高中英语人教版高中必修2Unit5Music-文章

1、WORD BANKcritic n. 评论家recital n. 独奏会outstanding adj. 杰出的；出众的promotion n. 鼓励；提倡combination n. 组合体；混合体dedication n.奉献；献身the charts 每周唱片排行榜millionaire n. 百万富翁model n.模特yacht n. 游艇cancel n. 取消fame n. 名声racquet n. 球拍shabby adj. 破旧的take pity on 同情coach v. 训练，指导determined adj.坚决的championship n.锦标赛standard

2、n. 标准adherence n.rreadiness n.Passage 1LANG LANG：THE WORLDS FAVOURITE PIANISTLang Langs piano playing is loved around the world. The German newspaper Die Welt (The World) described him as the worlds most successful pianist. A Chicago Tribune music critic called him the biggest, most exciting young k

3、eyboard talent I have encountered in many a year of attending piano recitals.Lang Lang was born in Shengyang in northeast China. His parents bought his first piano before he was even born. It cost them half a years salary. He started piano lessons when he was only three years old and was urged by hi

4、s father to practice for many hours each day, often starting at 5 am.When Lang Lang was nine years old, his father gave up his job to take him to Beijing so that he could get good piano lessons. When he was twelve, his father borrowed a great deal of money to take him to Esslingen, Germany to enter

5、the International Competition for Young Pianists. Fortunately, Lang Lang won the prize for outstanding artistic performance, and that was the start of his international career.Lang Lang has become a famous musician. He is the first Chinese pianist to be chosen to play with the Berlin Philharmonic(柏林

6、爱乐乐团) and top American orchestras. He has performed for many heads of state, including President Obama at the White House, and the Queen Elizabeth. He played two Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremonies and the Grammy Awards. However, he regards being chosen to play at the opening ceremony of the Beijing

7、Olympic in 2023 as the greatest honour of all.Lang Lang now lives in New York. He believes that “Music makes life better. It heals, unites and inspires. And it makes us better people.” For this reason, he established the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. One of his goals is the promotion of

8、classic music to young people. It is said that because of him over 40 million Chinese young people have taken up the piano. He has also helped many gifted young pianists improve their art.Lang Lang has lived across 2 different continents, travelled the world, worked so hard to be great on the piano

9、and has done so much for young people. He says, “As a person who has lived in China for the first 15 years and then the second 15 years in the ., the West including European, I think both cultures are great but you need to really take some time to taste both cultures” Lang Lang is an exciting combin

10、ation of both Chinese and Western cultures. He has taken the best and most difficult part of the Western world, and perfected it with the hard work and dedication that many Chinese people have. Lang Lang is an inspiration to people all over the world.Passage 2FAMOUS NO MOREJimmy James became famous

11、when he was only 16. His rock group Jumping James were playing in a small club in Liverpool when a famous singer heard them play. He told his record company about them and soon they were in a studio recording their first record, Sun on the Water. It was a massive hit and went to Number 1 in the char

12、t all over the world, Jumping James appeared on Top of the Pops and on many other TV shows. Soon they were playing at the Albert Hall in London, at Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Opera House in Sydney. Jimmys face was on magazine covers all over the world.By the time he was 20, Jimmy was a mil

13、lionaire. He owned houses in London, Hollywood and Hawaii. He drove a Rolls Royce and a number of sports cars. He threw away his suits after wearing them only once. He had girlfriends in many cities, most of them famous models and film stars. Girls were in love with him from Brisbane to Tokyo.Jimmy

14、left Jumping James and made records by himself. His life was rich and busy but soon he got bored. He started to drink a lot of whisky and to take drugs. He became lazy and often did not turn up for concerts. His records still made a lot of money but he was spending almost everything he earned. He bo

15、ught a yacht and a castle in France, he bought cars for his girlfriends and he paid for huge parties all over the world.But then he began to make worse and worse records and to sing and play the guitar badly. Theatres cancelled his concerts, fans stopped buying his records, and his girlfriends left

16、him. Now he is in Liverpool living in a very small house with his brother John. He has no money, no job, no friends and no future. He is not famous anymore. But he has stopped drinking and taking drugs. He is happier now and soon he plans to try to play his guitar again. He will play for pleasure an

17、d make enough money to live quite well. But this time he will not play for fame.Passage 3FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Lee Ching loved tennis. He had a few old balls and an old racquet that his grandfather had given him. They had belonged to the old man when he was a world-famous tennis player, a long time

18、 ago. Lee was the happiest when he was practicing his shots against a wall at his house. He hoped that he could also become a famous player, one day. However, there was one problem - Lees family was very poor. This meant that there was not enough money to pay for tennis lessons, the white clothes or

19、 a new racquet and balls. Lee had tried playing with the other players who played on the courts in his town, but they had just made fun of his old racquet and shabby clothes. So, Lee spent his time watching them play and then practicing exactly what he had seen them do, against the wall at home. In

20、this way he hoped he would learn as much about the game of tennis as he could.The manager of the tennis courts, Mr Song, had seen Lee watching the tennis, day after day, and decided to find out why. When he heard Lees story, he took pity on him. Mr Song offered Lee a job sweeping the tennis courts e

21、very day. Instead of paying him, Mr Song offered to give Lee tennis lessons.Through the lessons, Mr Song realized that Lee knew a lot about tennis, so he asked him to coach the younger childrens tennis class; this time Lee was paid for his job. He was able to buy new clothes and a new racquet and so

22、on people were asking him to join their games. His tennis skills were improving all the time.Lee became a very good tennis player. So good that Mr Song invited him to play in a competition that was being held at the town courts. Lee did not know that Mr Song had invited a world-class tennis coach, M

23、r Wei, to watch Lee play. Lee played very well and won all this matches. Mr Wei was so impressed that he offered Lee a place at his tennis school. There, Lee would receive the best coaching possible.For many years, Lee worked hard at his tennis. He practiced from when the sun came up to when the sun went down. He was determined to be the best! When he played in tennis competitions, he hardly ever lost a match.Then came the day when Lee played in his first world championship. The standard of the t