2007年VOA标准英语-African Children’s Choir Brings Joyous Music to

By Greg Flakus
Houston, Texas
13 April 2007
 
Watch Children's Choir¹ report

A little taste of Africa came to the city of Houston, Texas, recently in the form of 24 children singing and dancing together as part of the African Children's Choir, a non-profit group that helps young people orphaned² by AIDS, war and poverty.  All of the children on this tour are from Uganda, where the program began in 1984, but thousands of children from across Africa have participated and continue to benefit from the program.  VOA's Greg Flakus has more from Houston.

 
Rita, singing in the choir
Nine-year-old Rita, one of 24 stars on stage, says when she grows up, she wants to be a pastor³.

Backstage, she is too shy to answer many questions, but she will perform one of her favorite songs: “This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine,” she sings.

One of the adult supervisors⁴ on this current tour of the United States is Barnett Twesi Gomwe, who joined the choir when he was a child to escape a life of poverty.

"I ask myself what would I have been?  Would my life have been different?  Of course, it would have been very different," he says.

 
Barnett Twesi Gomwe
Barnett says there are many more children back in Africa being helped by the project that these two dozen performers represent.

"Not all of them can come this way,” he says.  “These ones are just ambassadors to show the people that there are so many more back at home who need their help."

Help comes in the form of donations, as well as revenue from sales of children's choir merchandise.  Here in the American South, singing in church is generally quite spirited, and the kids from Uganda were a big hit.

One man amazed by the performance said, "It was outstanding.  It was one of the best concerts I have ever seen inside a church - and I have seen my share, too!”

The children, aged⁵ 6-10, continue their schoolwork as they travel.  They also broaden their horizons by seeing other parts of the world and meeting people along the way. 

Barnett says each group that goes out on tour must learn all the songs, how to perform them and how to work together as a unit.  "The children start from scratch, and it takes five months to put together the program," he says, adding that the experience changes them in ways that are apparent when they return to their home villages.

 
 
"When they go back to visit, they see a changed boy or they see a changed friend,” Barnett says.  “It really builds them up to work hard and know that, really, life is not just about suffering and being miserable⁶.”

The African Children's Choir mostly performs in churches and auditoriums⁷ when on tour, but they have also appeared on major U.S. television programs, and one of their songs was used on the soundtrack of the recent movie Blood Diamond.

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 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

3 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

4 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

5 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

6 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

7 auditoriums   

n.观众席( auditorium的名词复数 )；听众席；礼堂；会堂

参考例句：

• The walls and ceilings of contemporary auditoriums usually conceal light, sound, and air-conditioning equipment. 当代观众厅的墙壁和天花板常设灯光、音响以及空调设备。 来自互联网
• The interior follows an exceedingly compact plan of different types and sizes of rooms and auditoriums. 在室内装饰方面，不同类型不同尺寸的空间以及观众席都追寻一种极端简洁的装饰风格。 来自互联网