一、(2012年天津卷)假设你是李津,你的美国朋友Chris就读于天津某国际学校。
他熟悉中国文化,特别是戏曲文化。
8月5日下午2:00在新落成的天津大剧院将上演越剧《梁山伯与祝英台》。
请你根据以下提示,用英语给Chris写一封电子邮件,邀请他一起观看演出。
☞提出邀请并简述原因;☞提出观剧后活动建议(如参观附近的博物馆或美术馆等);☞请求对方回复。
注意:1. 请使用规范英语,词数不少于100;2. 可适当加入细节,以使内容充实、行文连贯;3. 开头和结尾已给出,不计入总词数。
参考词汇:越剧Shaoxing Opera 《梁山伯与祝英台》Butterfly Lovers天津大剧院Tianjin Grand TheaterDear Chris,I have good news to tell you._______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________Yours,Li Jin【参考范文】Western people cry for Romeo and Juliet while the Chinese weep over Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.Popular in the southern region near the Yangtze River, the Shaoxing opera originated a century ago around Shengxian county, Zhejiang province. Because it belonged to the Yue Stage in ancient times, it was also called Yueju Opera. Derived from a kind of story-telling, Yueju Opera is noted for its lyricism and sweet tunes that give the performances local color.One of the most popular repertoires of the Yueju Opera, Butterfly Lovers is a story that begins when Zhu Yingtai, a woman disguised as man, goes to Hangzhou to study. On the way, she meets Liang Shanbo and they become sworn "brothers".When they have to part after three years in school, Zhu hints that she is a woman, but Liang does not understand. Later, when Liang learns the truth, he hurries to Zhu's family to make an offer of marriage, but finds Zhu's father has married her to the son of the county magistrate.With grief and indignation, Liang dies of illness. As Zhu stands crying in front of Liang's tomb,it opens, and Zhu jumps into it - and the two lovers turn into butterflies.二、留言条:邀请观看京剧表演假定你是李华,你想邀请在中国留学的英国好友Peter观看京剧表演,但Peter不在家,你给他写张留言条,包括以下内容:1、你到Peter家的目的;2、介绍京剧;3、询问什么时候方便,再约时间观看。
注意:1、词数100左右;2、可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯。
参考词汇:quintessence精华,精粹;ornate华丽的【参考范文】Dear Peter,I came to see you but you were out. I’d liketo invite you to see Beijing Opera with me next week, since you have always wanted to know more about Chinese culture since the first day to China.With a history of nearly 200 years, Beijing Opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre, which is considered as the quintessence of Chinese culture. The performers in ornate costume perform various stories happened in history to audience by singing, dance and motions. I can tell you more about it when we meet.Please let me know when you will be free and I will buy the tickets in advance. I sincerely hope that you can accept my invitation and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.Yours,Li HuaTraditional Chinese opera (Chinese: 戲曲; pinyin: xìqǔ; Jyutping: hei3 kuk1), or Xiqu, is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is a composite performance art that is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more than a thousand years, reaching its mature form in the 13th century during the Song Dynasty. Early forms of Chinese theater are simple, but over time they incorporated various art forms, such as music, song and dance, martial arts, acrobatics, as well as literary art forms to become traditional Chinese opera.There are numerous regional branches of traditional Chinese opera, including the Beijing opera, Shaoxing opera, Cantonese opera and kunqu and Lvju.附:Chinese Opera 戏曲In his ‘Civilization of China’(1911) Herbert Giles wrote “For pleasure pure and simple, independent of gains and losses, the theater occupies the warmest place in every Chinaman's heart.”. It was for centuries the top form of entertainment in China. It also goes by the name 国粹guócuìmeaning Quintessence of the nation.Chinese Opera is an art-form that includes many elements: music; dance; acting; mime; comedy; tragedy; acrobatics and martial arts. An aspiring opera performer has to learn to 唱念做打chàng niàn zuòdǎsing, talk, act and fight. Over the centuries the art form has become more refined, as in much of Chinese art, the aim is to emulate former masterpieces rather than innovate. There are strict rules and conventions that limit creativity and yet each generation seeks to surpass what has gone before.Operas are divided between Wenxi (civilian plays) and Wuxi (military dramas) and between dramas; comedies and farces. The story-lines come from folk tales, legends and classical literature - anything too contemporary was considered politically dangerous. It was forbidden to portray emperors or empresses of the current dynasty.The art was admired by European visitors, J.D. Vaughan wrote in the Penang Gazette in 1853 “...The scenes that followed I think you will allow deserve to be classed among our best farces.The characters are well sustained and the part of the young huntsman Ma Guan, well played...”