自考高级英语各类笔记汇总 上册 Lesson1

背景知识（Background knowledge）

Rock Music

A form of popular music is characterized by a pronounced, amplified beat. Electric guitars are almost always the main instrumental sound source. The modem rock band's basic elements are one or more vocalists, an electric lead guitar and bass guitar and drums. A rhythm guitar is often included, and many bands also use keyboards. "Rock-and-roll" was coined in the mid-1950 by a Cleveland broadcaster, Alan Freed, to replace "rhythm-and-blues"——a term that Freed thought had too many racial overtones'. (It was being called "race music" in some quarters at the time.) Rhythm-and-blues was itself an updated, urbanized stylization of the blues, which had been developed mainly by rural or country-oriented black musicians. When the music was renamed rock-and-roll, it also underwent an elemental change, particularly when white performers saw how eagerly young audiences responded. "White" music——that is essentially conventional popular music with a decided country-and-western flavor——was blended with rhythm-and-blues, and young people continued to hold a proprietary attitude about it. Rock went through its share of phases and participated in a number of pop culture fads.

课文要义（Main idea of the text）

The author focuses on the social influences of the rock music in terms of sociology. By contrasting different attitudes toward the rock among the young and adult audience, the author points out that rock is served as an expression of social ideas, and also provides a debating stage for different ideas. Rock 'n' roll stars express the young generation's viewpoints on various political and social problems, and also help the society see its own beliefs and attitudes, and express the young men's feelings and hope.

词汇(Vocabulary)

1.adulation: (n.) excessive admiration or praise; flattery

The magazine is full of the fan’s adulation of their favorite pop stars.

杂志上充满了歌迷对他们所喜爱的歌手的吹捧。

adulate: (v.) flatter

He respected science without adulating it. 他尊重科学而不迷信科学。

The leaders are easily adulated . 领导容易受逢迎.

adulator (n.)=ass-kisser/ apple-polisher/ toad-eater 溜须拍马的人

2.affluent: prosperous

3.ban: (v.) officially forbid

ban the use of nuclear weapons/chemical weapons

4.bewilderment: (n.) confusion 困惑, state of being confused.

The child watched the noisy crowd in bewilderment. 孩子目瞪口呆地看着嘈杂的人群。

Young people usually bewildered by the adult world. 年青人总是被成人世界里的事情所迷惑。

bewilder: (v.) confuse [bewilder (v.)=confuse, esp. with numerous conflicting situations, objects or statement.] The city traffic often bewildered me when I was young. 小时候，城市交通常使我不知所措。

Big city 's traffic bewilders me . 大城市的交通使我不知所措.

bewildering (adj.) very confusing 令人迷惑不解的

What she had said was bewildering to me . 她所说的令我迷惑不解.

bewildered (adj.) completely puzzled 迷惑不解

He was bewildered by her question . 他被她的问题弄得不知所措.

5.baptismal (adj.)-baptism (n.)=ceremony marking a person’s admission into the Christian Church by sprinkling him

with water.洗礼

e.g. baptism of fire 首次严峻的考验

baptize (v.)

6.celebrate: (v.) praise; honor

Today his words and deeds are celebrated throughout the land. 今天他的言行受到全国人民的赞颂。

The deeds of many heroes are celebrated by poets. 许多英雄的行为受到诗人的赞美。

7.conceive 设想，想出，想像conceive of sth.

以-ceive为词根的有conceive, perceive（理解，感知）, deceive （欺骗）

You cannot conceive how rude he is to me. 你无法想象他对我是多么粗鲁。

8.clash and crash: （押头韵alliteration）be in conflict with sth.