I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola (中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.

Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.

Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.

Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers, but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.

In 2021, scientists studying animal communication discovered that some dogs connect objects with words similarly to babies. Then what about cats, which are commonly believed to be unconcerned about human affairs?

Saho Takagi, a researcher at Azabu University, doubted cats’ seeming unconcern. “Cats don’t appear to listen to people’s conversations, but in fact, they do,” said Takagi. According to previous research, cats understand human communication better than expected. Like dogs, they can use human pointing and stares to find food. They even can tell the difference between human facial expressions and states of attention, according to a 2016 study. However, cats can do more than that.

Another study showed that cats can discriminate their own names from the names of their cat companions (those that live in the same house). The researchers believed that cats learned to connect names with other cats by observing communication between their owners and their cat friends.

In a recently published study, Takagi and her colleagues compared two groups of cats: cats living with at least two other cats and cats living in “cat cafés” with up to 30 cats. Using a simple two-phase (阶段) test, they assessed the cats’ responses to hearing their names and seeing their faces on a monitor. Sometimes, the cat that appeared on the screen matched the name spoken; other times, the name and the image did not match. If cats knew the names of their cat friends, they would investigate by staring doubtfully at the monitor when the name and image did not match. House cats had a significantly longer stare than café cats, indicating that house cats generally expected a specific cat’s face upon hearing the cat’s name.

“This is the first evidence showing that house cats link human words and their social companions through daily experiences,” the researchers wrote. “However, we could not recognize the mechanism (机制) for learning. But with more and more scientists becoming interested in cats, who are much smarter than we assume, this question is sure to be solved.”

Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition ______ ended one night in 2010. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school senior was in a car accident that put her in the ______ for 51 days and left her paralyzed (瘫痪的) from the waist down. For most people, that would have killed any hope of a dancing career. For Hill, however, it was the ______. “I wanted to prove that I was still ‘______,’” she said. That word for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her ______. “I have to move with my hands. It definitely took much learning and ______.”

After graduation, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to ______ women like her. She met people who had suffered disabilities but ______ her determination, and she invited them to dance with her. In 2014 Hill formed a team of dancers with disabilities she calls the Rollettes. “I want to ______ the stereotype (成见) of wheelchair users and show that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or you’re ______.” she said. Dancing on wheels can be just as artful and fulfilling. In disabled dance competitions, they’re ______, and as the audiences’ excited reactions indicate, the happiness is contagious (传染的).

Hill is a real ______. She has achieved her childhood ______. Every year she holds a dance camp for wheelchair users. For many, it was the first time they’d felt they ______. A girl once told her it was the most _____thing when she rolled into a room and everyone was at eye level.

Born in Suzhou, Kunqu Opera distinguished itself by the detail of its rhythmic patterns and became widely popular during the Ming Dynasty. During Mid-Autumn Festival in Ming and Qing dynasties, opera performing groups often     36     (gather) in Suzhou, staging wonderful theatrical display s in ancient China.

    37     (combine) songs performed in the Suzhou dialect, graceful body movements, martial arts and dance, Kunqu Opera uses a rich variety of movements to express specific emotions. Graceful movements extend to the fingertips     38     unique melodies create rich and poetic worlds for audiences     39     (enjoy).

Kunqu Opera held a powerful influence on many forms of opera in China, including Peking Opera,     40     is about 200 years old. Kunqu Opera is thus known as the mother of all Chinese operas. In respect of this     41     (treasure) history, UNESCO acknowledged it as one of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2001.

    42     a true reflection of Chinese culture, stories performed in Kunqu Opera go beyond the limits of time and space. The Peony Pavilion, written by playwright Tang Xianzu, who is often compared to Shakespeare, is still loved by fans     43     (global).

A living heritage is     44     endless dialogue between the present and the past, and Kunqu Opera is a perfect     45     (carry) to pass that legacy on for China’s future generations.