时间:2019-02-16 作者:英语课 分类:英语听力精选进阶版


英语课

Pop stars have traditionally not come from the upper classes of society. Eminem grew up on a trailer park. 50 Cent is from the dangerous ghettoes of New York. The Beatles grew up in the poor, industrial city of Liverpool.


However, some musicians have come from the army. Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, served with the American Army in Germany whilst 1 Jimi Hendrix was in the parachute regiment 2.


Following in that tradition comes the latest British musical sensation 3, James Blunt 4. His last single, ‘You’re Beautiful’, was a huge hit , and his concerts have sold out all over the country.


But what is a well spoken, ex-army officer doing making music? James Blunt comes from a family with a long tradition of military service. His early life was not filled with music. His army officer father thought all music, even classical, was unnecessary noise.


Being from a good family, he was sent to boarding school at the age of seven. He then went on to University to study engineering, then Sandhurst, the officer training college. His life seemed certain to follow that of his father’s and grandfather’s before him - private schools, a good university and a career as an officer in the Household Cavalry 5, one of the best regiments 6 in the British Army.


He had, however, started playing the guitar as a teenager. When he was sent to Kosovo, he didn’t just take his gun – he also took his guitar, attached to the side of his tank. As he drove through villages damaged by the war, he used to sing the John Lennon song ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ “Well,” he later said, “we were peacekeepers .”


So where did all this lead him? Well, in 2003 he left the army and went to Los Angeles to make a record. His accent was considered too posh for many record producers and companies in England.


In America, however, it helped open doors. In 2004, his first album ‘Back to Bedlam’ was released, and the singles ‘High’, ‘Wise Men’ and ‘You’re Beautiful’ have been great successes. For the singing soldier, swapping 7 a gun for a guitar has been a good choice.


GLOSSARY 词汇表


upper classes 上层社会,贵族阶层


trailer park   活动房屋或(家庭拖车的)停车场


ghettoes (城市中的)少数民族聚居区


parachute 降落伞 


single 单曲


huge hit 巨大成功 


sold out 售完,卖光


well spoken 善于辞令的;谈吐文雅的


ex 前…


army officer 军官;陆军军官


military 军事的,军队的


boarding school 寄宿学校


regiments 团


tank 坦克


peacekeepers 维持和平的人;维和战士


lead 指引;带领


album 专辑


swapping 交换



conj.一边...一边,当...的时候,同时,时时
  • She sang whilst she worked.她边干活边唱歌。
  • There was dead silence in the court,whilst the white rabbit read out these verses.当白兔子念诗的时候,法庭上鸦雀无声。
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制
  • As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活,所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
  • They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。
n.感觉,感知力,激动,轰动
  • He lost all sensation in his legs through cramp.他的腿部因抽筋而失去知觉。
  • Seeing him again after so many years was a strange sensation.那么多年以后又见到他,是一种不可思议的感觉。
adj.(刀子)钝的,不锋利的,迟钝的,直率的
  • The axe is too blunt to cut down the tree.斧头太钝,砍不倒树。
  • She is rather blunt in speech.她说话很直率。
n.骑兵;轻装甲部队
  • We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
  • The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。
(军队的)团( regiment的名词复数 ); 大量的人或物
  • The three regiments are all under the command of you. 这三个团全归你节制。
  • The town was garrisoned with two regiments. 该镇有两团士兵驻守。
交换,交换技术
  • The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
  • He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。
学英语单词
AAGC
Aeschynomene americana
Allium schoenoprasum L.
amalgam plugger
application-development language
artificial stocking
bandage gauze
bat ribbon
binary synchronous device data block
bind-days
boysen berry
Brissaud's dwarf
chemical anticarcinogenic drug
chemoconvulsant
cherryville
Chrysomelidae
concolor
counter sample
cupids
dichloramine
disodic alkaliine
drill-sharpening machine
Echogynography
ecotonal
electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interface
electronic sign
Entale
extraneous term
fenoxazoline
fine ream
foamed polystyrene chaplet
garage shop
genus epipactiss
genus Sagina
gleewoman
haroutounian
heteropolyanion
homotopy type invariant
hot-finished material
Idb-1016
idea champions
incomplete compaction
injurious weed
isolar
jet cutting car
junta
ketchuppy
leptosols
load bearing characteristic
magnetization curve
medicinal perfume
methyl-1-testosterone
Midgard, Midgarth
mikester
military characteristics
monkey bread
moon trefoils
motor timer
mulesing
multiple-reclosing breaker
nuclear-level density
off-set seismic operation
optical fiber source
oral traditions
overfarm
overparameterize
oximctry
parachute troops
partial cracking
piston ring groove cleaner
Ponte di Legno
portal-type frame
pre-established harmony
quicktongued
ranque
rascally
salvage and salvage charge
sharpness of vision
Ship's Sinking
sovann
spiroplasma
Spy Wednesday
stamate
teleprocessor
Theilman
thiocolchicine
thread fasteners
tibetan high
Tiedemann's nerve
to pop the question
Transdanubia
trial by media
unstainable
vapor compression refrigerating machine
vertimeter
VWAP
Waddingworth
West Midland
wet snow
wet-chemical technique
white walnuts
wood pattern