.China National Peking Opera Company performing the Red Haired Galloping Horse opera at Meilanfang theatre in Beijing, China Copyright © Dreamstime see image licenseHistoryThere is evidence for opera as far back over a thousand years when Emperor Xuanzong created a troupe to perform in his ‘Pear Garden’, to this day opera performers are colloquially known as ‘Followers of the Pear Garden’. The province of Shanxi was the initial center for this new art-form. The opera was further developed in the Song dynasty and taken up during the Mongol dynasty with hundreds of local forms competing for audiences. During the Mongol dynasty the opera became more regimented with the Imperial form consisting of four acts, each with a different main actor.In the Ming dynasty, Kunqu Opera 昆曲kūn qǔoriginating from Suzhou, Jiangsu became the most important form; characteristically the bamboo flute is used as a melodious accompaniment in these operas. Some of the best loved works were written for Kunqu Opera in this period including “The Peony Pavilion”, “The Peach Blossom Fan”, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, and “Journey to the West”involving the impish antics of the monkey king.At the same time more roles were created including 丑Chǒu (a sort of clown using the Chinese character that means 'ugly') and a 净Jìng a striking, aggressive role. The Chou would often introduce earthy humor into the opera.The opera is somewhat similar to the state of European theater in the pre-Elizabethan era, as, for example the boys played the female parts and the sets were very bare. However unlike Europe, the Chinese form changed little in the following centuries. The repertoire was not enlivened by new stories and the lowly status of actors continued. For example, actors and their children were not permitted to enter the Imperial examinations and remained a class apart.There are a variety of forms in different regions of China through the ages but they broadly follow similar lines.China National Peking Opera Company performing the Red Haired Galloping Horse opera at Meilanfang theatre in Beijing Copyright © Dreamstime see image licensePeking Opera 京剧jīngjùQing Emperor Qianlong is credited with developing Bejing (Peking) Opera from the Kunqu and other forms he saw in Anhui and Hubei provinces. It merges singing, acrobatics, mime, dance and dialogue into a single art form. Dowager Empress Cixi was a great fan and patron of all the great actors of the day. As many as 10,000 operas were written at the peak of its popularity. It remains the main form of Chinese opera.Originally there were just four character roles, 老生lǎoshēng (elderly man) who played emperors; general and servants; 武生wǔshēng for military heroes. A wusheng needs to be a good acrobat as well as a good singer. 青衣qīng yīis the leading lady part often a high-born maiden or a simple country girl. 花旦huādàn (dan) is often a courtesan or slave girl. 小生xiǎoshēng is the juvenile male role but never the main lead.The female roles were played by young men as it was considered indecent for men and women to work together as actors. Qing Emperor Qianlong explicitly forbade female actors for his new Beijing operas. The ‘women’talk with a high pitched sing-song voice and sing in falsetto. Nowadays though women are played by women.The make-up is put on thickly over much of the face in standard designs and color schemes with well understood conventions. White make-up is used to clearly identify the villain; black for kind but forceful characters. Generals and warriors have bright red and yellow make-up as red indicates loyalty and courage; purple solemnity and fairness; green for wild and impulsive; blue for fierce and far-seeing characters. Generally the good characters have simple, smooth patterns of make-up while the evil ones have complex designs. The costume and make-up are all that is needed to identify a character.Chinese Musical AccompanimentMusical accompaniment is provided by a band of musicians often in plain view to the right hand side of the stage. Traditional instruments are used with heavy use of percussion. Chinese people use the phrase to go to ‘listen to the Opera’rather than ‘watch the Opera’. Connoisseurs may sit with their eyes closed to fully appreciate the music and singing; it is considered an essential part of the performance. Typically there will be about ten musicians playing a range of instruments: the erhu and huqin (stringed instruments); sheng (mouth organ); pipa (lute); suona(trumpet); gongs; wooden blocks and drums.VarietiesNorthernBeijing opera (Peking Opera) (京剧)Yu opera (豫剧)Errenzhuan/Bangzixi/Benbeng opera (二人转) (Northeast China) Hebei bangzi (河北梆子) (Hebei)Jiju (吉剧) (Jilin)Lüju (吕剧) (Shandong)Maoqiang (茂腔) (Shandong)Pingju (评剧) (Hebei)Puju (蒲剧) (Shanxi)Qinqiang (秦腔) (Shaanxi)Zaju (雜劇)Jinju (晋剧) (Shanxi)SouthernCantonese opera (Guangdong)Gaojia opera (Quanzhou)Huaguxi (花鼓戏) (Hubei/Hunan)Huangmei opera (Anhui)Shanghai opera (Shanghai)KunquLiyuan operaTeochew operaHakka opera (汉剧)Min opera (Fuzhou)Puxian opera (Putian, 莆仙戏) Nanxi (Wenzhou)Ouju (Wenzhou)Shaoxing opera/Yueju (Zhejiang) Taiwanese operaWuju (Jinhua)Sichuan opera (S。