书城外语流行名人篇(老外最想和你聊的101个英语话题)
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第59章 The music virtuosos 音乐巨匠(11)

Simon Paul lives in the country。

保罗·西蒙住在乡下。

He has a nice voice。 Sometimes sounds like Paul Simon。

他嗓音不错,有时听起来还有点像保罗·西蒙。

Thirty years ago, Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich entered into a famous bet。

三十年前,朱利安·西蒙和保罗·埃利希打过一个很出名的赌。

Paul Simon held a free concert in New York City’s Central Park。

保罗·西蒙在纽约城中央公园举行了一场免费音乐会。

Paul Simon appears in a curious pose, with his hand appearing to pinch the air in front of his face。

保罗·西蒙摆了一个很奇怪的姿势,他的手在脸前捏着空气。

Simon and Garfunkel are an American popular music duo comprising Paul Simon and Arthur Garfunkel。

“西蒙与加芬克尔”组合是美国的流行音乐二人组合,由保罗·西蒙和亚瑟·加芬克尔组成。

Simon and Garfunkel split in 1970。

西蒙和加芬克尔1970年分开。

Between 1957 and 1964, Simon wrote, recorded, and released more than thirty songs。

1957年至1964年,西蒙写了、录制、并发行超过三十首歌曲。

Most of the songs Simon recorded in the six years after 1957 were performed alone。

1957年以后六年内西蒙录制的大部分歌都是单独表演的。

Whether you listen to Shostakovich or Paul Simon, there’s little else that communicates the music’s message so well。

不管你是听肖斯塔科维奇还是保罗·西蒙,很少有其他耳机能像它这样完好地表现出音乐的信息。

Paul Simon expressed the trade-off more directly in his early song I Am a Rock。

保罗·西蒙在其早期歌曲《我是一块磐石》中更加直接地表达了这种利弊权衡。

He teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon。

他和另一个名叫保罗·西蒙的人成立了演唱组。

Simon found himself back at the forefront of popular music。

西蒙发现自己回到了流行音乐的前列。

After graduating from high school, Simon majored in English at Queens College。

高中毕业后,西蒙在皇后学院主修英语。

In a career dating back to the 1950s Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era。

早在1950年,保罗·西蒙便开始了他辉煌的演唱生涯,并通过不懈的努力成为了那个摇滚年代的最棒的歌曲作者之一。

Simon’s musical career began at Forest Hills High School。

西蒙的音乐生涯开始于林山高中。

Simon reached No。 99 on the pop charts。

西蒙位于流行音乐榜第99位。

Simon put together a benefit show。

西蒙举行了一张筹款表演。

The first recipient of the award was American Singer–Paul Simon。

首届“格什温奖”的得主是美国著名民谣歌手保罗·西蒙。

Tomorrow we have a press conference to officially announce Paul’s departure。

明天我们会举行一场新闻发布会正式宣告保罗的离开。

Paul Simon emphasizes the fact that the band will continue。

保罗·西蒙强调乐队会继续下去的事实。

Artists like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, the Clash and Talking Heads drew polyglot styles into their mix back in the 1980s, often with politics in tow。

保罗赛门、彼得盖布瑞尔、冲击乐团和脸部特写乐团等艺人,在1980年代就曾混合多国的音乐风格,通常带有政治意涵。

In 1964 Paul Simon writes The Sounds of Silence。

1964年,保罗·西蒙创作了《静默之声》。

In 1965 Simon moved to England。

西蒙在1965年移居英国。

Let’s Talk!

开始交流吧!

Mike: Have you watched The Graduates·

麦克:你看过《毕业生》吗·

Daisy: Of course, it’s a very moving film。

黛西:当然,这是一部非常感人的电影。

Mike: The theme song is very beautiful。

麦克:主题曲很好听。

Daisy: Right, The Scarborough Fair。

黛西:对,《斯卡泊罗集市》。

Mike: Who sings the song·

麦克:这首歌是谁唱的·

Daisy: Paul Simon。

黛西:保罗·西蒙。

Mike: I do not know him, is he very famous·

麦克:我不太知道他,他很出名吗·

Daisy: Yes, he also sings The sounds of silence。

黛西:是的,他还唱了《静默之声》。

Mike: Really, I like both of the songs very much, but I never know who is the singer。

