第五单元阅读

Life ... What is it?See it in the colors of autumn,A gentle snowfall in winter,A sudden shower in spring,The radiance of a summer day.Behold it in the laughterOf the young and the old.Know of it in a surge of hope,The blessings that are bountiful(丰富的).What is life?It is joy, awareness,And the music within.生命……是什么？看呀，生命是绚烂的秋色，轻盈的冬雪，春天的骤雨，夏日的暖阳。

瞧呀，生命是童叟的欢笑。

体味生命，怀着满心的希望，带着丰盛的祝福。

生命是什么？是喜乐，是领悟，是心灵深处的音乐。

民谣歌曲欣赏英文学习笔记：chill v. 变冷divine adj. 神的cracks n. 裂缝intervention n. 干预reckon v. 认为God-forsaken 堕落的nibble v. 轻咬bend over 弯腰vanity n.自负，虚荣心歌词：I'm YoursWell you done done me and you bet I felt it是的，我想你真的已经搞定我了I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted我想要冷静，但却被火热的你融化I fell right through the cracks我就像掉进深渊And now I'm trying to get back现在我试着回神Before the cool done run out在我的酷劲用完之前I'll be giving it my bestest会拼尽全力Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention 没有什么可以阻止我除了神的干预I reckon its again my turn to win some or learn some 我猜我的机会又到了，不是成功就是学到教训But I won't hesitate no more, no more但我绝不，绝不再犹豫It cannot wait I'm yours不再等待，我是属于你的Well open up your mind and see like me敞开心扉，像我一样来看这个世界Open up your plans and damn you're free别盯着你的计划，你就会自由Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love直视你的心扉，你会发现那里充满了爱Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing听这音乐，大家又跳又唱We're just one big family我们就像一个大家庭It's your God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love love 这就是被你遗弃的被爱的权利So I won't hesitate no more no more但我绝不，绝不再犹豫It cannot wait I'm sure不再等待，我确定There's no need to complicate这没什么好复杂的Our time is short人生苦短This is our fate I'm yours这是我们的命运，我属于你do do do do you but do you do do do你可否But do you want to come on你可否过来点Scooch on over closer dear亲爱的，离我近一些嘛And i will nibble your ear我想跟你说些悄悄话I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror 我已花了太多的时间对着镜子检查自己的酷样And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer来回转身只为能检查得更仔细些But my breath fogged up the glass我的气息都雾化了镜面And so I drew a new face and laughed于是我微笑着在上面画了张鬼脸I guess what i'ma saying is there ain't no better reason我想我要说的就是没有其他更好的理由To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons抛开无聊琐事，一切顺其自然It's what we aim to do这就是我们应该做的Our name is our virtue做最真实的自己重点单词bend [bend]v. 弯曲，使弯曲，屈服，屈从n. 弯曲，弯nibble ['nibl]n. 轻咬，啃v. 一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵联想记忆complicate ['kɔmplikeit]vt. 弄复杂，使错综，使起纠纷联想记忆intervention [.intə'venʃən]n. 插入，介入，调停divine [di'vain]adj. 神的，神圣的vt. 推断fell [fel]动词fall的过去式n. 兽皮v联想记忆melted [meltid]adj. 融化的；溶解的v. 融化；溶解（melt的过vanity ['væniti]n. 虚荣心，浮华，自负，无价值的东西联想记忆virtue ['və:tju:]n. 美德，德行，优点，贞操Amazing Benefits of Music TherapyMusic has a profound effect on your body and mind. Music therapy is a growing field of health care used to heal people. Unfortunately, many people don’t even realize how effective and useful the power of music therapy is. In fact, music therapy is often used to ward off depression and to calm and ease muscle tension. Music therapy can bring an innumerable list of other benefits. Read on to discover seven amazing benefits of music therapy.1. There are significant therapeutic effectsIt’s no surprise that music therapy is growing popularity. M any hospitals are using music therapy for pain management and other uses. Moreover, music from a great number of cultures has different therapeutic effects, but many people prefer to listen to music of their own culture, because they find it more effective in healing and relaxing. Furthermore, music for meditations can easily calm you down. Set aside time each day to meditate to soothing music, such as classical music, soft rock, relaxing sounds of wind chimes and other soft tones.2. Music evokes neurological stimulationEvery person perceives various music genres in a different way. If to compare classical and heavy metal music, we can point out that classical music makes you feel relaxed and comfortable while hard rock music usually quickens your heart beat. Eventually, the quickened heart beat response will begin to produce a vague message of anxiety to your brain. Music can shift your energy from angry to happy with help of different genres. Try to listen to the music, which makes your mood wonderful.3. Music can boost your moodIt’s not surprising that music is linked to your mood. Everyone knows that listening to music while feeling down or bad can provide a relief. What may not be known to most people is that music can also bring a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety away. Music also helps people overcome life difficulties. Many scientists have found that people can boost their mood simply by listening to upbeat music. Music has the power to make you smile,dance and sometimes it can bring you to tears, especially if you are a sensitive and sentimental personality.4. Influences brainwavesAccording to a medical research, music produces sound vibrations which can stimulate your brainwaves. Much depends on the speed of the beat that can either make you more alert and hyper or relax and calm down. Meditative states help you feel positive waves and vibrations in your brain.5. Heals conditionsMusic helps heal different emotional and physical conditions. It has been proven to be effective, because people have definite, measurable responses to certain sounds and tones. Healing music has been shown to induce states of increased well-being and relaxation. Music therapies can relief dementia, insomnia and autism. Those who suffer from depression should listen more to their favorite music. Practitioners believe that music makes both body and mind more perceptive to recovery.6. It uncovers emotionsNowadays therapists try to heal people with a help of music and guided imagery. They believe it can help to get into the subconscious mind, find and eliminate the root cause for anxiety and depression. Music can be the key to the solution of your health problems. Plus, you can uncover hidden emotions of yours.7. Music is the way of self-expressionPeople cannot live without self-expression. Someone likes to listen to the music, while others adore creating and playing tunes and songs. My friend is a pro at playing the violin. She is good at writing her own music. It seems she is absolutely plunged in this creative process and gets satisfaction while playing the violin. I think music is the best way to express your individuality. Your own music can have a magical healing effect on you and others as well.Music is one of the most beautiful things created by a human being. I cannot even imagine this world without it. I hope humanity will learn soon how to use it wisely. Have you ever used music in healing purposes? Do you support music therapy as a way of healing people?AGeorge Gershwin, born in 1898，was one of America's greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.Many of Gershwin's songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way—from jazz to country.In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazzz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that show time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The sudience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition(作曲) with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written.文章大意：本文是一篇人物传记，记述了George Gershwin的一生及其主要作品及贡献。