时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:2006年VOA标准英语(四月)


英语课

By Katherine Cole
Washington
30 April 2006

Often called "a honky tonk purist," country singer and songwriter Dale Watson has spent the past 25 years building a devoted 1 following in the U.S. and Europe. His newest CD is called "Whiskey or God," and Watson's ninth recording 2 is filled with the same kind of unvarnished country music that fans have come to expect.

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One listen to Dale Watson's "Whiskey or God" will have you convinced the singer and songwriter loves classic country music. He was born during the heyday 3 of honkytonk, when telecasters and steel guitars ruled the country radio airwaves. So, it's no surprise to learn the 14 songs on Dale Watson's "Whiskey or God" make up a country album as pure as any that's come out of Nashville in recent years. There's no "hick-hop" (pop/rock/hip-hop-leaning songs from contemporary country artists, e.g., Big & Rich or Cowboy Troy), or big production numbers on this record, just old-style country with plenty of fiddles 4 and steel guitar.

43-year old Dale Watson began performing at the age of 14, and has won numerous awards in Britain, Holland and Spain, making him a household name in Europe. In the U.S., Dale Watson has been called "too country for country," and has not found much success on the radio, despite regularly selling out dance halls and clubs throughout Texas and other parts of the country.

Dale Watson's style is often compared to country giants Merle Haggard, Lefty Frizzell and Buck 5 Owens. He writes songs about subjects people can relate to: Hard luck, hard work, and heartbreak. One of the standout tracks on "Whiskey or God" is "I Wish I Was Crazy Again," a sad ballad 6 about coping with loss.

"I Wish I Was Crazy Again" is more than just another song on Dale Watson's latest album. It's also the working title of a memoir 7 he's readying for publication, and the name of a documentary film about the singer.

The film, recently released to strong reviews, deals with the problems that haunted Watson after his fiancé was killed in a car accident several years ago. He fell into a deep depression, and blamed himself for her death because the two had gotten into an argument before the accident.

Today, Watson says his life couldn't be much better. He's just released a new CD, is about to start work as an actor in a feature film called "Austin Angel," and has worked out a business deal that will allow him to both tour the country, and spend time with his children.



1 devoted
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
  • He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
  • We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
2 recording
n.录音,记录
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
3 heyday
n.全盛时期,青春期
  • The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
  • She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。
4 fiddles
n.小提琴( fiddle的名词复数 );欺诈;(需要运用手指功夫的)细巧活动;当第二把手v.伪造( fiddle的第三人称单数 );篡改;骗取;修理或稍作改动
  • He fiddles with his papers on the table. 他抚弄着桌子上那些报纸。 来自辞典例句
  • The annual Smithsonian Festival of American Folk Life celebrates hands-hands plucking guitars and playing fiddles. 一年一度的美国民间的“史密斯索尼安节”是赞美人的双手的节日--弹拔吉他的手,演奏小提琴的手。 来自辞典例句
5 buck
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃
  • The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
  • The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。
6 ballad
n.歌谣,民谣,流行爱情歌曲
  • This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
  • This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。
7 memoir
n.[pl.]回忆录,自传;记事录
  • He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
  • In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中,她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。
学英语单词
accounting equation
affidavit of service
atomic nuclei
AtSN
beauty-products
bilateral diode switch
binary equivalent
bogue out
book-entry settlement system
branch-bound method
bupleurum angustifolium ledeb.
caranx sansun speciosus
Card Security Code
cargo jet
cattle leader
central counterparty
Chil's law
chipperly
choroid effusion
chronic deafness
claim for contribution of damages
collegiate panel
conoidic
coreoplasty
crassula lycopodioides lam.
cryoplanktophyte
curse at
cutter bore
cyclone dust removal
cylinder piston
Elasa
epithelial sprout
evidential item
farklempt
fire signals
fired coil
fish-fry
fitting out
full price
gate slot
give sb the time of day
insurance debt
itim
karper
ladder rope
Landresse
macerating agent
maestra
make up a prescription
makes progress
maltohexaose
margin buyer
mechanical speed governor
militaryspeak
modo et forma
movable stabilizer
nonfactors
NSFTD
over-law
palify
pappardelles
perceueraunce
periodontium protectoris
phenmethylol
pintsches
placental adherence
play into the hands of
pomacentrus pavo
postpartum mating
pseudo-nitriding
pythian gamess
radial sweep
randam excitation
Rasch model
recycle monomer
reference satellite
remote host
retinitis nyctalopia
rural erosion rate
RURTI
scanning sonar equipment
scummy
several people
seweryn
single-pole three throw switch
soon-to-weds
spathe flowers
superplastic forming and diffusion bond
test-piece
top-to-top
Toshibetsu-gawa
trapiferous
Tsuga heterophylla
Turda
U-11100A
undisplayable
valproate
vibrating-reed frequency sensor
vincristine(VCR)
welding line
whale's tail
yano