1. Read the heading of the unit. Write down some words and phrases related to the subject.
2. Can you guess the meaning of these words?
Natural, mono, stereo, history, Renaissance, composer, compose, antiphonal, music, musician, cathedral, choir, organ, incorporate, sonic, effect, concert, hall, German, conductor, complex, orchestra, perform, foyer, audience, specialist, laboratory, telephone, experiment, multichannel, audio, format, system, idea, animated, film, soundtrack, concert, hall, record, technology, engineer, pioneer, reproduction, control, front, configuration, subwoofer, prototype, group, cinematic, commercial, stereophonic, dramatically, military, various, klaxon.
3. Tell the class what you already know on the topic.
4. a) Talk to your classmate. Give your own definition of that special period in the history of humankind called «the Renaissance».
b) Report your definitions back to the class. Discuss and compare your ideas.
c)Study some dictionary definitions of «the Renaissance». Do they differ from how you defined it?
5. You are going to read an article about the history of surround sound. Before you start reading, discuss the following points with the group.
1) What is surround sound? How does it work?
2) Can you name some examples of surround sound systems?
3 What kind of music did the Renaissance composers write?
4) What do you know about the European musicians Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner?
5) How did Walt Disney and his engineers contribute to the surround sound appearance?
SUBJECT AND LANGUAGE STUDY
Reading
6. Skim the text to complete the following statements:
a) This text considers the…
b) It tells the readers how…
c) Each paragraph gives us information about…
It is more natural for the human ear to listen in surround than to hear sounds in mono or stereo. If we go back to the history as far as the 14—16>th centuries, we will see that the Renaissance composers who wrote antiphonal church music managed to fill vast cathedral spaces with the sound of the choir or organ incorporating side-to-side or front-to-rear sonic effects. In 1830, Hector Berlioz composed his Symphonie Fantastique whose score called for the horns to be placed at the back of the concert hall. The German composer and conductor Richard Wagner (1813—1883) created works so mighty and complex that they required large orchestras and the musicians to perform in the foyer, under the stage, and even among the people in the audience.