This Summer’s Classical Music Festivals around Europe

Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland

Edinburgh International Festival is Edinburgh’s arts offering, and in 2023 welcomes violinist Nicola Benedetti in her first year as festival director. Picking up the baton (指挥棒) from previous director, Fergus Linehan, the Scotish violinist has described the role as “the honour and responsibility of a lifetime” and she is—perhaps unbelievably —the first Scottish and the first female festival director since the festival began in 1947.

August 4-August 27, eif.co.uk

Verbier Festival, Switzerland

The festival, marking its 30th anniversary, has become known for attracting the biggest soloists (独奏者) in the world. But the real magic of Verbier is connecting great musicians at the height of their careers with young artists through the Verbier Festival Academy. This year, 223 students from all over the world will receive training and attend master classes with the greats.

July 14-July 30, verbierfestival.com

Puccini Festival, Italy

Since 1930, the festival has been presenting Puccini’s masterpieces to crowds of thousands every summer. We’re picturing the Italian summer days closing with a gentle warmth, accompanied by fine opera and a cool glass of wine in hand, and the waters of Lake Massaciuccoli and the Tyrrhenian Sea rippling nearby.

July 14-August 26, puccinifestival.it

Granada International Festival, Spain

In 2023, as in previous years, the festival will team up with University of Granada to invite students to take part in the Manuel de Falla Courses, which offer master classes and workshops in composition, musical analysis, performance and more.

July 21-August 19, granadafestival.org

We all need to eat, and when we buy some food at the supermarket, we have many choices. But the food we often buy has been produced in large amounts and has travelled many miles before it ends up on our plates. To some extent, growing our own food is a better choice.

From growing vegetables in little pots on your balcony (阳台) to taking care of a small piece of land, there are many ways to produce home-grown food. It can be backbreaking work — digging, weeding and watering the soil, but what it does bring is fresh, home-grown fruit and vegetables to help us stay on our “five-a-day” diet .

The recent COVID-19 pandemic lockdown means demand for home-grown food has seen a comeback in the UK. Miriam told the reporter that some people have been spending a lot of time on their plots (小块土地), growing plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables —which, at times, have been challenging to buy in supermarkets. She says, “Coronavirus has reminded people of the weakness within our global food system. In such a difficult time, interest in self-support rises.”

But for those with little space, a solution to growing your own vegetables lies closer to home — using pots. Sheila Brand lives in a third-floor flat in Rotterdam. She has managed to grow tomatoes and eggplants and even harvested raspberries (树莓). She said that it’s very exciting to watch the plants grow: Oh, it’s got a new leaf!

As well as saving money and enjoying tasty food, growing our own fruit and vegetables from a balcony or window ledge improves our well-being and environment. As a matter of fact, we can grow a lot of vegetables by doing so. So, maybe it’s time for us to get planting and develop our green fingers!

The annual 3-to-4-millimeter rise in sea levels is expected to impact many coastal communities in the coming decades. However, few are as defenceless as the Republic of Maldives, a collection of more than a thousand islands in the Indian Ocean. NASA researchers believe that parts of what is “arguably the lowest-lying country in the world” will become uninhabitable by 2050, due to wave-driven flooding and limited freshwater. To fight the unavoidable result, the government recently revealed plans for the world’s first “true” floating island city.

The Maldives Floating City (MFC) is the brainchild of the Netherlands-based Dutch Docklands, a global leader in floating infrastructure (基础设施). According to the announcement, the new city will be constructed on about three-quarters of a square mile, or a 200-hectare, lagoon (泻湖) located just ten minutes by boat from the capital city, Male. It’ll initially consist of about a thousand waterfront residences. Developers plan to add hotels, restaurants, shops, and even a school and a hospital in the near future. The floating structures will be fixed to the surrounding islands, which will form the base and provide protection from high tides.

Maldives’ officials aim to make MFC as carbon neutral as possible. Additionally, freshwater storage will provide drinking water for residents, while floating solar blankets and agriculture fields will take care of their energy and food needs.

“The Maldives Floating City doesn’t require any kind of land reclamation (土地开垦), therefore has a minimal impact on coral reefs,” explained Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012. “What’s more, giant, new reefs will be grown to act as water breakers. Our adaption to climate change mustn’t destroy nature but work with it, as the Maldives Floating City proposes. In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”

Construction of the revolutionary city is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in phases over the next five years. If successful, it’ll provide a blueprint for other countries facing the similar situation.

My first “friend” is just a face to me, with no name attached. I remember a ________ hand from that mysterious face when I was around six years old. To this day, I have never remembered my playground partners’ names, ________ I will never forget the act of ________ I have ever experienced. It made a big difference to my life.

“Frail (脆弱的)” was used to ________ me when I was a child. I was a completely ________ child. I wasn’t particularly good or bad at anything as far as activities and sports went, and I never really ________. Yet for some reason I was ________ by a few children and bullied (霸凌) at school. One day, I was pushed off a slide at school. My leg was ________ hurt and there was blood running down my leg. I had no ________ but to sit there.

Just then, another child did me a ________ With those attackers drawing closer to ________ their daily routine, my mysterious “friend” stood in front of me like an iron wall. I was ________ by the fact that someone cared to help another human. I had never experienced being helped before. This random act of kindness ________ my view on people. Since that experience I have always seen the ________ for random acts of kindness. Just as the stranger who helped me when I was a child ________ my view of life, I could also be a light to others in the darkness.

Morris dancing is a form of folk dancing that dates back to the 15th century. Men and women     36     (wear) old-fashioned clothing dance in the streets of towns and villages across the country during the holiday periods. Women wear long, frilly skirts and men wear short trousers with bells     37     (attach) to them. They dance to traditional folk music     38    is often played on traditional musical instruments.

Some groups carry heavy black sticks. They use them to hit each other while they dance. Other groups wave     39     (handkerchief) in the air while they dance. The dances are     40     (usual) performed near a pub so that when it’s over, the dancers and the audience can sing some traditional folk songs over some beer. The celebrations often continue long into the night, by which point most people are too drunk     41     (think) about performing again.

Morris dancing is a great English tradition, but it's facing     42     big crisis. As the years go by, fewer and fewer young people are joining morris dancing groups. The dancers are getting older and older. If nothing     43     (do) to change this, the tradition will die out within the next few years.

However,     44     would be a great shame to lose such a fun part of England’s history and culture. It’s important to look after some traditions and customs especially when it's something as     45     (harm) and happy as morris dancing.

Yours,

Li Hua