书城外语流行文化篇(老外最想和你聊的101个英语话题)
5248400000094

第94章 Trendy Lifestyle 潮流生活(6)

Known as the “King of Pop,” Jackson’s dramatic stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world。

迈克尔?杰克逊被誉为“流行天王”,他精彩的舞台表演及创新的舞蹈动作被世界各地的粉丝所模仿。

1

然而,他的古怪风格也曾招致大量的批评,还因此被人称为“怪人杰克”。

“For his legions of fans, he was the Peter Pan of pop music: the little boy who refused to grow up。 But on the verge of another attempted comeback, he is suddenly gone, this time for good。”——The New York Times。

《纽约时报》撰文称:“对他的粉丝而言,他是流行乐坛上的拒绝长大的彼得?潘(指天真的成年人)。然而就在他即将重返乐坛之时,他却这样突然地走了,这一次竟是永诀。”

Michael Jackson’s video for his hit single “Thriller” has been voted the most influential in pop music history。

(美国已故流行天王)迈克尔?杰克逊的热门单曲《颤栗》MV被评为流行音乐史上最具影响力的音乐电视作品。

Country and western music lies close to the heart of many Americans。

乡村和西部音乐深得很多美国人的人心。

This style originated among country folks in the southern and western United States。

这种形态的音乐起源于美国南部和西部的乡村小民们。

Country music tells down-to-earth stories about love and life’s hardships。 Guitars, banjos and violins—also known as fiddles—give country music its characteristic sound。

乡村音乐讲述着真实不加渲染的爱情故事和生活中的艰难。

The home of country music is Nashville, Tennessee—Music City U。S。A。

乡村音乐的发源地是田纳西州的纳许维尔市——美国的音乐城市。

Jazz music, developed by African-Americans in the late 1800s, allows performers to freely express their emotions and musical skill。

爵士乐是十九世纪末期由非裔的美国人发展出来的。它让表演者自由地表现他们的情感和音乐技巧。

Instead of just playing the melody, jazz musicians improvise different tunes using the same chords。

不仅演奏旋律,爵士音乐大师用同样的和弦即兴演奏出不同的曲调。

The peak of jazz music came in the 1920s, known as “The Jazz Era。”

爵士乐的高峰期出现于19世纪20年代,该时期被称为“爵士年代”。

This period produced musicians like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman and Duke Ellington。 These musicians later created the “big band” sounds of the 1930s。

这个时期创造出来的乐手有阿姆斯特朗(Louise Armstrong),古德曼(Benny goodman)和埃林顿(Duke Ellington)。这些乐手稍后都创造了1930年代的“大乐团”之音。

Different styles of jazz developed in different cities, such as New Orleans, Chicago, New York and Kansas City。

在不同的城市也孕育出不同的爵士风格,像是新奥尔良、芝加哥、纽约和坎萨斯市。

Let’s Talk!

开始交流吧!

Gucci: I’m so excited to be here。 It’s hard to believe that I can see the Twins face to face, and get their signatures。 Maybe I will get the chance to have a photograph with them…古奇: 到这里来我真的太兴奋了。很难相信我竟然可以面对面地看到Twins,还可以得到她们的签名。也许,我还可以有跟她们合影的机会……May: Calm down, sweetie。 It’s a long queue, and also their signatures are not free。 You get them only after you buy their new released CD。

阿美: 冷静一点,亲爱的。队伍那么长,况且她们的签名又不是免费的。你得买了她们发行的新唱片才可以得到的啊。

Gucci: Come on, May。 It’s the time of my life。 It’s a wonderful thing that they issued their album here with this signature court。

古奇: 拜托,阿美,这可是我人生中的重要时刻。她们来这里开签售会发行新唱片多棒啊。

May: You are such a big fan of them。 Well, do you know when they started to sing?

阿美: 你可真是她们的超级粉丝啊。不过,你知道她们是从什么时候开始唱歌的吗?

