P: Ernie and Beth are two students at college and they are starting a musical group together. Today Beth and Ernie are talking to Eric, who is a DJ, to ask him if he wants to join their group.
如果我是 Eric，一定拒绝。 Beth跟Ernie的音乐品味可不怎么样。
P: Let’s see what Eric says about this.
Eric: Hey guys, thanks for inviting me to join your group. I’m pretty interested, but first I just want to know a little bit more about what you’re going to play.
Beth: Eric, it’s going to be really great! We want to be a Vanilla Ice cover band!
Eric: Umm … did you say you want to start a Vanilla Ice cover band? You’re kidding, right?
Ernie: What? Of course not! And we want you to be our DJ.
Professor Bowman, 什么叫cover band?
P: Winnie, a cover band is a musical group that only plays the songs from one really famous band.
噢， cover band专门翻唱某个著名乐队的歌。所以Beth和Ernie的Vanilla Ice cover band就只唱Vanilla Ice的歌喽！这多没创意啊。看来Eric对这个想法也不是很感兴趣。
Eric: Umm … you know guys, Vanilla Ice hasn’t been popular since the early 1990s. And even then he was pretty terrible. What about playing something more up-to-date?
Beth: You know, I like to think of him as classic. His music never really goes out of style.
Eric: Right … well what are you going to name the group?
Ernie: We’re going to call it Chocolate Ice. Get the joke? Chocolate Ice instead of Vanilla Ice?
Eric: Don’t worry, I get the joke. And if there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that everyone will be laughing at you.
哎呀， Beth还说Vanilla Ice的歌从不过时– “never goes out of style”! 我觉得，他的歌就从来没有时髦过， he was never “in style” to begin with!
P: Very funny, Winnie. So, what does Eric think of the cover band’s name–Chocolate Ice?
他觉得这个名字太俗了，肯定会被人笑话。
Eric: You know guys, I’m not sure I can play in your group. The problem is that … rap music is violent and demeaning to women. I wouldn’t feel comfortable playing it.
Beth: That’s not true! Some rappers talk about violence, but a lot of them just talk about money.
Eric: I know… and that’s bad too! Who wants to listen to someone rap about how much money he has?
Beth: Well, if it were about nothing but guns and money, why does it appeal to so many young people?
Ernie: I agree with Beth. Besides, hip hop goes way beyond music. It’s a whole culture.
Eric说他不喜欢嘻哈音乐，因为这种歌的内容充满暴力，而且侮辱女性。 Professor Bowman, Eric不是DJ么？他怎么会不喜欢时下流行的嘻哈音乐呢？
P: Well, it sounds like he may be pretending not to like hip hop music so he doesn’t have to be in the group.
Beth: Well you know Eric, our group isn’t just going to be about music. Ernie is an amazing hip hop dancer. Ernie, show him your dance moves!
Ernie: Sure!
(Music)
Eric: Wow Ernie, your dance moves are so … um … unique. I’ve definitely never seen dancing like that before.
Ernie: Thanks. Want me to teach you how to dance like me?
Eric: Uh, maybe another time. Ok guys, I’ll join your group on one condition.
Beth: Great, what’s that?
Eric: Can I play at gigs with a bag over my head?
看来，Eric对Ernie的热舞不敢恭维。不过Eric说他可以加入乐队，不过有个条件，他说的gig是什么意思啊？
P: A gig is a performance, usually a small and informal one. You can also call any small or informal job a gig. Eric wants to wear a bag over his head when he plays gigs because he is embarrassed to be seen with this band.
哈，原来如此。我明白了， gig在这里就是演出。 Eric说演出时要把头遮住，以免丢人，我现在倒真想看看他们的表演呢！
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。