Michael Jack son 's mu sicg rowth

四川 蒋建平（特级教师）

体裁文章词数 建议用时306 6分钟记叙文

难词探意

1.steel /stiːl/ n.钢

2.solo /'səʊləʊ/ n.独唱

3.career /kə'rɪə(r)/ n.生涯；事业

Michael Jackson was on the road of performing when he was five years old.As is known to all, the road to fame and fortune is a long and hard one.

Michael remembered those early years when he was young.“My father was a machine operator,” he explained, “and he worked at a steel plant.My mother worked at Sears, a big department store.But they were both musicians.”

Michael's father Joe Jackson realized his sons had a lot of talent, and he knew he could train them to become fine musicians.In those days there were plenty of music groups and some of them were very good.He knew if his sons were to stand out, they would have to be the best.

Practice makes perfect.And they practiced! Gradually the group took shape.Then word of this group began to get around.Thus Michael got a chance to do some solo songs.In the following years,Michael was always on the top.One million records of his were sold in New Zealand, which has only a total population of three million!

When Michael was eighteen, he entered another field of his career—acting.“I plan to star in movies,” he told his friends.“But of course, my first love is music.” Michael wrote a lot of his own songs.“Songs came about in the strangest ways,” he said.“I'll just wake up from sleeping and there is a whole song coming into my head.And then I put it down on the paper.”

Still, with all his success, Michael managed to keep his head calm.“I just do a different job from other people,” he said, “but it doesn't make me think I'm better than other people.” To be quite honest, his fans just love to hear and watch him!

Reading Check

1.What can we know about Michael from the text?

A.Michael's father spent a lot of time in drinking.

B.Michael's parents enjoyed music a lot.

C.Michael's mother worked in a factory when he was young.

D.Michael began to earn money when he was only four years old.

2.What did Joe Jackson realize?

A.His children didn't need much practice.

B.His children had little talent for being musicians.

C.There were a small number of music groups in those days.

D.His children couldn't become famous if they weren't the best.

3.What's the text mainly about?

A.How Michael became so popular all over the world.

B.Why Michael was so popular all over the world.

C.How the Jacksons became successful.

D.How Mr Jackson trained his children.

Language Study

熟词生义

Then wordof this group began to get around.然后，关于这个乐队的消息就传开了。

word n.信息；消息

e.g.There's been no word from them since before Christmas.自圣诞节前就一直没有他们的消息。

Useful expressions

on the road of 在……的路上

be known to...被……所熟知

stand out 引人注目；出色

take shape 成形；形成

Cultural Background

迈克尔·杰克逊——世界舞王

迈克尔·杰克逊曾获得格莱美终身成就奖，他也被吉尼斯世界纪录认定为世界历史上最伟大的艺术家，更被誉为流行音乐之王、世界舞王。 他是世界乐坛和演艺圈里绝无仅有和最具代表性的风云人物，从20世纪80年代起为整个现代流行音乐史缔造了一个传奇时代。