A top pingshu master

2023-06-02江海连

疯狂英语·新悦读 2023年5期

主题语境：中国传统民间艺术篇幅：347词建议用时：7分钟

1Shan Tianfang was a leading performer of the traditional Chinese art form pingshu, whose vivid storytelling was a comfort to millions of people.

2Pingshu dates from the Song Dynasty when performers would entertain villagers by telling stories in a particularly emotive style. It remains particularly popular in northeastern China.Performers wear traditional dress and use very basic props (小道具)—often a folded fan and a gavel (小槌). Pingshu is sometimes performed in tea houses and small theatres.And in a country where sleeping problems are commonplace, pingshu is still popular as a way of helping people towind downat bedtime.

3Shan Tianfang was born in 1934 in Yingkou, Liaoning Province. His family introduced him to folk art from a young age and he began learning pingshu when he was 19. He became known in Liaoning for his work on stage and in local tea houses during the 1950s and 1960s, and performed in an art troupe (戏班子) around the region. During the 1980s,Shan made the transition to staterun radio,and his captivating storytelling became popular with people across the country. By the 1990s, Shan had become a wellknown face on state TV.

4Shan performed over 12,000 stories on TV and radio. His stories attracted people of all ages. One of his most famous performances is of Heroes in Sui and Tang Dynasties. He gave countless performances of the Four Great Classical Novels (Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber and Water Margin) and also helped to bring lesserknown classical Chinese literature to new audiences.As a film director said,“He could describe a scene and a character extremely vividly. He once had a long talk with me about adapting the heroic stories into films or television shows to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture.”

5But in his later years, the growth of online and digital media exposed the chal⁃lenges of keeping his art form alive. Shan turned his efforts towards writing books and opening performance schools to teach pingshu to young people.

Reading Check

Vocabulary 1.Which word can replace the underlined phrase“wind down”in paragraph 2?

A.Relax.

B.Rise.

C.Gather.

D.Clap.

Detail 2.What can we know about Shan Tianfang?

A.He had a sound voice.

B.He was famous for storytelling on the radio.

C.He was introduced to folk art from a young age.

雪萤又照着刚才的步骤做了一次。这一次，她开始在床上扭动，似乎正在与人搏斗的样子，她用左手制住想象中的敌人，右手果断出击。又是“噗”的一声。饱满的枕头渐渐瘪了下去，枕面留下一个又一个窟窿。雪萤翻身爬起来，将碎枕头卷在一起，扔进了垃圾筒。

D.He gave medicine to people who have trouble sleeping.

Inference 3.How is paragraph 3 organized?

A.In order of place.

B.In order of time.

C.By listing examples.

D.By making comparisons.

A.Legends about Shan.

B.Development of pingshu.

C.Shan's performances.

D.Classical Chinese literature.

Language Study

Difficult sentences

1.He once had a long talk with me about adapting the heroic stories into films or television shows to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture.他曾经和我长谈过，想把英雄故事改编成电影或电视节目，以帮助推广中国的经典故事和传统文化。

【点石成金】该句中，to help promote Chinese classics and traditional culture 为动词不定式作目的状语，promote意为“促进；提升”。

2.But in his later years,the growth of online and digital media exposed the challenges of keeping his art form alive.但在晚年时期，网络和数字媒体的发展使他的艺术形式的保持面临挑战。

【点石成金】该句中，the growth of online and digital media 为主语，exposed 为谓语，the challenges of keeping his art form alive 为宾语。