VOA标准英语2009年-Kenyan Boys Choir Moves Audiences Arou

Cathy Majtenyi | Nairobi, Kenya 16 December 2009

 
Members of the Kenyan Boys Choir¹ are thrilling audiences worldwide with their rich, deep baritones interlaced with light, pure soprano notes

 
Members of the Kenyan Boys Choir are thrilling audiences worldwide with their rich, deep baritones interlaced with light, pure soprano notes.  Formed over a decade ago, the choir gained global recognition when it performed at U.S. President Barack Obama's inauguration² early this year.  But the choir's biggest accomplishment³ might be the personal development of the young men.

From the vastness of the African savanna…to the ground-breaking inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, members of the Kenya Boys Choir move audiences wherever they go.

Today they are practicing at the YMCA in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

They are singing a classic Kenyan song called Malaika, which means "angel" in the national language Ki'Swahili.

For 20-year-old Mitchell Mwamodo, the Kenyan Boys Choir is like being in a small piece of heaven. "There is the bonding with friends, there is the traveling - that is the best part of it, meeting new people, somewhere you can at least bring out your talent without people looking at you badly or anything, a place where you can develop your skills like leadership skills, there is a whole load of things - it is just lovely here," he said.

The 40-member Kenya Boys Choir was formed in 1998 initially⁴ as a school activity. It has since been expanded to include members from other schools.

Choir members come from poor areas of town where most families earn less than one dollar a day.

Joseph Muyale Inzai is the Kenya Boys Choir's founder⁵ and director.

He says he started the choir in large part to address the needs of these low-income youth and their families. "They are engaged positively⁶. If not, they would have indulged in bad habits, drugs, and other things what you find in such low family set-ups. Two, the exposure out there has also broadened their horizons. They have now set higher goals in life, they want to achieve and make it in life," Inzai said. "Through our tours and our participation⁷ here, we are raising school fees for the boys and it makes work easier for their parents and guardians⁸."

And the Kenyan Boys Choir has been soaring since. Their big breakthrough came at the beginning of this year, when they performed at President Obama's inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Events Manager Peter Ndungu says that that was the beginning of a relationship with Universal Records. "They actually discovered us at President Obama's inauguration. After they saw us, they had a little angel telling them, 'you cannot leave that.' So they followed us up to the airport, where they told us, 'You have to get into partnership⁹ with us,'" he said.

That led to their recently-released CD, "Spirit of Africa," which climbed to the Top 9 in the UK charts. The group has produced two other CDs and is planning to release more.

The Kenyan Boys Choir performs a variety of songs from Kenya's 40-plus ethnic¹⁰ groups as well as music from western and southern Africa. They also sing contemporary jazz and accapella pieces. 

One of the main goals of the group is to develop leadership skills.

Choir member Mitchell Mwamodo explains that each person has a role to play in the way that the group operates. "I am in charge of public relations. I major in international relations, so here I get to practice my talent. We have a 'Minister of Labour,' we have someone who is in charge of spirituality, always making sure we are on the right path, we have a minister of trade and finance taking care of our financial stuff, and overall we have a director. So people come here to develop their leadership skills," he said.

Mwamodo says his group, which includes members from 20 different ethnic groups in Kenya, is a model of peaceful cooperation for Kenyans and the world. "I am a Taita, my director is Luhya, the boy standing¹¹ next to me is Kikuyu - we are totally different. But the funny thing is that we co-exist like we are all just the same people," Mwamodo stated. "When we go out there, it is just a matter of saying, it does not matter who you are, where you are from, black or white, different religion or culture, we are all human beings."

Members of the Kenyan Boys Choir consider themselves to be ambassadors of Kenya abroad, a role they say they take seriously and joyfully¹².
 

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

3 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

7 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

8 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。