Gucci: Sure。 Two years ago, they took part in a singing contest, and won the first place。 After that, their fans appeared in a rush。

古奇: 那当然,两年前,她们参加了一个歌唱比赛,并且夺得了第一名。在那之后,她们的粉丝数量很快地扩大了。

May: What about their singing standard?

阿美: 她们的歌唱水平怎么样?

Gucci: You’ve got to the point。 They have very sweet voices。

古奇: 你说到点子上了。她们的嗓音非常甜美。

May: Can they do high notes?

阿美: 她们能唱高音吗?

Gucci: I think so。 But they don’t rely on hitting high notes to attract you。 The point is their songs can always touch your soul, making you feel pure。

古奇: 我觉得可以。不过她们不靠高音来吸引你。关键在于她们的歌可以打动你的灵魂,让人感觉到纯净。

May: Sounds good。 Hey, the poster on the wall says that they are going to hold a concert next Friday。 Will you be there?

阿美: 听起来不错。嗨,墙上的海报说下周五她们要举办一场演唱会。你会去听吗?

Gucci: Yeah。 I’ve got two tickets。 Would you like to join me?

古奇: 我去,我有两张票呢。你想和我一起去吗?

May: I’d love to。

阿美: 我很乐意啊。

Culture

宠物文化

国际爱护动物基金会认为,猫和狗经过漫长的进化演变,已经脱离了自然界的生物链,不再存在于生态平衡之中,而成了适合人类家庭的动物,广泛存在于人们的生活、工作之中。在国外,新的趋势是称呼猫和狗为伴侣动物,体现它们在人类社会中的作用。随着现在宠物饲养的盛行以及人民经济水平的增长,宠物行业已经悄然兴起,并在国民经济增长上占有了一定的比例。其中尤其以犬、猫、鱼、植物宠物饲养、消费为主。

Realize Pet Culture

认识宠物文化

1宠物狗

There are a vast range of commodity forms available to transform a pet dog into an ideal companion。 The list of goods, services and places available is enormous: from dog perfumes, couture, furniture and housing, to dog groomers, therapists, trainers and care-takers, dog cafes, spas, parks and beaches, and dog hotels, airlines and cemeteries。 While dog training as an organized activity can be traced back to the 18th century, in the last decades of the 20th century it became a high profile issue as many normal dog behaviors such as barking, jumping up, digging, rolling in dung, fighting, and urine marking became increasingly incompatible with the new role of a pet dog。 Dog training books, classes and television programs proliferated as the process of commodifying the pet dog continued。

A pet dog takes part in Christmas traditions。 The majority of contemporary dog owners describe their dog as part of the family, although some ambivalence about the relationship is evident in the popular reconceptualisation of the dog-human family as a pack。 A dominance model of dog-human relationships has been promoted by some dog trainers, such as on the television program Dog Whisperer。 However it has been disputed that “trying to achieve status” is characteristic of dog–human interactions。 Pet dogs play an active role in family life; for example, a study of conversations in dog-human families showed how family members use the dog as a resource, talking to the dog, or talking through the dog, to mediate their interactions with each other。 Another study of dogs’ roles in families showed many dogs have set tasks or routines undertaken as family members, the most common of which was helping with the washing-up by licking the plates in the dishwasher, and bringing in the newspaper from the lawn。 Increasingly, human family members are engaging in activities centered on the perceived needs and interests of the dog, or in which the dog is an integral partner, such as Dog Dancing and Doga。

2关于的表达方式

(1)宠物新兴行业

Pet nurse宠物保健师

Pet trainer宠物驯导师

Pet Groomer宠物美容师

Veterinarian宠物医师

(2)宠物犬类

Chihuahua吉娃娃

Papillon蝴蝶犬

Pomeranian松鼠犬(博美犬)

Alaskan Malamute阿拉斯加雪橇犬

American Eskimo Dog美国爱斯基摩犬

Australian Shepherd澳洲牧羊犬

Bichon Frise卷毛比雄犬

Bulldog老虎犬 (英国斗牛)

Dachshund腊肠犬

Dalmatian斑点犬

Lakeland Terrier湖畔梗

Whippet惠比特犬