Filmmaker Jennifer Nelson was sued (起诉) for $1,500 for having a song “Happy Birthday to You” sung in the movie she’s making. The money went to Warner Music Group, a company that claims to own the copyright on the song. A copyright is the legal right to use or sell a creative product such as a song, a TV show, a book, or a work of art. Warner has claimed the copyright for “Happy Birthday to You” since 1988.
“I never thought the song was owned by anyone,” Nelson said in an e-mail to The New York Times. “I thought it belonged to everyone.”
Nelson’s movie is a documentary—a film that uses pictures and/or interviews with people to create a factual report of real-life events—and is actually about the history of the “Happy Birthday” song itself.
Two sisters named Mildred and Patty Hill wrote a song called “Good Morning to All” in 1893. Over a short period of time, people began to sing the words “happy birthday to you” in place of the original lyrics to the tune of the Hill sisters’ song.
A number of history experts say that there is no record of who actually wrote the “Happy Birthday to You” lyrics. Historians also say there is no way to know when the general public began singing the “Happy Birthday” song, but they believe it had been sung by the public long before it was printed and owned by a company.
Nelson’s lawyers say this piece of music’s history proves that “Happy Birthday to You” belongs to everyone in the general public. That would mean Warner Music Group has no right to charge anyone a fee to sing the song in any setting.
Experts estimate that Warner/Chappell, the publishing division of the Warner Music Group, has made about $2 million a year from licensing fees for “Happy Birthday to You.” Nelson’s lawyers are asking a court in New York City to order Warner/Chappell to return fees they have collected over the past four years for use of the “Happy Birthday” song.
1. Why did Warner Music Group sue Jennifer Nelson?| A．Because she sold “Happy Birthday to You” for money. |
| B．Because she secretly used “Happy Birthday to You” song in her film. |
| C．Because she didn’t own the copyright on “Happy Birthday to You” song. |
| D．Because she used the “Happy Birthday to You” song without permission. |
| A．Someone replaced “happy birthday to you” in the song. |
| B．It was written by Mildred as a gift for her sister’s birthday in 1893. |
| C．It was created by someone who used the tune of “Good Morning to All”. |
| D．People were asked to sing the words “happy birthday to you” in the movie. |
| A．has always been very popular | B．was definitely released by the public |
| C．does not belong to Warner Music Group | D．has more than 32 years’ history since 1988 |
| A．Warner will return about $8 million | B．she can obtain the copyright on the song |
| C．Warner will have to pay her for her damage | D．she can sell the song for about$2 million a year |
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【推荐1】There are many activities of some famous festivals. Let’s have a look.
Creamfields
The UK’s biggest dance music festival, Creamfields, is preparing a special party for its 25th anniversary (周年纪念日). Held in every August, Creamfields has announced another party of its similar size to take place in the northwest of England to celebrate Creamfields’ tradition.25-28 August; Warrington, England.
Primavera Sound
Barcelona’s ten-day festival Primavera Sound features an impressive list of names from the music field to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Coupled with quiet setting of the city’s Parc del Forum, Primavera Sound may set a new standard for future festivals. 2-11 June; Barcelona, Spain.
Awakenings Festival
Spaarnwoude just outside of Amsterdam will be lit up again with techno brand Awakenings celebrating their 25th anniversary. One of the biggest festivals in electronic music brings the biggest names to Holland. 16-17 July; Spaarnwoude, Netherlands.
Coachella
North America’s most famous music festival firstly intended to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the desert. This year, it has been finally ready, with famous singers waiting to occupy the social media channels of the 125,000 fans. 15-17 October; Indio, California, USA.
1. Which festival will last the longest?| A．Creamfields. | B．Primavera Sound. | C．Awakenings Festival. | D．Coachella. |
| A．Get some nice names. | B．Light Spaarnwoude up. |
| C．Enjoy electronic music. | D．See the views of California. |
| A．They are about music. | B．They will be held in June. |
| C．They will be free of charge. | D．They are the most famous. |
【推荐2】With growing evidence that dancing helps boost brain health and manage symptoms of neurocognitive and movement disorders, accessible dance programmes and movement therapists around the world are helping improve the lives of millions.
Dance as medicine
There’s actually a lot more happening inside the brain when trying to follow even the simplest choreography (舞蹈设计). “In dance, we have to learn patterns, think symmetrically (对称地) and asymmetrically, and remember sequences,” says David Leventhal, a programme director.
In addition to the physical and neurological benefits, dance can also help people living with disease accept what their bodies can and can’t do. Rather than trying to control, or “fix” our body, dance is about developing greater body awareness and moving at our capacity, regardless of physical or cognitive difference.
