The Origin of the Song “Happy Birthday to You”

The story of the song “Happy Birthday to You” began as a sweet one, but later became bitter. Two sisters, Mildred Hill, a teacher at a kindergarten, and Dr. Patty Hill, the principal of the same school, wrote a song together for the children, entitled “Good Morning to All”. When Mildred combined her musical talents with her sister?s knowledge in the area of kindergarten education, ?Good Morning to All” was sure to be a success. The sisters published the song in a collection entitled “Song Stories of the Kindergarten” in 1893. Thirty-one years later, after Dr. Patty Hill became the head of the Department of Kindergarten Education at Columbia University?s Teachers College, a gentleman by the name Robert Coleman published the song, without the sisters? permission. He added a second part, which is the familiar “Happy Birthday to You”. Mr. Coleman?s addition of the second part made the song popular and, finally, the sisters” original first part disappeared. “Happy Birthday to You” had altogether replaced the sisters? original song “Good Morning to All”. In 1916 Patty took legal action against Mr. Coleman. In court, she succeeded in proving that they were the real owners of the song. 1. Good Morning to All 2. Success 3. musical talents 4. without 5. second part 6. replaced 7. legal action 8. real owners

VI. Further Listening and Speaking Task 1: Thank You for the Music

I?m nothing special, in fact I?m a bit of a bore If I tell a joke, you?re probably heard it before But I have a talent, a wonderful thing ?Cause everyone listens when I start to sing I?m so grateful and proud All I want is to sing it out loud 5 / 69

So I say

Thank you for the music, the songs I?m singing Thanks for all the joy they?re bringing Who can live without it, I ask in all honestly What would life be

Without a song or a dance what are we So I say thank you for the music For giving it to me

Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk She says I began to sing long before I could talk And I?ve often wondered, how did it all start Who found out that nothing can capture a heart Like a melody can

Well, whoever it was, I?m a fan So I say

Thank you for the music, the songs I?m singing …

Task 2: Mozart

Mozart was a great musician and composer whose fame continues to grow more than two centuries after his death. He was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. Before the age of four, he was already showing great musical talent. His father then decided to let him start taking music lessons. The boy?s reputation as a musical prodigy grew fast. At five, he was composing music. Form that time on, Mozart was performing in concerts and writing music. By his early teens, he had mastered the piano and the violin, and was writing symphonies and operas. His first major opera was performed in Milan in 1770 when he was only 14. At fifteen, Mozart became the conductor for an orchestra in Salzburg. In 1781, he left for Vienna, where he was in great demand as both a

6 / 69

performer and a composition teacher, and his first opera was a success. But life was not easy because he was a poor businessman, and his finances were always in a bad state. His music from the next decade was not very popular, and he eventually fell back on his teaching jobs for a living. In 1788 he stopped performing in public, preferring only to compose. He died in 1791 at the age of thirty-five. Although he lived only a short life, he composed over 600 works. 1. Which of the following is true of the four-year-old Mozart? B 2. What could Mozart do at the age of six? A

3. Which of the following is not mentioned as one of Mozart?s accomplishments while he was in his early teens? A

4. Which of the following is true of Mozart? D

5. Which of the following could be the most appropriate title for the passage? C

Task 3: Karaoke

Dalin: It?s Mike?s birthday on Friday, so a bunch of us are going to go to the karaoke bar. Would

you like to come with us?

Laura: Karaoke bar? You have a special place just for singing? In America, bars sometimes have

a karaoke night, where the customers can sing a song, but we haven?t special karaoke bars! Dalin: Really? In China, karaoke is a very popular way for friends to spend time together. We can

select the music that our group enjoys. We mostly sing pop songs.

Laura: Do you sing individually or in groups? Singing is not a very in thing, so I don?t sing very

well.

Dalin: I?m surprised that you don?t sing much in American. So many really cool groups come

from there

Laura: Yeah, music is popular, but mostly we just listen to it. Dalin：If you just listen to it, you?ll miss out on a lot of fun. Laura: Well, we sometimes dance to the music. 1. F 2. F 3.T 4.T 5.T

7 / 69

Unit 2 What?s on at the cinema? II. Listening Skills

1. W: From what I can remember, the director asked us to rehearse this a hundred times. M: A hundred times? Is the director out of his mind? Q: What does the man imply?

2. M: What did you think about the movie you saw last night? W: I should have stayed at home. It was a complete waste of money. Q: What does the woman imply?

3. W: She said she might become a famous movie star. M: Yes, and pigs might fly. Q: What does the man mean?

4. M: So if you give me 20 dollars for three tickets, I can give you eight dollars change.. W: Oh, that?s cheaper than I expected. Q: How much is a ticket?

5. W: She?s the best woman director ever. I?ve seen all her movies. M: Are you sure? She?s never won any awards. Q: What does the man mean? 1. A 2.D 3.B 4.C 5.B

III. Listening In

Task 1: Finally we?ve found something in common

Amy: What did you think of the movie Peter? Did you like it?

Peter: Not really, Amy. It seemed that the director was just trying hard to impress us with strange

close-ups and special sound effects, but he forgot to include a good story.

Amy: The movie made you think. It was different from the superficial dialogs you usually see in

films these days.

Peter: But the movie seemed to be too dark and sad. Why does a movie have to be sad to be deep ?

Amy: But it is better than some violent movies with nothing but gunfights and exploding cars. I prefer thought-provoking movies.

8 / 69