时间:2019-01-30 作者:英语课 分类:2006年慢速英语(三)月


英语课


THIS IS AMERICA - Ballroom 1 Appeal Gives a Lot of Americans Dancing FeetBy Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, March 06, 2006

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty 2. This week, we take you out on the dance floor for a report on ballroom dancing.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The two dancers step slowly at first, then move into faster rhythms. Soon their feet fly across the wooden dance floor. Their bodies move apart, and then close together. They look into each other's eyes.

The woman wears a long, shining gold dress. Or it might be a dress that leaves little to the imagination. The man wears a black tuxedo 3 over a white shirt. He raises the woman off the floor and spins her over his head. She lands on her feet and slides back into his arms.

VOICE TWO:

For some people, this kind of dancing is a sport. The best of them take part in high-level competitions. Some perform at the Olympics, though they cannot yet compete for medals.

But for most people, ballroom dancing is just for fun. Either as a sport or a social activity, this traditional kind of dance has captured the American imagination in new ways in recent years. People of all ages are trying it, especially young people. They learn the steps, then add their own.

Millions of people also enjoy watching ballroom dancers compete. ABC Television has had great success with a show called Dancing with the Stars.

VOICE ONE:

Dancing with the Stars works like this: Stars are teamed with professional dancers. At first, some of the stars clearly have trouble. They miss steps. Or they cannot follow the lead of their partner. But in time most improve.

People watching at home vote for the couples they like best. They do this by telephone or online. Their votes are combined with the votes of professional judges on the show.

The results are announced a few days later on a second show. The man and woman with the lowest score are removed from the competition. This goes on until one couple wins.

Last week musician Drew Lachey and dancer Cheryl Burke won the second season of Dancing with the Stars. Lachey had called the big shining prize an ugly trophy 4, but was clearly happy to win it.


Drew Lachey and his partner Cheryl Burke win Dancing wth the Stars

Dancing with the Stars is the American version of the BBC series Strictly 5 Come Dancing.

VOICE TWO:

Public broadcaster PBS recently had a two-part special called America's Ballroom Challenge. The top winners were Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kryuchkova of New Jersey 6.

They have been national champions two times in professional Latin American dance. And they have represented the United States in the World Latin American Dance Championships three times.

They became dance partners in Moscow. They moved to the United States in nineteen ninety-nine and got married.

On the Ballroom Challenge colorfully dressed dancers competed for the honor of America's Best. The dances included the traditional, high-energy music of the Spanish bullring.

VOICE ONE:

Ballrooms 7 dancers have to plot their moves carefully. But even with skilled dancers, things sometimes go wrong. They crash into each other. Or they might push another couple off the dance floor. When that happens during a competition, people might wonder if it was really an accident.

Yet when the music is demanding, the dancers have to move fast. They have to lead, follow or get out of the way.

(MUSIC )

VOICE TWO :

Another television show is Ballroom Bootcamp on TLC. Boot camp is the name for the training the makes people into soldiers -- very demanding, in other words.

In Ballroom Bootcamp, three average people are chosen to learn one kind of ballroom dance. Their teachers can do anything they think is needed to make excellent dancers of their students.

When the lessons are finished, each new dancer joins a professional dancer. Then they take part in a competition with judges approved by the National Dance Council of America.

VOICE ONE:

Ballroom dancing can also be found at the movies. There was a movie last year called Mad Hot Ballroom. It follows some real schoolchildren in New York City as they learn ballroom dancing in the fifth grade. They take part in a citywide competition. Some of the children really get into the spirit.

A movie called Take the Lead opens in theaters on April seventh. The creators got their idea from a true story as well. Take the Lead stars Antonio Banderas. He plays Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dancer who offers his skills at a high school in a poor area of New York City.

But these young people do not want to learn ballroom dancing. What interests them is hip-hop. So the two forms are combined.




VOICE TWO:

Jennifer Lopez taught Richard Gere in the two thousand four movie Shall We Dance? But the renewed interest in ballroom dancing is not so new. In nineteen ninety-two, for example, there was an Australian movie called Strictly Ballroom.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:


Couples learning ballroom Dancing

The first steps for many ballroom dancers are through the doors of a dance school. Some of the students are teenagers. Some are much older. And some just want to learn to dance for a special event, like a party or a wedding.

Dance school teachers say their students especially like the cha cha, the rumba and the samba. Does this samba make you feel like dancing?

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Each week hundreds of people gather in the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo 8 Park in Glen Echo, Maryland. Last month, the Washington Swing Dance Committee presented a seven-piece band called the Junkyard Saints 9. The band's New Orleans kind of party music set the rhythm for swing and other dances.

Swing was not always considered a ballroom dance. But in recent times many ballroom dancers have liked it and asked for more.

VOICE ONE:

Swing describes different kinds of fast dancing. Many locally popular versions developed across the country.

People enjoyed dances like the Lindy and the Jitterbug at the Savoy Ballroom in New York's Harlem area. The Savoy opened in nineteen twenty-six. The best African-American bands played swinging jazz there.

Swing has changed and developed in new ways over the years. But it is still fast and demands lots of energy in those dancing feet.

Waltzes are slower. They can be very romantic. The dancers move to the rhythm of one-two-three, one-two-three.

Listen as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra 10 plays a Strauss waltz.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Ballroom dancing is something many people's grandparents did. But their grandparents might not recognize some of the new versions popular today.

Joyce is a ballroom dancer in the Washington, D.C., area. She goes dancing once a week. She and a friend do the most modern dances.

But what Joyce likes dancing to most is a smooth nineteen-forties piece performed by Glenn Miller 11 and his orchestra. Joyce is over eighty years old. She says In the Mood makes her feel young again.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson. Caty Weaver 12 was our producer. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Internet users can read and listen to our programs at www.unsv.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.





n.舞厅
  • The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
  • I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
n.礼服,无尾礼服
  • Well,you have your own tuxedo.噢,你有自己的燕尾服。
  • Have I told you how amazing you look in this tuxedo?我告诉过你穿这件燕尾服看起来很棒吗?
n.优胜旗,奖品,奖杯,战胜品,纪念品
  • The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
  • He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
n.运动衫
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
n.舞厅( ballroom的名词复数 )
  • It was performed in fashionable Casino ballrooms. 人们在时髦的娱乐舞厅里跳这种舞蹈。 来自互联网
  • Some settled into ballrooms or theaters or hotels for weeks or months at a time. 有的乐队在舞厅、剧院或旅馆作数月甚至数月的逗留。 来自互联网
n.回音,共鸣;vi.发出回声;vt.模仿,附和
  • She shouted on the mountaintop and listened for the echo.她在山顶上大声喊着,然后聆听着回声。
  • I should like to echo the words of the previous speaker.我想重复前面一位发言者的话。
圣人般的人(指特别善良、仁爱或有耐性的人)( saint的名词复数 ); 圣…(冠于人名、地名之前); (因其生死言行而被基督教会追封的)圣人; 圣徒
  • The children were all named after saints. 这些孩子都取了圣徒的名字。
  • In 1461, the bishop of Saints, Louis de Rochechouart, saw only a plain wall. 1461年Saints主教,LouisdeRochechouart主教看到只剩一堵朴质的墙。
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。
n.磨坊主
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
n.织布工;编织者
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
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