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精读讨论：PEOPLE IN AMERICA - 5/11/2008 -
| － 作者：Webmaster 日期：2008年5月11日 11:22:00 阅读： 次 | VAN ALLEN 注：通过长期与网友交流，发现有很多的人学习 VOA Special English 都只是停留上随便听听，随便看看的层次。以这样消极的方式学习越久，你就越会发现虽然自己花了相当的时间学习英语，但除了知识面有所增长，英语语言能力水平几乎没有提高，导致丧失学习兴趣，最后逐步放弃，以失败告终。
孔夫子说“学而不思则罔”真是太有道理了，其实事事洞明皆学问，细细品读、分析 VOA Special English 的每篇文章，我们学到了文章主题所透露的知识，更能学到了英语英语语言的词汇、短语、表达技巧等。学习英语不要贪多，太多了就会消化不良，细嚼慢咽，真正用心去学，就能体验到学习的乐趣。
欢迎大家通过回帖的形式发表自己的学习笔记。
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阅读原文：PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Isaac Stern, 1920 - 2001: One of the Most Honored Musicians in the World
阅读时遇到生词推荐使用牛津高阶英语词典（英英版）查询：
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 7th Edition
艾萨克·斯特恩是世界著名的小提琴大师。他对中国有着非同一般的深厚情谊。在文革结束的1979年，斯特恩作为西方第一位来华演出的小提琴大师，在北京演奏了莫扎特的《G大调第三小提琴协奏曲》。他的此次中国之行被美国最负盛名的音乐家传记片、艺术纪录片导演艾伦·米勒拍摄成新闻纪录电影《从毛泽东到莫扎特》。这部影片向世界展示了刚刚开放的中国和中国年轻音乐家的才华，在世界上引起了强烈反响，并获得了1981年的奥斯卡最佳纪录长片奖和当年的戛纳电影节特别奖。
VOICE ONE:
I'm Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today we tell about one of the world's greatest musicians, violinist Isaac Stern.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
honor 这是美式英语的写法，英式英语写成 honour。-or/-our 是英式英语和美式英语在拼写方面不同的主要特征之一。
ambassador [noun] an official who lives in a foreign country as the senior representative there of his or her own country: the British Ambassador to Italy / in Rome ● a former ambassador to the UN ● The best ambassadors for the sport are the players.
For more than sixty years, Mister Stern performed excellent music. He performed in concerts around the world and on recordings. He played with major orchestras and in small groups. Here he plays Sergey Prokofiev's Violin Concerto, Opus Nineteen, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Mister VOA Special English 一律把把 Mr. 写为完整形式 Mister，正式的书面英语一般都用 Mr. 缩写形式。
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Isaac Stern was born in nineteen twenty in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six years old. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument.
Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory. He progressed quickly. When he was sixteen, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
conservatory [noun] a school or college at which people are trained in music and theatre
VOICE ONE:
During World War Two, Mister Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in concert in the Soviet Union. Later, he declared that he would not perform there again until artists had more freedom to leave the country.
Mister Stern had a strong connection to Israel. He supported young musicians and cultural organizations there. He performed in Israel many times, including during the Persian Gulf War in nineteen ninety-one.
VOICE TWO:
Isaac Stern became one of the busiest musicians of his day. He played more than one hundred concerts a year. He also became one of the most recorded musicians in history. This recording is Ludwig van Beethoven's Romance in F-Major, Opus Fifty. Mister Stern performs with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Carnegie Hall in New York City is one of the most famous places for the performance of classical music. All of the world's best musicians have played there. In nineteen sixty, there were plans to tear down Carnegie Hall and build a tall office building in its place. Mister Stern organized a committee of citizens, politicians and artists to oppose the plan. He successfully led the effort to save Carnegie Hall. Then he became president of the newly established Carnegie Hall Corporation. He held that office for forty years. In recent years, he gave a series of classes for young musicians at Carnegie Hall.
tear down to pull or knock down a building, wall, etc.
