Unit
2
The universal language
Welcome to the unit
How do people from different countries
communicate with each other?
Music: universal language?
violin
drum
guitar
saxophone
accordion
Brainstorming
Vocabulary related to music
• classical music, pop music,
folk music, swing music, blues,
jazz, rock and roll, rap, opera
• people related to • musician, singer, composer,
music
pianist, violinist
• kinds of music
• musical
instruments
• guitar, piano, violin, drum
Picture 1
What are the people doing in this picture?
What do you know about jazz?
(Jazz is a musical art form.At the beginning of the
20th century, jazz music was the most popular type
of music.Most musicians at that time were black.)
Do you know any famous jazz musicians?
Louis
Armstrong,one
of the most
famous jazz
musicians,was
born in New
Orleans.He
created
wonderful jazz
music with his
trumpet(喇叭，
小号）
Jazz musician: Louis Armstrong
Picture 2
What is Chinese opera?
Chinese opera is a traditional form of theatre in
China.It started in the Tang Dynasty when
Emperor Xuanzong founded the ‘Pear
Garden’.A Chinese opera performance includes
elements such as
dance,song,dialogue,swordplay and
acrobatics(杂技).And a character’s
age ,gender(性别),movements,props(道具),and
the colour of the costumes(戏服)
What does Chinese opera sound like?
To some young people nowadays ,the music
accompanied by gongs（锣）,cymbals
（钹）,drums and stringed instruments sounds a
bit ‘shrill’(尖声的，刺耳的） and ‘noisy’.
However,the stories and the melodies are unique.
• Do you know any famous Chinese opera
performers?
Li Yugang
Chinese opera master: Mei Lanfang
Do you know
any famous
Chinese opera?
Opera the White-haired lady
Picture 3
What is the girl doing in this picture?
What do you know about the violin?
（The violin belongs to the string family of
instruments.It is made of wood and
uses strings)
Do you know any famous violinists or the
violin solo(独奏）or concerto(协奏曲）？
Violinist: Paganini
Picture 4
What is the man doing in this picture?
What do you know about the piano?
The piano is a large musical instrument
which consists of a long row of black
and white keys attached to a wooden
box,inside of that are metal strings.)
Do you know of any famous pianists?
Composer and pianist: Beethoven
Discussion
• What is your favorite kind of music?
• Who is your favorite musician?
• Have you ever watched an opera? What
do you know about Chinese opera ?
Make up a dialogue
Ask you partner what kind of music he/she
likes best and why he/she likes about it.
You may start your dialogue like this:
A: Hello, XXX. I heard that you like music
very much. Could you tell me what kind of
music you like?
B: Sure. I like …
A: why do you like it?
B: I think the reason why I like this kind of
music is …
…
The Story of Schubert's Famous Piece of Music
[一首舒伯特名曲的遭遇]
Franz Suhubetr was a famous musician in the
world .But he lived a very hard life and often went
hungry.
One day he was very hungry and went to a small
restaurant, hoping he might meet some friends there to
borrow some money .He looked round the restaurant
but found nobody .Then his eyes fell on piece of paper
on one of the tables .On it was a short poem .He read
the poem and liked it very much .So he sat down and
began to write a piece of music for the poem .Then he
took his work to the owner of the restaurant .He only
received a dish of beef and potato for it.
Summary
From your dicussion ,we know ,different people like
different kinds of music
Chinese opera is a kind of music
with a long history. But some
young Chinese don’t like it at all.
Some even think that it is noisy.
Homework
1. Write a short passage about your
favourite musician.
2. Preview the reading.