Afghan-Youth-Orchestra-Prepares-to-Play-US-Venues文本

The Afghanistan Youth Orchestra performed for the Afghan community in Alexandria, Virginia, where the venue was intimate, the audience small.
But within days, these Afghan musicians will play in two famous concert halls: the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Carnegie Hall in New York.
************更多资料请访问人人听力网（）************
VOA慢速英语新闻听力（VOA Special English），每天更新：
/English/voa/
VOA常速英语新闻听力（VOA Standard English），每天更新：
Nazira, a cellist, says she's excited to play in America.
“This year is very good for us because we are going to perform in concerts in the U.S.," she said. "We are at the music school from 8:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. and studying.”
But since 2010, Sarmast has kept the small National Institute of Music in Kabul running. The orchestra grew out of the school.
“The entire idea of this trip, and the project from the beginning, was to show a different face of Afghanistan; to change the perception of Afghanistan," he said.
Now, the musicians are rehearsing for their big debut at the Kennedy Center. Then it’s on to New York and Carnegie Hall, before returning to Kabul and a life full of music.
The group travelled from Kabul to the United States on a tour funded largely by the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
When the Taliban took power in 1996, it banned music entirely.
Ahmad Sarmast, who founded the orchestra, says his group is ready to play on the world’s biggest stages.
“Our young kids are getting this opportunity in the very, very first days of their career as musicians," he said. "Everyone is extremely excited, and they are very much looking forward to this performance."
The musicians are between the ages of 10 and 22 and most are orphans or street children. The ensemble includes girls, who under the Taliban were not allowed to be eduБайду номын сангаасated after the age of eight.
/English/voa/3924/
BBC英语新闻听力，每天更新：
/English/bbc/
CNN英语新闻听力，每天更新：
/English/cnn/
CRI英语新闻听力，每天更新：
In embattled Afghanistan, music is making an appearance after having been banned outright under the Taliban in the late 1990s. The Afghanistan Youth Orchestra was created in 2010, the first orchestra formed in that country in more than 30 years. Today, its musicians are preparing their debut performances in famous American concert halls.
On Monday, the orchestra was welcomed to Washington by Secretary of State John Kerry.
“So we’re happy to welcome you here as ambassadors of peace,” he said.
/English/cri/
NPR英语新闻听力，每天更新：
/English/npr/
AP NEWS英语新闻听力，每天更新：
/English/radio/