Unit 2 The Universal language课文及译文
Reading
A great way to learn about a new culture is through its music. The emails below are written by two exchange students who are discovering new music in their host countries. Before you read the emails, think about the following questions:
What information do you think the emails contain according to the subjects?
Have you watched a music performance live or on TV? What was it like?
Understanding culture through music
透过音乐理解文化高中英语课文
Hi Lucy,露丝：
So glad to get your email. I hope everything is fine with you. Last night, I watched a perfor
mance of Butterfly Lovers, a beautiful violin concerto composed by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang. It’s a piece that really deserves to be heard.
你好！很高兴收到你的电邮。希望你一切都好。昨晚吗，我观看了一场《梁祝》的演出，这是由何占豪、陈钢创作的一部动听的小提琴协奏曲，这部作品真的值得一听。
The music took me through the twists and turns of a classic story about a young couple torn apart by their families. When the two lover, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai,first meet, the music tis light and pleasant, as if whispering to the audience. It is followed by a fast and cheerful section which represents their three happy years of school. Then the music gets dramatic with heavier notes and that is when the lovers are separated because Zhu’s father forces her to marry another man. Angry and sad, Liang falls sick and dies. Zhu weeps bitterly over the loss her love. Overcome with sorrow, she jumps into his grave. Finally, during the most exciting part, the music takes a softer turn and ends on a bittersweet note, telling us how the couple transform into butterflies and fly away to be together forever. It is an amazing journey!
乐曲带我进入了一个跌宕起伏的经典故事，讲述的是一对年轻情侣被他们家庭拆散的遭遇。当两个相爱的人，梁山伯与祝英台初次相见时，音乐轻柔愉悦，像是在低声耳语。随后是欢快的一节，代表两人同窗三载的快乐时光。接下来，曲调突然变得沉重，此时这对情侣被拆散，因为祝英台的父亲逼她另嫁他人。梁山伯悲愤交加，染病而亡，祝英台为失挚爱而痛哭，不胜伤悲，她跳进了梁山伯的坟墓。最后，在最激昂的部分，乐曲转而柔缓，以凄美的曲调收尾，它告诉我们，这对情侣化蝶而去，永世不再分离，真是一段美妙的旅程！
  Butterfly Lovers combines Chinese and Western musical elements: it is played on Western instruments such as the violin, but more significantly, much of the music has its roots in Chinese Yue Opera. This unique combination has made me realize that music is indeed a universal language. You should definitely listen to Butterfly Lovers—I bet you’ll like it.
《梁祝》融合了中西方的音乐元素，以西方乐器，譬如小提琴等演奏，但更重要的是，其曲调大多源自中国的越剧，这种独特的融合使我认识到，音乐的确使一种世界语言。你真该听一听《梁祝》----我保证你一定会喜欢它！
All the best,祝一切顺利！
Alice 爱丽丝
Dear Stephen,亲爱的斯蒂芬：
Life here in Nashville is as interesting as I thought it would be. My host family are big fans of country music, so I can always rely on them to introduce me to some great songs. I love learning about country music and I keep asking them questions about it all the time!
在纳什维尔的生活和我之前料想得一样有趣。我（寄宿）的主人家是乡村音乐的“铁杆粉丝”，所以我一直相信他们能给我介绍一些很棒的歌曲，我喜欢了解乡村音乐，一直在请教他们关于乡村音乐的问题。
  It turns out that country music became popular right here in the south of America in the 1940s and then spread across the nation. It grew out of such music types as the blues and folk music, so the musicians use many similar instruments, such as the guitar. The tunes are easy to sing, and the lyrics often leave you deep in thought. Most of the songs
are about hardship and heartbreak, but also about hope—with plenty of humour thrown in for good measure. You can feel an emotional connection between you and the musicians.
原来，20世纪50年代乡村音乐正是在美国南部这里流行起来的。随后传遍整个美国。它源于诸如布鲁斯和民谣这样的音乐，所以音乐家们使用很多类似的乐器，比如吉他，乡村音乐的调子朗朗上口，歌词常常发人深省。大部分歌曲唱的是艰难与心碎，但也有希望---其中还附加了很多幽默元素，你可以感受到自己与音乐家之间的那种情感的联系。
Country music shows the peaceful green fields and simple life of the countryside. Obviously I don’t know what it’s truly like to grow up in rural America, but the master of country music, like John Denver, can make you feel like you’re there. The simple tunes and beautiful natural images are often very suggestive of countryside surroundings:
乡村音乐展现的是乡村静谧的绿野和质朴的生活。我显然不知道在美国乡村长大究竟是什么样子，但是乡村音乐的大师们，比如约翰 ·丹佛，能让你觉得身临其境，简单的曲调和唯美的大自然很容易使人联想到乡村的环境。
Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growing like a breeze
(From “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver)
Why don’t you try to listen to some great country music? I guarantee you’ll enjoy it!
西弗吉尼亚，简直就是天堂
蓝岭山脉，谢南多厄河流
那里生命古老，比数更年长
又比山年轻，像风一样生长
(摘自约翰 ·丹佛《乡村路带我回家》你为什么不试试听几首很棒的乡村音乐？我保证你会喜欢的！
  Best wishes,致最美好的祝福，
Harry  哈里
Extended reading
Read the magazine article about the great classical musician Ludwig van Beethoven.
Beethoven:贝多芬
a remarkable life非凡的一生
On 7 May 1824, a crowd of music lovers streamed into a theatre in Vienna to hear the first-ever performance of the great Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. The crowd immediately recognized that they were listening to something truly special, and they broke into enthusiastic cheers at the end of the symphony. Beethoven,who was almost completely deaf at this point in his life, was unaware of the audience’s response until one of the singers turned him around to face the crowd. Before him, he saw a sea of people all standing, clapping , and waving their hats and handkerchiefs to express their appreciation of his masterwork.
1824年5月7日，一音乐爱好者涌入维也纳的一座剧院，聆听大作曲家路德维希·凡·贝多芬《第九交响曲》的首演。听众很快意识到他们所听绝非凡品，演出结束的那一刻，全场爆发出热情的欢呼。当时贝多芬已近全聋，直到一位领唱扶他转过身来，面向观众，他才发觉反响之热烈。他看见眼前的人山人海全部起立，有的鼓掌，有的挥舞帽子和手帕，表达着对这部杰作的赞赏。
Symphony No 9 was Beethoven’s last major piece of music in a vast body of works written throughout his remarkable life. As a gifted child, Beethoven was pushed by his father to study music day and night. Not long after, he began to be appreciated for his piano performances. By the time he was a teenager, he had already enjoyed a reputation as a wonderful young musician. Many important figures in the music world, including the brilliant musician Mozart, started making predictions about Beethoven’s extraordinary future. However, life took a sharp turn. In his late twenties, Beethoven suffered one of the worst possible twists for a musician: he started to lose his hearing.