课标人教实验版高三 Module 10

Unit 1

Reading task and writing

Workbook P55

A Good Master Remembered

Ludwig van Beethoven, a major composer of the nineteenth century, overcame many personal problems to achieve artistic greatness.

Read the passage and discuss the

questions:

1 In what ways does the servant admire

Beethoven?

He admires his persistence in

composing and the way be included his

feelings about his deafness into his

music.

2 Give two examples of how Beethoven's deafness affected him.

Beethoven's deafness affected him personally because he had to stop being a concert pianist and concentrate on composing music. It affected him musically because he was able to use his emotions in his music and write even greater music.

3 What might Beethoven have done

if he had net gone deaf?

If he had not gone deaf,

Beethoven would still have been

famous as a great pianist.

4 What would you concentrate on if

you were to go deaf?

5 Many people were frightened when they first met Beethoven. Why?

His moods were changeable and could grow wild and angry. He sometimes appeared like a wild man. In addition he was often so involved in his music that he forgot to brush his hair or wear appropriate clothes.

Listening Task on P56

1 Read these phrases before

listening to the tape for the first

time. Tick them if you hear them

mentioned.

___Fifth Symphony, First Movement

___"Choral" Symphony

___Ninth Symphony

___"Pastoral" Symphony

___"Fate" Symphony

___Sunlight Sonata

___Moonlight Sonata

___Fifth Symphony, Third Movement

第五交响曲

第九交响曲

“ 命运”交响曲

月光奏鸣曲

“ 田园”交响曲

“ 圣诞”交响曲

2 Listen a second time and fill in the chart.

Symphony number

Nickname What it is about

"Fate" SymphonyNo 5

His attitude to his problem of deafness

"Pastoral" Symphony

"Choral" Symphony

No 9

No6 Love of nature

Hope and joy

HOW BEETHOVEN USED HIS DEAFN

ESS TO MAKE GREAT MUSIC

In 1802 Beethoven became very upset when

he realized that he would never hear accur

ately again. Because he was unable to sh

are his feelings with others, he poured al

l his feelings into his music. His fifth symp

hony was the first where

these powerful feelings were expressed. In the first movement Beethoven introduces a strong beat, which is repeated to make a rhythm, it has been described as “fate knocking at the doer”. It shows Beethoven’s attitude to his problem of deafness.(Extract of music from fifth symphony first movement)

But his mood changes as the symphony c

ontinues. In the third movement his despa

ir was transformed into something much

more exciting and challenging. It is as if

he was refusing to be defeated by his deaf

ness. Listen to the power of the music.

(Extract from fifth symphony third move

ment)

Beethoven's love of nature was well-

known. The countryside calmed and

relaxed him and also found its way into

his music. On many occasions when he

was struggling to finish a piece of music

he would go for a long walk to sort out

his ideas.

He described this as "working while he

walked". These walks found their way in

his sixth symphony, called the Pastoral

symphony or countryside symphony, which

is one of his most popular compositions.

( Extract from the pastoral symphony)

After 1812 his hearing became so bad t

hat he became severely upset. Maybe h

e felt that nothing good would happen t

o him again. His musical output almost

stopped. But strangely enough, this pro

duced some of his most

emotional music. His ninth and last sym

phony, called the choral symphony, was

his greatest composition. He used a poe

m by a German poet to express his feelin

gs of hope and joy.

(Extract from last movement of Beethov

en's ninth symphony)

But Beethoven's music was not always g

rand and important. Many of his pieces f

or the piano are personal and gentle. So

we will finish with one of his best-loved p

iano pieces, the Moonlight Sonata. The f

irst movement describes a peaceful, quiet

and beautiful moonlight night

when all troubles have disappeared and only the beauty of nature remains.(Complete Moonlight Sonata)

SPEAKING TASK

Many people think that Beethoven was

always a genius. Other people think he

would never have been such a great

composer but for his deafness.

Step 1: In pairs discuss: whether you think a genius is born

or is made by circumstances;

whether you think adversity makes

one wise or not.

Step 2: Have a class debate. Use the

ideas and examples you have

collected to help you with

your arguments.

Beethoven's life

Born: 1770 Died:1827

Career:

1795: already an important pianist,

teacher of music, composer, and giver of

concerts

1798: deafness began to interfere

1802: concentrated only on composing

1817: totally deaf

1823: last symphony composed

S1: Do you think Beethoven was

always have been a genius or was he

made into one by circumstances?

S2: I think he was always a great

musician. Let's look at his life before

he went deaf. He was already a

Sample discussion

already a famous pianist and he did do

some composing. But his composing

was not the most important part of his

work before he became deaf. So I think

circumstances made him a great

composer.

S1: Yes, but I suppose he must always

have had it in him to be a great

composer and the deafness gave

him an opportunity to concentrate

on it. It doesn't mean he wasn't

born a genius -- it just means he did

not develop that skill fully at first.

S2: OK. What other evidence is there? His compositions were good but not outstanding until the Fifth Symphony when be put all his feelings about his deafness into his music. It was this ability to express his emotions in music that made him a genius. That was the result of circumstances.

S1: Of course you're right but his

compositions were already well-

known. He had the ability.

Concentrating on it made it

greater. That's all. Anyway let's

hear what the others have to say

in the class debate, shall we?

WRITING TASK

Write a newspaper article putting

forward your point of view about

Beethoven. Remember to:

* begin by describing your idea of

a genius;

* collect your ideas about whether

Beethoven fits this description or

whether he became a genius as a

response to disaster in his life. Make

each idea a new paragraph and set out

a reason for each;

* finish by repeating what you said in

the first paragraph. Make it clear

whether you believe Beethoven

showed perseverance to become a

genius in the face of terrible

difficulties or whether he was a born

genius.

Some useful words and expressions

Describing the effect of deafness

Describing the effect of composing

lonely alone

isolated

different

awkward strange

scared terrified

desperate

perseverant

relief calm

release success

conquering

concentrating

overcoming

demonstrating

showing

accepting

Sample writingWHAT MAKES

BEETHOVEN A GENIUS

My idea of a genius is

someone who has a gr

eat talent but must de

velop this talent throu

gh hard work until it

become good enough t

o produce the work of

a genius.

Beethoven was certainly a man

like that. He had great talents as a

composer of music. He played the

piano and was a famous pianist of

his day. He had also already

begun to compose before he

became deaf. His deafness forced

him to concentrate on his composing

and that produced some very

profound and important music. It

made him into a real genius.

The perseverance of Beethoven i

n the face of his deafness made him

into a composer far more importan

t than he would have been without

it. Indeed it has been

suggested that his terrible difficulties

pushed him into becoming a genius. I

would agree with that and so I suggest

that geniuses are made not born.

HOMEWORK

1. Write an article on the research of

you own about the five people on

page 58, Workbook.

2. Review the whole unit and check

your studies.