男人的衣柜的BLOG

Me and Choir

It's a Monday morning and Monday is choir day.

And after lunch, those of us who are members of the choir will all sit in the lunchroom after lunch and Miss Falconer will come and she will drill us in 3 songs that she has been drilling us in since Feb'ore for the All-District ¹⁾Choral Concert in May. Songs that we now sing even worse than when we began.

Because she is such a beautiful lady, she is so elegant, she is like a ²⁾Duchess in this town and not like our mothers at all. She wears suits, ³⁾tailored suits, and blouses with white ⁴⁾ruffles in the front. She is like a lady from a magazine and when she looks at us, especially us ⁵⁾tenors, we can't bear to look at her. We look down at our feet. And she says, "Look at me!" She says, "How do you expect to sing in time to the music if you don't look at me?"

But ⁶⁾rhythm is not our problem in the tenor section. We do ⁷⁾drag a little bit, but notes are our problem. And the reason that we drag is that each one of us in the tenor section is waiting to hear the person next to him sing the note.

So we can get up. Each of us trying to sing a little softer than the boy next to him. Because though we are tenors, ⁸⁾we are in the last few months of our tenor voices, and they are undependable. But she looks at us week after week every Monday, and says, "This is not that hard, tenors. Children, this is not that hard."

But it is hard! She has picked 3 songs by 3 foreign composers with one name. "Serenade" by Toste. "Aulto Papiaty" by Del Monte. And the worst of all, "April is in My Mistress' Face" by Morley.

"This is not that hard, children. Now, watch me. And 1, 2, 3-" And we sing again, worse than ever and she stops us and Mrs. Oldberg, our kind teacher, says, "Maybe they would do better on 'The Red River Valley'. " And Miss Falconer says, "You can't sing cowboy songs all your life. Music is work, like anything else; you have to work at it. Now children, this is not that hard." And she brings a recording of an English boys choir, singing "April is in My Mistress' Face". And she plays it over and over again -- their perfect little ⁹⁾flutey voices "April is in my Mistress' face, and July in her eyes have place; within her bosom lies September; but in her heart a cold December."

This elegant lady looks at us, and she says, "Tenors, I want you to sing your part so that I know you have it... one by one." I am the third from the end. Russell sings first, he has an advantage, he takes piano. He does pretty good. And then Jerry Swedeen. And then she looks at me. And I say, "I don't feel well." "Sing," she says, "stand up and sing." "I really don't feel well." And the truth is that I don't. She says, "If you're well enough to be in school, you're well enough to sing." And I think I'll never be that well, but I stand up and sing.

"April is in my mistress' face, and July in her eyes have place; within her... lies September; and in her heart a cold December." And sit down, looking at the ¹⁰⁾alto's and the ¹¹⁾soprano's sitting there ¹²⁾smirking at me, and all of them singing "nah nah nah naaah", and go home in disgrace.

难忘歌咏

今天是星期一，星期一是唱诗的日子。

午餐过后，我们唱诗班的成员吃过了午饭要全体坐在饭厅里，等法克纳小姐给我们排练三首歌。为了迎接五月份的全区合唱赛，她从二月份起一直在忙着给我们排练。不过我们唱得甚至不如从前。

因为她实在太美、太优雅了，在这个小镇上就像位公爵夫人，和我们的妈妈们一点也不像。她身着套装，剪裁得体的套装，外衣前还缀着白羽毛。她像是杂志女郎走下来似的，当她看着我们——尤其是当看着我们男高音——的时候，我们都不敢看她。我们垂下头盯自己的脚。而她说：“看着我！”她说：“如果不看我，怎么能跟上音乐唱歌呢？”

但对我们男高音来说，节奏根本不成问题。我们虽然唱得有点拖拉，只不过是找不准调子。我们之所以会拖拉是因为每个男高音都在等着旁边的人先唱出调子。

我们于是站起来唱歌。人人唱得比旁边人轻些。因为虽然我们是男高音，可是这把男高音的嗓音也维持不了几个月了，很不稳定。然而逢到周一，法克纳小姐就看着我们说：“这并不难唱，男高音们。孩子们，这没什么难的。”

