I walked to Mrs. Windsor’s house as I always did when I heard the piano. Before ringing the bell, I stood against the wall and sighed sadly. I daydreamed what I’d rather be doing. I had been tutored enough to read, understand, and even write some musical compositions, but I just didn’t have a gift for it. But Mrs. Windsor had offered to give me the lessons for free, so I felt it my duty to try.
The door opened. I walked in, sat down on the piano bench and began to sort through my sheet music. Today Mrs. Windsor introduced her niece Pasha to teach me. With a smile, Pasha sat beside me on the piano bench, opened my sheet music to the beginning page and asked me to play. I arranged my fingers on the keys. Then I frowned (皱眉) and concentrated to make the notes on the page match the finger movements. I had to admit I was a rather mechanical pianist.
After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of mine as if to calm my fingers. There was a long pause. “Jennifer, what are you hearing in the music?” I looked at her rather strangely and admitted I didn’t know what she meant.
“Here, let me try and you listen,” Pasha advised.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting her fingers dance lightly over the keys. Then, she began to play.
“See, it begins here beside some kind of river. Hear the water flowing beside you?”
Her fingers rose and fell gently on the keys. “Now the princess appears and she’s picking flowers from the water’s edge.” A happy piece of music filled the air in time to Pasha’s dancing fingers. “Oh, but she slips!” The music changed. “And our princess is being carried off by the fast-flowing stream. Quickly, the princess’ horse sees her plight (困境) and races to the river’s edge where he swims out to let her catch hold of him. Luckily, they make it to the bank and she hugs her faithful horse.” Pasha finished with a big smile and then looked at me.
I was delighted and advised to try another one. Pasha smiled and together we played many pieces of music that afternoon, finding the stories in the music and learning that sometimes it takes a friend to pull you out of the river onto dry land again.
1. Why did the author sigh sadly? (no more than 15 words)2. How did Pasha inspire the author to play the piano? (no more than 8 words)
3. What made the music change in Pasha’s playing? (no more than 10 words)
4. Please explain the meaning of the underlined sentence. (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of Pasha? Why? (no more than 25 words)
2 . Things to see, hear, watch and read.
For more culture coverage and streaming recommendations, see vulture. com.
MOVIES
Go to New York Film Festival
Sans virtual screenings.
Lincoln Center, through October 10.
The city’s most impressive cinema showcase opens with the world premiere (首映) of Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, with Deazel Washington and Frances McDormand as the ruthless(冷酷无情的) would-be royals, and includes new films from Pedro Almodóvar (Parallel Mothers), Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog）, Celine Sciamma (Petite Maman), Paul Verhoeven (Benedetta) and Apicbatpong Weerasethakul (Memoria).
ALISON WILLMORE
THEATER
See Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Rolling on the river.
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, reopens October 8.
With many Broadway shows returning, theater-goers can catch up with the shows they meant to attend but never quite got to. No one should miss a second chance to see star Adrienne Warren. The power-packed, laser-voiced performer will only be back playing the central role from October 8 to 31, and while her successor will no doubt be incredible, Warren...is simply the best. Do not miss her this time out.
HELEN SHAW
PODCASTS
Listen to Storytime with Seth Rogen.
Ft. celebrities and regular people.
Sirius XM’s Stitcher October 6.
Seth Rogen has teamed with producer Richard Parks III to show the stories of his interviewers as cinematically as possible, no matter how ordinary. Upcoming guests include Quinta Brunson, Joe Mande, and Paul Scheer.
NICHOLAS QUAH
ART
See Julian Lethbridge
Geometric abstractions.
Paula Cooper Gallery, 521 West 21" Street, through October 16.
Julian Lethbridge is a sort of under-known master of modeling the complex possibilities and variations of the visibility of thought. His works convey an intensity (强烈) of intention and a smoldering (郁积的) emotionalism.
JERRY SALTZ
1. Which of the following people is an actor in a movie?| A．Jane Campion. | B．Frances McDormand. |
| C．Seth Rogen. | D．Joel Coen. |
| A．Helen Shaw. | B．Nieholas Quah. |
| C．Alison Willmore. | D．Jerry Saltz |
| A．Paul Scheer is the producer. |
| B．Seth is interviewed on October 6. |
| C．You can hear common people's stories. |
| D．It covers as many cinemas as possible. |
| A．His paintings are full of models. |
| B．He is not very famous. |
| C．His art exhibition runs through October. |
| D．He has a complex personality. |
| A．Lincoln Center. |
| B．Paula Cooper Gallery. |
| C．521 West 21th Street. |
| D．Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. |
GRAMMY award-winning blues harmonica (口琴) player Sugar Blue made his first China performance in December 2017. Chinese audiences were amazed by his stormy playing of the harmonica.
Born on December 16, 1949 in New York, Sugar Blue is a great singer and composer. Sugar Blue’s love for music comes from his mother. Till today, he still vividly remembers the first time his mother took him to the Apollo Theater to see Stevie Wonder, a music genius. The way Wonder played the harmonica onstage greatly impressed Sugar Blue and made him even more determined to spend his life working on his musical dream.
Sugar Blue’s musical career has been quite smooth, in which New York City plays an integral part. At that time, the musical atmosphere in New York was very diverse, jazz, blues, pop, rock, etc.
He tries to pour everything that he feels about a song into it. His inspiration comes from people and the things that he comes across in his daily life, involving personal relationships, love, work, and daily struggles. In his eyes, you can write about the wonderful things that happen to you and you can also write about things that are not so good. He also draws inspiration from literature. Besides poetry, Zora Neale Hurston’s book also influenced him a lot, which is in his eyes “poetry from the first word to the last.”
Among the cities he has been to, Shanghai is his favorite. “In Shanghai, there’s rock and roll, jazz, hip-hop, traditional Chinese music. I had a wonderful experience.” he said. “The city itself is full of life and energy.”
In his new album, Sugar Blue writes a song about Shanghai to show his special love of it. The song features well-known Chinese sheng musician’s playing. Sugar Blue loves this song and highly values such cooperation with Chinese musicians.
1. How did Stevie Wonder influence Sugar Blue? (No more than 10 words)2. Please explain the underlined words “integral” in English. (No more than 1 words)
3. Where does Sugar Blue’s inspiration come from? (No more than 15 words)
4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about? (No more than 10 words)
5. What do you think is the most important reason for Sugar Blue’s success? Please explain. (No more than 20 words)
