美语三级跳 (Go English) 006C讲 - “音乐”单元高级课程

P: Ernie and Beth are two students at college and they are starting a musical group together. Today Beth and Ernie are talking to Eric, who is a DJ, to ask him if he wants to join their group.

如果我是 Eric，一定拒绝。 Beth跟Ernie的音乐品味可不怎么样。

P: Let`s see what Eric says about this.

Eric: Hey guys, thanks for inviting me to join your group. I`m pretty interested, but first I just want to know a little bit more about what you`re going to play.

Beth: Eric, it`s going to be really great! We want to be a Vanilla Ice cover band!

Eric: Umm ... did you say you want to start a Vanilla Ice cover band? You`re kidding, right?

Ernie: What? Of course not! And we want you to be our DJ.

Professor Bowman, 什么叫cover band?

P: Winnie, a cover band is a musical group that only plays the songs from one really famous band.

噢， cover band专门翻唱某个著名乐队的歌。所以Beth和Ernie的Vanilla Ice cover band就只唱Vanilla Ice的歌喽！这多没创意啊。看来Eric对这个想法也不是很感兴趣。

Eric: Umm ... you know guys, Vanilla Ice hasn`t been popular since the early 1990s. And even then he was pretty terrible. What about playing something more up-to-date?

Beth: You know, I like to think of him as classic. His music never really goes out of style.

Eric: Right ... well what are you going to name the group?

Ernie: We`re going to call it Chocolate Ice. Get the joke? Chocolate Ice instead of Vanilla Ice?

Eric: Don`t worry, I get the joke. And if there`s one thing that`s certain, it`s that everyone will be laughing at you.

哎呀， Beth还说Vanilla Ice的歌从不过时-- "never goes out of style"! 我觉得，他的歌就从来没有时髦过， he was never "in style" to begin with!

P: Very funny, Winnie. So, what does Eric think of the cover band`s name--Chocolate Ice?

他觉得这个名字太俗了，肯定会被人笑话。

Eric: You know guys, I`m not sure I can play in your group. The problem is that ... rap music is violent and demeaning to women. I wouldn`t feel comfortable playing it.

Beth: That`s not true! Some rappers talk about violence, but a lot of them just talk about money.

Eric: I know... and that`s bad too! Who wants to listen to someone rap about how much money he has?

Beth: Well, if it were about nothing but guns and money, why does it appeal to so many young people?

Ernie: I agree with Beth. Besides, hip hop goes way beyond music. It`s a whole culture.

Eric说他不喜欢嘻哈音乐，因为这种歌的内容充满暴力，而且侮辱女性。 Professor Bowman, Eric不是DJ么？他怎么会不喜欢时下流行的嘻哈音乐呢？

P: Well, it sounds like he may be pretending not to like hip hop music so he doesn`t have to be in the group.

Beth: Well you know Eric, our group isn`t just going to be about music. Ernie is an amazing hip hop dancer. Ernie, show him your dance moves!

Ernie: Sure!

(Music)

Eric: Wow Ernie, your dance moves are so ... um ... unique. I`ve definitely never seen dancing like that before.

Ernie: Thanks. Want me to teach you how to dance like me?

Eric: Uh, maybe another time. Ok guys, I`ll join your group on one condition.

Beth: Great, what`s that?

Eric: Can I play at gigs with a bag over my head?

看来，Eric对Ernie的热舞不敢恭维。不过Eric说他可以加入乐队，不过有个条件，他说的gig是什么意思啊？

P: A gig is a performance, usually a small and informal one. You can also call any small or informal job a gig. Eric wants to wear a bag over his head when he plays gigs because he is embarrassed to be seen with this band.

哈，原来如此。我明白了， gig在这里就是演出。 Eric说演出时要把头遮住，以免丢人，我现在倒真想看看他们的表演呢！