VOA标准英语2013--SXSW Attracts Musicians, Filmmakers from Around the World

 

SXSW Attracts Musicians, Filmmakers from Around the World

South by Southwest is known for its exuberance¹ and its mingling² of business and pleasure.

While the music blares from several nearby venues³, a delegation⁴ from Chile holds an event to bring together interactive⁵ media and computer program designers with investors⁶.

The organizer of one event is Horacio Melo of Start Up Chile, a Chilean government program. “This is a good opportunity to find more investors and different players who play a role in start-up assistance," he said.

South by Southwest started in 1987 as a local music festival that drew around 700 people. It now attracts thousands from around the world for interactive media discussions, film screenings and, of course, music.

One of the locals who has participated since the beginning is entertainment lawyer Stephen Easley “An entire city is almost not big enough anymore to hold South by Southwest, it has become so huge and sprawling," he said. “As it has broadened, its impact on popular culture has become almost immeasurable.”

South by Southwest has become the biggest event of its kind in the world. This is where many films now get their first boost and many musical groups find agents, producers and record deals.

Groups from Asia, Europe and Africa play here.

But you can also hear a lot of Texas music.

Popular Austin-based singer-songwriter Slaid Cleaves⁷ attended South By Southwest in 1990 and decided⁸ right then to leave his home in Maine and become a Texas singer. "That is exactly what I came to Austin for is to work with great musicians and studios and fellow songwriters," he said.

Over the ten days of the festival, there are hundreds of official festival concerts, but Cleaves says many visitors prefer the events outside the festival zone. “If you do not want to do the main part of the festival, you know, the entire town turns into a festival. I am doing seven or eight showcases this week, not a single official one, they are all sort of unofficial," he said.

For musicians like Slaid Cleaves, Austin is a great place to play, whether there is a festival or not. 

1 exuberance   

n.丰富；繁荣

参考例句：

• Her burst of exuberance and her brightness overwhelmed me.她勃发的热情和阳光的性格征服了我。
• The sheer exuberance of the sculpture was exhilarating.那尊雕塑表现出的勃勃生机让人振奋。

2 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

3 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

4 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

5 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 cleaves   

v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This wood cleaves easily. 这木材好劈。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The water cleaves the banks away like a knife. 河水象一把刀似的，把两岸削掉。 来自辞典例句

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。