JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Pre-intermediate

Speaker: Chuck Rolando and Jason Birminghan 

Standard accent: American

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera. The film version came out in 1973 and it is a “cult movie.” Texan actor Ted Neeley played Jesus Christ: 38 years later he is still playing Jesus in the stage version.

 THE ALBUM

The first version of Jesus Christ Superstar came out in 1970. It was an album or “LP” (Long-playing record) Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music and Tim Rice wrote the words, or lyrics. Llyord Webber has written many popular musicals and today he is one of the richest people in Britain. His official title is “Baron Llyord Webber.” Tim Rice is now “Sir Timothy Rice.” Ian Gillian sang the part of Jesus Christ on the album in 1970 he was the lead singer of the rock group Deep Purple he still is today.

THE MUSICAL

In 1971 Jesus Christ Superstar became a musical on stage. It was a show on New York’s Broadway. Critics were negative and religious groups hated it, but the public like it. It closed in 1973, after 711 performances. The show also played on London’s West End. It opened in 1972 and closed after eight years. This was a record.

THE MOVIE

Canadian Norman Jewison directed the film. He’s about to celebrate his 84^th birthday. Englishman Melvyn Bragg wrote the screenplay. In 1978 Bragg presented The South Bank Show, a new TV arts programme. It closed in 2010, after 32 years.

The cast of Jesus Christ Superstar included an American singer Carl Anderson, who played Judas Iscariot. Carl Anderson was black and some people didn’t like this: a black Judas Iscariot seemed racist. But it wasn’t a problem for Anderson: he played Judas in the stage version of Jesus Christ Superstar many years later. Unfortunately, he died of Leukemia in 2004. Originally, Ted Neeley wanted to play Judas Iscariot, but he played Jesus. Neeley is still playing Jesus. In the stage version today.  He is 67. He said in a recent interview. “in the show I say. My name is nearly through. That ‘s me in life. I don’t know how much time I’ve got. 

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SANTANA ON WOMEN AND LOVE INTERVIEW, PART II

Source: Speakup

SANTANA ON WOMEN AND LOVE

Carlos Santana was interviewed by Marcel Anders. Here he talks about his views on women, men and his then fiancée (now new wife), drummer Cindy Blackman, in particular:

Q: Talking about women, you said: “There’s a big war happening right now with females and men. A lot of females seem like they have war paint on their faces. “Why?” What’s wrong?

A: That’s a good question. I think that a lot of women tend to generalize, but…just like I can’t say that all white people don’t have rhythm, you can’t say that all black people can sing and dance, it’s not good to generalize. All I know is that when we play music, women forget all about the war and they start dancing, the war paint comes off, because it’s an illusion anyway.

War paint is fear. Love is love. Fear is fear. If you have problems with one man who cheated on you or he did this or he did that, you can’t say that all men do that! I mean, we utilize music to bring a sense of unity and harmony and forgiveness. Women are like the weather you don’t know what’s going to happen. And men are like mountains, the only time something changes in a man is when there’s an earthquake. I love both of it. I love the male and the female, the female and the male energy. And the best thing that I can say about that is: “Honor me for what God made me, and I’ll honor you for what God made you. Don’t be at war with me, because you’ll be at war with yourself anyway.”

Q: Says the man who just fell in love again!

A: exactly. I totally fell in love with someone who can really, really, really play. She’s probably in the top three in the world who can play with Herbie Hancock or Wayne Shorter. Cindy (Blackman) can play. To her it’s a very profound profession: no, it’s a very profound gift, not a profession. And yes, falling in love with Cindy means when I go onstage it just feels like the 7UP has more bubbles.

Q: Does that mean she’s part of your band now?

A: maybe in the future, but right now I have learned not to mix domestic rhythm with the stage, because it’s very difficult to say: ‘Hey what were you doing with that beat? And then come home and: “Hey, can we make love? “So it’s not wise to mix business, music and profession with romance. It’s a recipe for disaster. Maybe in the future when we’re a little bit more mature in spirit…I would like to have a separate band with her and approach different music, not the Santana music.

Q: What made your propose on stage in front of all these people?

A: It was spontaneous. I saw her play and there is something about her, it excites me to believe that I can wake up with her every morning. We can talk for hours about Mikes Davis and Tony Williams and Wayne Shorter. And then we can talk about children, we can talk about flowers – or we cannot talk and just drink from each other’s eyes. I know that in the future we will write an album together, but right now the best way to describe Cindy is: she’s an angel sent from heaven to me. 

ALASKA’S DENALI NATIONAL PARK

ALASKA’S DENALI NATIONAL PARKALASKA’S DENALI NATIONAL PARK

Source: www.speakup.com.br

Language level: Pre-intermediate

Speaker: Chuck Rolando

Standard accent: American

Would you like to escape the modern world? Alaska’s Denali National Park offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience nature in true solitude. They can see the spectacular mountains of the Alaska Range, dramatic glaciers and wildlife. The park is 240 miles (390 kilometres) north of Anchorage and 140 miles (230 kilometres) south of Fairbanks: the two nearest international airports.

SPRING IS HERE

In April the park is waking up from its long winter Grizzly bears emerge after months of hibernation. Wolves hunt in packs across the snow. Dall sheep eat grass on the mountain side. Migratory birds, including eagles and swans, are returning. Snow ploughs clear the park’s only road, the Denali Park Road. This runs 90 miles (148 kms) into the park. Private vehicles can, however, only reach Savage River, 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the entrance. After this point, the road becomes a dirt track and visitors must travel in the park’s special buses.

IN THE AIR

The buses take visitors deep into the park. Day excursions visit Polychrome Pass with is multi-colored cliffs. Wonder Lake at the foot of Mount McKinley. America’s highest mountain, and the old mining town Kantishna. Mount McKinley is often impossible to see because of clouds.

Perhaps the best way to see the Denali Park is from the air. Flight companies like K2 Aviation, take visitors above the clouds to see stunning views across the glaciers and mountain tops. It is also possible to land on the glaciers with ski planes.

DANGER!

The park offers cycling, hiking, camping, mountaineering and white-water rafting. Visitors are also free to explore the park alone. But Denali National Park is vast and the dangers are real. There are hungry bears, moose and wolves. The streams and lakes are freezing, and the temperature can change suddenly. Snow is common throughout the year. Finally, are you afraid of heights? The Denali Park Road goes high into the mountains, where the track becomes very narrow. Passengers suddenly see down into valleys over a thousand metros bellow!

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PARK no audio

The region was the home of Native Americans called the Athpaskan (or Athabaskan) for about 12.000 years. Denall means “the high one” in the native Athapaskan language, and it was their name for Mount McKinley. Modern settlers first came to the region at beginning of the 20^th century. Gold was discovered raced to claim the land. It is still possible to panhandle for gold in the park’s streams and lakes. Naturalist Charles Alexander Sheldon studied Denali’s Dall sheep. The existence of these sheep became difficult as more and more people come to the region. So Sheldon petitioned government to create a preserve for the sheep. The Mount McKinley National Park was formed on February 25, 1917. This park was extended and renamed the Denali National Park and Preserve in 1980.