牛津英语模块八第二单元Reading精品教案1

Reading Turandot in BeijingStep 1: Lead-inBoys and girls, I’m glad to tell you that today we’ll have achance to enjoy a section of performance of Giacomo Puccini’sworld-famous opera, Turandot.OK. It is performed in the Forbidden City in Beijing. Can you guess who directed it? (Zhang Yimou.)Have you seen any of Zhang Yimou’s films?Do you like them? Why or why not?What else has Zhang Yimou directed besides films? ( They are the‘Bid for the 29th Olympic Games in Beijing’, which was shown in Moscow, a performance at the closing ceremony at Athens OlympicGames, an outdoor performance of Third Sister Liu in Guilin andTurandot in Beijing).Have you seen or have you ever heard of the opera Turandot?If you have seen or heard of it, Can you tell us what it is about?Step 2: Fast reading for general ideasA review is a report or an essay giving some information as well as some opinions or ideas about a book, a performance, a painting or something similar.In our lesson today, we will read a review of an opera. What do you think the review will tell us? (It will give us some background information about Turandot, tell us about the plot of the opera and give other information, such as the actors’ names, as well as an evaluation of the performance as a whole.)Go through the passage as quickly as possible and try to find answers to the three questions in part A on page 2. Just focus on and identify the information needed to AnswersA 1 Turandot is an opera that tells the story of a cold-heartedChinese princess, named Turandot, who lives in the Forbidden City.To avoid marriage, she says that any potential husband must answerthree riddles correctly or die.2 Giacomo Puccini wrote the opera. The final scene wascompleted by Franco Alfano, one of his students, based on Puccini’snotes after he died.3 It was performed outdoors.1. Let’s read the passage a second time and find out the background information of the opera. Then complete the table:Main characters of thestory Turandot—a Chinese princess；Calaf—a prince；Liu —Calaf’s father’s young slaveSetting Beijing’s Forbidden CityPlot The story takes on the classic love triangle of the threemain characters Turandot, Calaf and Liu. Liu lovesCalaf, but Calaf has fallen in love with Turandot.Because Turandot does not want to get married, shedeclares that anyone who wants to marry her mustanswer her three questions. If the one cannot answerthese questions, he will be killed.Director Zhang YimouConductor Zubin Mehta, an internationally famous conductor bornin IndiaActors and actresses Sharon Sweet—Turandot; Barbara Hendricks—Liu;Kristjan Johannsson—Calaf; other singers andmusicians from abroad and China3. Read the text again and choose the best answers according to the text.⑴How many performances of Turandot were performed in the Forbidden City in Beijing?A. eightB. sevenC. oneD. the text doesn’t mention it⑵Who wrote Turandot and when was it written?A. Giacomo Puccini, in 1924B. Giacomo Puccini’s former student, in 1924C. Zubin Mehta, in the 1990sD. Sharon Sweet, in the 1990s⑶When was Turandot staged in Beijing?A. in 1924B. in the twenty first centuryC. in the 1990sD. in 1998⑷How does the writer think of the opera?Keys(1)-(4) AACDAnswersC1 1 Because she felt that she could almost feel the history.2 She is cold-hearted.3 He was killed.4 She does not have to marry him.5 He promised to allow Turandot to choose her own husband.6 Eight.7 Turandot was played by Sharon Sweet from the USA, Liu was played byBarbara Hendricks from the USA and Calaf was sung by Kristianfind some background information, and then find out some important information, such as the actors’ names, and the writer’s opinions will follow these things. Now let’s1. Pair workTalk about a Western or a Chinese opera that you are all familiar with. Introduce theancient in origin, exist and are also sometimes called “opera” by analogy, usually prefaced with an adjective indicating the region (for example, Chinese opera). These independent traditions are not derivative of Western opera, but are rather distinct forms of musical theatre. Opera is also not the only type of Western musical theatre: in the ancient world, Greek drama featured singing and instrumental accompaniment; and in modern times, other forms such as the musical have appeared.The word opera means “works” in Italian (from the plural of Latin opus meaning “work” or “labour”) suggesting that it combines the arts of solo and choral singing, declamation, acting and dancing in a staged spectacle. Dafne by Jacopo Peri was the earliest composition considered opera, as understood today. It was written around 1597, largely under the inspiration of an elite circle of literate Florentine humanists who gathered as the "Camerata". Significantly, Dafne was an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama, part of the wider revival of antiquity characteristic of the Renaissance. The members of the Camerata considered that the "chorus" parts of Greek dramas were originally sung, and possibly even the entire text of all roles; opera was th us conceived as a way of “restoring” this situation. Dafne is unfortunately lost. A later work by Peri, Euridice, dating from 1600, is the first opera score to have survived to the present day. The honour of being the first opera still to be regularly perf ormed, however, goes to Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo, composed for the court of Mantua in 1607.For referenceOperaThe word opera comes from Italian, so the first operas came into being in Italy. The opera is a play in which a dramatic performance is set to music, so the actors and actresses sing some or all of their parts. In the late 17th century, the opera was popular in some other European countries, such as England, France and Germany.Giacomo Puccini and TurandotBorn on 22 December 1858 in Lucca, Puccini was one of the greatest Italian composers, some of whose operas, such as Madam Butterfly, Turandot, are still loved by people in different countries.Zubin MehtaZubin Mehta is one of the world’s greatest conductors. He beganhis conductor’s career when he was 25 years old, and he hasconducted quite a few famous philharmonics in the world, suchas the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New YorkPhilharmonic. Since 1991, he has led the Israel Philharmonic.1. Read the text again and again. Try to memorize the language points.2. Parts A1 and A2 on page108 of the Workbook.。