蔣海云

對于中國的樂器，你了解多少呢？

主題語境：樂器 篇幅：365詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1 Chinese musical instruments can trace its history to sev?eral thousand years ago. Each of the instruments produces aunique sound and effect. These Chinese musical instrumentsnot only entertain people but also play an important part intraditional Chinese culture. Now let us have a look at some fa?mous Chinese musical instruments.

2 Erhu is a kind of two?stringed bowed musical instru?ment. Its history can date back to the Tang Dynasty over 1，000years ago. Erhu can be used in a solo performance as well as insmall musical groups and large orchestras. It is one of the most popular bowed string instru?ments used by many ethnic groups in China. This instrument is very popular in the Asianculture circle. The classical erhu melodies include The Moon over a Fountain 《（ 二泉映月》）， Horse Racing《（ 賽馬》） and Jackdaw Playing in the Water《（ 寒鴉戲水》）.

3 Guzheng is a Chinese plucked （彈） zither. It is made of 18?23 or more strings andmovable bridges. People believe that it was inventedduring the Warring States Period. The performerplucks the strings at the right portion with his righthand， and his left hand presses the string on the leftside of the bridge to produce pitch （音高） ornamen?tation and vibrato （顫音）. The skilled player can create sounds that can evoke the senseof waterfall， thunder， and even the scenic countryside. The classical guzheng melodies in?clude High Mountain and Running Water《（ 高山流水》）， Fishing Boat Sings the Evening《（ 漁舟唱晚》） and The Moon over the Han Palace《（ 漢宮秋月》）.

4 Dizi is a Chinese style flute. Dizi is made of bam?boo， and the body has six finger?holes， one blow?hole，and an extra hole between them covered by a thin mem?brane （薄膜） of reed. Dizi is a classical Chinese musicalinstrument widely used. It is also very popular with thecommon Chinese people as it is easier to make and playthan other musical instruments. The classical dizi melodies include Guangling Verse《（ 廣陵散》）， Moon on Guan Mountain《（ 關(guān)山月》）， Wild Geese on the Sandbank《（ 平沙落雁》）and Plum?blossom in Three Movements《（ 梅花三弄》）.

5 Other traditional Chinese musical instruments include suona， the big drum， chimes（編鐘）， xiao， hulusi， pipa， guqin and so on.

Reading Check

1. How many Chinese musical instruments are introduced in detail？

A. Two.? B. Three.? C. Six.? D. Ten.

2. Which melody is created by using erhu？

A. Jackdaw Playing in the Water.

B. High Mountain and Running Water.

C. The Moon over the Han Palace.

D. Moon on Guan Mountain.

3. What does the underlined word“evoke”in paragraph 3 probably mean？

A. Imitate.? B. Use. C.? Bring. D. Outline.

Difficult sentences

1. These Chinese musical instruments not only entertain people but also play an im?portant part in traditional Chinese culture. 這些中國樂器不僅給人們帶來娛樂，而且在中國傳統(tǒng)文化中起著重要的作用。

【點(diǎn)石成金】該句中，not only...but also...意為“不但……而且……”，在句中連接兩個并列的成分。

2. The performer plucks the strings at the right portion with his right hand， and his left hand presses the string on the left side of the bridge to produce pitch ornamentation and vi?brato. 表演者用右手彈右邊的弦，左手按琴馬左邊的弦，以產(chǎn)生音高和顫音。

【點(diǎn)石成金】該句中，and連接兩個并列句，to produce pitch ornamentation and vi?brato為動詞不定式作目的狀語。

Cultural Background

琵琶——傳統(tǒng)彈撥樂器

琵琶，彈撥樂器首座，撥弦類弦鳴樂器，是中國傳統(tǒng)彈撥樂器，已有兩千多年的歷史。琵琶是由木制或竹等制成，音箱呈半梨形，上裝四弦，原先是用絲線，現(xiàn)多用鋼絲、鋼繩、尼龍制成。琵琶頸與面板上設(shè)有以確定音位的“相”和“品”，演奏時豎抱，左手按弦，右手五指彈奏，是可獨(dú)奏、伴奏、重奏、合奏的重要民族樂器。

最早被稱為“琵琶”的樂器大約在中國秦朝出現(xiàn)。其名“琵”“琶”是根據(jù)演奏這些樂器的右手技法而來的，也就是說，琵和琶原是兩種彈奏手法的名稱，琵是右手向前彈，琶是右手向后挑。