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Bossa Nova: Beating with the Heart of Brazil 巴莎诺瓦：舞动巴西的心

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

With its lilting rhythms and smooth, breathy vocals, Brazil’s bossa nova revolutionized the international jazz scene in the 1950s and early 1960s. Early bossa nova – literally new trend in Portuguese – was an eclectic mix of traditional Brazilian samba and cool American jazz that became the soundtrack for the lives of Brazil’s nouveau riche. Its atmospheric and unconventional sound, with vocals and rhythmpulling indifferent directions, evoked images of a bohemian lifestyle that also appealed to a whole new generation of Brazilian youth.

巴西的巴莎诺瓦音乐以轻快的节奏、流畅及带有气音的歌声，为五０年代和六０年代早期的国际爵士乐界带来一场革命。早期的巴莎诺瓦──葡萄牙文是「新潮流」的意思──兼容并蓄地混合了巴西传统森巴音乐和美国冷调爵士，并唱出了巴西新贵阶级生活的心声。它富情调又反传统的乐声，配合走向迥异的歌声与节奏，使人脑中浮现波西米亚式生活风格的影像，这种风格也吸引了新世纪巴西年轻人的兴趣。

João Gilberto, whose unique guitar-playing earned him the moniker father of bossa nova, epitomized this bohemian spirit – in his life as well as his music. Born to a wealthy merchant father, he incurred his family’s scorn for rejecting a normal job to pursue a musical career. Despite his obvious talent, it took Gilberto nearly eight years to gain public attention. It wasn’t until his collaboration with songwriter Antonio Jobim in 1958 that Gilberto’s slowed-down samba rhythms and soft vocal harmonies secured widespread popularity – and bossa nova really took off.

乔欧吉尔伯多独特的吉他演奏使他赢得「巴莎诺瓦之父」的头衔，他的人生如同他的音乐，都是波西米亚精神的典型。生为富商之子，他拒绝「正常的」工作而追求以音乐为职志，招来了家族的嘲弄讥笑。尽管吉尔伯多有杰出的才能，他还是花了将近八年的时间才得到大众的注意。直到一九五八年，他与流行歌曲作家安东尼奥乔宾合作，他缓慢的森巴节奏和轻柔的和声才确定受到广泛的欢迎，而巴莎诺瓦才真正开始流行。

The success of bossa nova was due, in large part, to the economic prosperity and changing politics with characterized post-war Brazil. If samba was passionate music for the working classes, then the new bossa nova was languorous music – better suited for enjoying cocktails on the beach.

巴莎诺瓦的成功大部分归因于繁荣的经济和变动的政局，这是战后巴西的写照。若森巴是属于工人阶级的热情音乐，那么新的巴莎诺瓦就是慵懒的音乐──较适合在沙滩上享受鸡尾酒时欣赏。

Vocabulary

单词发音

Bossa Nova 桑巴舞曲与摩登爵士混合的音乐；用这种音乐表演的双人舞

lilting [ˋlɪltɪŋ] adj.（音调）抑扬顿挫的；（音乐）旋律轻快的

breathy [ˋbrɛθɪ] adj.〔尤指嗓音〕带有气音的﹐带喘息声的

vocal [ˋvok!] n.〔音乐的〕歌唱部分〔相对于乐器演奏部分〕

scene [sin] n.【口】活动领域

Portuguese [ˋportʃʊ͵giz] adj. 葡萄牙语的

eclectic [ɛˋklɛktɪk] adj. 兼收并蓄的; 五花八门的; 不拘一格的

samba [ˋsæmbə] n. 桑巴舞曲；桑巴舞

soundtrack [ˋsaʊnd͵træk] n. 声道； 音带，声带； 声迹； 电影配音

nouveau riche [ˌnuvoʊˈriʃ] n.【法】暴发户

atmospheric [͵ætməsˋfɛrɪk] adj.（地方、音乐等）有情调的，有魅力的，有感染力的

evoke [ɪˋvok] v. 唤起（记忆等）；引起

bohemian [boˋhimɪən] adj. 放荡不羁（的文化人）的，不受世俗陈规束缚的; 波希米亚（人）的；波希米亚语的；捷克的

appeal [əˋpil] v. 有吸引力，迎合爱好[W][（+to）]

moniker [ˋmɑnɪkɚ] n.【俚】名字；绰号

epitomize [ɪˋpɪtə͵maɪz] v. 成为…的典型

incur [ɪnˋkɝ] v.〔因自己的举动而〕招致〔不愉快的事〕﹐招惹﹐ 遭受

scorn [skɔrn] n. 嘲笑；奚落

collaboration [kə͵læbəˋreʃən] n.〔尤指在科学﹑艺术等方面的〕合作﹐ 协作

harmony [ˋhɑrmənɪ] n.【语】和声

due [dju] adj. 因为，由于[（+to）]

languorous [ˋlæŋgərəs] adj. 令人倦怠的

Sentence of the Day

He sang for his supper.