不过这的确难极了！她挑的三首歌由三位名字差不多的外国作曲家写成：托斯第的《小夜曲》；戴蒙第的《奥托帕皮第》；最难的还要数摩利的《四月照在我情妇的脸庞上》。

“这不难唱，孩子们。好了，看着我。准备，一二三——”我们又唱起来，唱得一塌糊涂，她不得不停下。我们仁慈的老师沃贝格夫人就说：“或许他们唱《红河谷》会唱得好些。法克纳小姐说：“你们总不能一辈子瞎哼哼吧。音乐像别的东西一样需要琢磨；你们得认真对待。好了，孩子们，唱歌不难。”她拿来一张英国童声合唱唱片，上面有《四月照在我情妇的脸庞上》。她把唱片放了一遍又一遍——悠扬的童声唱着“四月照在我情妇的脸庞上，七月辉映在她的眼眸里；九月依偎在她胸中；而她的心是冰冷的十二月天。”

优雅的法克纳小姐看着我们说道：“男高音们，把你们的那部分唱给我听，我要知道你们都会唱了……一个一个地来。”我是倒数第三个。首先轮到罗素，他借着优势挑选了弹钢琴，他弹得还不错。然后轮到杰里·史威丁。接下来她看着我。我只好说：“我不舒服。”“唱啊，”她说，“站起来唱。”“我真的不舒服。”事实并非如此。她就说：“你既然能好好地来上学，也就能好好地唱歌。”我觉得我绝没有好到那份上，但我还是站起身来唱了。

“四月照在我情妇的脸庞上，七月辉映在她的眼眸里；九月依偎在她……啦啦啦……中；而她的心是冰冷的十二月天。”我唱完坐下，看到坐在另一头的女低音和女高音们一边得意洋洋地看着我笑，一边唱“呐呐呐呐呐呐”。后来我就颜面扫地地回家去了。

My Cyber Love

I have frequented the same chat line for more than 3 years now and have made some wonderful online friendships. However, I had become bored with the typical chat and the Internet all together. So, I decided to take a break.

After about a week of being off line, I returned late one night to check mail. There, in my box was an email from a lady friend I had met in chat. She was going on and on about a man that had recently entered the room and how he was supposedly the "male ¹⁾incarnate" of myself. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a bit of a "character". My sense of humor is one of a ²⁾warped ³⁾demented nature. The thought of finding anyone who doesn't become annoyed instantly is a chore. Much less a man that shared the same. I completely ⁴⁾discredited the email and went about my business.

Later that night, I found myself wandering the net. It was then I ran across a photo gallery that proved to be quite entertaining. As I clicked from one picture to the next, I ran across one gentleman's photo. I was ⁵⁾stunned by his presence. Approximately 10 minuets had gone by when I finally tore myself away from the photo and decided to venture into chat. There, I found the woman who had sent me the email earlier that week. She ⁶⁾proceeded to tell me all about this man. "You just have to meet him," she said, ⁷⁾ranting on and on about how much we were alike. I laughed at her thinking it was amusing. "No, I am serious! You have got to talk to him." I finally agreed that I would make effort to do so later on and left the chat quickly. Again, finding myself staring at this ⁸⁾anonymous photo I had found earlier.

Approximately 4 hours later, I ventured back into the chat. Only to find a few friends talking about daily events. Then, all of a sudden out of nowhere, a new name entered, ⁹⁾rambling on and on about being the presentment of madness. I quickly spoke up and told the stranger that title had already been taken by myself as I laughed. He was silent for a few moments. It was then I received a "whisper" from him. "So YOU are the woman I have heard so very much about." I replied by saying, "I see my reputation ¹⁰⁾precedes me." It was then I noticed his side ¹¹⁾bar photo (this particular room has a side bar option for those wishing to post photos of themselves). I almost fell from my chair when I realized I was talking to the man in the photo. The photo I had found earlier that day while surfing. After several hours in "whisper" mode, we opted to enter my personal chat room. We found one another to be interesting. Not to mention, we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.

