Adele’s new album, “30”, is finally available. Last month, hundreds of millions of us streamed its first single, “Easy On Me.” This song arouses feelings not easily put into words, but we can probably agree it is a sad song.
Let’s start with a biological theory. When we experience real-life loss, or empathize (体会) with another’s pain, certain hormones are released within us.
Psychologically, a key reason we enjoy sad songs is that they profoundly move us. Feeling moved can come from us suddenly feeling closer to other people. Indeed, when we have listened to “30”, we may turn to reaction videos to see how others feel.
Ultimately, we listen to Adele’s songs when we want to recall, reflect, or belong. They let us feel her sadness, share our suffering, and connect with others. To all of us, Adele’s songs say:
| A．You are not alone in your pain. |
| B．Music speaks louder than words. |
| C．These help us to tackle loss and pain. |
| D．We can also think at the spiritual level. |
| E．Few people are aware sad music makes us feel good. |
| F．This lets us share an emotional experience with others. |
| G．This may make us better prepared for when real loss strikes. |
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【推荐1】Music. We hear it everywhere, every day. Getting into a lift, going around a supermarket or simply relaxing at home, music is our constant companion. And music can have a significant effect on the way we think and feel, so it's worth paying attention to what we're listening to.
Music can have a powerful effect on our moods, in terms of both reducing and increasing stress. Listening to calm gentle music in bed can help us drop off to sleep. Some airlines play smoothing music on board planes at take-off and landing, to calm nervous travelers. Athletes often listen to fast loud music to help them prepare for games. The American swimmer Michael Phelps is known to listen to rap music before important races to help pump him up.
The mood-altering effect of music can be especially acute for the people who actually play the music. Musicians who do not have high self-esteem (自尊心) can suddenly overflow with confidence once they go on stage. It's as though the music gives them a different personality.
And it's not only those who feel ill at ease with themselves who can benefit. Scientists have conducted research into the effect of music on students studying for exams. They found that listening to calm music with a regular beat can actually help students recall facts and improve their performance in exams. Classical music, preferably something by Mozart, seems to have the most beneficial effect. A word of caution, however: it's best not to over-rely on this method, as you won't be able to listen to music in an exam.
For most of us though, music is one of life's great pleasures. And it's a pleasure that endures. Researchers have found that we don't often grow out of the music that we love as teenagers, because our musical tastes are such a huge part of our identity, personality and outlook on life. So don't delete those songs you downloaded when you were fifteen - you'll probably still love them when you're fifty.
1. What would be the best kind of music to play to nervous drivers stuck in traffic jam?| A．Rap music. | B．Gentle classical music. |
| C．Cheerful folk music. | D．Heavy metal music. |
| A．powerful | B．controllable |
| C．complex | D．opposite |
| A．Pop music improves students' academic performance. |
| B．Music has magic power to change musicians' personality. |
| C．Music generally influence people's thoughts and emotions. |
| D．Sportsmen listen to fast music to relieve their stress before games. |
| A．Musical tastes affect our characters to a great extent. |
| B．We have to find ways to make the pleasure of music last. |
| C．We will be fond of different kinds of music as we grow up. |
| D．A part of our personality and tastes are well developed in our teens. |
【推荐2】What do you think of 80s pop music? Do the names George Michael, Madonna and Michael Jackson sound familiar? Well, these are just some of the names that were well-known in the music scene of the 80s and early 90s. The 80s pop music scene was an important step to the popularity (普及) of present-day music. A new wave in the music scene was introduced, which made such music styles as punk rock, rap music and the MTV popular. Although it was an end to the old 60s and 70s styles, it was also the beginning of something big. The popularity of music videos meant that artists now replaced their guitar-based music with visual displays. A new wave of artists came on the scene and the entire industry developed quickly.
