1 . Works by George Balanchine, with the music of George Gershwin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Igor Stravinsky, the innovative genius of George Balanchine is brought to the forefront. The following is the introduction of the four artists.

Artist 1: George Balanchine

It is difficult to overlook the influence of choreographer (舞蹈编剧), George Balanchine. Called the Father of American Ballet, he combined the classical training he received as a boy in St. Petersburg with originality to modernism. He transformed ballet into a 20th century art form.

Artist 2: George Gershwin

George Gershwin was amongst one of the most significant and popular music composers for Broadway musicals. He wrote music for both Broadway and classical pieces that connected him to the wider public.

Artist 3: Igor Stravinsky

Igor Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer whose works had a revolutionary (革命性的) impact on musical thought. He was honored with the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal in 1954 and the Wihuri Sibelius Prize in 1963.

Artist 4: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is the very foundation of classical ballet. Russian-born Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable melodies (旋律) and innovative harmonies make his music loveable. Ballet audiences are fortunate to hear not only the works he intended for dance, such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, but also a wide variety of pieces that have been created by great dance-makers.

2 . Stephen Hawking, the world respected Oxford physicist, who died at the age of 76, once said he felt “lucky” his motor neurone diseasc (MND) did not prevent him from doing his lifelong research on the origins of the universe. “I have been so lucky that my disease has not been a serious block, indeed it has probably given me more time than most people to search for knowledge.” he once said.

The author of the 1988 bestseller A Brief History of Time was given only a few years to live when he was diagnosed (诊断) with MND as a 22-year-old student in 1964.

MND is the collective name for a group of diseases that affect the nerves (神经) in the brain. The progressive disease kills more than half within two years and about ninety percent within five years of diagnosis. There is no cure for MND and no treatment to halt the progression of the disease at the present time. However, it is possible to live with it for many years.

The disease affects the muscles that produce movements like walking and talking, and damages parts of the nervous system which leads to muscle weakness. MND most commonly happens to people in their 50s and 60s. However, it can affect people of any age, as in Prof Hawking’s case.

Experts believe that Hawking’s rare slow-progressing form of MND and its early onset were likely to be factors in why he was able to live with the disease into his seventies. Leo McCluskey, a medical director, said his excellent care and the variation (变异) of his disease are likely to have prolonged his life. “The common way people die is of breathing failure. And the other thing is swallowing muscles’(吞咽肌) becoming worse. If you don’t have these two things, you could probably not live for a long time — even though you’re getting worse. What’s happened to Hawking is just surprising. He’s certainly an outlier,” he said.

3 . Kairo McLean was waiting for his mom to pick him up from school. She arrived with the car windows down, playing Kairo's song Easy Now as loud as the sound could go. That was when she informed him that he was nominated (提名)for the Juno Awards, one of Canada's most influential music awards, for Reggae Recording of the Year. At age 13, Kairo was the youngest artist ever nominated for Reggae Recording of the Year at the JUNOS. His Juno- nominated single Easy Now appears on his first-ever album(歌曲专辑)of the same title.

“I’m so glad that reggae music, which is originally from Jamaica(牙买加), is being rec- ognized and appreciated here in Canada, ”Kairo said in an interview. “It's really exciting that all my efforts have been recognized in spite of my young age, and it motivates me to keep struggling hard to realize my musical dream, ”he said.

“Kairo would try to play the keyboard before he was tall enough to reach it. He wanted to learn how to play the guitar before it could even fit on his lap, ”Kairo's mom recalled. “Listening to music from reggae music artists like Cocoa Tea, Yellowman and Bob Marley is a normal thing in our household. Apart from that, he really put many efforts in his interest, ” she added.

As a Canadian reggae artist outside of Jamaica, Kairo feels that music should spread a message about love and peace, not things like violence and hate. Kairo’s music is about bright light in the world, though we might be always caught in the darkness such as bullies(仗势欺人者)at school or crime in the society. “I bring up the injustices that I see in the world and I talk about them because they need to be spoken about and they need to be heard, ”said Kairo.

4 . When amputee (被截肢者) runner Jacky Hunt-Broersma says her motto is, “I can do hard things,” she is not joking. She has completed 104 marathons in 104 days, _________a prosthetic (假体的) leg.

Hunt-Broersma, 46,_________her 104th marathon on April 30, near her home in Phoenix, Arizona, breaking an unofficial world record along the way. Brick Runners, an organization that supports_________who raise money for_________, even designed one of her favorite T-shirts, which reads, “Strong Has Many Forms.”

Hunt-Broersma, who is from South Africa, lost her leg below the knee to cancer when she was 26 years old. She ran the first of her 104 marathons on January 17, 2022._________,100 in as many days, to_________non-disabled runner Alyssa Amos Clark’s 2020 record of 95. But in March, after non-disabled British runner Kate Jayden unofficially broke Clark’s record with 101 marathons in 101 days, Hunt-Broersma knew she’d _________to run at least 101.

As she did her_________42.2-kilometer runs, Hunt-Broersma’s social media popularity grew, and she raised over US $67,000 to help other amputee runners_________the prosthetic arms and legs they need. These can cost over US $10,000, and__________insurance companies don’t usually __________them.

Hunt-Broersma said she hoped to__________people everywhere to push themselves to do challenging things even if they have__________.

Guinness World Records said it knew about Hunt-Broersma’s 104 marathons, and that it would take 12 to 15 weeks to look at the__________before the record can be__________by it.

5 . In artist Roy Wang’s photos, mythical (神话的) creatures from The Classic of Mountains and Seas emerge in front of historical sites of Guangzhou.

The series of photographs is created by light painting in which the photographer uses light sources to produce different images which are captured by a camera, as if drawing on the photos. Roy Wang, the representative figure of light-painting photography in China, says, “What attracts me most about light painting is that, by using a simple light and against a dark background, I can paint in a free style.”

Wang was a professional athlete. However, his sports career ended in 2012 because of injuries. His travels led to his interest in photography. Once he saw light-painting photos by Spanish master Pablo Picasso online and was introduced to the technique. He began to try in this field.

In 2013, he started adding the dragon and other creatures from ancient texts to light painting. Wang’s work is inspired by mythical creatures that add a sense of mystery to his photography but at the same time it proves to be difficult to create such images with light.“The mythical creatures are as mysterious as light painting. They both emerge in the darkness, and without an exact shape or form, they are free. I let loose my imagination,based on the descriptions in ancient books,” said Wang.

To Roy Wang, the technique has a wide application in expressing different ideas. Apart from mythical creatures, he has been showing themes relevant to more recent events, such as a series in praise of medical workers during the outbreak of COVID-19.

Tradition will continue to be a creative force for Wang as he wants to add more Chinese elements in his works, including his next series, creating photos that have both aesthetic (美学的) and cultural values.