Dance as community
| A．Dance as body acceptance |
| B．Dance as brain improvement |
| C．The effect extends beyond the dance class to the real world. |
| D．Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of dance is the sense of community it creates. |
| E．Basically, dancing requires more “brain power” than simpler repetitive exercises. |
| F．So what is it about dance that’s different from a brisk walk or other aerobic exercises? |
| G．Larger studies are needed to confirm the findings of the smaller trials that have been done so far. |
It is possible that you’ve heard one of the world’s most famous piano pieces Für Elise. It was written by the great German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. He is considered by some to be the greatest composer of all time, Sadly, Beethoven didn’t live long enough to enjoy the popularity of this little piece. It wasn’t published until many years after his death.
Though Beethoven composed Für Elise in 1810, it wasn’t discovered until 1865. It was published two years later, and the music became popular right away. However, some details remain a secret, especially the title because Beethoven wasn’t alive to discuss the work.
Ludwig Nohl, the man who discovered the piece, believed the title read Fur Elise. Yet because Beethoven had terrible handwriting, others weren’t sure who it was dedicated (献给) to. Some thought it might have read Fur Therese. The title Fur Elise means For Elise in German. But to this day, no one knows for sure who Elise was.
Some believe Therese Malfatti, Beethoven’s student and friend, is the strongest candidate (候选人) for the piece’s title. It’s believed that he proposed marriage (求婚) to her in 1810, but they never married. After her death, the music, which was signed by Beethoven, was found in her things.
Why is Für Elise still so popular today? It is because many piano students are introduced to it by their teachers. It’s also part of German pop culture. For instance the easily recognizable music can be heard in commercials (商业广告) and in movies. It’s also a popular mobile phone ring. Google has reported millions of searches for the famous music. In some places of China, rubbish trucks play the music to remind people to take out their rubbish. At times, the music has confused (使混淆) some foreigners who are used to musical trucks that carry ice cream, not rubbish.
1. When was Für Elise published? (不多于2个词)2. What does the title Für Elise mean?(不多于2个词)
3. Why is Für Elise still so popular today? List one of the reasons. (不多于12个词)
4. In some places of China, why do the rubbish trucks play the piano piece Fur Elise?(不多于8个词)
5. What is the main idea of the passage?(不多于11个词)
【推荐1】All short-haul flights out of Heathrow were cancelled while Eurostar passengers in London queued around the block. Gatwick Airport is shut and will not reopen until Tuesday. The government has apologized for spoiling so many people's Christmases and the Met Office (气象局) has warned of more snow and ice in parts of the UK overnight.
Heathrow airport officials said no more than a third of all flights would operate until Wednesday and warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations, possibly until Christmas Day. Overcrowding was so bad in some areas that passengers with flights scheduled to depart from terminals 1 or 3 on Monday were told not to travel to the airport. It was said the south runway would remain closed on Tuesday and advised people not to travel to the airport unless their airline had confirmed the booking.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said aviation was a “safety-first business”. And in a statement, Mr. Hammond said rules on night flights would be relaxed for the next four days to help deal with the backlog. This would mean allowing incoming flights to arrive through the night.
Elsewhere in Europe, airports in Frankfurt, Paris, Florence and Amsterdam were severely disrupted (混乱) in addition to disruption to road and rail travel. By Monday evening, problems on the motorways seemed to be easing but BBC Travel was reporting severe disruption on the M25 in Surrey and the M58 in Merseyside.
1. The text is intended to________.| A．warn the readers not to take any trips to Europe due to the bad weather |
| B．inform the readers of how traffic was influenced by snow and ice |
| C．introduce some famous airports in Britain to the readers |
| D．report a research about how bad weather can affect traffic |
| A．complained a lot about the severe disruption |
| B．advised the Met Office to handle the problems |
| C．had to wait for a long time before getting aboard |
| D．cancelled their flights because of bad weather |
| A．A series of hard work. |
| B．Breaking down of some event. |
| C．An accumulation of uncompleted work. |
| D．Measures to prevent something unexpected. |
| A．two thirds of the flights would operate as scheduled |
| B．only one third of the flights could work after Christmas |
| C．they would work hard to handle the problems before Wednesday |
| D．there would be more delays and cancellations before Christmas |
| A．most motorways were less influenced elsewhere in Europe |
| B．except for the M25 and the M58 there was still much disruption |
| C．the terrible weather affected not only Britain but the whole Europe |
| D．using cell phones doesn't make children affected when they are crossing streets |
【推荐2】We’ve all done it. We buy something we think we like and then change our minds about it. Whether panic buying, an impulse purchase or shopper’s remorse, we’re fortunate many companies allow us to easily exchange or refund items. In fact it’s so easy these days that retailers are seeing an increase in a new type of shopper: the serial returner.
