Language points

1. Last night, I witnessed the first of only eight performances of Giacomo Puccini's world-famous opera, Turandot, being performed in the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.

昨天晚上，我去看了贾科莫普契尼闻名世界的歌剧《图兰朵》，那是在中国北京紫禁城八场演出的首场。

1)witness vt. meaning 'to see something happen, especially an accident or crime'

常用结构：witness doing sth.

e.g. He arrived home just in time to witness his brother _______(be) taken away by the police.

他到家的时候看到他哥哥正被警察带走。

2)witness n. 'a person who sees an event happening, especially a crime or an accident'

e.g. According to (eye) _________, the robbery was carried out by two teenage boys.

根据目击证人的说话,抢劫案是由两个十几岁的男孩实行的。

2. Just imagine performing such an opera in the Forbidden City- there could not be a better setting! You could almost feel the history.

想想在紫禁城上演这出歌剧吧--不可能有比这更好的场景了！你几乎可以感受到历史。

setting n. 'the time or the place in which a story, a film, or a play takes place'

e.g. The play has its __________ in a wartime prison.

这个戏剧的背景是战时的监狱。

【拓展】be set in ... 以......为背景

e.g. The story was set in the 19th century.

这个故事以19世纪为背景。

4. The story then takes on a classic love triangle featuring Calaf, Turandot, and Liu.

故事随后演绎了发生在卡拉夫、图兰朵和柳儿三人之间的经典三角恋情。

take on 有多种含义：

a. 'to have a characteristic or appearance of ' With this meaning, the phrase cannot be used in the passive voice.

e. g. Great changes have taken place in the past few years, and now the city has _____________ a completely new look.

过去这些年发生了很大的变化，现在这个城市已经完全呈现出新面貌了。

b. to accept a particular job or responsibility:

e.g. She took too much on and made herself ill.

她承担了太多工作，这是她病倒了。

c. to employ someone:

e.g. She was ___________ as a laboratory assistant.

她受聘当一个实验室助理。

d. to compete against or fight someone:

e.g. The Government _____________ the unions and won.

政府同联邦较量，政府赢了。

e. to begin to have a particular quality:

e.g. Her voice ___________ a serious tone.

她说话的语气变得严肃起来

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