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【MODULE6】TheTangPoems【READINGANDVOCABULARY】略【READINGANDWRITING】ThePowerofPoetryReadingandwritingpoetryisaverypersonalexperience.Poetsuselanguageasawayofexpressingtheirfeelings,whetherpositiveonesoflove,happinessandhope,ornegativefeelingslikeangerandfear.Poemscandescribethebeautyofnature,aperson,adreamoramemorableevent.Mostpeoplehavetriedwritingpoetryatsometime,forexampleatschool.Forchildren,itisagoodwaytoexplorelanguageandhavefunwithwordsaswellastoexpressthemselves.Butteachersandpsychologistshavefoundanotheruseforpoetryasaformoftherapytohelppeoplewithproblems.Therearebenefitsforpeopleofalldifferentbackgroundsandaged.Writingpoetrycanhelppeopledealwithchangesintheirlives,deathorfeelingsofsadness,drugoralcoholproblemsorseriousillness.Bywritingdownyourfeelings,youcanlearntounderstandyourselfbetterandgiveyourselfavoiceifyoufeelyouarebeingignored.Apoemmightbeawayoftellingsomeonesomethingwhenyoudonotfeelabletotalkaboutitfacetoface.Andjustbecausepeopleareillorhavingdifficultiesintheirlives,itdoesn`tmeantheyhavelosttheirsenseofhumour.Poemswrittenastherapycanbefunnytoo,aslaughterisalsoconsideredtobeverygoodmedicine.StudentsataspecialschoolinDudley,inEngland,readandwritepoemseveryday.Someofthepoemstheywriteareverygood,buttheirreasonforwritingisnotjusttobecreative.Allofthemhaveproblems.Someofthemhavelong-termmedicalconditions,suchascancer,whileothershavepersonalitydisordersorpsychologicalproblems.Bywritingpoemsstudentsaregrowinginself-confidence.Thepoemprovideachannelthroughwhichtheycancommunicatewiththeworld,andexpresstheirfeelings.Theyalsohelpthemtorecognizeapositiveattitudetolife.Butthepoemsarehelpingotherpeople,too.Theschoolhascollectedsomeofthestudents`poemsandpublishedtheminabookwhichisbeingsoldtoraisefundsforalocalhospital.Thebookhasprovedverypopular,givingstudentsasenseofmotivationandachievement.【READINGPRACTICE】PoemsontheUndergroundAnyonewhoisaddictedtoreadingbusticketsorcerealpacketswillunderstandtheappealofPoemsontheUnderground.Someyearsago,afewLondon,whousedtheTubeandlovedpoetry,decidedthatitwouldbepleasanttoreadafewlinesbyTube,insteadofjustglancingupwardsatthetiresomeadvertisements.TheUndergroundhadasurplusofadvertisingspaceonthetrains.Theysuggestedfillingtheblankspaceswithpoems,fortheentertainmentofthetravellingpublic.LondonUndergroundapprovedoftheidea,andoncesponsorshadbeenfoundtopaytheexpensesforhalfthespaces,theyagreedtopayfortheotherhalf.So,inJanuary1986,PoemsontheUndergroundwasofficiallylaunchedatAldwychstation,inthecentreofLondon.Manyofthosewholeftthemorningdaylightandthedampstreetsabove,anddescendedthroughtheticketbarrierstotheshabbyoldUndergroundplatformsawtheusualsigns——TICKETSANDTRAINS,THISWAYDOEN,CAUTION!DON`TCLIMBONTOTHELINES,STANDCLEAR,DOORSCLOSING——assumeaspecialliterarysignificance.Therewascoffee,doughnuts,andwinetoo,servedonthebencheswheretheywouldusuallysitandwait.Whenthetrainwithapreviewofthefirstpoemsarrived,everyonegotonandwithinminutesofitsdeparture,thecarriagesweremerrywithachorusofvoicesreadingversebyShelley,Burnsandofcourse,bythemselves.Thepoemstookonanewlifewhentheywereremovedfrombooksandplacedalongsidetheadverts.CommutersenjoyedtheideaofreadingKeats`MuchhaveItravel`d`intherealmsofgoldonacrowdedCentralLinetrain,ortryingtolearnbyheartasonnetbetweenHammersmithandPiccadilly.Thechoiceofpoemswasn`tarbitrarybutspeciallychosen.ItcateredforalltastesandincludedlivinganddeadpoemsfromthehomelandandfromallovertheEnglish-speakingworld,andespeciallypoemswhichhaveassociationswithLondon.ThesuccessofthePoemsontheUndergroundenterpriseconfirmedthatBritainwasanationofpoetrylovers.HundredsofpeoplecorrespondedwithLondonUndergroundsuggestingpoems,orjusttosaythankyou.InJanuary1989,onthethirdanniversaryafterthefirstpoemsontheUnderground,LondonUndergroundpromisedtodonateallthespacesfree,toincreasethenumberavailable(atleastonepoemineachtraincarriage),andtopayfortheproductioncostsaswell.Theyalsoupdatethepoemsveryfewmonths.PostersofthepoemsdecoratetheBritishCouncillibrariesthroughouttheworld,butthebestwaytoviewthepoemsistoseethemyourself,onwhichevertrainyouchoose,ineveryzoneofthenetwork——forthepriceofanundergroundticket.【CULTURALCORNER】TheGoldenAgeofEnglishPoetryLikeChina,Britainhadagoldenageofpoetry——butitcameathousandyearsafterthetimeofLiBaiandDuFu.ItwasatimeofrevolutionandnewideasinEurope.TheEnglishRomanticpoets,astheyarenowknown,wereveryinterestedinwhatwashappeningintherestofthecontinent.WordsworthwenttoFrancetosupportthepeople`srevolution,whileByrondiedfightingfortheindependenceofGreeceagainsttheTurks.ButtheRomanticpoetsweremoreinterestedintheindividual,andinthepoweroftheimaginationthantheywereinpolitics.Theyproducedwonderfulimagestoexpresshumanemotionsandtopaintpicturesofthenaturalworld.Theyalsogotinspirationfromthemythsofpastages,especiallytheGreekmyths,andfromtheirownexperiencesoflove.Typically,theRomanticpoetslivedhardanddiedyoung.Byronwasthemostfamousofthem;hetravelledalotandshockedpeoplewithhiswildbehaviour.AnotherRomanticpoet,Coleridge,wasprobablyadrugaddict,andthestrangejourneysofhismindarereflec