VOA标准英语2010年-Elvis Fans Flock to Australian Outback

Elvis Presley would have been 75 on Friday. Years after his death, the singer's popularity only seems to grow stronger.

Friday, fans boarded a special train in Sydney heading to the Elvis festival in the New South Wales farming town of Parkes. They say the man who revolutionized pop music should never be forgotten.

Lindy, a retired¹ woman, is one such fan.

"One of things that make his memory enduring is because he died at such a young age and I think when the singers like Buddy² Holly³ and Elvis and, you know, you can name quite a few die at a young age, their music seems to live on and on and on," she said. "And really there is no music like it today. You listen to the music today and I would be very surprised if some of that music is around in, you know, 60 years time like Elvis' music is."

Big hair and even bigger flared⁴ trousers are standard at the festival for followers⁵ of Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at the age of 42.

The festival also attracts legions of women who impersonate Presley's wife, Priscilla. Devotees Justine and Daniel dressed in the spirit of the festival.

"Everyone here gets dressed up. You just have a ball, it is just like Elvis mania," Justine said." Everyone is dressed as Elvis and, yeah, got some show girls here."
 
"It is an Elvis suit that my mom made. It took her three months. My dad's got one too," added Daniel.

The Parkes festival began in a small restaurant more than 15 years ago to celebrate the singer's birthday. It has grown into a five-day event that includes dozens of concerts and look-a-like competitions as well as an Elvis-themed gospel church service and a street parade.

Ten thousand people are expected to attend the events in a normally quiet corner of Australia, a country Elvis Presley never visited.

In Parkes, the impersonators are treated like stars shining brightly as their sequins and fake gems⁶.

The event generates several million dollars for the community, which has struggled in recent years under the long drought.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

3 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

4 Flared   

adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The match flared and went out. 火柴闪亮了一下就熄了。
• The fire flared up when we thought it was out. 我们以为火已经熄灭，但它突然又燃烧起来。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。