THIS IS AMERICA - America’s ‘House of Rock’

THIS IS AMERICA - America’s ‘House of Rock’
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, April 25, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, is observing its tenth anniversary this year. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us today for the story of what is often called America's "House of Rock."

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VOICE ONE:

 
I.M. Pei
World-famous architect I.M. Pei said he created the building for the Rock and Roll Museum to show the energy of this music. It seems that he succeeded. Some visitors have joked that they can see the building moving.

The glass-and-steel museum honors some of the greatest names in rock and roll. For example, Chuck Berry was one of the first stars of this kind of music. Here is Chuck Berry singing "School Days."

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VOICE TWO:

Museum exhibits include movies, videos, photographs and radio programs. They tell the story of rock and roll from its early days to the present. Visitors can listen to songs that helped shape this kind of music. They can use a computer to get information about the most famous rock and roll musicians. And they can see thousands of personal objects from famous performers. For example, there are report cards from the school days of the Everly Brothers.

VOICE ONE:

Buddy¹ Holly² was another popular rock and roll songwriter and performer. He had many hit songs in just a few years. He died in an airplane crash in nineteen fifty-nine at the age of twenty-two. Here is one of Buddy Holly's greatest hits, "Peggy Sue³."

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VOICE TWO:

Many visitors to the Rock and Roll Museum are the people who were teenagers in the nineteen fifties when rock and roll was born.

 
 
The top part of the museum is the Hall of Fame. The names of the most important people in the history of rock and roll are written on black glass walls. There are now many members of the Hall of Fame.

The idea for building the museum began more than twenty years ago. A group in America's music industry wanted to honor the men and women who influenced rock and roll music. The group looked for the right place for a museum and hall of fame. It chose the Midwestern city of Cleveland, Ohio.

VOICE ONE:

Each year, a committee of music experts nominates⁴ people for the Hall of Fame. The experts choose performers and other people who have influenced rock and roll. A person must have played an active part in rock and roll music for at least twenty-five years to be considered. An international group of music experts votes on the nominations⁵.

Experts chose the first group for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in nineteen eighty-six. Their list included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke; also, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly. Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard were chosen too. Oh yes. And Elvis Presley.

VOICE TWO:

Elvis Presley is often called "the King of Rock and Roll." One of his many hit songs was "Jailhouse Rock." It was from a movie, also called "Jailhouse Rock," released in nineteen fifty-seven.

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VOICE ONE:

Just recently the Hall of Fame welcomed musicians Buddy Guy, Percy Sledge⁶, the O'Jays, U2 and the Pretenders. Singer and guitar player Chrissie Hynde got the Pretenders together in London in the late nineteen seventies. Here are the Pretenders singing "Brass⁷ in Pocket."

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VOICE TWO:

Many people wondered why Cleveland was chosen for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Well, the city worked hard to get it. Citizens and officials organized a campaign. Six hundred sixty thousand people signed a statement urging that the museum be built there.

VOICE ONE:

It seemed right for Cleveland to become the home of the museum. A man named Alan Freed had a radio show in Cleveland in the early nineteen fifties. He heard the music of black artists like Fats Domino and Chuck Berry, and he liked the expression "rock and roll." He was one of the first to play this music on his radio show. That was in nineteen fifty-one. Here, Chuck Berry sings "Maybellene."

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VOICE TWO:

Music experts do not agree on which song was the very first rock and roll song. However, some of them do agree on the first song that made rock and roll popular. Bill Haley and his Comets recorded the song in nineteen fifty-four.

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VOICE ONE:

 
U2
It was not popular at first. Then it was used in a movie about teenagers called "Blackboard Jungle." The movie made "Rock Around the Clock" a huge hit.

We leave you now with another rock classic. This one is by the Irish group U2, "Sunday, Bloody⁸ Sunday."

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VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver⁹. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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1 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

2 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

3 sue   

vt.控告，起诉；vi.请求，追求，起诉

参考例句：

• If you don't pay me the money,I'll sue you.如果你不付给我钱，我就告你。
• The war criminals sue for peace.战犯求和。

4 nominates   

提名…为候选人( nominate的第三人称单数 )； 任命； 挑选； 指定（时间、日期、名称等）

参考例句：

• Who nominates justices to the Supreme Court? 问：联邦最高法院大法官是由谁提名？
• Who nominates judges for the Supreme Court? 问：谁提名最高法院的法官？

5 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

6 sledge   

n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往

参考例句：

• The sledge gained momentum as it ran down the hill.雪橇从山上下冲时的动力越来越大。
• The sledge slid across the snow as lightly as a boat on the water.雪橇在雪原上轻巧地滑行，就象船在水上行驶一样。

7 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。

8 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

9 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。