2025考研英语：《经济学人》中英读译Day67

英语阅读能力依靠什么？必然是词汇的积累，但，仅仅是词汇的积累是不够了，更应该了解英语句式，不同句型所表达意义。如何培养自己的阅读语感呢？那么就跟着聚创考研网小编每天学一点英语，一起为考研筑起坚实的地基。阅读是需要积累的，就像我们需要经常和人沟通才会促进我们的表达能力一样~小伙伴跟着小编一起，每天坚持打卡，培养英语阅读能力及语感，了解文章一些经典词汇的用法。

经济学人：嘻哈音乐将变得更全球化(下)

In turn, American artists are taking more cultural cues from global hip-hop.Ice Spice, one of America’s brightest new rap talents, uses the British drill sound popularised by artists like Central Cee.Burna Boy, a Nigerian artist, is helping popularise afrobeats, a genre from west Africa and its diaspora, among American rappers.Some think that afrobeats could become as influential as the South has been in shaping hip-hop’s sound.(The South spawned trap, a subgenre of rap music characterised by booming drums with melodic, auto-tuned vocals.)American hip-hop has always been inspired by other, global music: early records sampled Ethiopian jazz.But this is the first time that artists in other countries are taking on Americans’ dominance in hip-hop so directly.The rise of global stars dovetails with a second trend, which is hip-hop’s surprising wobbles at home.In 2023 a hip-hop album did not top the American charts until July, the longest wait in 30 years.Hip-hop made up 42% of the top 50 most-streamed songs on Spotify in America in 2020 but accounts for just 16% so far this year, according to Chartmetric, a data firm.Country and Latin music have been gaining share.
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美国音乐人也相应地从全球嘻哈音乐中获得了更多文化线索。ICE Spice是美国最耀眼的说唱新秀之一，她使用了Central Cee等歌手带火的英式drill风格。尼日利亚歌手Burna Boy正在让afrobeats在美国说唱歌手中流行起来，这是一种来自西非及其侨民的音乐类型。一些人认为，afrobeats在塑造嘻哈音乐方面可能会像南方嘻哈一样具有强大影响力。(南方嘻哈催生了trap音乐，trap是说唱音乐的一个子流派，特点是低沉的鼓声和有旋律的、经过修音的人声。)美国嘻哈音乐一直受到其他国家音乐的启发：早期唱片采样了埃塞俄比亚爵士乐。但其他国家的歌手如此直接地挑战美国人在嘻哈领域的主导地位，这还是第一次。全球明星的崛起与第二个趋势相吻合，即嘻哈音乐在美国的地位令人惊讶地有所动摇。2023年，一张嘻哈专辑直到7月份才登上美国排行榜榜首，这是30年来等待时间最长的一次。根据数据公司Chartmetic的数据，2020年，嘻哈音乐在美国Spotify播放量最高的50首歌曲中占了42%，但今年到目前为止只占了16%。乡村音乐和拉丁音乐的占比一直在增加。

 

The charts do not fully illustrate any genre’s broader cultural influence, but they have still prompted some soul-searching.Some are concerned that hip-hop is experiencing a “mid-life slump” in America.The easiest explanation is that hip-hop’s biggest American stars, such as Kendrick Lamar and Post Malone, are more established and are less focused on churning out hit releases than they used to be.Some emerging stars, such as Juice Wrld, have died young, and with them the potential for new albums, even if they remain among the most-streamed rappers.

It may also be that listeners feel hip-hop has strayed too far from where it started.What began as an anti-establishment movement in the Bronx has now become the “cultural arm of capitalism”, says Tricia Rose, a professor at Brown University who was among the first people to study hip-hop.Materialism is rampant in lyrics and lifestyles.“Rappers from the favelas now go to Prada to buy socks,” laments Mr Sauthon, the Brazilian hip-hop executive.Many criticise the rise of trap and “mumble rap” (a term for rap songs whose lyrics are hard to decipher) for a perceived lack of lyrical depth.

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这些排行榜并没有充分说明任何一种曲风的广泛的文化影响力，但仍然引发了一些反思。一些人担心嘻哈音乐正在美国经历“中年衰退”。最简单的解释是，美国的嘻哈巨星，如肯德里克·拉马尔和波兹·马龙，如今比以前更有名气，也不再那么专注于制作热门专辑。一些新星，如朱斯·沃尔德，已经英年早逝，随之逝去的还有创作新专辑的潜力，即使他们仍然属于播放量最高的说唱歌手之列。也可能是听众觉得嘻哈音乐已经偏离其初衷太远。布朗大学的教授特里西亚·罗斯是嘻哈音乐研究的先驱之一，他表示，嘻哈音乐最初是在纽约布朗克斯区发起的一场反正统运动，如今已成为“资本主义的文化武器”。嘻哈歌词和生活方式中物质主义泛滥。“贫民窟的说唱歌手现在都去普拉达买袜子。”巴西嘻哈音乐主理人索顿哀叹道。许多人批评trap和“mumble rap”(歌词很难理解的说唱歌曲)的兴起，因为人们认为这些音乐缺乏抒情深度。

But defenders point out how hip-hop has retained its anti-establishment roots, being invoked by young people and political activists globally, from Pretoria to Palestine.And despite all the talk of a hip-hop downturn in America, its influence remains indisputable.Morgan Wallen, today’s most popular country singer, uses trap-inspired beats and sings with a rap-like cadence.Recent albums from Taylor Swift are replete with swear words.“I’m not sure that would’ve happened before hip-hop,” says Adam Bradley, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.Far from being ready for a mic-drop, hip-hop is just starting a new sort of tour: with more artists from more countries embracing the genre than ever.Middle age has never looked so good.

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但嘻哈音乐的捍卫者指出，嘻哈音乐没有丢失其反正统根源，从南非的比勒陀利亚到巴勒斯坦，世界各地的年轻人和政治活动人士都在用嘻哈音乐表达反抗。尽管所有人都在说嘻哈音乐在美国开始没落，但其影响力仍然无可争议。当今最受欢迎的乡村歌手摩根·沃伦也用trap曲风的节奏，并以说唱式的抑扬顿挫来唱歌。泰勒·斯威夫特新出的专辑也充满了脏话。“我不确定要是没有嘻哈音乐，这些现象会不会发生。”加州大学洛杉矶分校的亚当·布拉德利教授说。嘻哈音乐还远远没到华丽谢幕的程度，新的巡演才刚刚开始：来自更多国家的更多歌手比以往任何时候都更喜欢这一音乐类型。中年从没有如此精彩过。