The most famous 80s pop music video is Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Introduced in 1982, few people can forget the video not only because of its never-be-foreseen images, but also because of the popularity it received. Think of how 80s pop music changed the lives of people who grew up in the 80s. Ask a young man today to tell you the names of the “New Kids on the Block” and he will start talking about the neighbor kids who just moved in. These are not the answers you might have heard in the 80s. Though today’s young men do not recognize how cool 80s pop music was, most people will always remember it for what it was and these are happy memories they will always love.
Some of the 80s pop music legends (传奇人物) include Madonna, U2, AeroSmith and of course the King of Pop Michael Jackson. Let’s not forget Prince, Tina Turner, Phil Collins and Motown’s Lionel Ritchie. Some of these musicians played music that has stood the test of time. Undoubtedly, the 80s pop music scene will live on for many more years to come.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．The characters of 80s pop music. | B．What made 80s pop music popular. |
| C．80s pop music’s steps to popularity. | D．The effects of 80s pop music. |
| A．guitar-based music | B．the MTV | C．rap music | D．punk rock |
| A．it changed the lives of people | B．he sang it in a special style |
| C．it was made into a music video | D．it left people with happy memories |
| A．80s pop music is and will remain popular | B．80s pop music has many faults |
| C．80s pop music is now out of date | D．we shouldn’t forget the great musicians of the 80s |
【推荐3】When French musical Mozart-L’opera Rock toured nine Chinese cities in the last two years, it drew a big crowd of fans, including Chen Yike, a 28-year-old resident of Hangzhou.
“It was the first French musical that I had ever seen,” Chen said. She was so captivated by the show that she saw the production two more times.
Chen is one of many young Chinese who are increasingly fueling the country’s performing arts market. More and more young people are investing time and money in live performances, such as concerts and plays.
According to a report released by the Lighthouse Research Institute and ticketing firm Damai on March 25, young Chinese accounted for a record 55 percent of consumers of performing arts ticket sales in 2019 and 72 percent of concert attendees were people born after 1990.
Xiaomi, a 25-year-old girl from Chongqing became a loyal fan of singer Hua Chenyu after she saw his concert at the National Stadium in Beijing in 2018. Last year, she and three of her friends even traveled to Hainan province to see one of his concerts.
“It has now become a way of life for young people to spend money on performances by their idols,” Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, told China Daily.
Apart from young audiences, Chinese young performers are also doing increasingly well in the domestic (国内的) market and show a great potential for indigenous (本土的) culture to build a stronghold (大本营).
For example, the 19-year-old Chinese singer-actor Jackson Yee (易烊千玺) featured as a coach on the reality show Street Dance of China (《这！就是街舞》). With more than 80 million followers on his Sina Weibo platform, Yee’s participation helped attract audiences to an otherwise less known art.
On the iQiYi’s The Big Band, many young bands got the opportunity to show their music, and some have become quite popular. As a result, music that would have remained underground is now in the spotlight. “Many young bands on the The Big Band inspire me to learn more about their stories and indie (独立制作的) music,” Yang Zixu, a fan of The Big Band, wrote on the Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu.
Thanks to the joint effort of young audiences and performers, there’s “a driving force for Chinese cultural and creative industries” and it also “indicates China has entered a higher stage of development with better economic and social foundations,” according to China Daily.
1. The underlined word “captivated” in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by “______”.| A．confused | B．fascinated |
| C．shocked | D．disappointed |
| A．By using examples. | B．By making a comparison. |
| C．By following the order of time. | D．By analyzing the cause and effect. |
| A．They allowed different works and forms of arts to gain more attention. |
| B．They offered young people a glimpse of new lifestyles. |
| C．They made audiences more willing to invest in live shows. |
| D．They drew talented followers to the coaches in the show. |
| A．The popularity of live performances among young Chinese. |
| B．Changes in the ways that young Chinese performers attract audiences. |
| C．How young Chinese performers promote indigenous culture. |
| D．How young people have helped fuel Chinese cultural and creative industries. |
