Music has strong effects on us and different music has different effects. Faster music helps us concentrate better. Lively music makes us feel more pleased. And slower music    1    (quiet) our mind and makes us relax.

New findings show that music around 60 beats a minute can cause the brain to synchronize (合拍) with the beat,     2    (cause) alpha brainwaves. This wave will appear when we are relaxed. Researchers at Stanford University have said that listening to music can change our brain activities and    3    music can be reached easily, making    4    a helpful stress    5    (reduce) tool.

What type of music reduces stress greatly? A bit surprising: Drums and flutes (长笛) can have positive effects on relaxing the mind even when    6    (play) a little loud. Sounds of rain and thunder may also be relaxing especially when mixed with other music, such as light jazz and classical music.

How can we choose the music that is best for us? The answer depends on ourselves. We could start by    7    (simple) exploring the music on the web page. Just choose the music    8    can calm us down and make us feel relaxed. But remember that quieting our mind does not mean we will feel    9    (sleep) listening to the music. It means our brain and body are relaxed. And    10    our new calm self, we can then do our best in many activities.

Do you take music and art classes? These classes, which are part of a group of classes often     1     (know) as arts education, allow students to learn new things in a creative way. Many people believe arts education     2    (play) an important part in the lives of students. However, when schools need to save money, music and art programs    3    (cut) in most cases. This is because   some people believe they matter less than other classes. Different opinions about music and art can affect the future of arts education, so it’s important to understand these points of view.

Nowadays, it is common to see ordinary people listening to music with headphones,     1     (absorb) themselves in their own world. Thanks     2     music, people become closer by sharing     3     string of appealing records with their friends. Moreover, music can transport us     4     a world of joy, thus helping us gain relief from grief and keep     5     (energy).

    6     some extent, music can be used as a cure for diseases. Listening to positive and peaceful music has an extremely positive impact, which results     7     many patients reducing pain. Often classical music     8     (combine) with medicine in cancer treatment to relieve aches and side effects.

World Environment Day (WED) is a day we all need to put in our     1     (diary). It happens on June 5 every year and should be one of the most important days of the holiday calendar. WED     2     (create) in 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly. The environment wasn’t such a big issue back then. But it is one of the hottest topics in the world today. WED helps raise worldwide awareness of the threats to our environment.     3     people can do that day is to start changing lifestyles to reduce their carbon footprint. Many environmental agencies organize events based on different themes each year. These events encourage both governments and local communities to work together     4     (handle) environmental problems.