时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2011年(八月)


英语课

Remembering Folk Artist Bill Morrissey


Singer-songwriter Bill Morrissey, 59, died on July 23, but his death hasn't received the same attention as that of Amy Winehouse on the same day. Based in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, Morrissey was well known to folk music fans, releasing 10 studio albums and earning two Grammy nominations 1.

One of Bill Morrissey's Grammy nominations came for his 1999 album "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt."

Bill Morrissey became a professional musician at a young age. He grew up studying the great folk singers and songwriters of the 1960s. He also spent time working in restaurants and as a commercial fisherman, no doubt studying his co-workers as he went about his business, and later turning their quirks 2 and behaviors into song. Songs about old mill towns and the people who populated them was a specialty 3 of his. "Small Town On The River" is one example.

Morrissey's own life was as difficult as those of the characters in his songs. He battled alcoholism, depression, and was eventually diagnosed as bipolar. And, as he wrote on his website, "I'm on medication for depression, but sometimes the depression is stronger than the medication." He persevered 4, however, and, on good days, continued to write and perform.

Morrissey released "Something I Saw, or Thought I Saw" in 2001, featuring songs written soon after his second divorce. Many critics compared it to Richard and Linda Thompson's break-up album "Shoot Out The Lights," as both deal with fractured relationships. "Birches" is one of Bill Morrissey's best-loved songs. It about the middle of a marriage, telling the tale of a love that's still strong, but perhaps not burning as bright as it once did.

Morrissey died while on tour, which is likely when most performers would prefer the inevitable 5 to happen. In addition to his 10 solo CDs, Morrissey and his good friend Greg Brown released a Grammy-nominated duo CD. He also wrote a well-received novel called "Edson," and had just completed a second novel at the time of his death. If you'd like to find out more about Bill Morrissey, his songs and his books, visit his website: Bill Morrissey.net.



1 nominations
n.提名,任命( nomination的名词复数 )
  • Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句
2 quirks
n.奇事,巧合( quirk的名词复数 );怪癖
  • One of his quirks is that he refuses to travel by train. 他的怪癖之一是不愿乘火车旅行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All men have their own quirks and twists. 人人都有他们自己的怪癖和奇想。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 specialty
n.(speciality)特性,特质;专业,专长
  • Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
  • His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。
4 persevered
v.坚忍,坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )
  • She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
  • Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦,但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句
5 inevitable
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
学英语单词
acms operator command
Adelograptus
afnic
Agios Petros
aminoephedrine
anamorphtic lens
Anti-dumpling
avocament
bath biscuit
bay (leaves) oil
beastblood
big water
binding post screw
bisyllabic
bored
braking to standstill
calcium zirconate ceramics
California Seamount
chin breadth
cholangioma
ciega
consumer durabless
cooperation of pieces and pawns
copper-beryllium alloy
cpf
croxteth
Culex fatigans
cyclconic storm
desulphurating
disappear below
Domremy-la-Pucelle
double bearing
encephaloid
equal-size
even-grained (equigranular)
exciting frequency
family carcharhinidaes
fire at will
fixed sets
fractional increase
Gallarate
generator stop and start panel
glutches
guilty but insane
high sign
Jabung
krypton monofluoride
mainlands
matching precedence parsing algorithm
McCone County
mexican onyxes
microtaxonomy
mine water inrush
Mussaenda hossei
National Industrial Recovery Act
obstacle gain
on one's word of honour
orthosurface
outflanks
ovarian stigmata
P.M.O.
Package on Fire
pelvic adhesion
Podophyllumresin
program editoi
pruriences
pseudofiltered
radiant desity
radio refractioncorrection
right closed martingale
roller docker
scum of the earth
self-idolater
self-recording audiometer
sodium ethyl-xanthonate
souwester
splenic panhematopenia
splining
st. michael
stabilizing jack
standard-dimensioned motor
syssomus
terlinguaite
theion
Thio-phospharamide
three-corner
three-thorned acacia
to raise an objection
topsail lift
transition material
transversing
trap shoestring sand
travelling companions
trimnet
turph
UNAECC
unelectable
unmeddled
weblog
Whoser
yard measures