VOA标准英语2011--Real-life 'Glee' Chorus Shines

Now in its second season, the TV show "Glee" has struck a chord with audiences in the United States and elsewhere. The story revolves¹ around the members of a high school student chorale group, known as 'New Directions'. Every episode features the actors performing popular songs with complex choreography. Here in the United States, many schools have similar vocal² groups.
One of them, Touch of Class in Chantilly, Virginia, is not only celebrating its 25th anniversary, but was also voted America's Favorite Show Choir³ in a national contest. Since then, it has drawn⁴ comparisons to "Glee."
Glenn Cockrell has been involved with the group since the beginning, as choreographer⁵, show designer and - for the last eight years - as its director.
"We do a wide range of music that goes through the whole realm of pop," Cockrell says. That includes Broadway show tunes⁶, jazz, country, and of course rock.
More than a regular choir
The 39 students, ranging from 16 to 18, work hard. This isn't just about singing. In addition to classes with Cockrell, they rehearse after school twice a week for two hours to learn dance moves.
Sarah Pramstaller has been their choreographer for the last five years. She was a member of Touch of Class when she was a student here and feels the experience helped prepare her for a career in musical theater. "It is different than performing in musical theater and it is a little different from what happens in New York, but it is a great foundation for singing, dancing, acting⁷, performing in general."
Pramstaller returned to Chantilly High School when she married and started a family. "I wanted to move into more of a director/teacher position. So it was a perfect fit."
Of course few of her students will go on to careers in musical theater, and not all of them even aspire⁸ to that.
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Sarah Pramstaller, choreographer, and Glenn Cockrell, musical director, work as a team during rehearsal⁹.
"I did show choir because my friends were doing it. It was something cool for us to do," says Greg Garcia, 17.
But Julia Holmblad, 18, is in it for the opportunity to perform. "Performing is something you can't do in any other class, and it's something I love to do."
It is rare that a month goes by without at least one performance, but this year has been exceptionally busy for the young performers. "They are getting opportunities that you don't always get. We are going to get to be at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, at Constitution Hall," says Cockrell.
National recognition
The group was voted America's Favorite Show Choir in an online competition sponsored by Parade magazine which drew more than 1,000 entries.
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Chantilly High School's 'Touch of Class' was voted America's Favorite Show Choir in an online competition that drew over 1,000 entries.
Choreographer Pramstaller says there are similarities to "Glee," the popular TV show. "When they show footage from the competition, it is very, very much like that."
But Cockrell says "Glee," with its romantic entanglements¹⁰ and characters who sometimes behave deviously¹¹, is not a true reflection of high school. "We find the music is awesome¹². It is definitely the kind of stuff we would do in our program. But the story line is something we do not always emulate¹³ in the classroom setting."
But "Glee," he says, has definitely given his students a boost by bringing attention to the performing arts programs in the schools. "There are some really great things going on in the schools and we need to support that."

1 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 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。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

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 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

8 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

9 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

10 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 deviously   

弯曲地，绕道地

参考例句：

• He got the promotion by behaving deviously. 他通过不正当手段才获得了这次晋升。

12 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

13 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。