A serial returner is someone who buys items, often in bulk, only to return most of them. Hester Grainger, 41, founder of Mumala Club, estimates spending £300 to £400 each month on clothes, but returning “around 80%”. This isn’t unique. Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, says that in the last two years 26% of retailers have seen an increase in in-store and online returns—with the number of items being sent back up by 22%.
It’s a problem for companies. Handling these returns eats into profits. Free delivery for the customer means the company foots the bill. Items may need to be repackaged. They are damaged—making them unfit for resale. Tony Mannix, CEO of Clipper, a logistics firm that handles returned goods for major retailers, said about 5% of them end up “being binned”. Sometimes the fast fashion cycle has moved on. By the time the item comes back, it becomes a cut-price (降价出售的) item on a reduced-to-clear (清仓减价) rail—at further loss to the company.
Some companies are taking action to deter this behaviour. Four in ten retailers now say they charge for returns to discourage the sending of non-faulty items. Online retail giant Amazon was reported to have started barring customers with too many returned items. This is something a study by retail management system Brightpearl found over half of UK fashion retailers would consider. And Barclaycard says a third of retailers have hiked their prices to cover these returns.
But Vicky Brock, director of data innovation at ReBound Returns, a returns management software system, believes this isn’t the best strategy. She says discouraging returns shows a lack of understanding by the retailer. Using data, companies can reduce returns by helping customers choose better. Some companies already provide a suggested size based on the customer’s previous purchases and information on height and weight. Ultimately, she says, returns are now as much a part of the shopping experience as buying things, and shops need to take this into consideration.
1. The underlined word “binned” in paragraph 3 is similar in meaning to “________”.| A．banned | B．devalued | C．thrown away | D．replaced |
① raise the prices greatly
②bar the customers who have returned products too frequently
③ cover the costs of returns with the revenues
④ask for fees of returns
⑤ provide discounts for customers with few return records
| A．①②④ | B．②③ | C．①④ | D．②④⑤ |
| A．If companies help customers make wiser decisions, the rate of returns will decline. |
| B．Discouraging returns shows retailers’ deep understanding of the rule of marketing. |
| C．Shops can make use of the data of returns to help enhance the customer experience. |
| D．Making purchases and being charged for returns play an important part in customers’ shopping experience. |
【推荐3】With the official closing of Beijing Nanyuan Airport on Sept 25 and the moving of its civil aviation(民用航空) to the newly opened Beijing Daxing International Airport, the capital is prepared for the day China becomes the world’s largest aviation market.
China United Airlines KN5830 was the last plane to land at Beijing Nanyuan Airport. Its arrival at 22:10, Sept 25 marked the official end to the civil aviation passenger transport history of China’s oldest airport.
Beijing Nanyuan Airport was the starting point for China’s aviation industry. It was launched in 1910 near the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and was used for military aviation(军用航空), and as a test and training center. In 1913, China’s first aviation school was built at Nanyuan airport, which trained more than 150 pilots for the country within 15 years. After the founding of New China, Beijing Nanyuan Airport also witnessed several historical moments. In 1949, the first squadron to fly over the Tian’anmen Square for review during the founding ceremony of New China, took off from Beijing Nanyuan Airport.
On Wednesday, its civil aviation function was completely terminated and transferred to Beijing Daxing International Airport where it came into operation on the same day. Having witnessed the birth and development of China’s aviation industry, the 109-year-old airport will now enjoy a new life as an aviation museum.
The official operation of Beijing Daxing International Airport indicates that the country’s aviation industry has opened a new chapter(篇章) in its development. The huge international aviation hub, which will be a comprehensive transportation hub that supports the construction of Xiongan New Area and the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, is expected to achieve 45 million passenger throughput by 2021 and 72 million passenger by 2025 and it will become an air traffic hub for international travel to and from China together with Beijing Capital Airport as the country becomes the world’s largest civil aviation market, which is predicted to happen around the mid-2020s.
1. Which of the following can be learnt from the text?| A．Nanyuan Airport will be pulled down after it was closed. |
| B．China is becoming the largest aviation market in the world. |
| C．Daxing airport was put into use long before the close of Nanyuan airport. |
| D．China United Airlines KN5830 was the first flight to land in Daxing Airport. |
| A．Nanyuan Airport was the first airport in China. |
| B．Nanyuan Airport came into use in Qing Dynasty. |
| C．Nanyuan Airport played an important role in history. |
| D．Nanyuan Airport’ saw several historical moments of New China. |
| A．is built only for the development of Beijing |
| B．will take the place of Beijing Capital Airport |
| C．is able to receive 72 million passengers at present |
| D．is a great improvement in China's aviation industry |
| A．a scientific report | B．a travel journal |
| C．a newspaper | D．a geography magazine |
