节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-10-02
难易度:Low
关键字:settler, lively, feature, lecture, step dance, Celtic
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to study English with us.
My name is Steve.
We are visiting Canada's "jewel of the east," Cape Breton Island.
Two hundred years ago, waves of Scottish immigrants looking for a better life
arrived on Cape Breton's shores.
They brought with them their language and their rich culture.
Today you can still hear Gaelic being spoken, especially in the island's smaller
villages.
But as important as the languages, many say it's the old country music that
truly unifies Cape Bretoners.
So let's open our magazines to page 12 and learn about the heart and soul of
Cape Breton, the music.
Nova Scotia's Cape Breton.
The heart and soul of Cape Breton.
It has been said that "music is the glue that holds Cape Bretoners together."
Locals will drive for hours to hear and dance to a good fiddle player.
The music began in Scotland but now belongs to Cape Breton.
It is the traditional music that was played when 18th and 19th century Scottish
settlers first arrived.
Scottish musicians now travel to the island to learn the music from their own
country's past.
Lively music is written to go along with the local step dance.
This particular dance style disappeared from Scotland long ago but has been
preserved in Cape Breton.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us right here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
My name is Ryan.
Friends, we are now traveling back to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada.
That's right.
We discovered this place as the "jewel of the east" coast of Nova Scotia.
We heard that there are so many different kinds of landscapes.
Rugged mountains and cliffs, and beautiful rolling hills, all surrounded by the
ocean that's only 30 minutes away.
We also learned a bit about the history.
Yes, the history and the influence of this island.
And we saw how a lot of people in the 1400s and 1800s moved from Europe,
especially from Scotland.
And that has influenced the culture and the music there.
That's right.
The Irish, the Scots and the French all moved over towards this place during
different times in history.
And they've all left an influence there, especially in the music and in the
culture.
OK. So that is what we are going to take a look at today, friends, the heart and
soul of Cape Breton.
Now to be the heart and soul of something means to be the deepest, most
meaningful part of something.
It's what keeps you going, it's what your passion is, it's what you love.
Yes. It's where you get your identity.
And so that's why it has been said that music is the glue that holds Cape
Bretoners together.
Now here the word "glue" means that... we know the glue is a sticky substance
that keeps things together.
Now that's what the music is for these people.
They all come from different cultures and different places.
But their music is what brings them together.
It's that sticky part that they all understand and connect through.
Yes. Now while the music might not actually be sticky, it does hold them
together and brings Cape Bretoners,
who are the people who live in Cape Breton, together.
Now so much so the music is so important to them, the locals - meaning the
people who live there - would drive for hours to hear and dance to a good fiddle
player.
All right, friends.
We have recently heard this word "fiddle." It is a musical instrument that has a
bow, which is a long stick, and you play it on the strings.
You might also call it a violin.
That's right.
A violin that we play just a little bit differently, a different rhythmic
pattern to call it fiddling.
Now the music began in Scotland but now it belongs to Cape Breton.
OK, so. Now with this music has moved and influenced Cape Breton.
We see it belonged to Scotland, so it began in Scotland.
But when many of the Scots moved to Cape Breton in the 1800s, they brought their
culture and music with them.
That's right.
Now this fiddle is a bit always been a large part.
So it plays a huge part in their music.
And then their culture all coming from Scotland in this case.
And friends, you can see a picture of a very, very large fiddle on page 13 in
your magazine.
And you'll see that this is a very important part of who they are... because you
know, Ryan, you don't have a... sculpture this big for no reason.
Exactly. Yes, this is a large part of their culture.
Friends, it is the traditional music that was played when the 18th and 19th
century Scottish settlers first arrived.
That's right.
So it did come from Scotland, from the settlers that got there.
Now a "settler" is a person who arrives in a new place and takes land in order
to make it their home.
So you can think of people moving to a new country claiming their land, just
like the explorers.
But instead, an explorer will leave.
A settler moves there with their family, build a home, tries to start a life
there with a job, a farm, some sort of trade.
So these are the people who made Cape Breton what it is today.
OK, Kaylah.
Well, it sounds like you can actually go to Cape Breton if you want to learn
about Scottish musical history.
In fact, we see an interesting point here, don't we?
Yeah, so much so their music is so much a part of the culture that Scottish
musicians now travel to this island to learn the music from their own country's
past.
Because music is always changing, it's easy for part of music to be forgotten,
but Cape Breton has held on and preserved this ancient form of Scottish music.
I think that's funny, friends, that all of these people from Scotland are having
to travel to Cape Breton in order to learn music from their own country's past.
They can't even learn it in Scotland.
They go all the way to Canada.
Well, it's great because this lively music is written to go along with the local
dance step, which are things they have preserved.
Now the lyrics of this lively music... they're creating all these lyrics to go
with it.
Now "lively" means it has a lot of energy and excitement.
So it's not smooth for... young couples to be dancing slowly on the floor.
It's very upbeat and exciting.
OK. And they have a lot of dance steps, one of them called the step dance.
Friend, a "step dance" is a dance where you move your legs without moving the
upper half of your body.
That's right.
It's a special kind of tap dancing, and you can look this up online.
Now this particular dance style disappeared from Scotland long ago.
But just like the music, it has been preserved in Cape Breton.
OK. So it's preserved.
It's still there.
Friends, you can see it in Cape Breton and you can learn a lot more about this
after we visit the Chat Room.
So Ken, how was the concert last night?
Oh, it was great.
I mean, there were literally a million people.
A million?
Are you sure, Ken?
Did you actually count the number of people in the audience?
What? Of course not!
But there were lots and lots of people.
I mean, the stadium was packed.
Then just say that.
But don't say there were literally a million people.
Why not?
Well, because when you use the word "literally," you're supposed to be using it
in a literal or strict sense.
When you say there were literally a million people, you're saying that there
were, in fact, one million people, not just a few thousand.
But don't people use "literally" to exaggerate things?
Yes. Some people do say that.
I must say, though, that they are wrong.
I hear a lot of young people use "literally" as an intensive fire to strengthen
what is said for dramatic effect.
But that's not the original meaning of literally.
So they end up using it as the opposite of literally?
Exactly.
Literally is often misused to mean figuratively.
Figuratively?
That's right.
Let me give you an example, Ken.
I was reading about Cape Breton in Studio Classroom just now, and one sentence
said,
"Music is the glue that holds Cape Bretoners together." In that statement, the
word "glue" is used figuratively.
Ah, because music is not real glue.
You've got it.
So what would be a correct way of using "literally"?
Well, you do know what "dropping in" means, don't you?
Yeah, to drop in means to pay someone a visit.
Right.
But if I were to say "he literally dropped in," then the person probably came
down from the sky in a parachute.
Oh, I see. That's pretty funny.
Well, about the concert last night, I should probably say there were a lot of
people there, and the stadium was packed.
There you go, Ken.
That sounds a lot better.