中國舞者“征服”紐約

陜西 呂 品

2022 年5 月20 日，來自中國廣東惠州的芭蕾舞者陳鎮威被紐約城市芭蕾舞團任命為首席舞者。他是該舞團74年歷史里任命的首位中國首席舞者。

主題語境：人與社會 篇幅：329詞 建議用時：6分鐘

1As the curtain on the stage falls slowly, Lincoln Center bursts into thunderous applause. Chinese ballet cavalier(騎士風度的男子)Chun Wai Chan once again impresses the audience from all over the world with his wonderful performance.

2“It's incredible.I never thought my dream would come true so soon,”Chan said, recalling the scene when he got the news in May, 2022 that he was promoted to the principal (首席) dancer of the New York City Ballet (NYCB), the company's first Chinese and fourth Asian principal dancer in 74 years.

3Founded by George Balanchine, the father of US ballet, NYCB is one of the leading ballet companies in the world, with 95 percent of the company's dancers coming from the School of American Ballet,and only 5 percent selected from top dancers around the world.

4To stand out from the top dancers,Chan has made every effort.“Whether you can become a principal or not depends on many factors. You need excellent physical condition,good teachers, strong support from family, continuous practice, good luck and opportunity,as well as a healthy body.All of these are too important to be without,”he said.

5Born in Huizhou,South China's Guangdong Province in 1992,Chan became attached(喜歡的)to dance as a child.However,his parents preferred that he become a doctor or a lawyer in the future.The boy then wrote a seven-page letter to his parents describing his determination to study dance. Thanks to the sincere letter, Chan finally gained the support of his family and started his dream-seeking journey.

6Chan, with a Chinese cultural background, is also trying hard to promote Chinese culture on the Western ballet stage.Liang Zhu, a ballet adaptation of an ancient Chinese legend designed by him, was performed at Lincoln Center in New York.“This is a love story from China. I hope that US audiences can enjoy our wonderful Chinese culture,”Chan said.

Reading Check

1.Which word can replace the underlined word“incredible”in paragraph 2?

A.Strange.

B.Alarming.

C.Harmonious.

D.Unbelievable.

2.What can be learned about NYCB?

A.It includes mostly Asian dancers.

B.It was set up by an American.

C.It is the best ballet company in the world.

D.It has only five percent of the top dancers in the world.

3.What can be used to describe Chan?

A.Generous.

B.Imaginative.

C.Determined.

D.Bold.

4.What does the last paragraph focus on?

A.Chan's efforts to spread Chinese culture.

B.Chan's parents'expectations of him.

C.Chan's decision to be a ballet dancer.

D.A famous story in ancient China.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Useful expressions

burst into thunderous applause 爆發出雷鳴般的掌聲

come true 實現；成為現實

be promoted to the principal dancer 被升為首席舞者

be founded by 由……建立

stand out from 從……中脫穎而出

depend on 取決于

make every effort 竭盡全力

gain the support from family 獲得來自家庭的支持

become attached to 喜歡上……

start one's dream-seeking journey 開啟某人的逐夢之旅

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence

However, his parents preferred that he become a doctor or a lawyer in the future.然而，他的父母更希望他將來能成為一名醫生或律師。

【點石成金】preferred后的that從句用虛擬語氣時，謂語通常為(should)do。例如：He preferred that nothing (should) be said about his generosity. 他更希望自己的慷慨不被談及。