奥巴马演讲 为Paul McCartney颁奖
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-06-07 03:10 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Thank you.  Thank you so much.  Thank you, everybody.  (Applause.)  Please, everybody have a seat.  The show is not over.  (Laughter.)  To all the tremendous artists from all the genres1(种类,流派) and backgrounds who’ve joined us tonight to pay tribute to the one and only Sir Paul McCartney, thank you so much.  (Applause.)

Stevie Wonder -- (applause) -- the Jonas Brothers, Faith Hill, Emmylou Harris, Lang Lang, Herbie Hancock, Elvis Costello, Jack2 White, Corinne Bailey Rae, David Grohl, and the funny man, Jerry Seinfeld -- give it up(鼓掌欢迎) for them.  (Applause.) 
 
We also want to thank the Gershwin family, as well as the Library of Congress, and Dr. James Billington, as well as PBS, for helping3 to put this together.  Dr. Billington has done extraordinary work at the Library of Congress, and his deep commitment to preserving America’s cultural heritage for future generations is something that we all treasure.

We have a number of members of Congress, number of dignitaries(高管,显要人物) here tonight.  I want to make special mention of our outstanding Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.  (Applause.)  You will not find a bigger supporter of the arts than Nancy Pelosi, and so we're grateful for that.

Even as we gather here tonight to present this annual award for extraordinary contributions to American music and culture -- that's right, we stole you, Paul -- (laughter) -- it goes without saying that this has been a very difficult time.  We've gone through a difficult year and a half, and right now our thoughts and our prayers are with friends in another part of the country that is so rich in musical heritage -- the people of the Gulf5 Coast who are dealing6 with something that we simply had not seen before.  And it’s heartbreaking.  And we reaffirm, I think together, our commitment to see to it that their lives and their communities are made whole again.  (Applause.)

But part of what gets us through tough times is music, the arts, the ability to capture that essential kernel7(核心,要点) of ourselves, that part of us that sings even when times are hard.  And it’s fitting that the Library has chosen to present this year’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song to a man whose father played Gershwin compositions for him on the piano; a man who grew up to become the most successful songwriter in history -– Sir Paul McCartney.  (Applause.)

By its very definition, popular music is fleeting8.  Rarely is it composed with an eye towards standing4 the test of time.  Rarer still does it actually achieve that distinction.  And that’s what makes Paul’s career so legendary9.

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly half a century since four lads from Liverpool first landed on our shores -– and changed everything overnight.  And I have to share this story.  While we were sitting here I learned that the bass10 that Paul was playing on stage is the same bass that he played at The Ed Sullivan Show, which he told me it cost him 30 pounds.  He says he suspects it’s worth a little more now.  (Laughter.)

But the Beatles, they weren’t the first rock stars.  They’d be the first to say that others had opened that door for them. But they blew the walls down for everybody else.  In a few short years, they had changed the way that we listened to music, thought about music and performed music forever.  They helped to lay the soundtrack for an entire generation -- an era of endless possibility and of great change.

And over the four decades since, Paul McCartney has not let up -- touring the world with the band Wings or on his own; rocking everything from small halls to Super Bowls.  He’s composed hundreds of songs over the years -– with John Lennon, with others, or on his own.  Nearly 200 of those songs made the charts -- think about that -- and stayed on the charts for a cumulative11(累积的) total of 32 years.  (Laughter and applause.)  And his gifts have touched billions of lives.

As he later confessed of the Beatles’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show -– where he carried that bass out -- that one evening that changed everything –- Paul said, “Luckily, we didn’t know what America was.  We just knew our dream of it, or we probably would have been too intimidated12(害怕的) .”

Tonight, it is my distinct pleasure to present America’s highest award for popular music on behalf of a grateful nation -- grateful that a young Englishman shared his dreams with us -– Sir Paul McCartney.  (Applause.)

END



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 genres f90f211700b6afeaafe2f8016ddfad3d     
(文学、艺术等的)类型,体裁,风格( genre的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
  • But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆,古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
2 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
3 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
4 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
5 gulf 1e0xp     
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂
参考例句:
  • The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
  • There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。
6 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
7 kernel f3wxW     
n.(果实的)核,仁;(问题)的中心,核心
参考例句:
  • The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
  • The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。
8 fleeting k7zyS     
adj.短暂的,飞逝的
参考例句:
  • The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
  • Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝,于是让自已尽情地享受。
9 legendary u1Vxg     
adj.传奇(中)的,闻名遐迩的;n.传奇(文学)
参考例句:
  • Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
  • Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。
10 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
11 cumulative LyYxo     
adj.累积的,渐增的
参考例句:
  • This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
  • The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。
12 intimidated 69a1f9d1d2d295a87a7e68b3f3fbd7d5     
v.恐吓;威胁adj.害怕的;受到威胁的
参考例句:
  • We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
  • The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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