美语咖啡屋Lesson2:ScottishBagpipes

J: Yang Chen, I was so impressed when we saw Margaret Peng twirling her mallets in the air! It's like she was dancing! Really beautiful. She explained to me that the mallets are actually the sticks you use to bang the drum.

Y: 对，“mallet”就是敲鼓用的鼓槌，或者小音槌。当时如果你能看到Margaret Peng挥舞小音槌的姿势，你会觉得她非常优美，简直就象跳舞一样。

J: The music of the Scottish pipe band is so bizarre, isn't it?

Y: Bizarre?

J: You know, 奇怪。

Y: 我想在这里可能说它奇特更合适吧。

J: Oh, 不是奇怪的意思?

Y: "Bizarre"当然有奇怪的意思，不过这里说奇特更合适一些，因为这个音乐还是很好听的。

J: I don't think anything sounds quite like the music of Scotland. And especially the bagpipes. While the drums are familiar, Yang Chen, to many cultures, I don't think the bagpipes are.

实录2: Margaret Peng: It takes a lot of time. It's very difficult. There's a bag that you inflate with a blowpipe in your mouth. And you inflate the bag and every time you blow then you squeeze after you finish blowing. And you have to keep the pressure constant to keep that drone sounds. And then you have to play and then you have to walk. So there's a lot of things going on at the same time.

Y: 说起来这种乐器的名字里面有个“笛”，风笛。其实它比中国笛子或长笛相比要大得多，看上去也很重。

J: They have to carry all their instruments as they are marching.

Y: Margaret刚才提到吹奏风笛有一种“drone sound”。我想要让听众更好地了解这种声音，还是让他们听一段音乐。

J: Of course that's the best way. Let's play a droning bagpipe.

Enter bagpipe music.

J: I mean, picture this, Yang Chen. A group of musicians, men and women, dressed in the same very formal Scottish costume with kilt, you know a skirt, and carrying their instruments as they parade around.

Y: 大家可以想象一下，一群人带着自豪感，昂首阔步地前进。我还记得Margaret当时给我的印象很深，她很威风，对不起？

J: Exactly.

Y: 苏格兰男子身上穿的这种花格裙是苏格兰特有的一种服饰。这种裙子的正确说法是 "kilt," 而不是 "skirt."

J: You're right Yang Chen, the word is "kilt." K-I-L-T. I think Margaret gave a good explanation of the origin of Scottish pipe band music.

实录3: Margaret Peng: And bagpipes are the traditional Scottish instruments used in time of war to help signal whether they were going to retreat or whether they were going to attack.

Y: 原来在古代的苏格兰，人们用吹奏bagpipe来向军队发出信号，告诉他们应该进攻还是撤退。 最后我们来欣赏一段传统的苏格兰音乐。Jody,你知道吗，这段音乐是我的一个朋友演奏的。

J: Oh, that's wonderful. And actually that's the end of our show today. So, thank you for stopping in to American Cafe.

Y: 再见!

J: See ya!