2006年VOA标准英语-Walter Trout Comes "Full Circle"

By Doug Levine Washington 22 October 2006 Few musicians can say they've performed with some of the world's most famous blues1 artists, and then went on to enjoy a long and successful solo career.     Walter Trout2 knows a thing or two about perseverance3. His first instrument was the trumpet4, but it was an album by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band that had him switching to electric guitar, honing his vocal5 skills and dreaming of a life as a professional blues musician, despite the odds6. "I knew that there would be difficult times and there would be bad gigs and there would be times where you could get discouraged. But I realized at an early age that if I just kind of stuck it out through all that and hung in there that I could have a long career. Arriving in Los Angeles in the early-'70s, Walter Trout quickly became a respected sideman. He worked with blues giants John Lee Hooker, Joe Tex and Big Mama Thornton before joining Canned Heat, and later, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Once known only to European audiences, Trout is finally making a name for himself at home. He's been touring the U.S. for the past decade, and his critically acclaimed7 solo albums have contributed to an ever-widening fan base. To mark his recent return to the studio, Trout invited some of his longtime musician friends and collaborators to play on his new album, "Full Circle." "I rented the studio for about five days, and just put out the call to all of my buddies8 and people I respected, and said, 'Look, I've got the studio in (Los Angeles), if you're home, come on in, let's see what we can do.' I was kind of amazed at the response at how many people showed up," he says. Among the guests on "Full Circle" are noted9 guitarists Jeff Healy, Coco Montoya, Guitar Shorty and Junior Watson, as well as his former boss John Mayall, who Trout describes as a master of improvisation10. "John Mayall came walking in and he said, 'What do you want to do? There's the drummer and the bass11 player.' I said, 'O.K., John, how about this?' You sit down and play piano. There's the piano. Let's do a minor12 blues in C-minor. I'm going to take it around one time on the guitar. I'm going to sing a verse, you sing a verse, you play a verse of harp13 solo, I'll sing a verse, and then I'll play a guitar solo until we feel like ending it and then we'll end it," he says. "We all looked at each other and said 'Ready, count to four and here we go.'" Water Trout wraps up his current European tour on November 25 in Denmark. After a well-earned break, he'll be back on tour with selected dates in the U.S. in early-2007.

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

3 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

4 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。

8 buddies   

n.密友( buddy的名词复数 )；同伴；弟兄；（用于称呼男子，常带怒气）家伙v.（如密友、战友、伙伴、弟兄般）交往( buddy的第三人称单数 )；做朋友；亲近（…）；伴护艾滋病人

参考例句：

• We became great buddies. 我们成了非常好的朋友。 来自辞典例句
• The two of them have become great buddies. 他们俩成了要好的朋友。 来自辞典例句

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

11 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

12 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

13 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。