《高级休闲英语》学习重点More practice with the video Video 8--2007秋英语本科专业教学资源整合

1、More practice with the video Video 8Yehudi Menuhin Charity Concerts and Punch & Judy Focus Questions for Text 1 1. What sort of audiences are the concerts given to?2. What sort of musicians are chosen to perform at these concerts?3. Which song by which famous Austrian composer is sung? Text 1 A conc

2、ert at a London school for children with learning difficulties. The musicians are part of a unique charity called Live Music Now. It was set up 20 years ago by the legendary violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin. His belief in the power of music to provide joy and solace inspired the venture. It is

3、 so logical. It brings human beings what they need in loneliness or distress or for some reason they dont go to the concert halls. These people are too poor, too distant, or too sick or whatever it may be and they need music even more than the people who go to the concert halls and young people need

4、 the experience of what music really can bring. Menuhin has long worked outside the confines of the formal concert hall. During the Second World War he played for Allied Troops. And in 1945 he and the composer Benjamin Britten performed for concentration camp survivors. Ive personally benefitted fro

5、m working with Live Music Now playing for all different kinds of audiences, from prisons, hospitals, hospices, children with behaviour difficulties. I think the audience can definitely benefit from this organization. They can learn more about all different kinds of music because in Music Live Now th

6、ere are all different kinds of instrumentalists, all different kinds of music . Ethnic music, country music, jazz music, as well as classical music and again it just raises the understanding of what we do and also it makes people happy. Even expert musicians need grooming in other skills before join

7、ing this particular concert circuit. Dont take anything for granted. Nothing. All right. This is a music stand, folks, and I am talking to you right and Ive come on to the stage and Ive bowed and Im ready to play. So what is wrong with that? This music stand is an iron curtain! Get in front of it. I

8、t will block your communication to the audience, especially if you have got it up here. Get it as low as you can. Do without it as often as possible and slant it so all the talk, all the introductions, all the demonstrations in front of the music stand as close to your audience as you can get. Live

9、Music Now differs enormously from concerts in more traditional and formal settings. I suppose the overriding thing is that musicians want to create a very informal and friendly atmosphere, where the audiences feel completely relaxed and able to be interactive with the music. And perhaps the most fam

10、ous is Franz Schubert. I would like to sing The Trout - Die Forelle and in case there are one or two of you who may not speak German fluently, Ill tell you a little about the song. The poet describes the trout swimming in the river I can recommend this scheme to any young professional musician. It r

11、eally is a great preparation ground for communication with audiences, not only for singers who have to communicate directly, but also for instrumentalists who are alien to even speaking to audiences normally and I think they hide behind their instruments and this scheme wont let you do that (music)

12、When we audition musicians for the scheme the first thing we are looking for is musical excellence. But allied with that they have got to have very friendly, open personalities. They are going to have to be able to create a rapport with a very wide variety of different kinds of people, sometimes in

13、extremely difficult situations. They must love music, they must have a feeling for humanity, they must love and have a compassion for people of every age, from children to adults to elderly people. They must really have the something that enables them to vibrate in harmony with other people. (music)

14、 I thought it was so touching this afternoon when the dear old ladies joined in the singing or keeping time to their favourite songs from the 1930s or 40s Quite touching when you consider the. What must lie behind each life We see things on the telly, but it is never the same as having something clo

15、se to you live, in a social atmosphere with people around you that you know. You hear every word he said. I know it wasnt all in English, and the facial expressions. He was into it heart and soul, wasnt he? It was marvellous. We would like a repeat performance. Even though we are giving nearly 2,000

16、 concerts we are still touching the tip of an iceberg and I think there are thousands and thousands of audiences that we could still go to and who could still discover what a lovely experience this can be. Words & Expressions: Yehudi Menuhin probably the most famous violinist of the 20th century, re

17、nowned also for his work on behalf of human rights organisations, particularly those related to children; he died in 1999confinesboundaries, sometimes with the sense of restrictionsgroomto work on the appearance - you groom yourself before you go out to a party; here it means to prepare or train som

18、eone for a particular task slantto angle something down or upFranz SchubertAustrian Romantic composer (1797-1828) died tragically young, famous in particular for his songs (of ten called lieder the German for song) troutOne of the few freshwater fish eaten regularly by Europeans, and therefore a ver

19、y popular fish for angling - in Mandarin zunyu rapportA French word meaning a situation or feeling of sympathy; you create or establish a rapport with someone vibratestrings on a musical instrument vibrate (oscillate, move rapidly to and fro); here used metaphorically tellycolloquial shortened form

20、of televisionAnswers to Focus Questions 1. They play in prisons, in hospitals, and for children with behaviour problems - not the usual kind of audience.2. They must be excellent musicians and have friendly open personalities.3. The composer was Franz Schubert and his song was The Trout. Some other

21、possible comprehension questions 1. What is some of the humanitarian work done by Yehudi Menuhin? 2. Does Live Music Now play only Classical Music? 3. Are the concerts formal and serious? 4. What do the concerts prepare the musicians to do better? 5. How many such concerts have been given so far? Answers to the extra questions