(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Shirley Griffith. And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we complete the story of singer Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early nineteen hundreds. She began singing in church. Soon, her rich deep voice became widely known in the area. Marian Anderson loved opera. At that time, however, black singers were not permitted in white opera companies in the United States. So she performed as a concert artist instead. Her first concert in New York City was not successful. She felt defeated and did not sing again in public for many months. Then her mother became sick. Anderson knew she would have to work to keep her family together. Singing was her work.
In the nineteen twenties Marian Anderson won two singing competitions. She sang in New York with the Philharmonic Orchestra. This concert was a huge success. She signed an agreement to perform in other cities. Most of the time, only black people attended her concerts. When she was in the southern part of the United States, she was not permitted to stay in hotels for white people. She did not let racial hatred affect her music. Yet she knew she would never be completely successful until she could sing for all people. In nineteen thirty, Marian Anderson received money to study music in London. In those days, Europe seemed to be the only place where a black artist could gain recognition. So Marian traveled to Europe. Many years later, she described her experience there: "I was made to feel welcome, even at a hotel. People accepted me as a person. They judged me for my qualities as a human being and an artist. . . Nothing else. "
In the nineteen thirties, Anderson studied and performed in London and Berlin, Germany. She gave few concerts at first. Then she was invited to give a series of concerts in Sweden. The musician Kosti Vehanen played the piano at Marian's concerts. He said her voice was so powerful that it seemed to come from under the earth. He described it as a voice that overflowed with a deep, tragic feeling. Marian Anderson had her first great success in Sweden. The Swedish people loved her voice. They especially liked the spirituals she sang. Few of them had heard this kind of American music before. Marian Anderson traveled through the countries of Scandinavia. People praised her singing everywhere she went. In Helsinki, Finland she sang for the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. He told her: "The roof of my house is too low for your voice." Anderson sang in Scandinavia for three concert seasons. She sang for the kings of Denmark and Sweden. Finally, she decided to return to the United States. She said she wanted to test herself in her own country.
News of her success in Scandinavia did not mean much to concert hall owners in the United States. They knew black concert singers were not popular. Anderson was back where she began -- singing at churches and small gatherings. She decided to go back to Europe. Again, she was greeted warmly.
The famous Italian orchestra conductor Arturo Toscanini heard her sing in Austria. After the concert he said: "She has a voice that one hears only once in a hundred years." Toscanini's comment spread throughout the world of music. Finally, Marian Anderson was famous. She returned to the United States and sang all around the country. In nineteen thirty-five she appeared for the second time at Town Hall in New York. This time she was a great success. Marian Anderson gave concerts in northern and southern cities. She firmly believed that her music was the best weapon against racial hatred.
At one concert in the southern state of Mississippi, Anderson saw that her singing could bring people together. It had been a long concert. Yet the crowd kept calling for more. Marian asked the audience to join her in singing one last song. The people stood. Black people and white people sang together, side by side. The local newspaper described what happened: "Sometimes the human spirit rises above itself, above racial prejudice. " Another incident became famous around the world. Marian Anderson was to sing in Washington, D.C. at Constitution Hall. This concert hall was owned by an organization called the Daughters of the American Revolution, or D.A.R. The D.A.R. would not permit Anderson to perform in the concert hall because she was black.
Many people protested, including Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the American president. With Missus Roosevelt's help, Anderson was able to sing for an even bigger crowd in Washington. She gave a free concert in the open air, near the Lincoln memorial. Seventy-five thousand people attended that concert on Easter Sunday, April ninth, nineteen thirty-nine. Years later, Anderson described how she felt on that day: "There seemed to be people as far as the eye could see. I felt that a great wave of goodwill poured out from those people. When I saw them, my heart jumped wildly. I could not talk. I wondered if I would be able to sing." Marian Anderson did sing. And seventy-five thousand voices -- black and white -- joined with hers. They sang the national song of the United States. Then they listened as she sang another song about America.
In nineteen fifty-five, Marian Anderson was asked to sing with the New York Metropolitan Opera company. It was the first time a black singer performed regularly with an American opera group. Marian Anderson's presence made it possible for other black singers to become opera singers in the United States. Marian Anderson received many honors and awards during her life. In nineteen fifty-eight she was appointed a delegate to the United Nations, expanding her job as goodwill ambassador of the United States. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in nineteen sixty-three.
Anderson retired from singing two years later. She lived quietly with her husband, Orpheus Fisher, in the state of Connecticut. After he died, she lived with her sister's son, orchestra conductor James DePriest. Marian Anderson died in nineteen ninety-three at the age of ninety-six. Experts say she is remembered not only for the quality of her voice, but also because of the way she carried out her right to be heard.
重点解析
1.permit 允许
The guards permitted me to bring my camera and tape recorder.
守卫允许我带上相机和录音机。
2.defeated 挫败的
In our culture, just thinking about getting old makes you feel defeated.
在我们的文化中，衰老只能令人感到挫败。
3.attend 参加; 出席
Thousands of people attended the funeral.
数千人参加了葬礼。
4.racial hatred 种族仇恨
He has been accused of inciting racial hatred.
他被控煽动种族仇恨。
5.gain 获得
The country gained its independence ten years ago.
这个国家十年前赢得了独立。
6.spread throughout 传遍
His fame spread throughout the country.