Isaac Stern also supported artistic development and freedom. He was an advisor when the National Endowment for the Arts was established. This is the government agency that supports the arts in America.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen seventy-nine, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film. It is called "From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China." It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
珍贵视频：小提琴大师伊萨克斯特恩1979访问中国纪录片
Mister Stern loved to play music by many different composers. He found the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to be among the most difficult. Here he plays Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
In nineteen eighty-four, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for every one, especially children. He said music is an important part of a civilized life. He said people need music as much as they need bread.
Mister Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
Isaac Stern died in two thousand one at the age of eighty-one. He was a major influence on music in the twentieth century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings. This one is "Humoresque" by Antonin Dvorak performed with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.
(MUSIC) | | 消息 奖励 转移 删除 编辑 |
| － 第 1 条回复 作者：rebacca 日期：2008年5月11日 15:04:00 | music plays in life! | | 消息 奖励 删除 编辑 | | － 第 2 条回复 作者：杨昆 日期：2008年5月11日 15:20:00 | | | 消息 奖励 删除 编辑 | | － 第 3 条回复 作者：杨昆 日期：2008年5月11日 15:21:00 | ambassador：an important official who represents his or her government in a foreign country
activist：someone who works hard doing practical things to achieve social or political change
orchestras：a large group of musicians playing many different kinds of instruments and led by a conductor
New York Philharmonic Orchestra：an orchestra (=a large group of musicians) based in New York City, which is the oldest orchestra in the US （纽约爱乐乐团）
Ukraine: [国名]乌克兰
San Francisco: a city and port in California, US. It is a very beautiful city, built on hills next to a bay (=an area of sea that curves inwards towards the land) on the Pacific Ocean. Its famous areas include Chinatown, where many people live whose families originally came from China, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the prison island of Alcatraz. The city is close to the San Andreas fault, and was almost destroyed by the great earthquake and fire of 1906.
Conservatory: a school where people are trained in music or acting
Israel: [地名] 以色列
Persian Gulf War：波斯湾战争
Carnegie Hall：卡内基音乐厅
Composer: someone who writes music
Cellist: someone who plays the cello
Pianist: someone who plays the piano
Concerto：a piece of classical music, usually for one instrument and an orchestra
Opus：a piece of music by a great musician, numbered according to when it was written
Documentary：a film or television or a radio programme that gives detailed information about a particular subject
From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China：《从毛泽东到莫扎特》
| | 消息 奖励 删除 编辑 | | － 第 4 条回复 作者：Nickie 日期：2008年5月11日 16:14:00 | am•bas•sador /æm'bæsədə/ noun an official who lives in a foreign country as the senior representative there of his or her own country: the British Ambassador to Italy / in Rome a former ambassador to the UN (figurative) The best ambassadors for the sport are the players.
or•ches•tra /'ɔ:kistrə, -kes- / noun
1 [C+sing./pl. v.] a large group of people who play various musical instruments together, led by a conductor: She plays the flute in the school orchestra. the Scottish Symphony Orchestra The competition gave the young composer her first opportunity to write for a full orchestra.—see also chamber orchestra, symphony orchestra
2 the orchestra [sing.] (NAmE) (BrE the orchestra stalls) = the stalls
con•certo /kən'tʃə:təu / noun (pl. -os) a piece of music for one or more solo instruments playing with an orchestra: a piano concerto a concerto for flute and harp
opus /'əupəs. 'ɔpəs / noun (pl. opera /pr; NAmE p/) [usually sing.]
