Unit 9 Are you interested in Opera & Drama?,Are you interested in Opera & Drama?,Are you interested in Opera & Drama?,Learning objectives,To know the traditional Chinese culture of opera To know the outstanding opera in China To know some useful terms of opera and drama,Part 1 Focus on the topic,One of the great traditional Chinese cultures is Chinese opera. Do you know something about it?,2. Try to list as many famous Beijing operas as you can. And show a fragment of the one which you are familiar with.,3. Do you know anything about drama?,Part 2 Vocabulary study,Exercise one. Match the definitions in Column B with the words in Column A. Column A Column B 1. exterior A. thing that is suggested or implied 2. excel B. strictly honest or honorable 3.absorb C. on the outside or outside surface of something 4. avid D. to take (sth.) in; suck up 5. paradise E. most important 6. implication F. a place or situation that is extremely beautiful 7. valiant G. brave or determined 8. prime H. to be exceptionally good at sth. 9. upright I. eager; greedy 10. yielding J. likely to accept the wishes of others,Keys,Exercise two. Fill in each blank with the proper form of the word given in brackets. 1. The two countries have combined (combine) against their common enemy in recent years. 2. The books in the library are classified (classify) by subject. 3. The style of architecture originates (originate) from the ancient Greeks. 4. As an official, he always talks about the social (society) problems with his colleagues. 5. Marry suffered a facial (face) cut in the accident. 6. Comparatively speaking, Western art gives more weight to symbolism and implication (imply) while Chinese art is more romantic and expressive. 7. All of us are captured (capture) by the beautiful music. 8. The mother patted (pat) the baby, and a few minutes later, he fell asleep. 9. In order to show the loyalty (loyal) to the Party, he swore under the flag. 10. Its so lucky that I have a chance to appreciate (appreciate) the original handicraft made by the famous artist.,Part 2 Vocabulary study,Exercise three. Fill in the blanks with the words given below. Change the word form where necessary. 1. The actor made a/an graceful exit. 2. The tune was composed at the beginning of the War of Liberation. 3. The government will adopt the new policy on May 1st. 4. She is avid for news of her son. 5. The soil around here doesnt absorb water very well. 6. He was a/an drummer in a rock band. 7. As a monitor, you have to set a/an positive example for the others. 8. Too much smoking always has negative effect on your health. 9. We should be upright in our business dealings. 10. The teams success was largely due to her efforts.,Part 2 Vocabulary study,Part 3 Reading one,Beijing Opera Beijing opera of China is a national treasure, which dates back to the year 1790. That year local opera troupes of Anhui Province came to Beijing on a performance tour on the order of the imperial court. The tour was a hit and the troupes stayed. The artists absorbed the tunes of the Hubei local opera and drew on the best of Kun Qu, Qin Qiang and other local operas. There is no lacking of social celebrities among Beijing opera fans. Emperor Guang Xu of the Qing Dynasty, for example, was not only a good amateur Beijing opera singer, but was also a good drummer in the Beijing opera orchestra. The Empress Dowager was an avid Beijing opera fan, too. The huge three-storey theater in the Summer Palace is a proof of her love for Beijing opera.,Part 3 Reading one,With a history of over 200 years, Beijing opera, which originated in Beijing, is the operatic form commanding the biggest following. It combines acting, dialogue, singing, music, dancing and acrobatics, and its roles can be classified in four categories: “sheng”, “dan”, “jing”, and “chou”. In acting and acrobatics, different roles follow different patterns, all rather exaggerated, suggestive and symbolic. The actions of opening a door, going up the stairs, rowing a boat or climbing a hill, for instance, are done purely through the mime-like movement of actors without the help of props. The costumes in Beijing opera are graceful, magnificent, elegant and brilliant, most of which are made in handicraft embroidery. As the traditional Chinese pattern is adopted, the costumes are of a high aesthetic value.,Part 3 Reading one,The outstanding Beijing opera actor Mei Lanfang was a great artist who excelled in singing, recitation and dancing and had a fine understanding of music, costumes and make-up. Since Mei Lanfang, the grand master of Beijing opera, visited Japan in 1919, Beijing opera has become more and more popular with people all over the world, and it has made an excellent contribution to cultural exchange between China and the West, to friendly association and to the improvement of solidarity. Many foreigners are inte