时间:2019-01-11 作者:英语课 分类:VOA慢速英语2008年(八)月


英语课

VOICE ONE:


I'm Steve Ember.


VOICE TWO:


And I'm Barbara Klein with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today, we explore the life of dancer and choreographer 2 Martha Graham. She created almost two hundred dance pieces. She is often called the Mother of Modern Dance. Her influence on the world of dance continues today.


(MUSIC)


VOICE ONE:
 
Martha Graham


In the beginning of the twentieth century, women like Isadora Duncan and Ruth Saint 4 Denis wanted to create a new form of dance. Duncan and Saint Denis felt restricted by ballet. Modern dance was created as a revolt against ballet. Martha Graham was one of the most famous dancers and creators of dance, called choreographers. She brought modern dance to a new level of popularity 5 in American culture. She created a new language of movement that expressed powerful emotions. She started traditions that are still used in modern dance today. They include expressive 6 movements of the body to tell a dramatic story, special music, lighting 7, stage design and costumes.


VOICE TWO:


Martha Graham was born in the small town of Allegheny, Pennsylvania in eighteen ninety-four. After Martha turned fourteen years old, her family moved to Santa Barbara, California. While traveling across the Midwest, Martha enjoyed the wide, open spaces of nature. She also enjoyed the beautiful flowers and plants in California. The free, expressive movements of modern dance were clearly influenced by the beauty of nature Graham observed.


VOICE ONE:


Earlier in her life, however, Martha did not know that she would become a dancer. Her father was a doctor and her family was very religious. They were members of the upper class and did not accept dance as an art form. Still, in nineteen ten, Martha's father took her to see a dance performance by Ruth Saint Denis, one of the first modern dancers in America. Martha was sixteen and she decided 8 then that she wanted to become a dancer.


VOICE TWO:


Ruth Saint Denis and Isadora Duncan were at the center of attention in modern dance. They established some of the traditions we see today. For example, Duncan was famous for starting the tradition of not wearing dance shoes while performing. Saint Denis was famous for creating dances influenced by other cultures. She studied dance from countries such as Mexico and Egypt, instead of the European countries where ballet had started. Martha Graham took an immediate 9 interest in this new art form.


VOICE ONE:


Martha's parents, however, did not approve of her sudden desire to dance. At this time, people saw American dance as a lower art form. Graham chose to follow her dream of dancing, even though she was considered too old to begin dancing. She was in her early twenties when she began studying dance in nineteen sixteen. She attended the school created by Ruth Saint Denis and her husband, Ted 3 Shawn in Los Angeles, California.


At the Denishawn Dance School, Graham worked very hard to improve her ability to dance. She trained her body to become strong enough to meet the difficult demands of dance. She performed with the Denishawn dance company for several years before moving to New York City. There, Graham performed in shows but she wanted to make greater experiments with dance.


VOICE TWO:


Martha Graham started teaching dance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Later she returned to New York City to teach at Carnegie Hall. She began to choreograph 1, or create the steps of dances. In order to express herself freely, she decided to establish her own dance company and school. In nineteen twenty-six she started the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance.


She enjoyed having her own company of students to perform her dances. Graham produced a dance called "Heretic" in nineteen twenty-nine. She wore all white and danced against a wall of dancers wearing all black. Graham began to work with music composer Louis Horst. She worked with him until he died in nineteen sixty-four. Graham once said that, without Horst, she would have felt lost.


VOICE ONE:


In nineteen thirty-six, Graham created "Chronicle," one of her most important dances. "Chronicle" was influenced by current events including the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War. The dance expressed sadness and loneliness. At this time, showing strong emotions in dance was very rare. Graham also created dances based on ancient Greek tragic 10 stories and famous female heroines.


At first, people did not react well to Graham's style of dancing. It was very different from European ballet, which was more commonly accepted. Graham's dances were powerful, with strong and sharp movements. Some of the movements involved contracting and releasing parts of the body, using the arms in dramatic movements and falling to the floor. These movements are still used in modern dance today.


VOICE TWO:


In nineteen thirty-eight, President Franklin Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, invited Martha Graham to perform at the White House. She created a dance called "American Document." Graham later danced at the White House for seven other presidents.


In nineteen forty-four, Martha Graham created "Appalachian Spring," one of her most famous dances. It tells the story of a wedding among early American settlers. Aaron Copland composed this music for "Appalachian Spring."


(MUSIC)


VOICE ONE:
 
Martha Graham with Bertram Ross


In nineteen fifty-one, Graham was among the people who established the dance program at the Juilliard School in New York City. It is still one of the best arts schools in the country. Many famous artists have begun their careers by studying there. Graham created her largest dance in nineteen fifty-eight. She named it "Clytemnestra," and used music from the Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh.


