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Literature Are You Still

Playing Flute? Nature

Eleme

POEM 1 – Are you still playing flute?

English Version 中文版Are you still playing your flute?

When there is hardly time for our love

I am feeling guilty

To be longing for your song

The melody concealed in the slim hollow

of the bamboo

Uncovered by the breath of an artist

Composed by his fingers

Blown by the wind

To the depth of my heart

你是否还在吹着笛子？当这个没可能表达爱意的时刻我感觉到无比惭愧，竟然还会想着你吹奏的乐曲旋律甚至在我的内心里久久盘旋不散

Are you still playing your flute?

In the village so quiet and deserted

Amidst the sick rice field

While here it has become a luxury

To spend time watching the rain

Gazing at the evening rays

Collecting dew drops

Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers

你是否还在吹着笛子？村子里现在应该是寂静荒凉稻田也都被大家遗弃了吧然而在城市，以前常做的——看雨滴、凝视晚霞、收集露珠还有轻闻花香这些事都是奢侈

Are you still playing your flute?

The more it disturbs my conscience

to be thinking of you

in the hazard of you

my ‘younger brothers’ unemployed and

desperate

my people disunited by politics

my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding

你是否还在吹着笛子？我还是在愧疚着，因为不停地想着你我为因失业而沮丧同胞感到愧疚我为因政治观点不一而分裂的人民感到愧疚我为关心的人被无情杀害而愧疚这个世界怎么变得如此不堪了…

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? POETRY

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Setting The poem is set in a rural Malay village, which is undergoing a change.

It is a quiet and deserted village.

The paddy fields looked barren.

Nevertheless, the ‘luxuries’, such as watching the rain, gazing at the evening rays, collecting dew drops and enjoying the fragrance of the flower, still exist in the rural.

Themes1) Accepting changes in life

Life changes over time We need to adapt to all kinds of social, economic and political changes. We have to accept positive and negative consequences that come with

them

2) Appreciation of life Appreciate the beauty in life. Simple things such as music, the falling rain and the setting sun can bring

joy and contentment. By appreciating everything around us, we will lead a fulfilling life.

3) Determination in facing hardship The poet is strong in facing the problems around her. The young generation is jobless The people are divided by the instability of politics.

Moral Values1)We should be aware of our family commitments and carry them out properly.2)Everyone has priorities in, life and we should know what is important and what

is not.3) Following a hobby is good but there is a time for work and a time for play.

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No.

Words Meaning in Context

1. Hardly time for our love

2. Longing for3. Melody concealed4. Composed by his

fingers5. Hollow

6. Quiet and deserted

7. Amidst8. Sick rice field

9. Luxury

10. Gazing

11. Fragrance12. Disturbs my

conscience13. Hazard

14. Younger brothers

15. Unemployed

16. Desperate17. Slaughtered18. Mercilessly19. The world is too

old & bleeding

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ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? ASSESSMENT/WORKSHEET

Write TRUE or FALSE for each statement below.

Statements True/False

1. The persona is listening to the man playing the flute.

2. She is feeling happy.

3. The music was produced by the guitar.

4. A flute is a slim hollow instrument.

5. The persona’s village is lively and noisy.

6. The nation’s economy is not in a good state.

7. The meaning of concealed is revealed.

8. Gazing at evening rays is a luxury.

9. The younger generations are jobless.

10. People are united by politics.

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Assessment 1

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? ASSESSMENT/WORKSHEET

Read the first stanza of this poem and answer the following questions.

1. What is the meaning of this line, ‘there is hardly time for our love’?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. The word artist is line 6 refers to…….

___________________________________________________________________

3. Which line suggests that the flutist is talented?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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Assessment 2

Are you still playing your flute?When there is hardly time for our loveI am feeling guiltyTo be longing for your songThe melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bambooUncovered by the breath of an artistComposed by his fingersBlown by the windTo the depth of my heart.

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? ASSESSMENT/WORKSHEET

Answer the following questions based on this stanza.

1. State the activities that had become luxury.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. What does the word here refer to?

___________________________________________________________________

3. What is the evidence which proves that the village had been abandoned?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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Assessment 3

Are you still playing your fluteIn the village so quiet and desertedAmidst the sick rice fieldWhile here it has become a luxuryTo spend time watching the rainGazing at the evening raysCollecting dew dropsOr enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? ASSESSMENT/WORKSHEET

Answer the following questions based on this stanza.

1. The phrase ‘younger brother’ refers to…

___________________________________________________________________

2. Which line from this stanza explains the existence of violence?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3. What caused the people to be disunited?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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Assessment 4

Are you still playing your flute?The more it disturbs my conscienceto be thinking of youin the hazard of youmy younger brothers unemployed and desperatemy people disunited by politicsmy friend slaughtered mercilesslythis world is too old and bleeding

ARE YOU STILL PLAYING YOUR FLUTE? ASSESSMENT/WORKSHEET

Answer the following questions based on this stanza.