1 (abbr. op.) a piece of music written by a famous composer and usually followed by a number that shows when it was written: Beethoven’s Opus 18
2 (formal) an important piece of literature, etc., especially one that is on a large scale work—see also magnum opus
phil•har•mon•ic /filɑ:'mɔnik, filhɑ:'- / adj. used in the names of orchestras, music societies, etc.: the Berlin Philharmonic (Orchestra)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra 纽约爱乐乐团
con•ser•va•tory /kən'sə:vətri/ noun (pl. -ies)
1 (BrE) a room with glass walls and a glass roof that is built on the side of a house. Conservatories are used for sitting in to enjoy the sun, and to protect plants from cold weather
2 (NAmE) = conservatoire noun a school or college at which people are trained in music and theatre
sym•phony / 'simfəni / noun (pl. -ies) a long complicated piece of music for a large orchestra, in three or four main parts (called movements): Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
persian gulf war:
1. a war fought between Iraq and a coalition led by the United States that freed Kuwait from Iraqi invaders; 1990-1991
Per•sian /'pə:ʃən / noun
1 [C] a person from ancient Persia, or modern Persia, now called Iran
2 (also Farsi) [U] the official language of Iran
3 [C] = Persian cat
gulf /gulf/ noun
1 [C] a large area of sea that is partly surrounded by land: the Gulf of Mexico
2 the Gulf [sing.] the Persian Gulf, the area of sea between the Arabian peninsula and Iran: the Gulf States (= the countries with coasts on the Gulf)
3 [C, usually sing.] ~ (between A and B) a large difference between two people or groups in the way that they think, live or feel: The gulf between rich and poor is enormous. It felt as if a gulf had opened up between his life and mine.
4 [C] a wide deep crack in the ground see bridge v.
chamber orchestra noun a small group of musicians who play classical music together 室内管弦乐队
cham•ber /'tʃeimbə / noun
1 [C] a hall in a public building that is used for formal meetings: The members left the council chamber. the Senate / House chamber—see also Chamber of Commerce
2 [C+sing./pl. v.] one of the parts of a parliament: the Lower / Upper Chamber (= in Britain, the House of Commons / House of Lords) the Chamber of Deputies in the Italian parliament Under Senate rules, the chamber must vote on the bill by this Friday.
3 [C] (in compounds) a room used for the particular purpose that is mentioned: a burial chamber Divers transfer from the water to a decompression chamber.—see also gas chamber
4 [C] an space in the body, in a plant or in a machine, which is separated from the rest: the chambers of the heart the rocket’s combustion chamber the chamber of a gun (= the part that holds the bullets)
5 [C] a space under the ground which is almost completely closed on all sides: They found themselves in a vast underground chamber.
6 [C] (old use) a bedroom or private room: Lady Eleanor was found dead in her chamber.
Romance in F major,F大调浪漫曲
cell•ist /'tʃelist / noun a person who plays the cello
cello /'tʃeləʊ/ (also formal vio•lon•cello) noun (pl. -os) a musical instrument with strings, shaped like a large violin. The player sits down and holds the cello between his or her knees.
Humoresque: [ .hju:mə'resk ] n. 诙谐曲
From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China-从毛泽东到莫扎特——斯坦在中国
you could watch it on http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_cc00XMTcwMzcwNjg=.html
Franz Liszt弗朗兹·李斯特（Franz Liszt,1811－1886），著名的匈牙利作曲家、钢琴家、指挥家，伟大的浪漫主义大师，是浪漫主义前期最杰出的代表人物之一。
Sergey Prokofiev:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/10307.htm
俄罗斯作曲家、钢琴家和指挥家普罗科菲耶夫
Carnegie Hall 卡耐基音乐厅
http://baike.baidu.com/view/1181114.html
卡耐基音乐厅，位于纽约市第七大道881号，第56大街和第57大街中间，占据第七大道东侧。由慈善家安德鲁·卡耐基(Andrew Carnegie)出资建于1890年，是美国古典音乐与流行音乐界的标志性建筑。
| | 消息 奖励 删除 编辑 | | － 第 5 条回复 作者：列列 日期：2008年5月12日 8:59:00 | It's the wonderful violin music performed by Isaac Stern! | | 消息 奖励 删除 编辑 |
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