A big gathering of friends sat around our living room making music. “Get up there, Roberty Bob!” my mum Mary encouraged me. It was 1996, and aged five, I’d recently started Irish dance lessons with my two older sisters. I showed off some of the steps I’d learned in a shy and nervous way as the friends cheered.
We lived on an apple orchard (苹果园) in the Huon Valley, which had been in my dad’s family for generations. Mum had left her own family’s farm in Ireland after she met my father, Robert, while he was travelling around Europe. She vowed to never forget the culture of her homeland.
On nights like this one, friends and family would gather for a jam session (即兴演奏会). Many would bring instruments—tin whistles, Celtic drums, piano accordions — and produce a noisy Irish symphony (交响乐). Music was as much a part of my childhood as the country air I breathed.
When I turned 14, my parents gave me a guitar, and I began to suspect life would take me far beyond the bush. After school, I got into the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) which led to a career in musical theatre. I had a ball performing in shows across Australia, like Disney’s Aladdin and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. During this period, I met a beautiful actress named Chloé Zuel and in 2019 we married. After COVID, I found it hard to get back to the former routine. Then, in April this year, I was sent an audition (试音) notice for a new musical about Elvis Presley set to tour Australia. We grew up with Irish and classical music, I thought. I knew nothing about Elvis. I figured they’d give the role to some Elvis fan and resolved to audition for smaller parts. Chloé disagreed and encouraged me to go for it though she was pregnant and needed company.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右;
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Amazingly, a few weeks later I learned that out of 700 applicants, I’d got the lead.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the finally show, Elvis sang Can’t Help Falling in Love to his new baby, and so did I.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