1. What are the things the persona enjoys doing in the village?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. What is the atmosphere in the village?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3. What is the persona trying to tell us about the changes in her life?

_____________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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Assessment 5

Are you still playing the flute?In the village so quiet and desertedAmidst the sick rice fieldWhile here it has become a luxuryTo spend time watching the rainGazing at the evening raysCollecting dew dropsOr enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

POEM 2 – Nature

English Version 中文版We have neither Summer nor Winter 我们并没有夏季和冬季

Neither Autumn nor Spring 没有秋天和春天

We have instead the days 我们有相反的日子

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields

当黄金太阳照在青翠的甘蔗田

Magnificently 壮观地

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

雨水像子弹打在房顶上的日子

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

没有别的声音除了水沟里嗖嗖的水声

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

树木在牙买加大风里摇摆挣扎

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees

当叶子从 guango树凋谢的日子

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

收割后的甘蔗田赤裸地躺和休耕于阳光下

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

但是最好的日子是有芒果和洋苏木开花

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey

当灌木丛充满蜜蜂的声音和蜜糖的芬芳

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the

slightest breath of air,

当高高的草丛在有微风的空气里摇摆

When the buttercups have paved the earth

with yellow stars

当金凤花用黄色的花瓣铺满大地

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains

have gone.

美丽突然降临，雨水消失

THEMES1. Beauty of nature2. Appreciation of one own country3. Appreciate nature

MORAL VALUES1. We should appreciate what we have in our own country

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2. We should not long for what we do not have.3. We should appreciate our homeland.4. We should appreciate the beauty of nature.

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE1. Appreciative and happy2. Carefree and light-hearted3. Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW1. Third person point of view

LANGUAGE AND STYLE1. Simple and easy to understand the language2. Clear and descriptive3. Simple style with no rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES1. Imagery – e.g. ‘gold sun’, ‘lush green fields’, ‘trees struggling’2. Alliteration – e.g. ‘sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air’3. Symbols – e.g. ‘gold sun’ – symbol of summer, ‘rains’ – symbol of winter4. Contrast – e.g. ‘beauty’ or summer is compared with ‘rains’ or winter5. Figurative Language – Simile – ‘rain beats like bullets’6. Metaphor – e.g. ‘the buttercups paved the earth with yellow stars’7. Personafication – ‘buttercups have paved the earth’ … buttercups have been

personified as having laid tiles

8. Onomatopeia – e’g ‘swish’

9.

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novel – the curse

Chapter 1

Azreen 在收到姐姐去世的消息后，马上在英国的学校办理了手续回家。她的朋友,Julian Ng对于她匆匆离去的原因感到非常同情，也对她表达了慰问，但是Azreen完全没心情回应并加快了脚步。Chapter 2

在返家的机上，她回忆起以前和姐姐，Madhuri的过往还有Madhuri以前是如何的受欢迎。Madhuri是美丽的、温柔的；相对的，Azreen却是个火爆个性同时固执的女生。所以大家都会把他们拿来做比较，也让Azreen开始讨厌姐姐。可是现在的她回想起这件事，觉得一切都是浮云了…Chapter 3

另一边厢，远在 Langkawai岛屿南部的一个小村落，Pn. Kamsiah正和女儿聊着一个在村子里妖言惑众的女人, Pn. Normala. Pn. Normala和他的女儿都在不停地告诉他们周围的人：Madhuri是被谋杀的、她的伤口流出了白色的血、他们的村子被诅咒了。Datin Sharifah和她的丈夫在机场来接他们所领养的孩子，Azreen，也尽可能不在她前面提到Madhuri的噩耗。Chapter 4

哀悼者陆陆续续集中到Azreen的家，向Madhuri致上最后的敬意。女人们又开始讨论 Pn. Normala所说的，Madhuri被杀害、村子被诅咒之类的。Azreen姗姗来迟，她带着已患上老人痴呆症的母亲去到了墓地见Madhuri最后一面。在那时，她也遇到了Mohd. Asraf,回想起了与对方一起在学校时的时光。Chapter 5

Azreen约见Asraf询问他关于Madhuri的死因，但是得到的回应却是一些很模糊的细节。另一边厢，长舌妇 Pn. Normala再次谈起有关Madhuri的谣言；村里的巫师Awang也发表意见说他梦到有有灾难将会降临在这个村子里。同时，Awang也回忆起曾经因为自己偷鸡而导致 Encik Mohan的农场的牛牛们脱门而出的事件。当时在农场打工的Asraf被责怪，而Azreen却在那时挺身而出，说出是自己开的门。回到现在，Azreen在第一次询问不果后，确定出发去找Old Lady叙旧。Old Lady告诉她Madhuri的确是被谋杀的。Chapter 6

