Step by Step 3000 第2册 Unit7:Leisure time(2)

 　　Part 2. Mozart's music still alive today.

　　Keywords. anniversary, composer, celebrations, music houses, classical style, gifted musicians, travel, operas.

　　Vocabulary. requiem¹, royalty², patron³, orchestra⁴, symphony⁵, G minor⁶, command, organ, enrich⁷, ongoing⁸.

　　A. You're going to hear a passage about Mozart, a great music composer.

　　While listening, focus on the music pieces he composed during his life. Do the matching exercises.

　　This year the world marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

　　There have been celebrations of the composer's work all year long.

　　On December 5th, music houses around the world observed the anniversary of the composer's death.

　　That music is from Mozart's Requiem, a work the composer did not complete before his death.

　　A requiem is music written in honor of some one who has died.

　　Many people consider the music and its subject matter to add to the mystery surrounding Mozart's death.

　　Could it be that the composer sensed his approaching death from fever and wrote Requiem in his own honor?

　　There is no doubt, however, that the music of Mozart has more to do with life and happiness than with sadness or mystery.

　　Mozart wrote and performed music in the second half of the 18th century.

　　During this period, European musicians performed for kings, queens and other royalty.

　　Musicians often depended on wealthy people called patrons⁹ to support them.

　　Mozart, along with his friend Joseph Haydn, became the best example of the classical style, the important performance music of his time.

　　Today, people often the word "classical" to describe other kinds of music written for and performed by an orchestra.

　　Some music critics consider Symphony 25 in G Minor to be the first work showing Mozart's full ability.

　　He was 17 when he wrote it. See what you think of this young man's skills.

　　The word "effortless" is often used to describe the musical composition of Mozart.

　　Music came so natural to the child, born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756.

　　Wolfgang was the last of the seven children born to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertl.

　　Five of the children died while babies.

　　Only Wolfgang and his older sister Maria Anna survived.

　　Both were extremely gifted musicians from a very young age.

　　The children travelled with their parents and performed across Europe.

　　Wolfgang's father was a well-known violin teacher.

　　The year Wolfgang was born, Leopold published a popular book on violin playing.

　　Soon Wolfgang started to show an unusual command of many instruments.

　　By the age of 8, he played the piano, sometimes with his eyes covered.

　　He also played the organ and violin very well.

　　He showed an understanding of music of a much older person.

　　Travelling enriched¹⁰ the education of the young Mozart.

　　His father worked in many of the great cities of 18 century Europe.

　　The family visited London, Munich, Vienna, Prague and Paries.

　　Mozart married Constanze Weber in Austrian Capital in 1782.

　　He described his wife as having "plenty of common sense and the kindest heart in the world".

　　Constanze had six children, but only two survived.

　　They were happy together, although their life was sometimes difficult.

　　In Vienna, Mozart wrote his greatest operas, musical plays performed with an orchestra.

　　His works were performed in other cities as well.

　　His marriage of Figaro was so popular in Prague that he was asked to write an opera especially for a music house there.

　　The opera he composed was Don Giovanni, considered by many to be his best.

　　The opera is based on the story of the lover and fighter, Don Juan, by the Spanish writer Tirso de Molina.

　　In this scene, the spirit of a man Don Giovanni had killed long ago returns to the world of the living to seize him and drag him down to hell.

　　Events have been held all over Europe and in the United States to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth.

　　Salzburg alone held about 500 events to celebrate the famous composer.

　　Vienna spent about 60 million dollars in public and private money for its Mozart celebration.

　　In reality, there is an ongoing Mozart celebration all the time.

　　Mozart's music is performed around the world.

　　Mozart died on December 5th, 1791. He was only 35.

　　He had composed more than 600 pieces of music.

　　Some experts consider Mozart the greatest composer of all time.

　　Near the end of his life, Mozart composed the 41 symphony.

　　After his death, it came to be known as Jupiter¹¹, possibly in praise of its style and expression.

　　Critics consider it one of Mozart's truly great works and a beautiful expression of the classical style that he helped to define¹².

　　Listen, and consider that what you have heard on our program represents just a few of Mozart's best works.

　　B. Now listen again. This time focus on some numbers or dates and the relevant information.

　　Supply the missing information.

1 requiem   

n.安魂曲，安灵曲

参考例句：

• I will sing a requiem for the land walkers.我会给陆地上走的人唱首安魂曲。
• The Requiem is on the list for today's concert.《安魂曲》是这次音乐会的演出曲目之一。

2 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。

3 patron   

n.资助人，赞助人，老主顾，顾客

参考例句：

• The student wants to find a wealthy patron in America.那学生想在美国找一个富有的赞助人。
• I hope that you will become our patron.我希望你将成为我们的靠山。

4 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

5 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

6 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

7 enrich   

vt.充实，使丰富，使富裕，使富有

参考例句：

• Some cream will enrich the sauce.在调味汁里加一些奶油会使其味道更加丰富。
• Music can enrich your life.音乐能丰富你的生活。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 patrons   

赞助人( patron的名词复数 )； 资助人； 老主顾； 名义赞助人（支持慈善组织等的名人，名字常用于有关的广告宣传中）

参考例句：

• "Of course. Every hotel depends upon the repute of its patrons. “当然啦，每家旅馆都要依靠其主顾的名声。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Patrons are requested to leave their bags in the cloakroom. 顾客请将手提包留在衣帽间。

10 enriched   

使富有( enrich的过去式和过去分词 )； 使富裕； 充实； 使丰富

参考例句：

• The study of science has enriched all our lives. 科学研究丰富了我们的整个生活。
• breakfast cereals enriched with vitamins 增加了维生素的早餐谷物食品

11 Jupiter   

n.木星

参考例句：

• Jupiter is unlike the Earth in almost every way.木星与地球几乎完全不同。
• The astronomers were taking an observation of Jupiter.天文学家们正在观测木星。

12 define   

vt.解释，下定义，阐述，限定，规定

参考例句：

• Please define the words.请解释这些字的意义。
• It's hard to define exactly what has changed.很难解释清楚到底发生了什么变化。