时间:2018-12-01 作者:英语课 分类:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES


英语课

WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Tinpan Alley 1
By Susan Kelen


Broadcast: Sunday, October 10, 2004


Now, the VOA Special English Program Words and Their Stories. Today, we tell about the expression, tinpan alley.


For many years, the expression 'tinpan alley' represented American popular music and writers and publishers of songs who made it great. It was first used in the late 1800s on busy, crowded 28th street in New York City.


At that time, offices of music publishers lined both sides of the street. Music from pianos inside the offices filled the air. The music was played by piano demonstrators called song pluggers. They played and sang the songs for orchestra 2 leaders, singers and stars of musical plays, anyone who could use songs in public performances.


One day, a reporter from a New York newspaper visited the office of music publisher Hurry Woncuser. The reporter, Monroe Rosenfeld, was planning a series of stories about American popular music. During the visit, he heard someone playing Mr. Woncuser's piano. The piano was old, and made songs like clanging metal. To Mr. Rosenfeld the piano sounded like tinpans clashing 3 together. "Tinpan music. " he commented, "why? " He said at last, "The whole street is a tinpan alley. " Mr. Rosenfeld used this expression when he wrote his stories about the music publishing business. And from that time on, 28th street in New York City was known as tinpan alley.


Tinpan alley is linked to an exciting period of American popular music that lasted from about 1880 to 1930. In earlier years, American publishing companies mainly dealt with serious music. But toward the end of the century, some young men decided 4 to change this. So they went to New York City, where they could find performers to sing and sell their songs.


On tinpan alley, American popular music developed. From publishing companies on this street came love songs, sad songs, and silly songs, songs that were Ragtime 5, Jazz and Blues 6. From tinpan alley, came such great composers as George Gershwin , Irving Berlin , Jerome Kern , Cole Porter and Richard Rodgers.


It was there the composers learned their trade. They learned what the public wanted and what would make a song sell. The end of tinpan alley as the center of American music business came around 1930 after records, radio, and talking movies were created. Yet the name, tinpan alley still is linked to the creators of popular music who got their start on the street of songs.


This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Susan Kelen. I am Warren Scheer.



1 alley
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
2 orchestra
n.管弦乐队;vt.命令,定购
  • He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
  • I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。
3 clashing
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • 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。
4 ragtime
n.拉格泰姆音乐
  • The most popular music back then was called ragtime.那时最流行的音乐叫拉格泰姆音乐。
  • African-American piano player Scott Joplin wrote many ragtime songs.非裔美国钢琴家ScottJoplin写了许多拉格泰姆歌曲。
5 blues
n.抑郁,沮丧;布鲁斯音乐
  • She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
  • He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。
标签: word story word tinpan alley
学英语单词
abrasiometer
accuracy of forecasting techniques
Adcon-I
anadara taiwanica
bachelor apartments
balanced value
Baushar
be in duty bound to do
bellyaching
benzyl neocaprate
bighorn rivers
botulin
canalicyoplasty
cascom
character generation option
chopping device
consumer profiling
country-people
customary form
cyclically balanced budget
delve into sth
demultiplexers
distillest
down for lining
drugg
dutch-speaking
eigenspectra
eight-liter
environmental photobiology
eprolin-S
expect to departure
extended low-surface brightness source
f.f
Fay-wei
fixing powder
forgat
Franklin Mts.
gyrene
Habit-formation
ignition point
inquests
internal block brake
Ishinomaki
Kapachira Falls
Kefenrod
kemppi
lithotriptor
longitudinal median plane
Makushino
mal de raquette
malt vinegar
material surface
meshcement
moss-likest
neurofibromas
neuron nucleus
non-negative characteristic form
nonexistant
nucleus fastigii
orifice tube
periglacial
pile lighthouse
platinum-silver alloy
plumbous nitrate
Podophyllum hexandrum
prosopopoeia
pseudo-indole
quadrate (bone)
re-arrive
reciprocal coefficient
resonant-cavity maser
rice scoop
roof bar
rubbing off
scolithus
self-align type
self-parodying
simal
sixthform
sizzle reel
source neutron
spanandry
spirocheticidal
ST_technology_internet-terminology-and-abbreviations
Super Technirama
supernity
swarl
tabular calculation
taibi
taraghi
tectosilicates
temporary ramp
tighthead
trpes
tuberculum
vapour check
venae conjunctivales anteriores et posteriores
VG-BWS
vinyl tile
writing-pad
yarmuk
yoldia similis