Imagine having the opportunity to sing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they perform alone on video. These videos are uploaded onto the Internet, and then they are put together into one video that you can see online—a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. A virtual choir enables people to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has proved to be a positive influence on the lives of many people.
The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. He fell in love with Mozart’s classical music when he sang for the university choir. Moved by this music, he said, “It was like seeing color for the first time.“ Over ten years after his graduation, Whitacre’s original compositions began to become quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir.
In 2009,Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works. Inspired, he asked his fans to make videos, which he then joined together into one performance. His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 198 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre’s next effort was the virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which was first seen on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK. Altogether, 2,292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre’s song “What If”.
The virtual choir is a wonderful way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a better place.
1. Which of the following is a virtual choir?| A．Many members performing on their own. |
| B．Hundreds of people singing together on a stage. |
| C．Many people singing online together at the same time. |
| D．Individual singing videos combined into one on the Internet. |
| A．The popularity of Whitacre’s composition. |
| B．The encouragement of Whitacre’s professor. |
| C．Whitacre’s desire of being a famous composer. |
| D．Whitacre’s love for communication with others. |
| A．He had thousands of his fans make videos. |
| B．He joined nearly two hundred videos together. |
| C．He made his first virtual choir on stage in the UK. |
| D．He asked a girl to sing his work to make it popular. |
| A．To advertise Whitacre’s music composition. |
| B．To introduce the influence of the virtual choir. |
| C．To persuade people to join Whitacre’s choir team. |
| D．To appeal to netizens to compose their own music. |
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【推荐1】Max Mathews has been called the father of computer music.He created electronic tools so that people could use computers as musical instruments.He had a great influence on the development of electronic music and how it is written, recorded and played.
In 1957，Mathews wrote the first computer program that enabled a computer to create sound.At that time, he was working as an engineer at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey.His computer program enabled a large IBM computer to play a 17 seconds piece of music that he had written.The computer was so slow that it would have taken an hour to play the piece of music in 17 seconds.For that reason, Mathews moved the work to a tape player, which could be sped up to play the music at a normal speed.He later said that the sound quality of the musical notes was not great，but the technical importance of the music was huge.
Mathews continued creating other versions of the music program.He became interested in how computers could help musicians outside recording studios.The Groove program he developed was the first computer program made for live performances.
He also developed an electronic device he called the Radio Baton.The device looks like two drum sticks.It enables the user to control the speed and sound levels of orchestral music playing on a computer.The user does this by moving the two sticks on a special electronic surface.
Mathews believed modern musicians are not making full use of the power of computer music.He said a violin always sounds like a violin.But with a computer, the way a violin sounds is unlimited.He said he didn’t want computer sounds to replace live music.But he said he hoped laptop computers would one day be considered serious instruments.
1. What do we know about Mathews’s first piece of computer music?| A．It took several minutes to play this music. |
| B．It was written in the middle of the 1950s. |
| C．It made the IBM computer work so slowly. |
| D．It had the same good quality as other music. |
| A．improve the sound quality of music |
| B．create a record for recording studios |
| C．improve the live performances |
| D．develop the computer music |
| A．a computer program |
| B．a piece of computer music |
| C．an electronic device |
| D．a recording studio |
| A．computer sounds would take the place of live music |
| B．modern musicians would make good use of computer music |
| C．computers would change the musical instruments |
| D．computers would be considered serious instruments |
【推荐2】As vast fields surrounding Beijing and Shanghai transformed into towering skyscrapers, and old bicycles gave way to motor vehicles, the essence of music communication remained unchanged over these shifts.
“I’ll never forget that I’ve never seen so many bicycles in my life,” Philadelphia Orchestra violinist Davyd Booth said, recalling his first tour in China 50 years ago. “Everyone rode a bicycle. There were literally hundreds, thousands.”
This month, 14 musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra, including Booth, are returning to China, with performances scheduled in Beijing, Tianjin, Suzhou and Shanghai. The tour marks the 50th anniversary(周年纪念日) of their first visit in the 1970s, celebrating the unique friendship between China and the United States. Over the years, the orchestra(管弦乐团) has strengthened connections across China, with concerts and residencies that facilitate meaningful people-to-people interactions.
