美国国家公共电台 NPR Remembering Debbie Reynolds

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

Debbie Reynolds died this week at the age of 84, just after suffering maybe the greatest pain a mother can have - the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher, who was 60. We spoke¹ with Ms. Reynolds in 2013 about her memoir² of more than 60 years in showbiz, her tabloid³ marriages, too. She became a star in "Singin In The Rain" in 1952, and it sounded like a tough shoot for a talented teenager under the old studio system.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

DEBBIE REYNOLDS: Gene⁴ Kelly is the choreographer⁵ as well as the star. And he was a great dancer, so everything was hard. And I had to learn all of that in six months, and I'd never danced before. So I had to keep up with the boys. But I did it, God was with me, and I learned a great deal from Mr. Kelly.

SIMON: Fred Astaire helped you out, too.

REYNOLDS: Fred Astaire was the sweetest man. And I was crying under the piano on one of my breaks because my feet were killing⁶ me, and my back was like it was broken. After all, I was only 17. And Fred Astaire came by, and he reached down, he said, now, who is that? And I said, oh, it's Debbie. And he said, what are you crying about, what are you sniffling about? So I said, well, this is too hard. I think I should quit. He said, you never quit, and dancing is hard, and there is no easy way. If you want to be good, you have to suffer through it. And he invited me in to watch him rehearse. Nobody got to watch him dance, and he let me watch him until he was just red in the face. Then it showed me, even the greats find it hard to be really excellent. But you have to keep striving.

SIMON: She sure did. Debbie Reynolds in 2013. This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TAMMY")

REYNOLDS: (Singing) I hear the cottonwoods whispering above, Tammy, Tammy, Tammy's in love.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

3 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

4 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

5 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。