VOA慢速英语2014 AS IT IS 2014-05-12 Music You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else

 

AS IT IS 2014-05-12 Music You Won’t Hear Anywhere Else

Hello, and welcome to As It Is from VOA Learning¹ English!

I’m Christopher Cruise² in Washington.

Today on the program we will hear music from one of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans, Louisiana..

“They be playin’ in the parks. They be playin’ in the Back Street Culture Museum, and St. Augustine’s Church, and you can also catch them in Congo Square playing New Orleans music.”

Music from a place with a style all its own, today on As It Is…

Brass³ Bands in New Orleans and on TV

Many people are still talking about the fourth and final season of the HBO television program “Treme.” The show was set in a neighborhood unlike any other. Treme is one of the oldest parts of New Orleans, and a place with a style of music all its own.

New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. And within the city, many will tell you that jazz began in Treme, in a place called “Congo Square.”

For almost 300 years, African-Americans have been coming to Congo Square to play music and dance. And for over a century, the music they play and dance to has been the music of brass bands. Benny Jones, Sr. is the leader of the Treme Brass Band.

“They be playin’ in the parks. They be playin’ in the Back Street Culture Museum, and St. Augustine’s Church, and you can also catch them in Congo Square playing New Orleans music.”

New Orleans is a city not just of jazz, but of parades -- everything from Mardi Gras parades to funeral parades. And when jazz musicians march in the street it is called “Second Line” music.

Benny Jones says the name “Second Line,” comes from the music’s beginnings in the military.

“The band would play right behind the soldiers -- that’s where the brass band got the name ‘Second Line.’ They were playing marching music. So when they got to the streets, they changed the beat of the music. They put the New Orleans beat in it, puttin’ the street beat on the bass⁴ drum and which a snare⁵ drum would tie into it and therefore how come it come to be a Second Line brass band.”

Much of the marching that Second Line brass bands do is to burial grounds.

“You can always -- at any given time -- you may see a band leaving a funeral parlor⁶ or church doing a New Orleans traditional jazz funeral. If you’re playing for an older person, you’re looking for a strait-out, traditional Jazz funeral: ‘A Closer Walk with Thee,’ ‘In the Sweet By-And-By,’ ‘Precious Lord’ -- that is funeral music. And when you’re playing for younger people, today they ache for the up-tempo music. So they hire a young band and they do a real up-tempo music for their funeral.”

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans. The Treme neighborhood was especially hard-hit. Benny Jones and most of his band moved to the western United States after the storm. Today, however, Treme is recovering. And Mr. Jones sees plenty to suggest that the area’s traditions will carry on.

“I played in the Young Men’s Olympic Parade. I’m the leader of a band -- they like traditional music. Right behind me they have another traditional band. In the back, they have another, modern music, now the younger band they play the up-tempo music, like the rebirth music. So everybody’s playing a variety of music on the parade.”

Today, the music continues to change. Young people respect the brass band tradition, while adding modern sounds like reggae and hip-hop. It is a kind of music that keeps marching on.

And that’s our program for today. It was based on a story by reporter Richard Paul.

Next Monday on As It Is we will have another report about American music. We will tell about the growing popularity⁷ of mariachi music -- especially in the states along the border with Mexico. And we will tell how some Americans used music to support and then oppose an amendment⁸ to the United States Constitution.

We would like to know what you want to hear about on a future show.

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

3 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

4 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

5 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

6 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

7 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

8 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。