英语时文泛读 Current News Articles for Extensive Reading

1. 英语时文泛读Current News Articles for Extensive Reading BOOK IV

2. Entertainment

3. I. Overview • In this unit, you will read 3 passages about the cultural life of the Americans.

4. Structure • This unit will give you a glimpse of the world of entertainment that enriches the life of Americans and the viewpoints on the evolution of media.

5. The Return of the Broadway Boogie-Woogie It tells of the story of the choreographer Garth Fagan and Winton Marsalis, the co-founder and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, who saw things the same way and who collaborated in their joint productions of some Broadway hits. Text A

6. The author who once worked with the BBC looks at the role television plays from the viewer’s perspective, claiming that as a watcher, he is able to appreciate its strengths and understand its weaknesses too. Behold the Golden Age of Television Text B

7. What will become of the television in a digital era? There is a battle that is going on for the viewer of the future. The writer concludes that “whatever they are watching, on whichever device, it’s safe to say that the consumers of tomorrow’s entertainment will be doing their own thing.” Your Own World Text C

8. Focus of this session

9. II. Text A The Return of the Broadway Boogie-Woogie • Main Idea of the Text • It was “mutual admiration” that “led to collaboration” between the choreographer Garth Fagan (representative work: The Lion King) and Winton Marsalis, the co-founder and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center jointly produced “Griot New York.” They wanted to convey the varied experiences of New Yorkers, especially of Africans and of blacks from the Caribbean. And they have plan to work together on something new.

10. Author Valerie Gladstone Professional writer and editor for more than 20 years, specializing in the arts. Editor at: Harper’s, Americana and Channels magazines, Newsweek Books and The Asia Society. Writer: NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Boston Globe, NY Sun, Art and Auction, Art and Antiques, Artnews, Town and Country, Travel and Leisure, Playbill, The Nation and many others. Background Information

11. Source The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record. The Times is owned by The New York Times Company, which publishes 18 other newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe. The company's chairman is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., whose family has controlled the paper since 1896. Background Information

12. Garth Fagan, born 1940 in Jamaica, West Indies, dancer, choreographer. He won many honors and awards In 1996, Fagan was chosen to choreograph Walt Disney Theatrical Productions new musical The Lion King which opened on Broadway in the fall 1997 to extraordinary critical praise. Cultural Notes

13. Wynton Learson Marsalis (b. October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter and composer. He is among the most prominent jazz musicians of the modern era and is also a well-known instrumentalist in classical music. He is also the Musical Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. A compilation of his series of inspirational letters to a young jazz musical student, named Anthony, has been published as To a Young Jazz Musician. Cultural Notes

14. Duke Ellington: Edward Kennedy Ellington was born into the world on April 29, 1899 in Washington, D.C. Some of Ellington’s greatest works include “Rockin’ in Rhythm,” “Satin Doll,” “New Orleans,” “A Drum is a Women,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Happy-Go-Lucky Local,” “The Mooche,” and “Crescendo in Blue.” He is considered amongst the world’s greatest composers and musicians. Cultural Notes

15. Martin Puryear (born May 23, 1941) is an African American sculptor. He is considered one of the foremost sculptors of the present day, and the leading African American sculptor. He works in media such as wood, stone, tar, and wire, and his work is a union of minimalism and traditional crafts. Cultural Notes Artist Martin Puryear, first from left

16. The Lion King is a Tony and Olivier Award-winning Broadway and West End musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name and is directed by Julie Taymor, portraying actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical. The stage show debuted July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was an instant and tremendous success before moving permanently to the New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway in New York, New York, that October. Cultural Notes

17. Bujumbura is the capital city of Burundi. The city lies at the northeastern corner of Lake Tanganyika and, with an estimated population of 300,000 in 1994, is Burundi’s largest city and its administrative, communications, and economic center. Manufactures include textiles and soap. Bujumbura is Burundi’s main port and ships most of the country’s chief export, coffee, as well as cotton, skins, and tin ore. Cultural Notes

18. Stuart Davis (December 7, 1892–June 24, 1964), was an early American modernist painter. He was well known for his Jazz influenced, proto pop art paintings of the 1940s and 1950s, bold, brash, and colorful. Cultural Notes

19. Romare Bearden (September 2, 1911–March 12, 1988) was an African-American artist and writer. He worked in several media including cartoons, oils, and collage. Cultural Notes

20. Language Points Key Words & Expressions • in its entirety (para. 4): • including every parts 作为一个整体 • e.g. • He bought the collection of books in its entirety. （ 他把这套书全部买了下来。）

21. Language Points • sketch out (para. 5): • to describe something in a general way, giving the basic ideas 简介，简短描述 • e.g. • Holford sketched out a 10-year programme for rebuilding the city. （ Holford 简要描述了重建城市的10年计划。）

22. Language Points • touch on (para. 5): • Mention 与……有关, 涉及 • e.g. • In his lecture on geology, he touched on the subject of climate. （ 他在关于地质学的报告中, 也谈及气候问题。）

23. Language Points • count on (para. 4): • to depend on 期望, 指望 • e.g. • I’m counting on you to persuade her. （ 我指望你能说服她。）

24. Language Points • make up (para. 14): • invent sth, especially to deceive sb 编造 • e.g. • Tom makes up stories to amuse his little brother. （ 汤姆编故事逗他的小弟弟。）

25. Language Points • hold sb. to sth (para. 17): • make sb. keep a promise 使某人遵守（诺言） • e.g. • He promised her a honeymoon in Paris when they got married, and she held him to it. （ 他们结婚时，他答应带她到巴黎度蜜月，她要求他遵守诺言。）

26. Language Points Difficult Sentences • I tried to understand the choreography as well as I could with my level of sophistication, which was very little at the time. (para. 2) • Which was very little 在此处指“sophistication”。此句子意为“我尽力用我的经验水平来理解舞蹈的编舞，而当时我的经验是非常少的”。

27. Language Points • Already trained in a vigorous, highly rhythmic style—a fusion of African, Caribbean and modern dance and ballet techniques—Mr. Fagan’s dancers find in “Griot New York,” with many sequences set to calypso, blues and other social dance forms, an occasion to display their extraordinary virtuosity and musicality. (para.7) • 此句中关键句型为“find in sth sth”，意为Mr. Fagan在Griot New York中找到一个展示他们超凡脱俗的精湛技艺和音乐风格的机会。

28. Language Points • With Mr. Fagan’s themes in mind, Mr. Marsalis wrote a score with sudden and abrupt contrasts similar to what he admires in certain paintings. “The form that I often used is collage,” he said. “It cuts from one thing to another, like New York from one block to another, like Stuart Davis’s paintings. Or a certain type of Romare Bearden collage: it has the feeling of the city, but it also deals with country themes. It’s cutting back and forth with a lot of swift, angular things. （para. 9） • 此句关键理解点在音乐和绘画之间的通感。作曲家把自己喜爱的画家的绘画技艺带到了作曲中，音乐的表现方式和绘画中的拼贴很像，有很多突然的强烈对比。