Since then, our relationship has grown tremendously. Even going so far as to admit our love to one another. We both agree this seems crazy. The sort of thing you read about in a book. It hardly seems real. Neither of us was looking when fate led us to one another. Neither of us was in need of love. Hell, neither of us believed in love, especially online love ¹²⁾prior to our finding one another. We both want so badly to be together. To learn, to love, and to experience what this has to offer. It is simply amazing. So much for not seeking love, eh?

It was as if we had been two long lost lovers being reunited after a long trip. I think he put it best when he said...

"Life is full of shit... lots of it. And there are many a times when you may feel stuck/bored and it seems that there's nothing left to hold your interests or anything that doesn't ¹³⁾piss you off. Well, there is such a thing as true love. It's there, it's indescribable and few are blessed with it. We are one of the lucky couples."

Truly, the luckiest man and woman ever.

网络情缘

 我常到网上同一个聊天室聊天，至今已有三年多了，在那儿认识了一些很不错的网友。但我已厌倦了这种聊天和上网，于是决意歇歇鼓。

 罢网了大约一周后，一天晚上我上网查邮件。信箱里有封“伊妹儿”是我的一位女聊友寄来的。她滔滔不绝地谈起最近来聊天室的一个男子，她说那人就像是我的“男性版”。认识我的人都知道我小小也算个“角儿”，有一种不入流的幽默感。想找到一个不会立即给惹恼的人还真不容易。同类的男性更是少之又少。我对那封邮件压根不置可否，自顾自忙去了。

当天晚些时候，我又到网上去漫游，发现了一个还挺逗乐的相片库。我一张张地点击下去，当看到一位男士的照片时，顿感眩晕。十分钟过去了，我花了好大的劲才放开那张照片，并决定斗起胆子去聊天。聊天室里有那周早些时候给我发了邮件的女聊友。她过来跟我谈到了关于这名男子的一切情况。“你一定要会一会他，”她说道，长篇激昂地讲说着我们是如何相似。我终于同意以后会找机会聊一聊，就匆匆地离开了聊天室。再次返回去凝视此前看到的无名人士照片。

大约过了四个钟头，我回到聊天室。只看到有几个朋友在扯家常。接着突然冒进来了一个新名字，大谈疯人疯语。我飞快地发言，大笑着告诉这个陌生者该名字已被我取了。他沉默良久。然后我接到他的一个“私聊”信息：“那么说你就是那个我久仰大名的人了。”我回答说：“我看我是名过其实了。”就在那时我注意到他侧边的照片（这间聊天室的侧栏可以让人自愿上传照片）。看了聊天对象的照片，我差点从椅子上摔下来。正是我当天在网上看到的那一张。“私聊”了几小时，我们转入我开的私人聊天室。我们都觉得彼此有趣。不用多说，我们完完全全地享受着谈话的乐趣。

 自此之后，我们的关系就突飞猛进。甚至发展到相互吐露了爱意。我们俩都觉得这太疯狂了。就跟在书上读到的似的，超乎现实。在双方不经意的时候，缘份将我们连在了一起。原本我们双方都没有渴望爱情。我们原来并不相信有爱情，尤其不信网恋，在我们找到彼此之前。现在我们是多么地希望能相依相守。去学习，去爱，去体会其中带来的欢乐。简直太神奇了。对爱止步？还是就此住手吧。

我们仿佛失散多年的恋人，在分别已久后再相遇。我想这一切用他说过的话来描述最合适不过了……

“人生之不如意十有八九……很多时候你会觉得无聊难过，什么也提不起你的兴趣，什么也不能让你怒火上升。人间的确有真爱。真爱难以言传，罕有而珍贵。我们就是其中一对幸运的情侣。”

真的，是最最幸运的俩人了。

  阅读理解练习                                         齐磊 2007-9-8

When one looks back upon the fifteen hundred years that are the life span of the English language, he should be able 

to notice a number of significant truths. The history of our language has always been a history of constant change—at 

times a slow, almost imperceptible change, at other times a violent collision between two languages. Our language has 

always been a living growing organism, it has never been static. Another significant truth that emerges from such a study is that language at all times has been the possession not of one class or group but of many.  At one extreme it has been 

the property of the common, ignorant folk, who have used it in the daily business of their living, much as they have used their animals or the kitchen pots and pans.At the other extreme it has been the treasure of those who have respected it as an instrument and a sign of civilization, and who have struggled by writing it down to give it some permanence, order, dignity, and if possible, a little beauty.