他必须完成分内的事。

sing for one’s supper 通过提供服务赢得帮助或好处

课文朗读

课文讲解

Jason and his girlfriend, Emily, are watching a bossa nova dance competition:  杰森和他的女朋友爱蜜莉在观赏巴莎诺瓦的舞蹈竞赛。

J: It’s strange to think that bossa nova shocked people in Brazil when it first came out.

很难想象巴西人一开始对巴莎诺瓦的音乐感到震惊。

E: I know! It seems so tame now.

没错！它现在听来似乎很平顺。

J: Well, when Joao Gilberto first started playing it, his friends and family called him insane for making such un-macho music.

嗯，乔欧吉尔伯多第一次演奏它时，他的亲友们说他是疯了，才会创作出这种没有男子气概的音乐。

E: Philistines! Others criticized him for changing traditional samba, while many thought bossa nova was simply too decadent.

这些庸俗的人！其他人批评他是因为他改变了传统的森巴，还有很多人觉得巴莎诺瓦就是太堕落了。

J: It is kind of indulgent, though. Listen to the lyrics!

它的确有点放纵。听那些歌词！

E: You’re right. Singing about the beautiful women walking down the beach somehow doesn’t fit with the revolutionary spirit that was so prevalent in Brazil in the sixties.

你说的没错。唱此有美女们在海滩散步的歌不太符合巴西六０年代盛行的革命精神。

J: That’s why bossa nova had to change with the times; once Brazil’s economy collapsed, people didn’t want to hear about the lethargic lives of the rich.

那是巴莎诺瓦必须随时代改变的原因；巴西的经济一旦崩溃，人们便不想听到有关富人萎靡生活的歌曲。

E: But they kept the same rhythms, right? They only changed the lyrics.

但音乐创作人保有相同的节奏，不是吗？他们只改变了歌词。

J: Exactly. Musicians started using the sounds of bossa nova to express their frustration with the government and the plight of the poor.

没错。音乐家开始使用巴莎诺瓦的音乐来表达对政府的失望和穷人的苦难。

E: So, bossa nova only became politicized once the economy deteriorated.

所以，经济情况恶化之后，巴莎诺瓦才开始变得具有政治色彩。

J: Yeah. But, in good times and in bad, bossa nova always spoke to the hearts of Brazil’s people!

是的。但是无论时局好坏，巴莎诺瓦永远都会唱出巴西人的心声。

－by Francoise Raunet

Vocabulary

单词发音

tame [tem] adj. 驯服的； 平淡的； 无精打采的

insane [ɪnˋsen] adj.【非正式】愚蠢的﹐疯狂的

macho [ˋmɑtʃo] adj. 大男子气概的

philistine [ˈfɪlɪˌstaɪn] / [fəˋlɪstɪn] n. 偏狭自满、趣味庸俗的人

decadent [ˋdɛkədnt] adj. 堕落的；颓废的；衰落的

indulgent [ɪnˋdʌldʒənt] adj. 纵容的；放纵的

prevalent [ˋprɛvələnt] adj.〔在某时或某地〕普遍的﹐盛行的﹐ 流行的

lethargic [ləˋθɑrdʒɪk] adj. 无精打采的﹐懒洋洋的

plight [plaɪt] n.〔坏的﹑严重的或悲伤的〕境况﹐ 困境﹐ 苦境

politicized [pəˋlɪtɪsaɪzd] adj. 卷入政治的﹐ 政治化的

deteriorate [dɪˋtɪrɪə͵ret] v. 恶化；质量（或价值）下降；退化；堕落

Sentence of the Day

They changed their tune.

他们改变了论调。

change one’s tune  改变态度

Garota de Ipanema by Joao Gilberto