VOA标准英语2011--Ancient Instrument's Twang Draws Global

Ancient Instrument's Twang Draws Global Fans

The Jew’s harp¹, a plucked-mouth instrument found all over the world, has absolutely nothing to do with Jews.
But it does have a distinctive² sound and a lot of fans. Many of them have gathered at the North American Jew’s Harp Festival in the western state of Oregon to celebrate the tiny instrument.
If you haven’t heard of the Jew’s harp, you’re not alone. Even its biggest fans were once in the dark.
“I thought it was a bike tool or a screwdriver³ or something," says ethnomusicologist Deirdre Morgan, executive director of the Jew's Harp Guild⁴. "I found out it was a musical instrument. And I thought, 'Oh it’s that thing that I’ve heard in the background of old-time music.' I didn’t know what it was called, so I Googled the words ‘twangy mouth instrument.’”
Deirdre Morgan, executive director of the Jew's Harp Guild, playing the Rajasthani morchang, a variation of the instrument.
Morgan is writing her masters' thesis on the Asian Jew’s harp, one of the instrument's many variations. Now an expert, she explains how they work.
“It’s a fairly simple principle. It's a tongue, or a lamella, that you flick⁵, and it goes doy-oy-oy-oy-oy. And then it’s just one more step to take the twig⁶ up to your mouth, and it gets all these different pitches.”
The Jew’s harp always has that fundamental note of the lamella that gives it a droning sound, like a bagpipe⁷. But it’s what you do with your mouth that changes things.
"If you open up your esophagus you get the lower notes," player Dan Gossi explains,"and if you make your mouth a real tight, small cavity, you get the higher notes. But basically you’re the instrument."
Because the Jew’s harp is so simple, different versions have cropped up across the globe. According to Morgan, its small size helped fuel its popularity, going as far back as the 15th century and maybe even earlier.
“It’s easy to fit in a pocket. And it was definitely traded a lot along the Silk Road from Northern China, Russia, Mongolia, Siberia, down through India and all the ‘stans,' Afghanistan, into Europe," Morgan says. "And then the European harps⁸ were the ones that were brought into Northern America.”
You can find nearly all of these versions at the festival. There’s the Filipino kubing, made of bamboo. The Chinese ho-ho has a different brass⁹ plate for each key. With the Balinese genggong, you pluck the lamella by tugging¹⁰ on a string.
Despite the different shapes, sizes and materials, all belong to the same twangy family. But even harpers say it can be a hard family to love. Rob Hoffman has been coming to the festival for five years.
“I don’t like hearing hours and hours of Jew’s harp as a solo," says Rob Hoffman, who has attended the festival for five years. "It gets kind of old. But what it does is, when played with other instruments, it’s like the gravy¹¹ on the potatoes. It adds inflection, it adds something unexpected, it adds a counterpoint.”
But during a few loud days in August, the twangy global instrument emerges from its supporting role for a chance to take the spotlight¹².

1 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。

2 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

3 screwdriver   

n.螺丝起子；伏特加橙汁鸡尾酒

参考例句：

• He took a screwdriver and teased out the remaining screws.他拿出螺丝刀把其余的螺丝卸了下来。
• The electric drill can also be used as a screwdriver.这把电钻也可用作螺丝刀。

4 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

5 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

6 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

7 bagpipe   

n.风笛

参考例句：

• The bagpipe is a sweet musical instrument.风笛是一种听起来很悦耳的乐器。
• A wailful bagpipe played out in the night.夜幕中传来悲哭般的风笛声。

8 harps   

abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句

9 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

10 tugging   

n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish. 汤姆捏住一个钮扣眼使劲地拉，样子显得很害羞。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• She kicked him, tugging his thick hair. 她一边踢他，一边扯着他那浓密的头发。 来自辞典例句

11 gravy   

n.肉汁；轻易得来的钱，外快

参考例句：

• You have spilled gravy on the tablecloth.你把肉汁泼到台布上了。
• The meat was swimming in gravy.肉泡在浓汁之中。

12 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。