The Royal Festival Hall 皇家節日音樂廳
The script of this programme 本節目臺詞
John: Hello, this is On the Town from BBC Learning English where we take you out on the streets of London to explore some of the big landmarks. With me is Oliver.
收聽與下載
Oliver: Hi John, where are we going today?
John: Ok, we’re off to the Royal Festival Hall.
Oliver: Right, so what’s that? 皇家節日音樂廳在哪里，有什么用途呢？ The Royal Festival Hall.
John: Well, this is arguably London’s premier music venue for all kinds of music, classical.
The Royal Festival Hall is on the South Bank of the River Thames
Oliver: 古典音樂。
John: Contemporary.
Oliver: 現代音樂。
John: Popular, or pop.
Oliver: 流行音樂。
John: And alternative music.
Oliver: 非主流音樂。
John: Also some jazz. It’s also a venue for everyone, and when it first opened it was known as the People’s Palace.
Oliver: 沒錯兒，這也是當初建造這個音樂廳的一個目的之一。就是將這里變成一個面對所有人的活動場所，不管貧窮的還是富有的，任何階層的人都可以來這里一起欣賞各種不同類型的音樂。正是因為這個原因，讓這個地方很快有了一個昵稱，人民的宮殿 the People’s Palace.
John: We’re going to take you back to 1951 now when the Festival Hall first opened. Here’s the BBC’s Winford Vaughan Thomas, who was one of the first journalists to enter the building. Have a listen to his description of it.
For the first time we are seeing the Hall as it was designed to be. Full of light, crowds and fine dresses, music. It’s come splendidly to life and all around me four great stairways lead up to the promenades that surround the auditorium and I’ve got straight away an impression of great space.
BBC journalist Winford Vaughan Thomas
The inside of the Royal Festival Hall was renovated recently
John: And that’s what the Royal Festival Hall looks like today. It has been returned to the way it looked like when Winford Vaughan Thomas described it first in 1951.
Oliver: 在我們剛剛聽到的這段歷史錄音里，記者 Winford 介紹說這是一個非常棒的地方。整個音樂廳都被游廊圍繞著，游廊包圍著演出大廳 the auditorium.
John: Now the Hall was built as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain, a big celebration held that year to try and boost the morale of the country following the Second World War.
Oliver: 在二戰后，一個為鼓舞英國人民心而舉辦的藝術節， it boosted people’s morale.
John: We spoke to Jude Kelly, who is the Artistic Director of the cultural area of London known as the South Bank. It’s here that the Royal Festival Hall is located, on the South Bank of the River Thames.
Oliver: Jude Kelly 為我們介紹了在1951年舉辦英國藝術節時的情景。她是倫敦南岸中心的藝術總監， the Artistic Director, 南岸中心是英國倫敦著名的文化藝術中心， 也是皇家節日音樂廳所在地。
Well, the more I understand about the Festival of Britain, the more I think what an amazing achievement. You know they did it all in eighteen months, and they really were trying to re-emerge from the war, and it wasn’t just actually about let’s have a party and let’s have some fun, it was really a great commitment along with health, welfare and education to the idea of the arts and culture and creativity which we now all take for granted, but it was such a massive statement then.
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the South Bank
John: Well, let’s explain some of that because I think it’s important to look at the historical context in which the Festival was built.
Oliver: 沒錯，我們會回顧一下在音樂廳建造的時候的歷史背景， the historical context.
John: Jude Kelly said she thought the Festival of Britain was an amazing achievement. There was a real commitment to celebrating a new way of life that was about to happen in Britain.
Oliver: 就是說藝術節是一個英國展示戰后新生事物的地方，a showcase. Jude Kelly 說藝術節非常成功，取得了令人驚異的成就，an amazing achievement. 藝術節希望向人們展示健康 health, 安寧 welfare, 和教育 education, 將會成為未來英國人生活的中心和重點。
John: So we could say that the Royal Festival Hall symbolises a time of optimism in Britain.
Oliver: Optimism 樂觀主義。
John: And that’s why so many people like the Hall today and wanted it restored. Well, that’s it for this edition of On the Town, join us again soon for more. Bye!
Oliver: 再見!
? MMIX