An American in Paris
美国人在巴黎

　　 Composer and pianist could be the ultimate American in Paris. Next year will be his 50th in a city that has always had a place in its heart for American artists. Mr. Lee arrived in Paris in 1948 to study music composition with Nadia Boulange, whose student roster ( Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Philip Glass) reads like a who's who of modern music.

* roster：“花名册”。
* who's who：“名人录”、“名人词典”。说明Nadia Boulange是个很有成就的音乐教师，他的许多学生后来都很出名。

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　　The GI bill paid the tab, as it did for hundreds of other former GIs who came to Paris or stayed on after the war to study literature, philosophy, painting, or music. But unlike many of his expatriate contemporaries, Mr. Lee never left.

* GI：“美国兵”、“美国现役军人”。
* tab：tab本指“衣服上的小垂片”、“帽舌”等，这里指费用。
* contemporary：“同时的”、“同龄的”等意思。这里指和Noel Lee一样来法国求学的人。 　　

　　"It was a marvelous time in 1948. There were no cars in Paris; everyone walked or took bicycles. No one considered themselves expatriates then, because everyone had just arrived. No one had money, but it didn't matter because it wasn't disgraceful then not to have money. "The French respect their artists, and subsidies are a part of their heritage," he adds. "In the US, the attitude was: It's fine to be a musician, but how do you plan to make a living?"

* commission：“佣金”的意思。这里指政府部门的奖励。 　　

　　" It used to be that if you could get along in the French language, you could move in official music circles. Now, many Americans are beginning to request French citizenship to be more eligible for subsidies and commissions," he says.

* eligible：“合格的”、“合法的”等意思。如果你法语讲得好，就可以在正式的音乐圈里活动。如果你有法国国籍，那就可以正当地领取法国的补贴和奖励了。