英语听力精选进阶版 6070

Summer in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city, is the time for festivals. In August and September there are several different festivals which take place there.

The original Edinburgh International Festival started in 1947, and offers visitors a rich programme of classical music, theatre, opera and dance. The same year that the official festival began, a handful of theatrical¹ companies gatecrashed the festival and organised their own event, which grew into what is now called the Fringe Festival.

The term ‘fringe’ means something on the outside of the main event, but over the years, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has become the largest of all the festivals, and indeed the largest arts festival in the world!

The Fringe features performers and acts which are less traditional and more unconventional than those in the International Festival, and includes a lot of stand-up comedy shows, music and children’s entertainment. The Edinburgh Fringe is seen as an important place for up and coming stand-up comedians³ to perform at.

At the same time in Edinburgh there are various other festivals, such as the Jazz and Blues⁴ festival, the Book Festival, the Film Festival, and even an Internet Festival! There is also a multicultural⁵ festival called Mela, which celebrates the diversity of people living in Edinburgh, in particular people with South Asian origins.

Edinburgh Castle is the site of one of the most spectacular events – The Military Tattoo⁶. A military tattoo has nothing to do with a tattoo on your skin! It means a performance of military music, for example, by marching bands. In Scotland the military tattoo traditionally includes bagpipes⁷ and drums. This year the display will also feature dancers, horses and motorbikes!

Though you have to pay to attend most of the events at the various festivals, there are several groups who organise² large numbers of free events as well.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

festivals 节日

programme 节目

official 正式的

a handful of 一把，少数的

traditional 传统的

unconventional 与传统形式不同的

stand-up comedy 即兴喜剧表演，类似中国的单口相声

up and coming 有前途的

multicultural 多元文化的

diversity 多样性的 

spectacular 壮观的，引人注目的

military 军队的 

tattoo 纹身

marching bands 步操管乐队 

bagpipes 苏格兰风笛

gatecrashed 不请自来

1 theatrical   

adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的

参考例句：

• The final scene was dismayingly lacking in theatrical effect.最后一场缺乏戏剧效果，叫人失望。
• She always makes some theatrical gesture.她老在做些夸张的手势。

2 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。

3 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

6 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

7 bagpipes   

n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Yes, and I'm also learning to play the bagpipes. 是的，我也想学习吹风笛。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away. 于是醋溜先生拿过了风笛，风笛手牵走了奶牛。 来自互联网