1. Language Enhancement December 28, 2012 Topics: Music and Social Change 1.Exam Outline 2.Some ideas about Love 3.Song: Do they know it’s Christmas? 4.Song: Happy Xmas (War is Over) 5.Song: Fortunate Son 6.Poem: The Road Not Taken 7.Homework

2. Exam Outline Written exam – Friday, January 11, 2013, 8 am – 9:40 am Notes, dictionaries and other aids are permitted Part A: Match the underlined idiom, word or phrase with the definition that best fits (20 marks) Part B: Choose 10 idioms or terms from a list, write a sentence which properly uses the idiom and clearly demonstrates its meaning (20 marks) Part C: Read a passage and answer questions (10 marks) Total marks: 50

3. Love (Ideal vs. Practice) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (from the Bible, 圣经新约, 哥林多前书, 第 13 章 ) Personification ( 拟人 )– giving human feelings, actions, or qualities to non-living objects or ideas Exercise: replace “Love” with “I” or your name, and read the paragraph.

4. Love is… Patient Kind Not rude Not self-seeking Not easily angered Love… Does not envy Does not boast Does not delight in evil Keeps no record of wrongs Rejoices with the truth Love always… Protects Trusts Hopes Perseveres Does not delight in evil – isn’t happy when bad things happen to others, or with wrongdoing Keeps no record of wrongs – does not keep reminding someone about past mistakes

5. Love “Love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.” (C.S. Lewis) Feeling: emotion sentiment sensation Steady: constant uniform regular continuous Wish: desire hope want longing Ultimate: maximum highest total final Good: benefit advantage wellbeing “as far as it can be obtained” – (to the maximum extent)/(to the greatest limit) that it can be achieved or realized

6. Music and Social Change Popular music in the west can offer reflections on contemporary culture, engage in social protest, or even advocate for social change “social protest” – to criticize social conditions “to advocate for” – to promote E.g. “Luka” – domestic violence, “Cat’s in the Cradle” – family relationships, “Yes we can” – American presidential election, Barack Obama

7. Song: “Do they know it’s Christmas?” 1.What words or phrases associated with the Christmas season can you find? 2.What do you think is the main issue or problem that this song talks about? 3.What words or phrases indicate the kind of crisis in Africa that the song talks about? The Christmas season is usually a time when warm feelings of peace and happiness for the world are expressed;

9. Band Aid – charity music band of British and Irish musicians “band aid” – leading brand of bandage ( 绷带 ) used for first aid ( 急救 ) treatment; also used to indicate an emergency, short term solution to a problem; E.g. “The government’s actions are only a bandaid for the current economic situation.” Purpose was to raise money for relief of the 1983-85 drought and famine ( 荒旱 ) in Ethiopia ( 埃塞俄比亚 ) Sold one million copies in the first week alone

10. Song: “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” 1.What groups of people does this song mention? 2.What phrases or sentences encourage the listeners of the song to participate in some kind of action? 3.What is the cultural and historical context of the song? John Lennon, formerly of the band The Beatles, and his Japanese American wife Yoko Ono

13. Song: “Fortunate Son” 1.What do you think is the mood of this song? What kinds of feelings or emotions are expressed in this song? 2.Who are the different “sons” mentioned in the song? 3.What do you think is the main point xpressed in this song? What is the historical and cultural background of this song (look at the year)? 4.Why do you think the singer uses the grammatically incorrect “It ain’t me, I ain’t no senator’s son” instead of “It isn’t me, I’m not a senator’s son”?

14. Born/made to (…) To be born with a special talent or ability (to do something); to be destined (to do something); e.g. “Yao Ming was born to play basketball.” e.g. “Barack Obama was born to be the first African- American president.” Wave the flag Red, white and blue Star Spangled American flag – symbolizes passionate patriotism

15. Hail to the Chief The US president is known as the commander in chief; this song is played when the president enters a room; Cannon Usually fired (21 gun salute) to honour someone important; Born with a silver spoon in his mouth – E.g. George W. Bush was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

16. Rummage sale – An event to sell excess or old or used things for very cheap prices. Some folks are born, silver spoon in hand, Lord, don’t they help themselves, oh. But when the taxman comes to the door, Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale. To help yourself – to take everything that you want Why would the house of a rich person look like a rummage sale when a tax collector comes? What did they do with all of their wealth and expensive things? What do you think this paragraph is criticizing?

17. Poem: The Road Not Taken I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, And I - I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. What do you think this poem is about? What did the narrator choose? For what different reasons do we sigh? Why do you think the narrator will “be telling this with a sigh” in the future? Why do you think the narrator’s choice “has made all the difference”?

18. Homework (Final Assignment): Choose a Chinese pop song (old or new) that speaks about cultural or social issues, or personal change and translate it into English. Include any historical or cultural notes that you think are necessary to understand the song.