麦克:真的啊,这两首歌我都很喜欢,但我一直不知道演唱者是谁。

Daisy: They are very low key。

黛西:他们非常低调。

Mike: That’s pretty rare of modern singers。

麦克:这在现在的歌手来说非常难得。

Daisy: I want to go to their concert。

黛西:我很想去看他们的演唱会。

Mike: They are on a world tour; let me see where they are now。

麦克:他们正在世界巡演,我看看他们到哪了。

John Denver

约翰·丹佛

丹佛在七八十年代是美国最走红的乡村歌手,他的《乡村之路》《高高落基山》《阳光照在我肩上》等歌曲在美国可谓家喻户晓,丹佛在中国也有广大的歌迷。

About John Denver

关于约翰·丹佛

Henry John Deutschendorf, known professionally as John Denver, was an American popular music composer and singer, activist, humanitarian, and pilot。

After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s。 His greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, spanning from 1971 to 1975。 Throughout his life Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed。 He performed primarily with an acoustic guitar and sang about his joy in nature, his enthusiasm for music, and relationship trials。

Denver’s music appeared on a variety of charts including country & western, the Billboard Hot 100, and adult contemporary, in all earning him 12 gold and 4 platinum albums with his signature songs “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, “Rocky Mountain High”, “Annie’s Song” and “Calypso”。

Denver further starred in films and several notable television specials in the 1970s and 1980s。 In the following decades he continued to record, but also focused on calling attention to environmental issues, lent his vocal support to space exploration, and testified in front of Congress to protest censorship in music。 He was an avid pilot and died while flying his personal aircraft at the age of 53。 Denver was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the 1970s。 His renown in the state of Colorado, which he sang about numerous times and where he lived in Aspen, influenced the governor to name him Poet Laureate of the state in 1974, and for the state legislature to adopt “Rocky Mountain High” as one of its state songs in 2007。

约翰·丹佛是美国老牌的乡村歌手,“乡村音乐的代名词”,其唱片曾获24次金唱片奖及4次白金唱片奖。在美国乡村音乐史上,其地位无人可敌。约翰·丹佛在1976年建立了Windstar 基金会,这是一个非盈利的环境教育和研究组织,为了世界的未来发展而贡献着。丹佛的音乐反映了作为一个以天下为己任的,一个为了提高所有人的生活质量——环境、社会和政治——而努力的人的良心。

丹佛在世界各地都有歌迷,他说过:“音乐把人们带到一起,不管我们说什么语言、我们是什么肤色、我们持有什么样的政见,我们怎样表达爱和信仰,音乐证明:我们是同样的。”丹佛不但用歌喉迷倒了人们,他那灿烂的微笑和戴着金丝边眼镜的“雅皮”形象也深受人们的喜爱,他在不少电视剧和电影里扮演过角色。丹佛的突然离世让无数美国人感到悲哀和遗憾,因为他的歌影响了美国好几代人。

Key words & Sentences

关键词句全知道

I’m going to hear John Denver。

我想去听约翰·丹佛。

I love John Denver。

我的最爱是约翰·丹佛。

Who’s John Denver· I’ve never heard of him。

约翰·丹佛是谁·我从来没听人说起过他。

Which is the most famous song of John Denver·

哪个是约翰·丹佛著名的歌呀·

Really· You like John Denver·

真的·你喜欢约翰·丹佛·

Speaking John Denver, I was sorry to hear about his death。

说到约翰·丹佛,我听到他的死讯非常难过。

I think John Denver is much better than Michael Jackson。

我认为约翰·丹佛的歌比迈克尔·杰克逊好得多。

Many people think John Denver is an arrogant person。

很多人认为约翰·丹佛是一个狂妄的人。

I’ve heard John Denver; I like his Take Me Home, Country Road。

我听说过约翰·丹佛,我喜欢他的《乡村小路带我回家》。

But singers like John Denver, with his hit track “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, insisted on the originality and emotions of “real” country music。

但像名曲《乡村路带我回家》的演唱者约翰·丹佛这样的歌手仍然坚持着“真正”乡村音乐的独特性和情感表达。

Denver abandoned the band life to pursue a solo career。

丹佛放弃了乐队生活去追求独唱歌手生涯。

Denver has long blond hair。

丹佛有一头长长的金发。

Denver went on to host his own music specials。