Graham worked with other famous and influential 11 people in the world of dance. Many of her students became famous dancers and choreographers. She also taught movement to famous people. including singer Madonna, actress Bette Davis and film director Woody Allen.


VOICE TWO:


Some of her dances were filmed and made into a DVD called "Martha Graham: Dance on Film." This is a collection of three programs Graham made for American public television in the nineteen fifties and sixties. "A Dancer's World" is an introduction to Graham and her work. She tells about her dances and her dance group shows some of their methods. The DVD also includes films of two of her dances, "Appalachian Spring" and "Night Journey."


VOICE ONE:


Graham continued to dance past the age of seventy. Once again, she was met with criticism from people who came to watch her shows. Younger people knew that Graham was an important influence but they did not understand the meaning behind her dances. Graham began to suffer emotionally. She began to drink too much alcohol.


She later wrote a book about herself, called "Blood Memory." In her book, she wrote that she performed for the last time in nineteen seventy, when she was seventy-six years old. Two years later Graham stopped drinking alcohol. She went back to her dance company to choreograph more dances. The final dance she completed was called "Maple 12 Leaf Rag," which she finished in nineteen ninety. Scott Joplin composed the music.


(MUSIC: "Maple Leaf Rag")


VOICE TWO:
 
President Gerald Ford 13 presents Martha Graham with the Medal of Freedom on October 15, 1976


Martha Graham received many awards during her lifetime, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in nineteen seventy-six. She was the first dancer to receive the country's highest civilian 14 honor. She died in nineteen ninety-one at the age of ninety-six. In nineteen ninety-eight, Time magazine listed her as the "Dancer of the Century" and as one of the most important people of the twentieth century. The Martha Graham Dance Company still performs her dances in New York and around the world.


(MUSIC)


VOICE ONE:


This program was written by Elizabeth Stern 15. It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Steve Ember.


VOICE TWO:


And I'm Barbara Klein. You can learn about other interesting Americans at our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us next week for People In America, in VOA Special English.


 



v.设计舞蹈动作
  • Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself.阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。
  • She has danced,choreographed,lectured and taught all over the world.她在世界各地跳过舞、编过舞、讲过学、也教过书。
n.编舞者
  • She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员,也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
  • It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁,我优雅的舞蹈指导,并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网
vt.翻晒,撒,撒开
  • The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
  • She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。
n.圣徒;基督教徒;vt.成为圣徒,把...视为圣徒
  • He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
  • The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。
n.普及,流行,名望,受欢迎
  • The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
  • Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
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。
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的
  • The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
  • Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。
adj.有影响的,有权势的
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
n.槭树,枫树,槭木
  • Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
  • The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
adj.严厉的,严格的,严峻的;n.船尾
  • The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
  • The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。
学英语单词
Abulkasis
acharniens
aerocarburetor
affective commitment
agrobiologically
alpha-ray spectrograph
Anaun, Gora
authorized agency
automatic resuscitator
Bacterium paratyphosum A
be caught in a trap
bioscrubbing
browntop seed
Calamus siphonospathus
Carex enervis
Castle Combe
cell consumption
chambersite
compatibility character
cooperation agreement
creditisms
curase
cyberlibertarianism
Dactylogyroidea
defense information infrastructure
densimetric
depreciative
differentiation function
Dove Dale
draw slate
ejet
electronic image forming tube
extract system
extremum of a fuzzy function
first phalanx
fluoroisopentane
forced warm air heating
French manicure
garden-house
genus swainsonas
ginimony
ginormous
hortonolite-dunite
hydraulic pin actuator
hypertrophy of lingual tonsilla
inelastic scattering excitation
infectious hepatomegaly
landerite
lawyer's jargon
Liberty loan
lipostomatous
meadowed
medicophysical
meiyou
microwave discriminator
moderator pump
mohsine
monosomian
montags
Nansemond County
near-at-hand
nonreimbursable assistance
obsessivities
optimum gas velocity
outer conductor
overquoted
phosphorous anhydride
pile press machine
pollution-charge
position unwind
premoistened
processively
pulp metaplasia
radiation resistance cable
range (rg)
referring doctor
rickyards
river reach
rl3
roastnears
route reconnaissance
sadded
Saxifraga saxatilis
sembenes
shrivings
size field
Slip of the thumbs
social envy
spark plug
spirochetal protein complement fixation test
subcritical stability
sulfonic acid type resin
the outside
thermo reference material
Tiskilwa
tongue-kissing
uncds
untraversed
vernor
Verrucomicrobiae
watergate scandals
yaaay