英语课程计划-World Music Day

World Music Day is on June the 21st. It is actually known as the Fête de la Musique, because it began in France. In 1976, an American musician, Joel Cohen, suggested the idea of an all-night music celebration. He wanted the festival to take place on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. His idea was adopted in France in 1982. It quickly spread to over one hundred cities around the world. The idea behind World Music Day is to promote music. This happens in two different ways. People play their music and perform, or busk, in the streets. These buskers can be professional or amateur¹ musicians. The second way is to hold free concerts. These are free for concert-goers and free for organizers – the artists receive no fee.

Music is defined² as “the art or science of combining vocal³ or instrumental⁴ sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” All music shares some common elements including pitch, rhythm and tempo⁵. The word ‘music’ originally comes from Greek. Music is a part of all cultures. Many of us cannot live without it. We have to listen to it or produce it. We sing in the shower, download digital music from the Internet, and the lucky ones make a living from making it. Each country has its own music traditions and culture. This gives the music from each country its own unique and distinctive⁶ sound. We know instantly whether a piece of music comes from India, Africa, Australia or South America.

1 amateur   

adj.业余的，非专业的；n.业余爱好者

参考例句：

• He made an amateur attempt to build a cupboard.他很外行地试做了一个碗柜。
• Although Tom's only an amateur he's a first-class player.虽然汤姆只是个业余爱好者，但却是一流的高手。

2 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

3 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

4 instrumental   

adj.仪器的，器械的，乐器的，起作用的，有帮助的

参考例句：

• It is an instrumental work.这是一部可以用乐器演奏的作品。
• He was instrumental in catching the criminal.在捉拿那个罪犯的过程中，他起了作用。

5 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

6 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。