PAGE FIVE:LISTENING
Ballet is a special form of art.
It is based on the dancers' steps and their graceful gestures and movements.
Ballet can tell stories or express moods.
But it always presents ideas through dance instead of speech.
This type of classical dance began about four hundred years ago.
Gradually,it became a stage show on its own in the eighteenth century.
Today,ballet has become a favorite means of entertainment for many people in China
Through television,live broadcasts of 'Swan Lake'
and 'Sleeping Beauty' have entered millions of ordinary people's homes.
To become a ballet dancer is no easy job.
First of all,the dancers have to be of a certain height and build.
Training usually starts at an early age
and the dancers have to practise very hard every day in the dance studio.
They learn to control their muscles and dance on points;
they also learn to use their special body language
to signal all kinds of messages with charm and beauty.

芭蕾舞是一種特殊的藝術(shù)形式。
舞者的舞步以及他們優(yōu)雅的姿勢(shì)和動(dòng)作是芭蕾的重要基礎(chǔ)。
芭蕾舞能夠用來(lái)講述故事或者表達(dá)心情。
但是這些想法通常是通過(guò)舞蹈而不是通過(guò)說(shuō)的方式來(lái)表現(xiàn)。
這種古典舞蹈形式是從四百多年前開(kāi)始的。
在十八世紀(jì)，芭蕾漸漸地發(fā)展成為了一種舞臺(tái)表演。
今天，芭蕾已經(jīng)成為了很多中國(guó)人喜愛(ài)的一種娛樂(lè)方式。
《天鵝湖》和《睡美人》已經(jīng)通過(guò)電視直播的方式走進(jìn)了千家萬(wàn)戶。
然而要成為一個(gè)芭蕾舞者也不是件容易的事。
首先，所有芭蕾舞者的身高和體型都必須一致。
芭蕾舞者從很小就開(kāi)始練習(xí)芭蕾舞，
并且得在舞蹈室日復(fù)一日的刻苦訓(xùn)練。
他們要學(xué)會(huì)怎樣控制肌肉和用腳尖舞蹈;
他們還得學(xué)習(xí)怎樣使用他們特殊的身體語(yǔ)言
來(lái)優(yōu)美的表達(dá)（舞蹈要表達(dá)的)意思。