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
ackners
acoustical telegraphy
adipose infiltration
admissibility in evidence
agreement about
algae coal
altorelievo
aminopropyl
anomala loi
anonymous donation
antibacklash check valve
basoc
bay willows
blacki
Blackwater, River
bollard test
c.c
calcium dibromobehenate
carpet slippers
cerebella ischaemicola
choixes
cold rolled
command resolution
contact exposure
data backup
depilation dose
Dermanyssina
Diplectria
divider rod
dnepropetrovsks
domovoi
double ruled surface
drawmetric
drip-feeds
estate sale
fracture bed
frostlike
fundamental feature
gleire
Gorodets
graphic kernel system
greidly
hemangioma cavernnosum
high-temperature cracking
hologrammed
hose nippler
house parties
in trouble
interiorscape
intermediate-level radiation
Ke-Macina
kleidon
leaf-hairs
lessperson
magnesiocarpholite
marginal magnetic track
maximum interest rate
metabolons
meteor trains
model photonuclear reaction
morrisett
Ne Win
nomographing
Non-farm payroll data
OpenEdge
orange meat
orbit shift coil
personal secretary
plot test
polyphthalocyanines
postpyloric
presentation time
price sensitivity index
proplets
put a strain on
re-uniting
real - estate agent
real swordfish
retirement annuity
rhabdopleurids
Salter osteotomy
San Germano Chisone
save area
schal
schoolteachers
semiautomatic control type pneumatic pile hammer
senarian
sky-writing
SMCC
sucking pipe
taco bumper
thyreotoxic cardiopathy
tide analysis
toshacks
trailhands
Trichosanthes sericeifolia
trick lock
two-channel noise figure
variable-head visco(si)meter
vermiform lobe
water-tight stratum
Zakynthos