Unit 3
Text A
Listening
First Listening
Before listening to the tape, have a quick look at the following word.
amaze
使惊羡
drum
鼓
harmonica
口琴
rock and roll music
摇滚乐
porch
门廊
audition
试唱
hit
轰动一时的人（或事、物）
album
集锦密纹唱片
influential
有影响的
encounter
遭到
charts
排行榜
Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then, choose the best answer to each of the following questions.
1. The main purpose of the listening passage is________.
A) to give an overview of Stevie Wonder's life and career
B) to analyze Stevie Wonder's most popular albums
C) to discuss different types of music in the U.S.
D) to discuss the status of blind people in the U.S.
2. Stevie's career as a pop musician can be described as________.
A) a long struggle to gain fame
B) great success from a young age on
C) a long but unremarkable career
D) early popularity that didn't last
3. Which of the following problems did Stevie NOT have to overcome?
A) Being born poor and blind.
B) An unhappy childhood.
C) A serious car accident.
D) Both A) and B).
4. Which of the following best describes Stevie Wonder?
A) A musician who sings mostly about love and romance.
B) A musician who is popular because he is blind.
C) A man who has been very successful despite many obstacles.
D) A typical poor black person in the U.S..
Pre-reading Questions
1. Do you know who Stevie Wonder is? What do you know about him and his accomplishments?
2. Besides Stevie Wonder, what other people with physical disabilities do you know about who have achieved fame and success? Describe who they are and what they have done.
3. How do you think you would feel if you became blind? How would it affect your life?
Stevie Wonder: Sunshine in the Shadow
When Stevie Morris was born, on May 13, 1950, the doctors shook their heads and told the mother that her son was born blind and likely would always be that way. She broke into tears.
Blind and black and poor — what kind of life could this new infant have? In her wildest dreams, Mrs. Morris could never have imagined that her new baby would become a famous musician called Stevie Wonder. At the time, all she could do was pray — and worry.
Stevie himself didn't worry at all. Life was too full. He was brought up among church-going people whose faith helped them bear the poverty. He loved music and would pound spoons or forks on any surface that faintly resembled a drum.
He even ran and played with sighted children. "I didn't realize I was blind until I was about four," he says. That might sound strange. To a small child just learning about the world, it wasn't strange at all. Stevie heard and smelled and touched. As far as he knew, that was all anyone could do. That was life.
When Stevie's mother got tired of her tables being used for drums, she bought him a toy set. He played so hard that he had actually worn the toy out within a few weeks. Other toy sets followed; then an uncle added a toy harmonica, and Stevie learned to play it so quickly that everyone was amazed.
Stevie taught himself to play the piano as quickly as he had once learned the harmonica. With friends, he began playing rock and roll music. They performed on the front porch of Stevie's apartment building, drawing crowds of neighbors to watch and listen and clap time to the beat.
"I loved that beat," Stevie says. He not only loved the beat, he was very good at making it.
Ronnie White, of the Miracles singing group, heard Stevie and promptly took him down to his recording company, Motown Records.
"Give him an audition," Ronnie said. They did. All the top people at Motown got together to hear a little blind boy who wasn't even ten years old yet. At first, they were being nice. Poor kid. They didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Then they heard Stevie sing and play, and nobody said "poor kid" anymore. They were too busy congratulating themselves on finding a youngster who could be the musical talent of the decade. "He's a wonder boy," somebody said as they watched little Stevie dart from one instrument to the next, playing each one with ease.
"Wonder," somebody else said, "Little Stevie Wonder."
The new name stuck and Stevie Morris became Little Stevie Wonder. He had his first hit when he was twelve years old. It was called "Fingertips" and it was a smash.
Over the following years, Little Stevie Wonder became one of the top recording artists at Motown, producing one hit after another. But as he grew into adulthood, Stevie began to get tired of the way the Motown company controlled all aspects of his career. He wanted to write and produce his own songs, but the Motown company thought it was unwise to change a winning formula.
When he turned 21, Stevie finally got his freedom. Against Motown's wishes he started exploring: he made records that combined gospel, rock and roll, and jazz and which used African and Latin American rhythms. To the record company's surprise, Stevie's new albums such as "Music of My Mind" and "Innervisions" were even more popular than his early ones. Stevie Wonder had become a mature man and an independent musical artist.
Just after this success, however, tragedy struck. In August of 1973, Stevie was involved in a serious car accident. For nearly a week he lay in a coma, unable to speak or walk. "We don't know when he'll be out of danger," the doctor said. Everyone waited and prayed. Suddenly, it didn't matter that Stevie was a musical genius or that he had conquered blindness and poverty. All he had left was his faith and strong will.
That turned out to be enough. Stevie fought back from the shadow of death as he had once fought out from the shadow of blindness. He went on to give more performances, make more hit records.
