VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Words and Their Stories: White Christmas: One of the Best Loved Holiday Songs

[00:00.00](MUSIC) [00:03.00]This is Steve Ember with a VOA Special English holiday program. [00:08.49]Music fills the air. [00:11.45]Colorful lights shine brightly in windows. [00:15.05]Children and adults open gifts from loved ones and friends. [00:20.31]These are all Christmas traditions. [00:24.29]Another tradition is snow. [00:29.93]Christmas in the northern part of the world [00:32.59]comes a few days after the start of winter. [00:35.96]In many places, a blanket of clean white snow [00:40.15]covers the ground on Christmas Day. [00:43.00]This is what is meant by a "White Christmas." [00:47.37]Of course, many places do not get snow at Christmas. [00:51.75]In fact, they may be very warm this time of year. [00:55.92]People who like snow, but live where it is warm, [01:00.39]can only dream of having a white Christmas. [01:04.61]American songwriter Irving Berlin [01:07.95]captured these feelings in his song, "White Christmas." [01:12.42]It is one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. [01:17.65]The opening words explain why the singer [01:21.11]is dreaming of a white Christmas. [01:23.94]Most people never hear these words so they [01:27.56]never really understand the true meaning of the song. [01:31.60]Here’s how it starts: [01:33.53]The sun is shining. [01:36.30]The grass is green. [01:38.27]The orange and palm trees sway. [01:40.47]I’ve never seen such a day in Beverly Hills, L.A. [01:45.67]But it’s December the twenty-fourth [01:48.43]And I’m longing to be up north. [01:52.34]Up north, where it is cold and snowy. [01:56.11]Not south, where it is warm and sunny. [01:59.18]Over the years, hundreds of singers and musicians [02:02.91]have recorded "White Christmas." [02:05.12]But the version most people still know best [02:08.40]was sung by Bing Crosby. [02:11.22](MUSIC) [03:32.00]Songwriter Irving Berlin was born in Russia [03:35.20]in eighteen eighty-eight. [03:37.02]He did not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. [03:40.55]He was Jewish. [03:42.37]But his song celebrates an idea of peace [03:45.79]and happiness that anyone, anywhere [03:49.06]-- snowy or not -- can enjoy. [03:52.19]To all of you, best wishes this holiday season [03:56.22]from all of us in VOA Special English. [03:59.49]This is Steve Ember. [04:01.47](MUSIC)

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