Unit 9 I like music that I can dance to.

P67 3a

What Do You Feel Like Watching Today?

While some people only stick to one kind of movie, I like to watch different kinds depending on how I feel that day.

When I’m down or tired, I prefer movies that can cheer me up. Comedies like Men in Black or cartoons like Kungfu Panda have funny dialogues and usually have a happy ending. The characters may not be perfect, but they try their best to solve their problems. After watching them, I’m filled with hope again and the problems I have suddenly seem less serious. Laughing for two hours is a good way to relax!

I don’t watch dramas or documentaries when I’m sad or tired. Dramas like Titanic make me feel even sadder. Documentaries like March of the Penguins which provide plenty of information about a certain subject can be interesting, but when I’m tired I don’t want to think too much. I don’t mind action movies like Spider-Man when I’m too tired to think. I can just shut off my brain, sit back and enjoy watching an exciting superhero who always saves the world just in time.

Once in a while, I like to watch movies that are scary, like horror movies or thrillers. Movies like The Ring or The Shining can be fun, but I’m too scared to watch them alone. I always bring a friend who isn’t afraid of these kinds of movies.

P70 2b

Sad but Beautiful

Last night one of my Chinese friends took me to a concert of Chinese folk music. The piece which was played on the erhu especially moved me. The music was strangely beautiful, but under the beauty I sensed a strong sadness and pain. The piece had a simple name, “Moon Reflected on Second Spring”, but was one of the most moving pieces of music that I’ve ever heard. The erhu sounded like it was crying, and I almost cried along with it as I listened. Later I looked up the history of “Moon Reflected on Second Spring”, and I began to understand the sadness in the music.

The music was written by Abing, a folk musician who was born in the city of Wuxi in 1893. Just one year later, his mother died. Abing’s father taught him to play many musical instruments, such as the drums, dizi and erhu, and by age 17, Abing was known for his musical ability. However, after his father died, Abing’s life grew worse. He was very poor, caught a serious illness and became blind. For several years, he had no home. He lived on the streets and played music to make money. Even after Abing got married and had a home again, he continued to sing and play in the city streets. He performed in this way for many years.

Abing’s amazing musical skills made him very popular during his lifetime. By the end of his life, he could play over 600 pieces of music, many of which he wrote himself. It is a pity that only six pieces of music in total were recorded for the future world to hear, but his popularity continues to this day. Today, Abing’s “Moon Reflected on Second Spring” is a piece which all the great erhu masters play and praise. It has become one of China’s national treasures. Its sad beauty not only paints a picture of Abing’s own life but also makes people recall their deepest wounds from their own sad or painful experiences.

P71 2d

Abing played music (that/who) could touch the hearts of people. When we listen to his music, we can______both the beauty and the sadness in it. It makes us think about the______and______ (that/who) we have experienced in the past. For this reason, many______ him as the musician (that/who) has greatly influenced erhu music. So it is really a_______that not many pieces of his music were recorded.

翻译：

Unit 9 I like music that I can dance to .

Section A 2d

吉 尔：斯科特，你周末打算干什么呢！

斯科特：没什么事儿，我估计就是听见我新买的激光唱片吧！

吉 尔：哦，什么激光唱片？

斯科特：恩，全是音乐的，没有歌曲。我喜欢听舒缓的音乐来放松自己，尤其是在工作了漫长的一周以后。

吉 尔：听起来不错啊。嗯，如果你有空，愿意和我一起去看电影吗？（电影的） 导演很有名。

斯科特：嗯，那要看什么电影。我只喜欢有趣的电影，我只想笑一笑，不想费脑筋，你懂我的意思吧？吉 尔：我那样的话，我还是去邀请喜欢看严肃电影人吧。

斯科特：（你说的）电影是关于什么的？

吉 尔：是关于第二次世界大战的。我喜欢能让我思考的电影。

Section A 3a

今天你想看什么（电影）呢？

虽然一些人坚持只看一种电影，但是我喜欢看不同种类的电影，（具体）由当时的心情决定。

当我情绪低落或感到疲惫的时候，我更喜欢看能让我开心的影片。比如，像《黑衣人》那样的喜剧片或像《功夫熊猫》这类的动画片，通常都有滑稽的对话和一个愉快的结局。影片中的人物不一定完美，但是他们都会尽力去解决问题。看了这样的电影，我所面对的许多问题突然间会显得不那么严重，我也会感觉好多了。两个小时的欢笑是一种很好的放松方式。

当我伤心或劳累的时候，我不看剧情片或纪录片。像《泰坦尼克号》这样的剧情片只会让我更伤心。像《帝企鹅日记》这样的纪录片，（通常）会针对某个特定话题提供丰富的信息，（内容）也很有趣儿，但是当我累的时候，我不想思考太多。 当我太累不想思考时，我不介意看像《蜘蛛侠》这样的动作电影。我只想屏蔽我的大脑，坐在那里观看一个令人兴奋的超级英雄，他总是能在关键时刻挽救世界。

偶尔我会喜欢看恐怖片。虽然它们很有意思，但是我会因为太害怕而不敢独自一个人看，我总会带上一位不怕这类型电影的朋友（一起看），这就会觉得没那么可怕了。

Section B 2b

凄美

昨晚我的一个中国朋友带我去听了一场中国民 间音乐会。其中有一首二胡曲令我特别感动。音乐 出奇的美，但是在那美的背后，我感受到悲伤和痛 苦。这首曲子有个简单的名字《二泉映月》，但它 是我听过的最感人的曲子之一。二胡的声音听起来 那么悲伤，以至于我在听的时候也几乎随着它哭了。后来我查阅了《二泉映月》的历史，开始理解音乐 中蕴含的伤感。

这首曲子是由一位民间音乐家阿炳写成，他于 1893 年出生在无锡市。在他还小的时候，他的母亲就去世了。阿炳的父亲教他弹奏各种乐器，如鼓、笛子和二胡。到了 17 岁，阿炳就以他的音乐天赋闻名。然而，他的父亲去世以后，阿炳的生活变得更糟糕。

他很穷，还得了严重的疾病，眼睛瞎了。好些年他 都没有家，他住在大街上，以弹奏音乐来谋生。即 使他结了婚有了家以后，他还是继续在街道上唱歌、弹曲，他以这种方式表演了好多年。

阿炳惊人的音乐技能让他在有生之年就非常出名。到他临终前，他已会弹 600 多首曲子，大部分

是他自己写的。遗憾的是，一共只有 6 首曲子被录了下来得以传世，但时至今日，他（的作品）依旧颇受人们喜爱。今天，阿炳的《二泉映月》成了所有伟大的二胡演奏家弹奏和赞赏的曲子。它已成为了中国文化瑰宝之一。 它的凄美不仅描绘出阿炳自己的生活，而且也让人们回想起自身的悲苦体验和最深的伤痛。