英語趣味課堂：音樂 Music

Michael: OK, so then. Hi! I'm Michael. I'm from Toronto.

Simon: Yeah, Hi! I'm Simon from Vancouver.

Michael: Simon!

Simon: That's right!

Michael: So, are you francophone?

Simon: No, I'm not Francophone. That's a common mistake that other Canadians make. My parents were German so they use the German pronunciation of Simon, which is Simon

Michael: Oh, really

Simon: Yeah!

Michael: OK, so the German and the French are.

.

Simon: Pretty similar. Ah, similar! Ah, yeah, Spanish, French, German. Pretty much only English has the Simon pronunciation of that, that name.

Michael: OK, so you're from Vancouver.

Simon: Yeah, that's right.

Michael: I'm from Toronto but some of my favorite music came from Vancouver. Ah, I'm not quite sure, you look quite young, you may not have ever seen DOA play.

Simon: I'm very familiar with DOA. Actually, I'm older than I look. I'm 33, so I come from the DOA generation.

Michael: Excellent, so did you go to the Commodore Ballroom?

Simon: That's right, and I've actually seen DOA at the Commodore and almost got hit in the head by a beer can that they throw out during their concerts. They like to throw beer cans into the crowd.

Michael: Well, I saw DOA at the university of Windsor where I went to do my undergraduate degree, and it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. It was great.

Simon: Yeah! I mean when I was in high school, they were already old, so but uh, they kept rocking'.

Michael: So how bout the, do you know, how long have you been in Japan? Do you go back and have you seen

any new bands in Vancouver.

Simon: Ah, well, I've been in Japan just over a year so not that long. I did go back one time but we didn't see any concerts and the commodore has changed since those days of DOA.

Michael: OK, just to show you how out of it I've become, but I've just recently discovered Nickel Back which is from Vancouver as well and also a band that I don't think die hard DOA fans would like cause it's pretty conventional rock I guess, but I like them.

Simon: Yeah, I don't. I mean, they've got catchy tunes that many people like, for example my girlfriend who's Japanese loves Nickle Back, but I didn't even know they were from Vancouver. You know, they're just I thought there were from the Prairies or something like that. Yeah, there not cool enough.

Michael: They're not cool enough.

Simon: I think their music is crap.

Michael: Do you really?

Simon: Yeah, it's, I mean they sound the same as any number of bands, you know.

Michael: OK, can you think of any group from Vancouver that is cool? A new band!

Simon: A new band. Well, you've caught me at a time because I'm in Japan and so new music doesn't really resonate here. Is that the correct word to say?

Michael: Well, what's your definition of new then? Is it like a minute old?

Simon: I can't say, you know, you stumped me on new music. Yeah, how bout you? Do you want to tell me about some music that you're listening to now?

Michael: Oh, you see, once you become aged" target="_blank">middle-aged you start listening to a lot of stuff that you listened to when you were in high school or you actually find yourself nauseatingly wanting to hear things that you hated when you were in high school and it brings back memories, like I can actually say that I enjoy doing a lesson where I have to play ABBA for my students, whereas I hated it when I was a kid. When I was in high school if you put an ABBA record on I probably would have punched you.

Simon: Oh, sure as and ESL teacher, we both have to play, you know, cheesy ballads9 and things like that for our students because that's what they like. Yeah. OK, let's get back to the music. You know, they're probably already old, yeah, if you want good solid Rock, I mean, the next best thing was The White Stripes a few years ago and their still quite good.

Michael: And they're from Vancouver?

Simon: No, they're from somewhere in the states. But they play, you know, really edgy10 sort of classical style rock for the modern age. I don't know, for the 2000, yeah.

Michael: I'm reading this book now about the so called Cam-Rock Renaissance, during the period 1985 to 1995. Bands like DOA of course, we've already mentioned, also from Vancouver, Skinny Puppy, would probably.

Simon: Skinny puppy! There's a name I haven't heard in awhile.

Michael: Yep, and The Tragically Hip.

Simon: Overplayed group.

Michael: Overplayed! Tragically Hip is probably the most popular group in Canada, though.

Simon: Yeah, I lived with a techno DJ in university, so we often had parties at our house and he would play his new stuff that he was very proud of, you know, acid jazz, hip-hop beats, and all kind of weird stuff, but good, and he had a rule because people kept on coming up to him and saying, "Can you play 'The Hip' man?" and he always said, "They'll be no 'Hip' played at this house!"

Michael: That sounds like something I did when I was DJing in bar. Everyone would ask me to play Guns n' Roses and I absolutely despised them. I even went to the extent of buying one of the waitresses their album so that she would never request them again, but unfortunately I didn't have enough money to buy everyone the album and I found myself playing them sometimes two or three times, and the same song two or three times. It wasn't my place. I couldn't make the rule your friend made.

Simon: Yeah, I could hear the recurring theme. Play GNR man!

Michael: Yeah!

