A young woman sits down at the piano. Her long flowing brown hair
Norah Jones was born on March 30, 1979, in New York City. She is the daughter of the legendary Ravi Shankar, a very famous guitar player, but Norah was brought up entirely by her mother Sue. She saw her father from time to time through the years, and met her little sister when she was 18. At 4 years old, she and her mother moved to the Dallas suburb, Texas. Her earliest musical influence came from her mother's extensive LP collection. She began singing in church choirs at age five, commenced piano lessons two years later, and briefly played alto saxophone in junior high.
From Texas to the Big Apple
For two years following her graduation from high school, she studied at the University of North Texas, majoring in jazz piano. Before her third year, she decided to take a trip to New York City. The trip started out as simply a summer stay, but Jones soon knew that she would not be returning home for quite some time.
Engrossed in the music scene, Jones gravitated toward local musicians and songwriters who urged her, after seeing her sing, to jump-start her own career. Between waitressing jobs, Jones soon started a band in which she sung lead vocals and, of course, played piano. In October 2000, the band ambitiously brought a demo to EMI Blue Note Records, whose roster boasts a host of blues, jazz, folk, and country musicians.
Struck a Blue Note
At a meeting with Blue Note president Bruce in January 2001, Jones played her three-song tape, hoping to earn a break. Bruce was so impressed with this young girl's talents that he signed her on the spot. After little more than a year of work, Norah Jones released her debut album, Come Away With Me. Norah Jones has already sold 2.6 million copies of the album, which is 10 times more than any album in Blue Note history. Despite the lack of publicity, her album is inching its way up the music charts while the debut single Don't Know Why is climbing up the Adult Top 40 chart.
The sultry-voiced neo-jazz singer already enjoyed a stunning sweep at the Grammy Awards in 2003, where she picked up five trophies in the major categories (Album of the Year, Record of the Year for Don't Know Why, Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Don't Know Why , and Best Pop Vocal Album). It's clear that this is only the beginning for Miss Jones.
The future is looking good for Norah Jones. After keeping her fans waiting for two years, Norah released her second album, Feels Like Home, in February. It already looks like it'll be as successful as her first. And this time around, everyone in the music industry is taking her seriously.
中文：
一个年轻的女子坐在一架钢琴前，飘逸的棕色长发衬托出一张亲切的脸庞。接着她开始唱歌，她那出人意料的成熟嗓音令在场的每一个人为之着迷。她，就是诺拉•琼斯——一位获奖歌手，同时也是一个词曲作家。
1979年3月30日，诺拉•琼斯出生在美国纽约，她是传奇人物、著名吉他手拉维•仙卡的女儿，但她本人则完全是由其母亲苏抚养长大的。那些年中，她偶尔才能看到她的父亲，直到18岁，她才见到她的妹妹。4岁时，她随母亲搬到了德克萨斯州达拉斯市的郊区。她在音乐上受到的最早影响来自于她母亲所收藏的大量唱片。诺拉•琼斯五岁开始在教堂唱诗班唱歌，两年后开始学习钢琴，初中时候一度演奏过低音萨克斯管。
从德州到纽约
高中毕业后的两年里，她就读于北德克萨斯州大学，主修爵士钢琴。上三年级之前，她决定去纽约旅行一趟。这次旅行原本只是暑期出游，但很快琼斯就意识到自己不会马上回去了。
痴迷音乐的琼斯深为当地的音乐人和词曲作家所吸引，而他们在看了她的歌唱表演后也都催她赶快开辟自己的事业天地。琼斯于是一边当女招待，一边拉起一支乐队，自己担任主唱，当然还兼钢琴演奏。2000年10月，这支乐队雄心勃勃地送了一盘录音样带给旗下拥有众多布鲁斯乐、爵士乐、民间音乐及乡村音乐乐手的EMI蓝音符唱片公司。
签约蓝音符
2001年1月，琼斯见到了蓝音符唱片公司的老板布鲁斯，她放了一盘磁带，里面有她唱的三首歌，希望藉此有所突破。小姑娘的才华打动得布鲁斯当场与她签了约。只经过一年多一点的准备工作，诺拉•琼斯就推出了她的首张专辑《远走高飞》。该专辑已卖出260万张，这个数字比蓝音符历史上任何一张专辑的销售量都要高出十倍。尽管缺乏宣传，这个专辑仍在流行音乐排行榜上节节攀升，而其单曲《不知何故》也打入了“40大成人单曲排行榜”。
在2003年的格莱美颁奖典礼上，这位声音迷人的新爵士乐歌手气势夺人，一举拿下五项主要项目的大奖（年度最佳专辑奖，单曲《不知何故》获年度最佳唱片奖，最佳新人奖，单曲《不知何故》还获得最佳流行女歌手奖，最佳流行声乐专辑）。而这一切对琼斯来说显然不过只是个开始。
诺拉•琼斯前景光明。让歌迷苦等了两年之后，诺拉•琼斯2月又推出了她的第二张专辑《宛如回家》。看样子它和第一张专辑一样成功，但这一次，音乐界再不会有人对她等闲视之。
相关单词：legendary
legendary解释：adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）
legendary例句：
Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。
相关单词：entirely
entirely解释：ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
entirely例句：
The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
相关单词：choirs
choirs解释：n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼
choirs例句：
They ran the three churches to which they belonged, the clergy, the choirs and the parishioners. 她们管理着自己所属的那三家教堂、牧师、唱诗班和教区居民。 来自飘（部分）
Since 1935, several village choirs skilled in this music have been created. 1935以来，数支熟练掌握这种音乐的乡村唱诗班相继建立起来。 来自互联网
相关单词：briefly
briefly解释：adv.简单地，简短地
briefly例句：
I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
相关单词：decided
decided解释：adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
decided例句：
This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
相关单词：vocal
vocal解释：adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目
vocal例句：
The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。
相关单词：vocals
vocals解释：（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )
vocals例句：
Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。
相关单词：roster
roster解释：n.值勤表，花名册
roster例句：
The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。
相关单词：blues
blues解释：n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐
blues例句：
She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。
相关单词：debut
debut解释：n.首次演出，初次露面
debut例句：
That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。
相关单词：publicity
publicity解释：n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告
publicity例句：
The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。
相关单词：stunning
stunning解释：adj.极好的；使人晕倒的
stunning例句：
His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。
相关单词：trophies
trophies解释：n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖
trophies例句：
His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
查看更多关于【边读边学】的文章
