singer signed to Canadian record company Nettwerk, the Harbin-born singer releases her debut¹⁷ English album.

 

　　如今，作为与加拿大内特沃克唱片公司签约的首位华人歌手，出生于哈尔滨的曲婉婷发布了首张个人英文专辑。

 

　　Qu’s self-penned songs are largely concerned with the anguished¹⁸ entanglements¹⁹ of young love. But the 22-year-old’s powerful voice and potent²⁰ presence aren’t those of a passive schoolgirl, especially in the closing Chinese tracks, where Qu’s voice is allowed far more exposure and reveals her personality.

 

　　尽管曲婉婷创作的歌曲大都关于年轻人爱情中的痛苦纠结。但这位22岁歌手颇具爆发力的声音以及霸气的台风都证明她绝非一个消极的女生，尤其在她录制完成的几首中文歌曲里，曲婉婷的声线更加得以表现，充分彰显出她的个性。

1 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

4 merges   

（使）混合( merge的第三人称单数 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• The 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Mo Yan"who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". 2012年诺贝尔文学奖得主为莫言，他“很好地将魔幻现实与民间故事、历史与当代结合在一起”。
• A device that collates, merges, or matches sets of punched cards or other documents. 一种整理、合并或比较一组穿孔卡片或其它文档的设备。

5 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

6 artistically   

adv.艺术性地

参考例句：

• The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
• The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。

7 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

8 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

9 candor   

n.坦白，率真

参考例句：

• He covered a wide range of topics with unusual candor.他极其坦率地谈了许多问题。
• He and his wife had avoided candor,and they had drained their marriage.他们夫妻间不坦率，已使婚姻奄奄一息。

10 sardonic   

adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的

参考例句：

• She gave him a sardonic smile.她朝他讥讽地笑了一笑。
• There was a sardonic expression on her face.她脸上有一种嘲讽的表情。

11 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

12 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

13 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

14 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

15 depicts   

描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述

参考例句：

• The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
• He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。

16 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

17 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

18 anguished   

adj.极其痛苦的v.使极度痛苦(anguish的过去式)

参考例句：

• Desmond eyed her anguished face with sympathy. 看着她痛苦的脸，德斯蒙德觉得理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The loss of her husband anguished her deeply. 她丈夫的死亡使她悲痛万分。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。