2006年VOA标准英语-Dixie Chicks Come Back by "Taking the Long

By Mary Morningstar
Washington
03 June 2006

  
  
It's been three years since Dixie Chicks' lead singer Natalie Maines made the statement to a London audience that she was ashamed President Bush is from her home state of Texas. Many Country stations in the U.S. banned the Dixie Chicks' music. Some of their peers in the Country industry took verbal shots at the trio. They even received death threats. The Dixie Chicks are back in the limelight with a new album. But has the Country community forgiven them?

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"I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" was the lead single from the Dixie Chicks new album Taking the Long Way. The song addresses the much-publicized incident in 2003, when lead singer Natalie Maines criticized President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. Natalie says she firmly supports the troops and, if asked, would go to Iraq to perform for them. But, she's unrepentant when explaining her comment aimed at the President. "I don't regret anything, and I'm so glad it happened because it reminded me of who I am. When people tell you you can't do something that you know you can do - it's not an opinion - I have a right to say what I want, it makes you stronger and, I guess, a little defiant¹. But, defiant in just a strong way," she says.

 

The Dixie Chicks, from left, Emily Robison, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire  
  

The Dixie Chicks co-wrote each of the 14 tracks on Taking the Long Way. Collaborators include Sheryl Crow, Keb' Mo' and Mike Campbell, a member of Tom Petty's band, The Heartbreakers. Natalie, Martie and Emily describe the songs on their latest album as "more mature" than those on their previous three collections. They worked in the studio with rock producer Rick Rubin, who says, "I felt like, because of the controversy² that they had dealt with, people were taking what they had to say seriously - probably for the first time in their career, so they were in a powerful position to talk about serious things." The serious subjects include Alzheimer's disease, infertility³ and motherhood.

The Dixie Chicks' three members have seven children between them, all under the age of 5. But, Martie Maguire and her sister Emily both struggled with infertility. They included a song on the new album about the issue, called "So Hard." "Emily and I have dealt with the same issue - infertility and miscarriage⁴ and the whole gamut⁵. One of the hardest things in a relationship is you picture where the relationship is headed next after you've gotten married, and you've been together a couple years. And you grow up as a woman, I think, thinking you're just going to have a child and that it's kind of just your God-given right, and it's the next step. And then, when it doesn't happen you're shocked and sad," she says.

The Dixie Chicks will take all seven of their children along on their North American Accidents and Accusations⁶ tour. The 43-city outing begins July 21, and is scheduled to run through mid-November.

They admit they've lost their socially conservative Country following, but the Dixie Chicks hope to gain a broader audience of pop and rock fans. Although the first two singles from Taking the Long Way earned minimal⁷ airplay, the album sold close to 526,000 copies its first week of release. The album debuted⁸ at Number One on both the Billboard⁹ 200 and Top Country Albums charts, making the Dixie Chicks the first female group in chart history to have three Number One entries.

1 defiant   

adj.无礼的，挑战的

参考例句：

• With a last defiant gesture,they sang a revolutionary song as they were led away to prison.他们被带走投入监狱时，仍以最后的反抗姿态唱起了一支革命歌曲。
• He assumed a defiant attitude toward his employer.他对雇主采取挑衅的态度。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

4 miscarriage   

n.失败，未达到预期的结果；流产

参考例句：

• The miscarriage of our plans was a great blow.计划的失败给我们以巨大的打击。
• Women who smoke are more to have a miscarriage.女性吸烟者更容易流产。

5 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

6 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

7 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

8 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。

9 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。