Booth said the 1973 tour was his first international trip with the orchestra. He considered himself lucky to have been part of the tour. He had just auditioned(试演) and got accepted into the orchestra that year. His official start date was scheduled after the orchestra’s return from China, but Booth received a call from the personnel manager informing him that someone had fallen ill. He then took the place and went to China.
“I was incredibly thrilled! Then, after I hung up, I realized I didn’t even have a passport,” Booth said. However, he got his passport and visa in just three days, thanks to the strong support from both countries. With his violin in tow, Booth joined the team on the 15-hour flight to China.
In addition to some regular compositions, the Philadelphia Orchestra also played the Yellow River Concerto, one of the most popular piano concertos in China even today. The Philadelphia Orchestra cooperated on this ensemble (合奏) with a Chinese pianist, marking the earliest ties between the US and China in music.
After the concert, the team was hanging around on the streets, Booth said. It was a fun experience even though people did not know how to talk to locals because of language barriers, he said. “You can communicate a lot by smiling, and it worked out very, very well,” he added.
1. What is the passage generally about?| A．US artists will give live performances. | B．Booth recalled his first visit to China. |
| C．Great changes have occurred in China. | D．China and the US are living in peace. |
| A．The orchestra is popular in America. | B．Music performances happen a lot in China. |
| C．Music communication remains active. | D．Booth has come to China for the 50th time. |
| A．magic | B．mistake | C．luxury | D．accident |
| A．It serves to build bridge. | B．It stimulates people’s interest. |
| C．It contributes to equality. | D．It removes barriers to harmony. |
【推荐3】Music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain.
Music can improve mental performance.
Research suggests that background music improves mental performance. Playing more positive music leads to improvements in processing speed.
Music can help you eat less.
Sleeplessness is a problem that affects people of different age groups. While there are many approaches to treating this problem, research has demonstrated that listening to relaxing classical music can be a safe, effective, and affordable therapy.
Music can help you manage pain
Research has shown that music can be very helpful in the management of pain. One study of fibromyalgia (纤维性肌痛) patients found that those who listened to music for one hour a day experienced a significant reduction in pain.
| A．Music can reduce stress |
| B．The psychological effects of music can be powerful |
| C．So next time you are working on a task |
| D．Music can help you sleep better |
| E．The result of the study suggests music therapy can help treat some diseases |
| F．Some people enjoy listening to music before they go to sleep |
| G．Music can be a helpful weight-loss tool |
【推荐1】Last Thursday, Time announced that 15-year-old scientist Gitanjali Rao was its Kid of the Year. Gitanjali was chosen from over 5,000 young leaders. When she was 11, she invented a system for testing drinking water for lead（铅）. Lead is a dangerous metal that is sometimes found in drinking water. And one of her recent creations is an app Kindly, which can prevent hurtful messages from being sent.
One thing that really impressed Time's judges was that Gitanjali has been inspiring others to also create change. She has worked with schools, clubs, museums, and other groups around the world to teach over 30,000 other young people how to come up with their own solutions to problems.
“I don't look like your typical scientist, " she says. That's one reason why she works so hard to encourage others to make their own changes in the world. “It's not easy when you don't see anyone else like you. So I really want to put out that message: If I can do it, you can do it, and anyone can do it.”
Four other young people were finalists for the award. The others are each leading in their own way. Ten-year-old Bellen Woodard, for example, has created a line of crayons called “More Than Peach", which come in a wide range of skin colors. Ian McKenna has worked for seven years to grow food for the hungry. His "McKenna's Giving Garden" project has produced enough food for 25,000 meals.
Jordan Reeves, who was born with a very short left arm, has worked with the toy company Mattel and others to help find ways to celebrate people with physical differences. She also works to encourage these people to create solutions to their own problems.
1. What can we learn about Gitanjali Rao?| A．She looks like a scientist. | B．She has helped find lead. |
| C．She is eleven years old now. | D．She has made several inventions. |
| A．Her abilities as a leader. | B．Her progress on the Internet. |
| C．Her world-known inventions. | D．Her efforts to influence others. |
| A．Bellen Woodard. | B．Jordan Reeves. | C．Gitanjali Rao. | D．Ian McKenna. |
| A．They were famous in the country. | B．They were of the same age. |
| C．They made a difference to others. | D．They made achievements in science. |
【推荐2】Extreme heat often brings extreme wildfires, and this year is no exception, with unprecedented heat waves fueling enormous outbreaks of fires in the western United States and Canada as well as across the Mediterranean and in Siberia. But paradoxically the most intense wildfires can have the opposite effect on temperatures, cooling Earth’s surface both regionally and globally.