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Old Lady当时看到了Madhuri的尸体以及她的伤口。她认为有人刻意掩盖了这件事情，如果深入调查可能会发现更多秘密。另一边厢，Puan Fatihah村长,Haji Ghani的妻子回忆起她的丈夫在遇到了Madhuri并被她吸引后自己人生的改变。Azreen也在回忆往事：姐姐如何的捍卫她当父亲怀疑她偷了山竹还有自己为了救Asraf而承认开了农场篱笆。她还记得那些逃跑的牛牛们撞倒了当时正骑着摩托车的她的父母亲，也因此导致了母亲的瘫痪。Old Lady也忆起曾经虐待过自己的丈夫被自己在自我防卫的前提下被杀死。从那天起，她就被逼搬到了效外的一个偏僻小房子。Chapter 7

Asraf很担心自己的婆婆每况愈下的健康情况。同时间，Haji Ghani在Madhuri的墓前哀悼。在脑海的深处，他仿佛看见了一个穿着白色裙子的女人徘徊在树林里。待在家中的Azreen被父亲责备不该没把鸡寮的门关上。一只断了颈项的鸡在鸡寮外不远处被发现。第二天早上他收到了 Julian的信，提到了学校即将进行的考试，还有夹着一封之前Madhuri寄去 London给她的信。Madhuri的信里提到了她的婚姻、与Puan Fatihah的关系，还提到自己有一个秘密要和她分享。Chapter 8

Azreen的母亲去世了。同时，Asraf还在担心着婆婆。他去市场找草药却无所获。死马当活马医，他决定寻求Old Lady的帮助。一开始的Old Lady是犹豫的，但是最后在Azreen和Asraf的劝说下，她答应了。Chapter 9

当Asraf出外找救兵时，Siti负责照顾着Asraf的婆婆,Nek。Pn. Kamsiah和 Pn. Normala看到Old Lady出现在Asraf家时都吓了一跳。Old Lady尝试医治Nek。Azreen感到错愕当她发现Asraf打算去 KL深造。回到家的路程中，Azreen看到了在草丛后的Awang。Awang告知一大群人现在集中在Asraf的家中。她即可跑去了解情况，原来是 Pn. Normala又在造谣，说因为Old Lady进来村子后导致连绵大雨。一场骂战就此展开，Encik Saleh及时阻止了整个骚动。同时，Nek开始有复原的现象，这让Asraf松了一口气。他们感谢Old Lady如此见义勇为，雨也终于停了。Chapter 10

Azreen被一阵敲门声吵醒。Nek去世了，Asraf带着村里的几个男人去找Old Lady算账。Azreen尝试阻止他，甚至用铲子弄伤他的脚。结果，他手上的油灯因此滑飞进屋内，引起了大火。Azreen冲进屋里想要救出Old Lady不果，她在临终前要Azreen学会原谅他人。最后 Encik Saleh把Azreen从屋子里救了出来。事后，Asraf坦白说道他和Madhuri有奸情！！也打算了要一起私奔到月球~(是

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Kuala Lumpur…) 原来Madhuri在信里提到的秘密是这个。但是，Madhuri的尸体却在橡胶园被发现。接着，Azreen遇到了Awang，他也告知了一些秘密：Madhuri并非她的亲生姐姐、他才是打开了农场篱笆造就她的母亲瘫痪的人还有他曾经几次看到Asraf和Maduri在橡胶园密会。另一边厢的Haji Ghani回忆起自己发现Madhuri密会情人的那一天，接着就传来了Madhuri的噩耗。Chapter 11

当Azreen在研究着Awang提供的证词时，她看到篱笆后有一个女人的倒影在指着她家后院的木材堆。她和 Encik Saleh顺着方向走到后院看到一把 Encik Saleh常用的 parang插在木堆上，而且在边缘处有一些白色的胶印。看到这一幕的Azreen把所有证词串连一起后，用不敢置信的目光看着 Encik Saleh，凶手就是他！Encik Saleh说出自己是因为在发现Madhuri红杏出墙而一时愤怒把对方杀害后，Azreen跑开了。Encik Saleh接着也因为心脏病发当场暴毙。同时，村子开始谣传有一个身穿白裙与Madhuri非常相像的女子在 Encik Saleh病发前曾出没在附近。Chapter 12

Azreen来到墓地致敬。她在每一个墓地前各留下了一朵花就离开了。她也留了一朵花在埋着Old Lady山上的墓地。当Azreen离开时，她看到了一个带着与Madhuri非常相似的笑容的女子在远处辞行

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