他的名声传遍全国。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲斯。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天，我们将继续讲完歌手玛丽安·安德森的故事。1900年代初，玛丽安·安德森在宾夕法尼亚州费城出生。开始的时候，她在教堂里唱歌。很快她饱满低沉的嗓音在这个地区广为人知。玛丽安·安德森热爱歌剧。虽然在当时的美国，黑人歌手不允许进入白人的歌剧公司。因此她以音乐会艺术家的身份表演。她在纽约的首场音乐会并不成功。她感觉很挫败，在数月里，她不再公开唱歌。之后，她的母亲病倒了。安德森知道她需要工作维系家庭。唱歌是她的工作。
20世纪20年代，玛丽安·安德森赢得了两个歌唱比赛。她在纽约和爱乐乐团共同演出。这场音乐会取得了巨大的成功。她签了一分协议要去其他城市演出。大部分时候，只有黑人来听她的音乐会。当她在美国南部的时候，仅供白人的酒店不许她住进来。她没有让种族仇恨影响她的音乐。但她知道除非她能为所有人歌唱，否则她无法取得完全的成功。
1930年，玛丽安·安德森受到资助前往伦敦学习音乐。那时，欧洲似乎是唯一能让黑人获得认同感的地方。所以玛丽安去了欧洲。多年后，她这样描述她的经历：“我受到了欢迎，即便是在酒店里，人们把我当成一个人来看待。他们以我作为人和艺术家的品质评判我....而不是别的什么。”20世纪30年代，安德森在伦敦和德国柏林学习和演出。起初很少有音乐会邀请她演出。然后，她被邀请去瑞典进行一系列音乐会演出。音乐家Kosti Vehanen在玛丽安的音乐会上演奏钢琴。他说她的嗓音非常有力量，好像是从地下发出的一样。他认为她的嗓音洋溢着深沉和悲伤的感觉。
玛丽安·安德森在瑞典取得了她的首次巨大成功。瑞典人爱着她的嗓音。他们尤其喜欢她唱的圣歌。之前没几个瑞典人听过这种风格的美国歌。玛丽安·安德森游遍了斯堪的纳维亚的国家。她所到之处，人们皆称赞她的歌声。在芬兰赫尔辛基，她为著名的芬兰作曲家让·西贝柳斯演唱。他告诉她：“我家的屋顶太低了撑不起你的嗓音。”安德森在斯堪的纳维亚唱了三个音乐季。她为丹麦和瑞典的皇室演唱。最终，她决定回到美国。她说她希望在自己的国家检验自己。
她在斯堪的纳维亚取得成功的消息对于美国的音乐厅老板而言并不算什么。他们知道黑人音乐会歌手不受欢迎。安德森又回到了开始的地方—在教堂和小聚会上唱歌。她决定回到欧洲。她再一次受到了热烈的欢迎。著名的意大利管弦乐队指挥阿尔图罗·托斯卡尼尼在奥地利听到了她的歌声。音乐会后他说：“她的歌声百年一遇。”托斯卡尼尼的评论传遍了音乐界。最后，玛丽安·安德森出名了。她回到美国并在美国各地唱歌。1935年，她第二次现身纽约市政厅。那时她已经取得了巨大成功。
玛丽安·安德森在南北部城市办音乐会。她坚信她的音乐是对抗种族仇恨最好的武器。在密西西比州南部州的一场音乐会上，安德森发现她的歌声可以将人们聚在一起。这是一场漫长的音乐会。但听众想听更多。玛丽安让听众们和她演唱最后一首歌。大家站了起来。黑人和白人肩并肩共同合唱。当地报纸对次进行了报道：“有时人文精神可以克服本身、克服种族偏见。”
另一次事件也闻名世界。玛丽安·安德森将要在华盛顿宪法大厅演唱。这个音乐厅的所有者是一家名为美国革命女儿会（D.A.R）的组织。D.A.R.不允许安德森在这个音乐厅演出，因为她是黑人。很多人进行了抗议，包括埃莉诺·罗斯福，美国总统的妻子。在罗斯福夫人的帮助下，安德森得以在华盛顿为更多人演唱。她办了一场免费露天音乐会，就在林肯纪念堂附近。1939年4月9日复活节这一天，七万五千人参加了音乐会。多年后，安德森描述她当时的感受：“似乎一眼望去都是人。我感觉从人群中涌现出了一拨拨的友善。当我看见他们时，我的心疯狂地跳动，激动得开不了口。我都不知道我是否还能唱出来。”玛丽安·安德森还是唱了。七万五千个声音—黑人和白人—和她一同合唱。他们唱着美国国歌，然后他们听她唱了另一首关于美国的歌。
1955年，玛丽安·安德森受邀和纽约大都会歌剧院演出。这是黑人歌手首次常驻美国歌剧公司。玛丽安·安德森的存在使美国其他黑人歌手成为歌唱家的梦想成为可能。玛丽安·安德森一生收获了很多荣誉和奖项。1958年，她被任命为联合国代表，作为美国亲善大使继续她的工作。1963年，她被授予总统自由勋章。两年后，玛丽安退出歌唱界。她和丈夫奥菲斯·费希尔在康涅狄格州过着安静的生活。丈夫去世后，她和姐姐的儿子，管弦乐指挥詹姆斯.德普瑞斯特住在一起。玛丽安·安德森于1993年去世，年96岁。专家称人们不仅仅铭记她，不仅仅是因为她的嗓音，还是因为她实践了表达的权利。
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