The car accident changed Stevie by making him reevaluate his goals in life. He still loved to make music, but he also started to pay more attention to the world outside. He worked to create a national holiday to honor the civil rights leader Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.. He recorded songs urging racial harmony and raised money to end world hunger. Recently, Stevie was honored by South African president Nelson Mandela for his work against that country's system of racial apartheid.
Stevie Wonder has faith and fame, wealth and love. He has not only conquered his own darkness, but through his music and his social activities he has been able to bring sunshine to the shadow of many other lives.
(834 words)
New Words
sunshine
n. the light and heat of the sun 阳光
infant
n. a very young child 婴儿
musician
n. a person who performs on a musical instrument, or who writes music 乐师，作曲家
pray
vi. (for, to) speak to God in order to give thanks or to ask for help 祈祷，祈求
spoon
n. 匙，调羹
faintlh
ad. slightly; mildly 轻微地；微弱地
resemble
vt. look or be like 像，类似
drum
n. 鼓
tire
v. （使）感到疲劳；（使）厌倦，（使）厌烦
harmonica
n. 口琴
amaze
vt. fill with great surprise; cause wonder in 使惊奇；使惊羡
*porch
n. （建筑物前有顶的）门廊，入口处
apartment
n. 公寓大楼；一套公寓房间
clap
vi. applaud 拍手
miracle
n. 奇迹
promptly
ad. immediately and without any delay 迅速地，及时地
audition
n. （对志愿艺人等的）面试（指试读、试唱、试奏等）
kid
n. a child 小孩
congratulate
vt. speak to (a person) with praise and admiration for a happy event or sth. successfully done 祝贺
youngster
n. a young person, esp. a boy 年轻人；男孩
talent
n. 1. a special ability or skill 天才，天资；超常智能
2. people of such ability 人才
decade
n. a period of 10 years 十年（期）
*dart
vi. move suddenly and quickly 猛冲，飞奔
instrument
n. 乐器；仪器；器具；器械
ease
n. 1. freedom from difficulty 容易
2. freedom from discomfort, pain or worry 安适；悠闲；无痛苦；无忧虑
fingertip
n. the end of a finger 指尖
smash
n. 轰动的演出，巨大的成功
v. (cause to) break into pieces violently 打碎，粉碎
adulthood
n. 成年
aspect
n. a particular part or feature of sth. being considered 方面
career
n. a profession or occupation with opportunities for advancement or promotion 职业；生涯
formula
n. 公式，程式；准则，方案
explore
v. 探索；探测；勘探
gospel
n. (= gospel music) 福音音乐（美国黑人的一种宗教音乐，具有爵士音乐和美国黑人伤感歌曲色彩）
jazz
n. 爵士音乐
rhythm
n. 节奏；韵律
*album
n. 1. a long-playing record with several items by the same performer (同一表演者的)集锦密纹唱片
2. a book with blank pages for stamps, photographs, etc. 集邮册，相册
mature
a. fully grown or developed mentally or physically 充分发育的；（智力或体力）成熟的
independent
a. 独立的，自主的
tragedy
n. 1. a terrible event that causes great sadness 惨事，灾变
2. a serious play with a sad ending 悲剧
involve
vt. 使陷入，使卷入；牵扯，连累
coma
n. 昏迷
musical
a. of or for music 音乐的
genius
n. 天才；创造能力；天才人物
conquer
vt. gain control over (sth. unfriendly or difficult) 征服；克服（困难等）
performance
n. the acting of a play, the playing of a piece of music, the doing of a dance, etc., in front of an audience 演出，表演，演奏
reevaluate
vt. 重新评价
goal
n. 1. an end; objective 目的；目标
2.（足球等的）球门；得分进球
hunger
n. state of not having enough to eat; lack of food 饥饿
urge
vt. 力劝；恳求；敦促
racial
a. characteristic of race; due to or resulting from race 种族的；由种族引起的
harmony
n. agreement (of feelings, interests, opinions, etc.) 和睦，融洽，一致
apartheid
n. （南非的）种族隔离
fame
n. the condition of being known or talked about a lot 名声，名望
activity
n. 活动；行动
Phrases and Exgressions
break into
begin suddenly (to cry, sing, laugh, etc.) 突然（哭、唱、笑）起来
bring up
take care of during infancy and childhood; nurse and educate 抚养；养育
as far as
to the degree that 就…；尽…；至于
get tired of
be no longer interested in 厌倦，厌烦
wear out
make useless by use 把…用坏；把…穿破
with ease
without difficulty 容易地，无困难地
grow into
become gradually with the passage of time 成长的
congratulate oneself on /that ...
因…而暗自庆幸
Proper Names
Stevie Wonder
史蒂威·旺达（人名）
Morris
莫里斯（姓氏）
Ronnie White
罗尼·怀特（人名）
Motown Records
莫顿唱片公司
Innervisions
《内心幻觉》（唱片名）
Martin Luther King, Jr.
小马丁·路德·金（1929 — 1968，美国民权运动领袖）
Nelson Mandela
纳尔逊·曼德拉（1918 —，南非共和国总统） |