Dense wildfire smoke can temporarily block sunlight near the ground, causing regional temperatures to drop by several degrees. Wildfire smoke can also have global cooling effects by making clouds in the lower atmosphere more reflective or blocking sunlight in the upper atmosphere, similar to what a volcanic eruption does.
The effect is far too small to counteract（抵制，抵消）human-caused global warming; researchers say it’s too early to predict what it means for the broader climate system. But with fire seasons growing more intense around the world and triggering a range of extreme fire weather in North America and elsewhere, the search for answers is growing increasingly urgent.
Smoke particles act as seeds for water vapor to form clouds that are smaller and reflect more sunlight. While smoke tends to rain out of clouds fairly quickly, the Australian bushfires raged for months, pumping more and more cloud-brightening smoke into the atmosphere. “It’s not a big effect, but when you integrate over the entire Southern Ocean. it adds up” one of the researchers says.
While this research highlights the cooling effects of smoke in the lower atmosphere, on occasion, wildfire smoke can reach even higher altitudes into the stratosphere, the layer that starts about 10 miles up. There, it can have additional effects on the climate. Smoke reaches the stratosphere when heat from a powerful wildfire creates an updraft that combines with moisture in the atmosphere to generate towering thunderclouds.
However, scientists have only recently begun studying these effects. “We might still be in the infancy of understanding how large and how important the effects of these wildfires are.” scientists say.
1. Where does the text probably come from?| A．A geographic textbook. | B．A research report. |
| C．A scientific magazine. | D．A science fiction. |
| A．Human has less influence on climate change than extreme weather. |
| B．Extreme heat boosts the outbreaks of fires in some areas. |
| C．Wildfire can be beneficial to the earth to some extent. |
| D．The cooling effects of smoke from wildfire is not limited to lower atmosphere. |
| A．The importance of wildfires is completely ignored. |
| B．Humans understanding of wildfires is still limited. |
| C．Scientists fully understand the effects of wildfires. |
| D．Wildfires are the consequences of global warming. |
【推荐3】It is surprising that eating three meals a day-breakfast, lunch and dinner-has been a custom only since 1890. Before this time, people only had two meals a day-breakfast and dinner.
In the 16th century, breakfast was only to break one’s fast(随便吃一点). But 200 years later it had become a large meal, not just for family, but for numbers of guests as well. It was a social event. It began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 1 p.m. Then breakfast began to be less popular. It became, instead, a lighter meal and was taken at a much earlier hour. By 1850 it had been pushed back to 8 a.m. and became a family meal.
Dinner, however, went to the other way. In the 16th century it was eaten at 11 a.m. Years later, it had moved to the early afternoon, then to 5 p.m. By 1850 dinner time had reached 7 p.m. Lunch is a recent idea. It first appeared as a snack to fill the gap between breakfast and dinner.
1. People did not have lunch ________ .| A．after 1890 | B．until 1890 | C．since 1890 | D．by 1890 |
| A．Dinner didn’t go there with breakfast |
| B．Dinner took the same way with breakfast |
| C．Dinner is different from breakfast |
| D．Dinner is the same with breakfast |
| A．what people eat for breakfast | B．the history of the three meals |
| C．the history of supper | D．what people eat for dinner |
| A．19th | B．18th | C．17th | D．16th |
【推荐1】Internet addiction is a common problem.
Charge your devices in another room at night to prevent bedtime browsing (浏览). Bedtime browsing can impact your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep due to the blue light your smartphone emits.
Remove social media apps from your phone. If you find yourself picking up your phone and going on the Internet every time you get a notification (通知), delete the social media apps on your phone. Make it a rule that you can only check these apps on your computer.
Look at one website at a time instead of having multiple websites open.
