英語四級閱讀練習(xí)附答案-113 愛爾蘭國寶—恩雅

　　Let Her Songs Sail Into Your Heart

 

　　With her blend of folk melodies, synthesized backdrops and classical motifs1, Enya created a distinctive style that more closely resembled the new age 2 than the folk music that provided her initial influences.

　　Enya was born on May 17, 1961 in Ireland. Enya was born into a musical family.

　　Her father, Leo Brennan, was the leader of a popular Irish show band; her mother was an amateur musician. Most important to Enya's career were her siblings, who formed Clannad in 1976 with several of their uncles. She left her hometown in 1980 to join Clannad.

　　She stayed with Clannad for two years. In 1982, she left Clannad, claiming that she was uninterested in following the pop direction the group had begun to pursue.

　　She hooked up with producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, with whom she recorded film and television scores3. The result was a successful album of TV music for the BBC. The soundtrack was released in 1986 as her eponymous solo album. Enya didn't receive much notice, but Enya and the Ryans' second effort, Watermark, became a surprise hit upon its release in 1988. It featured her distinctive, flowing music and multi overdubbed trancelike singing; the album sold four million copies world wide. Watermark established Enya as an international star and launched a successful career that lasted well into the'90s.

　　"Orinoco Flow", the first single, became a number one hit in Britain, helping the album eventually sell eight million copies worldwide. Enya spent the years following the success of Watermark rather quietly; her most notable appearance was a cameo on Sinead O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. She finally released Shepherd Moons, her follow-up to Watermark, in 1991. Shepherd Moons was even more successful than its predecessor, eventually selling over ten million copies worldwide; it entered the U.S.

　　Charts at number 17 and remained in the Top 200 for almost four years. Again, Enya was slow to follow up on the success of Shepherd Moons, spending nearly four years working on her fourth album. The record, entitled Memory of Trees, was released in December of 1995. Memory of Trees entered the U.S. charts at number nine and sold over two million copies within its first year of release. 1997 saw the release of a greatest-hits collection, Paint the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya, which featured two new songs. Enya's first album of new material in five years, Day Without Rain, was released in late 2000.

　　練習(xí)題：

　?、? Translate the following Chinese words or phrases into English :

　　1. 她的同名獨唱專輯

　　2. 她的同胞兄弟姐妹

　　3. 一段小品

　　4. 打進(jìn)美國排行榜第二名

　　Ⅱ. Question:

　　Why did Enya leave the group named Clannad?

　　答案：

　?、? 1. her eponymous solo album

　　2. her siblings

　　3. a cameo

　　4. enter the U. S. charts at number two

　?、? Because others are interested in pop music , which she dislikes.

　　參考譯文：

　　愛爾蘭國寶———恩雅

　　恩雅的音樂風(fēng)格獨樹一幟, 她把民間音樂的旋律、多重和聲的背景音樂和經(jīng)典的主題融合在一起。雖然在事業(yè)初期影響她的是民間音樂, 但她創(chuàng)作的音樂風(fēng)格卻與新時代音樂更加相似。

　　恩雅1961年5月17日生于愛爾蘭的一個音樂之家。她的父親利奧·布倫南是愛爾蘭一支很受歡迎的表演樂隊的隊長, 母親是位業(yè)余音樂工作者。對恩雅事業(yè)影響最大的要算她的兄弟姐妹們, 1976 年他們和自己的幾個叔伯組成了克蘭納德樂隊。1980 年, 恩雅離開家鄉(xiāng)加入了這支樂隊。兩年后, 即1982年, 恩雅又離開了這支樂隊。她說當(dāng)時樂隊的風(fēng)格已經(jīng)開始轉(zhuǎn)向流行音樂, 而她對此毫無興趣。

　　恩雅開始與制片人尼基·瑞安和歌詞作者羅馬·瑞安合作, 錄制電影電視配樂。結(jié)果他們成功地為英國廣播公司推出了一張電視音樂專輯。1986 年這些電視配樂作為獨唱專輯發(fā)行時就叫《恩雅》。恩雅并沒有得到人們太多的注意, 但他們?nèi)说诙魏献鞯某晒端　穮s在1988年發(fā)行時出人意料地轟動一時。恩雅獨特的、縹緲的音樂和她那經(jīng)過多重配樂的令人神迷的演唱風(fēng)格在這張專輯中得以體現(xiàn), 專輯在全世界的銷量達(dá)到400 萬張?！端　反_立了恩雅的國際明星地位, 此后直至90年代, 她的事業(yè)一直十分成功。

　　《水印》中的第一支單曲《奧里諾科河的奔流》在英國打到排行榜首, 并使得這專輯終在全世界的銷量達(dá)到800萬張?！端　烦晒χ蟮膸啄曛? 恩雅一直悄無聲息人注意的一次亮相就是參與合作西尼德· 奧康納的《無所奢求》。終于在1991 年, 恩雅發(fā)行了她《水印》的續(xù)篇《牧羊人之月》。這張新專輯比《水印》更加成功, 最終在全世界的銷量達(dá)到一千多萬張。專輯進(jìn)入了美國音樂排行榜, 名列第十七, 并在幾乎四年的時間里始終保持在前200 名。這次恩雅又像以前一樣, 沒有在《牧羊人之月》成功后很快推出新作,而是在此后差不多四年的時間里準(zhǔn)備她的第四張專輯。1995 年12 月, 這張《樹的記憶》發(fā)行了。它進(jìn)入美國音樂排行榜, 排名第九, 并在發(fā)行的第一年就獲得200 多萬張的銷量。

　　1997 年, 恩雅的精選集《以星綴穹——恩雅精選》發(fā)行了, 其中還包括兩支新歌。2000 年末, 恩雅又推出了五年后第一張充滿新內(nèi)容的專輯《雨過天晴》。