VOA慢速英语--美国马戏团的未来在哪里?

 

Many Americans think a circus must have elephants, lions, dancing bears and acrobats². But circuses are changing.

In May, after traveling the country for almost 150 years, the large Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will close.

But different kinds of circuses are still successful. They include Cirque du Soleil. It combines music, acrobatics³ and story-telling.

Adam Woolley operates Circus Now, a non-profit group that supports efforts by circus performers to combine traditional circus skills like acrobatics, juggling⁴ and the trapeze with storytelling.

Woolley says circuses have been changing for many years by increasingly telling stories.

“Circus artists have been producing new and incredible circus acts and apparatuses⁶ and shows that have an artistic⁷ context and theatrical⁸ storylines, or well-drawn characters. And this has been happening around the world for the past 10, 15 years or so.”

One of those circuses is the Race Horse Company from Finland. It was part of the Circus Now festival in New York this month.

Acrobat¹ Rauli Kosonen started the circus with a few other performers nine years ago.

“I think it’s really pure art form, in the sense that you can really feel the risks -- there’s a lot of risks, so you can get a lot of adrenaline while you watch it if there is kind of tricks that make your heart bounce. Because it’s real. They can see that if they make a mistake, they might get hurt. So, I guess that’s always been why circus is appealing. It reminds us that, uh, we’re humans.”

Kosonen has been injured many times during his performances.

“Well, I had three operations and its part of the job; sometimes you don’t get lucky.”

Kendall Rileigh is one of the founders⁹ of New York’s Only Child Aerial Theatre. He says, with his group, telling a story, or a narrative¹⁰, is even more important than the skills of performing in a circus. He says the skills the performers learn are designed to drive and support the story.

In a former factory in Brooklyn, Rileigh’s performers are preparing for the latest show -- called “Asylum.”

Co-founder Nicki Miller¹¹ says there is a story, but none of the performers speaks. The story is told through acrobatics, dance, music and projected images and shadow.

“We would describe it as a theater piece that includes a lot of aerial work, dance, some recorded music, some live music and overhead projection¹² and shadow. So, the story is told, rather than through dialogue, through the conversation of all of those theatrical vocabularies, instead.”

Adam Woolley says the Only Child and Race Horse performers simply want to entertain people.

“With lots of practice and hard work, we can accomplish the impossible. That’s the core idea that everyone in circus believes in and that everyone in circus tries to impart to the audiences, is that ‘I have dedicated¹³ my life to this seven minutes of performance and honed my skill to the place where I’m going to accomplish something in front of you now that you did not think could be done.’”

Words in This Story

acrobat – n. someone who entertains people (as at a circus) by performing difficult and often dangerous acts (such as swinging from a bar or walking on a rope high in the air)

trapeze – n. a short bar that is hung high above the ground by two ropes and that is held by circus performers who perform athletic¹⁴ tricks on it

incredible – adj. extremely good, great or large

apparatus⁵ – n. a tool or piece of equipment used for specific activities

context – n. the situation in which something happens : the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens

adrenaline – n. a substance that is released in the body of a person who is feeling a strong emotion (such as excitement, fear, or anger) and that causes the heart to beat faster and gives the person more energy

appealing – adj. having qualities that people like; pleasing or attractive

shadow – n. a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light

overhead projector¹⁵ – n. a device that shows information or pictures on a wall or screen by shining a light through a sheet with the information or pictures on it

vocabulary – n. words that are related to a particular subject; all of the words known and used by a person

core – n. the most important or basic part of something

impart – v. to make (something) known to someone

hone – v. to make (something, such as a skill) better or more effective

accomplish – v. to succeed in doing (something)

1 acrobat   

n.特技演员，杂技演员

参考例句：

• The acrobat balanced a long pole on his left shoulder.杂技演员让一根长杆在他的左肩上保持平衡。
• The acrobat could bend himself into a hoop.这个杂技演员可以把身体蜷曲成圆形。

2 acrobats   

n.杂技演员( acrobat的名词复数 )；立场观点善变的人，主张、政见等变化无常的人

参考例句：

• I was always fascinated by the acrobats at the circus. 我总是着迷于马戏团里的杂技演员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The acrobats' performance drew forth applause from the audience. 杂技演员的表演博得了观众的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

4 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

5 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

6 apparatuses   

n.器械； 装置； 设备； 仪器

参考例句：

• That magazine covers all kinds of heating apparatuses. 那本杂志论及所有暖气装置。 来自辞典例句
• Apparatuses and methods for preparing sol-gel solutions are provided. 提供制备溶胶-凝胶溶液的装置和方法。 来自互联网

7 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

9 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

10 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

13 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

14 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

15 projector   

n.投影机，放映机，幻灯机

参考例句：

• There is a new projector in my office.我的办公室里有一架新的幻灯机。
• How long will it take to set up the projector?把这个放映机安放好需要多长时间？