Technological tools are meant to serve us, not the other way around. Take action right away to free yourself from Internet dependency and take control of your life.
| A．Cut your home Wi-Fi access if it is really necessary. |
| B．It can be just as damaging as any other form of addiction. |
| C．So stopping bedtime browsing may help you to sleep better. |
| D．This may help prevent you from accessing them on and off all day. |
| E．Turn off your smartphone, iPad, and computer during social activities. |
| F．If you are on a website and it leads you to another one, close the old site. |
| G．Developing healthy habits can also help you to cut back on your internet use. |
【推荐2】World travel has moved on to a new level as new websites spring up to enable travelers to plan their trips online. Virtual tourism is the latest name of the game and although relatively new, has seen some tourism websites grow to host over one-million users.
Typically, this development features a website that contains the answers to almost any tourism question. Tips and information are not provided by a single source, such as the website host, butrather from travelers themselves-often in the thousands. This has proven to be exceptionally beneficial for would-be travelers who are seeking information on questions such as where to find the best museum or beach; whether it is better to tour Brussels with a bicycle or on foot; and which exchange rate bureaus are available in Italy. Questions about food and restaurants; tourist spots; safety; accommodation; and others are all answered. In addition, posted tips promote better preparation, such as what to pack when heading for Sicily.
Apart from the useful tips, visual images and virtual tours have also been made available. If you'd like to visit the Eiffel Tower, it's a good idea to view the surrounding areas; to pick a safer train route; or to know that it's very close to the Seine River and that a walk along it would enhance the experience.
Virtual tours havesprung upglobally. In South Africa, John Gore established the Virtual Tour Guide in November last year. On his blog, Gore was quoted a saying, "The world is panoramic(全景的). "We are able to turn our heads and look in all directions and get a feel for where we are, but the typical photograph cannot show or describe that experience completely. " However, there is an answer-technology makes it possible to share the world around us in a 360-degree panoramic way, which really makes the viewer feel as though he or she is really there.
1. Why is virtual tourism more and more popular?| A．Online games are more and more attractive |
| B．Many new websites appear and develop fast. |
| C．More and more people want to travel abroad. |
| D．It helps travelers save as much money as possible. |
| A．we can solve any problem on websites |
| B．websites offer all the tips and information |
| C．we can get all our questions answered online |
| D．we can get many tips about tourism on websites |
| A．Appeared. |
| B．Moved. |
| C．Competed. |
| D．Reduced. |
| A．Information. |
| B．Photograph. |
| C．Technology. |
| D．Virtual images. |
【推荐3】Web 1.0 is often referred to as a “read-only Internet”. All its content was created by webmasters. Users could not interact with the content or add content themselves.
In the age of Web 2.0, the Internet became interactive. Websites allowed users to communicate with each other. So Web 2.0 is also known as the Social Web. Web 2.0 led to a big jump in technology development. It changes the way we work, socialize, create and share information and ideas. In Web 2.0, while users can create content, they don’t own it and cannot control it. The platforms can easily block or remove the content without the permission of the creators.
So Web 3.0 is coming. Web 3.0 is a concept of a new generation of the Internet. In contrast to Web 2.0, where most of the data is stored in corporations, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, etc., Web 3.0 data will be decentralized (分散). Web 3.0 will create platforms that nobody controls but everyone can confirm.
Let’s see what important changes we may expect. No third party is required. For instance, the use of cryptocurrencies (加密货币) ends the need for banks because all financial deals take place directly between the two parties using cryptocurrency. In addition, Web 3.0 will make it much more difficult for Internet attackers to access sensitive information. Besides, Web 3.0 makes businesses directly accountable to their consumers. Businesses may apply this openness to their consumers to develop relationships of trust and loyalty. Plus, the information is accurate since data saved on blockchains (区块链) cannot be changed.
The new Internet promises to build a “global village”, a world focused on interpersonal interaction throughout the world, which will contribute both to the development of technology and business, and the promotion of personal happiness.
1. What is the disadvantage of Web 2.0?| A．Users are controlled by platforms. |
| B．Users can’t interact with each other. |
| C．It’s difficult for users to collect information. |
| D．It’s impossible for users to rewrite information. |
| A．It will become busier. | B．It will be inconvenient. |
| C．It will be really tough. | D．It will be much safer. |
| A．It will center on the study of the globe. |
| B．It will help every country to build more villages. |
| C．It will make efforts to develop the world agriculture. |
| D．It will narrow the distance between humans on Earth. |
| A．The Coming Web 3.0 | B．The Ages of Social Web |
| C．The Famous Internet Giants | D．The Diverse Cultural Global Village |
