Page 94 - BASIC ENGLISH_4th EDITION_AUG'17

A. Look at the picture. What does a busker mean?
Read the text.

What does Daniel Ng do?

Daniel Ng, 54, works as a busker in Singapore,
performing in the city's food courts and high streets every evening.
He has been blind since birth.

My day starts at around 07:00 or 08:00 every morning. I usually go to the local food court for
breakfast - a bowl of noodles, a bit of carrot cake [a savoury omelet-like dish with radish], or
Nasi Lemak, a coconut rice with a bit of fish, egg and chili. Once in a while, if I want a Western
set, I go to McDonald's for a big breakfast.

When I'm finished, I go home and listen to the news on radio and TV. After that, I seek some
songs, just to practice what I think I might sing about in the evening. I spend a lot of time
learning new songs. It's a problem for me and other blind buskers, because we can't see.

Most people can read the lyrics in front of them, but we have to memorize verse for verse by
listening to the song several times, to exercise which chords to use and how many bridges
and choruses there are.

I learn lots of different songs because I get all types of song requests - I sing songs in English,
Malay, Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkein, Thai and Indian Tamil. A lot of people are crazy about
Korean pop, so I'm trying to learn Korean songs right now, although the syllables are quite
difficult.

I have lunch in the afternoon, and sometimes catch up with friends or have a coffee. I get on
the train at around 16:00 in the afternoon to go to wherever I'm busking for the evening. To
be a busker in Singapore, you need to have audition with the National Arts Council, and get a
yearly license.

Adapted from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23177534

88 BASIC ENGLISH