Simon: Well, let's wrap up that, this conversation.

學(xué)習(xí)內(nèi)容：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

Francophone

I'm not Francophone.

Someone who is 'Francophone' speaks French. Notice the following:

He's Francophone, which is why he has an accent.

She really enjoys Francophone music.

common mistake

That's a common mistake that other Canadians make.

A 'common mistake' is an error that many people make. Notice the following:

Driving too fast is a common mistake when you first get your driver's license.

It's a common mistake that people make to assume he's Italian.

undergraduate degree

I went to the University of Windsor for my undergraduate degree.

You 'undergraduate degree' is the first degree that you get in university. Each program usually takes four or five years. Notice the following:

He went to school in California for his undergraduate degree.

She has an undergraduate degree in biology.

resonate

New music doesn't really resonate in Japan.

In this case 'resonate' is used to mean something like echo or be heard. Basically the statement is saying that most people don't listen to new music in Japan. Notice the following:

Sounds really resonate in this room.

His thoughts still resonate around the campus.

middle-aged

Once you become middle-aged, you start listening to a lot of stuff that you listened to when you were in high school.

You are considered to be 'middle-aged' when you are between 45 and 65 years old. Notice the following:

Most people's bodies change a lot when they are middle-aged.

My parents aren't old, they're middle aged.

1 ballroom

n.舞廳

參考例句：

The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞廳老板給他們免費。

I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一個星期跳兩次交際舞。

2 bout

n.侵襲，發(fā)作;一次(陣，回);拳擊等比賽

參考例句：

I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一陣緊張。

That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的發(fā)作使她虛弱了。

3 catchy

adj.易記住的，詭詐的，易使人上當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

參考例句：

We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我們需要新的口號，舊的不夠吸引人。

The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

4 tunes

n.曲調(diào)，曲子( tune的名詞復(fù)數(shù) )v.調(diào)音( tune的第三人稱單數(shù) );調(diào)整;(給收音機、電視等)調(diào)諧;使協(xié)調(diào)

參考例句：

a potpourri of tunes 樂曲集錦

When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手時，她干脆暫時撒手不管。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》

5 stumped

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的過去式和過去分詞 ); 把(某人)難住; 使為難; (選舉前)在某一地區(qū)作政治性巡回演說

參考例句：

Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克氣喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艱難地走出房間。

He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被問得張口結(jié)舌，半天說不出話來。

6 middle-aged

adj.中年的

參考例句：

I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到兩個中年乘客。

The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.這種新護(hù)膚香膏受到了中年婦女的歡迎。

7 aged

adj.年老的，陳年的

參考例句：

He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老點了。

He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而記憶力還好。

8 nauseatingly

adj.令人惡心的，使人厭惡的v.使惡心，作嘔( nauseate的現(xiàn)在分詞 )

參考例句：

I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不從頭到尾聽那令人作嘔的故事。 來自《現(xiàn)代漢英綜合大詞典》

There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人惡心的腐爛食物的氣味。 來自《簡明英漢詞典》

9 ballads

民歌，民謠，特別指敘述故事的歌( ballad的名詞復(fù)數(shù) ); 謳

參考例句：

She belted out ballads and hillbilly songs one after another all evening. 她整晚一個接一個地大唱民謠和鄉(xiāng)村小調(diào)。

She taught him to read and even to sing two or three little ballads,accompanying him on her old piano. 她教他讀書，還教他唱兩三首民謠，彈著她的舊鋼琴為他伴奏。

10 edgy

adj.不安的;易怒的

參考例句：

She's been a bit edgy lately,waiting for the exam results.她正在等待考試結(jié)果，所以最近有些焦躁不安。

He was nervous and edgy, still chain-smoking.他緊張不安，還在一根接一根地抽著煙。

11 renaissance

n.復(fù)活，復(fù)興，文藝復(fù)興

參考例句：

The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文藝復(fù)興是一個文化上取得空前成就的時代。

The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大會的主題是文藝復(fù)興時期的歐洲。

12 tragically

adv. 悲劇地，悲慘地

參考例句：

Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他們的女兒不幸死于車禍。

Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父親在一場車禍中慘死。

13 hip

n.臀部，髖;屋脊

參考例句：

The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨連著髖骨。

The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀圍線上優(yōu)美地打著褶皺。

14 weird

adj.古怪的，離奇的;怪誕的，神秘而可怕的

參考例句：

From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.從他不尋常的行為看來，他好像有點怪。

His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳簡直笑死人。

15 recurring

adj.往復(fù)的，再次發(fā)生的

參考例句：

This kind of problem is recurring often. 這類問題經(jīng)常發(fā)生。

For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我們國家而言，它經(jīng)過了一個反復(fù)考驗的時期。

16 license

n.執(zhí)照，許可證，特許;v.許可，特許

參考例句：

The foreign guest has a license on the person.這個外國客人隨身攜帶執(zhí)照。

The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司機由于使用假車牌而被捕。