Music and Young People
　　 Q: What kinds of music are popular with young people in your culture?
　　 构思:
　　 What: pop Hip-hop R&B
　　 Who: Westlife 50 cents, Justin usher / David Tao
　　 When: since 2000
　　 Why: technology, mp3, mp4, Hunan TV, Channel V, MV,
　　 People come back from abroad bring home a new musical taste.
　　 How often: I listen to Hip-hop everyday. It’s water and food to me.
　　 Answer:
　　 I’m not a music student but an amateur music lover. (业余的)
　　 And I haven’t done any research and survey about the music industry in China. (研究调查)
　　 But from my personal experience, young people in China appreciate pop, hip-hop and R&B the most.
　　 It think this is largely because many people who have been abroad are bringing back a new musical taste.
　　 So boy groups, such as Westlife, and singers, for example, Justin Timberlake, Usher or the Taiwan R&B king, David Tao, become really popular.
　　 And the development of music technology makes listening to music very convenient.
　　 Right now, it only costs you a few hundred yuan to buy a large Mp3, well it’s not iPod, but works just fine.
　　 I listen to music, like, all the time.
　　 And right now I’m most interested in Hip-hop.
　　 It’s young, energetic and so fashionable. (150 words)
　　 Q: What do you think influences the young people’s tastes in music?

 构思:
　　 Parents: piano classical
　　 Friends: influence is great, party together, same generation , same taste
　　 Media: TV, Radio, music industry
　　 Answer:
　　 童年爸妈影响
　　 I think the first influence on a person’s taste of music comes from parents.
　　 When you were young, you have no idea what to listen to, you have no taste in music, and your mom and dad provide you the first music education by showing you the music that they like.
　　 And Chinese parents often force their kids to study a musical instrument, such as piano, violin. Such education can easily make a person fall in love with classical music.
　　 成长中朋友影响
　　 And the second and perhaps the strongest influence is from your friends.
　　 When you’re growing up, your confidence and understanding of the world also improve, and the people who spend the most time with you, your friends and classmates, certainly will influence your tastes in everything, including music.
　　 You probably go CD shopping together, and then listen to the same music in the same room.
　　 成人后媒体影响
　　 At last, when you finally become an adult, an exciting thing happens—you develop your personal identity, independence and style. You’re more sure about who you’re since now you’re a grown-up. But, my friend, you are still influenced by the media, such as TV, radio, and the internet. And such things provide you the third kind of music influence. (203 words)
　　 Q: How has technology affected the kinds of music popular with young?
　　 构思:
　　 internet
　　 music video/ music channel
　　 mp3
　　 iPod
　　 Answer:
　　 When I was very young, I didn’t have many cds to listen to because getting new songs and new cds was very difficult.
　　 But right now, with the fast development of the internet, information is so readily available.
　　 Young people can know the newest CDs in just a few minutes they spend on the internet. And they can even purchase new music by visiting iTunes website. And I think Apple Computer contributed a lot to the music industry. Because of iPod, music is shared internationally. And in one small gadget/ box, you can carry more than 500 albums of music. Listening to music has never been so easy.
　　 And the promotion of music videos on music channels, such as MTV and Channel V, is also making new artists, new cds popular among young people.
　　 So the internet, iPod and TV media are the three biggest technological assistance for the development of music. (152 words)