As we consider our changing language, we should note here two developments that are of special and immediate 

importance to us. One is that since the time of the Anglo-Saxons there has been an almost complete reversal of the 

different devices for showing the relationship of words in a sentence. Anglo-Saxon (old English) was a language of many inflections. Modern English has few inflections. We must now depend largely on word order and function words to 

convey the meanings that the older language did by means of changes in the forms of words. Function words, you should understand, are words such as prepositions, conjunctions, and a few others that are used primarily to show relationships among other words. A few inflections, however, have survived. And when some word inflections come into conflict with word order, there may be trouble for the users of the language, as we shall see later when we turn our attention to such 

maters as WHO or WHOM and ME or I. The second fact we must consider is that as language itself changes, our 

attitudes toward language forms change also. The eighteenth century, for example, produced from various sources a tendency to fix the language into patterns not always set in and grew, until at the present time there is a strong tendency to 

restudy and re-evaluate language practices in terms of the ways in which people speak and write.

 
　　1.In contrast to the earlier linguists, modern linguists tend to . 
　　A. attempt to continue the standardization of the language 
　　B. evaluate language practices in terms of current speech rather than standards or proper patterns 
　　C. be more concerned about the improvement of the language than its analysis or history 
　　D. be more aware of the rules of the language usage 
　　2.Choose the appropriate meaning for the word “inflection” used in line 4 of paragraph 2. 
　　A. Changes in the forms of words. 
　　B. Changes in sentence structures. 
　　C. Changes in spelling rules. 
　　D. Words that have similar meanings. 
　　3.Which of the following statements is not mentioned in the passage? 
　　A. It is generally believed that the year 1500 can be set as the beginning of the modern English language. 
　　B. Some other languages had great influence on the English language at some stages of its development. 
　　C. The English language has been and still in a state of relatively constant change. 
　　D. Many classes or groups have contributed to the development of the English language. 
　　4. The author of these paragraphs is probably a(an) . 
　　A. historian  B. philosopher  C. anthropologist  D. linguist 
　　5.Which of the following can be best used as the title of the passage? 
　　A. The history of the English language. 
　　B. Our changing attitude towards the English language. 
　　C. Our changing language. 
　　D. Some characteristics of modern English. 

答案下次给

Teachers’ Day of China

In China, teachers are held in high esteem. September 10^th is the Teachers’ Day of China. This day is in honor of all those involved in the teaching profession.

September 28^th is the birthday of the world-famous teacher Confucius---KongZi. Kongzi is a great philosopher and he is also a great teacher. He had thousands of disciples (students), including Aristotle. In the ancient times, Kongzi’s birthday was regarded as a Teachers’ Day.

Now, September 10^th is the Teachers’ Day of China. In the year f 1984, Wang Zishen, former president of Beijing Normal University, suggested to establish a festival day for the Chinese teachers. On Jan. 21st, 1985, September 10^th was fixed as the Teachers’ Day of China.

Two months before, we have just passed the 20^th Teachers’ Day of China.

中国的教师节

在中国，教师受到很大的尊重。9月10日是中国的教师节。这是为了纪念所有从事教育事业的人们。

9月28是闻名于世的孔子的生辰。孔圣人是个伟大的哲学家，但他又是个伟大的老师。他有许多门徒，就是今天我们说得学生，包括亚里士多德。在古代的时候，人们把孔子的生辰作为教师节。

现在，9月10日是中华人民共和国的教师节。在1984年，王梓坤教授，北京师范大学前校长，建议要建立中国的教师节。 在1985年的1月，第六届全国人大常委会第九次会议确定，每年9月10日为中国的教师节。