An international group of electronic music composers is taking beats from the dance club to jungles and forests and back, all to help save nature’s greatest singers. A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is a new album that includes the sounds of endangered birds. The album will come out next month, whose proceeds will go directly towards efforts to save birds.
The whole project was born out of this idea of trying to combine birdsong, electronic music and conservation. A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean was organized by activist, music producer, Robin Perkins. He invited artists from each of the endangered birds ‘homelands to build their own songs around the birds’ songs. There are contributions from ten artists in eight different countries.
First single Black Catbird was created by The Garifuna Collective, from Belize. Al Obando, guitarist and producer of the group, always took in national parks and viewed birds when on the road with the band. “There are no trails, and there are no signs there to tell you about what you’re seeing,” Obando says. “So we’re trying to do something for the birds and nature tourism.”
Another musician who responded to Robin’s call is Tamara Montenegro, an artist from Nicaragua. She was shocked to hear of the serious situation of the Guardabarranco after being approached: “This beautiful creature I grew up adoring also faced the influence of the systematic human activities”. In response, she created a song inspired by this bird and the challenges it faces to live naturally.
The new album is the second edition, following on from A Guide to the Birdsong of South America, produced by Robin in 2015. That first album has raised, to date, over $15,000 benefitting conservation projects in South America. As with the first album, all of the money from the sales of the new album will support specific organizations, including Birds Caribbean.
1. What does the underlined word “proceeds” in Paragraph 1 refer to?| A．Profits. | B．Budgets. | C．Challenges. | D．Effects. |
| A．He created a hit single himself. |
| B．He was fond of observing birds. |
| C．He was the organizer of the new album. |
| D．He did a lot for birds in South America. |
| A．It was friendly to humans. |
| B．It was living in bad conditions. |
| C．It was beautiful in appearance. |
| D．It was facing challenges from other birds. |
| A．To collect money for a project. |
| B．To popularize electronic music. |
| C．To recommend some famous artists. |
| D．To introduce a new album of electronic music. |
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【推荐1】Sirine Jahangir has been singing, writing and performing music since she was a little girl. She lost all her vision in one eye by the time she turned 5, so now the teen uses her gift “as away to—not escape, but to help me through.” Not only did her passion get her through some difficult times, but when she was 14 it also brought her to the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage, where she impressed everyone with her performance.
Sirine has a rare condition that left her completely blind by the times she was 10 years old. While her parents and doctors have tried to find treatments for her, there isn’t much they can do. So her parents focused on helping her adjust to her new life, which was when her dad said she was first introduced to music “I remember one day, we were driving in the car. This is about when she was getting to the stage where she couldn’t look out the window anymore to see things, and I didn’t know what to do. I just put the music on really loud. She started singing in the car, and she was so happy. And then she just found happiness every time I put it on,” her father said.
It didn’t take long for them to realize Sirine has tremendous talent. When she appeared on “Britain’s Got Talent”, she told everyone just how much her passion means to her. “I guess music i s my vision,” she said. “That’s just what I live by, and music is my thing.” Then she headed over to the piano, where she played the piano and sang beautifully enough to bring the audience to tears! Unsurprisingly to everyone but Sirine, all four judges voted her into the next round of the competition!
Afterward, she said, “I can’t even say it’s a dream come true, because I didn’t even dream of it at any point... I never thought that would be realistic in my life.”
1. What did the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage mean to Sirine?| A．This stage had earned her both fame and fortune. |
| B．This stage was away for her to escape reality. |
| C．She had a stage accident, resulting in blindness. |
| D．She demonstrated her excellent musical talent on the stage. |
| A．By talking to her about music topics. |
| B．By playing music to her while driving. |
| C．By asking famous singers for identification. |
| D．By discovering the lyrics and songs she wrote. |
| A．Everyone was moved by Sirine’s live performance. |
| B．Sirine won the championship of the British Got Talent Show. |
| C．Sirine advanced onstage by selling her tragic experiences. |
| D．Sirine’s performance received votes from everyone present. |
| A．Every road leads to Rome. |
| B．Never give up until you succeed. |
| C．Music inspires a new life for a person. |
| D．There will always be a rainbow after storms. |
Beijing
Youth choir to perform
The youth choir of China National Symphony Orchestra will soon perform classics including the Mexican folk song, The Golden Nightingale, and the Blue Danube, adapted from a waltz by Johann Strauss II. Pianists Zhao Lin and Wang Tianyang will join in the show.
7:30 pm, Jan 23. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district. 010-6559-8285.
Orchestra recitals
The China National Center for the Performing Arts Orchestra led by conductor Lyu Jia will give two recitals, featuring works including Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture and Mozart's Symphonies No 40 & No 41 Jupiter. Cellist Wang Jian will join in the performances, playing Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op 129 and Saint-Saens' Cello Concerto No 1 in A minor, Op 33.
7:30 pm, Jan 15; 2:30 pm, Jan 16. China National Center for the Performing Arts, No 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District. 010-6655-0000.
Ballet from Paris
Paris Opera Ballet will present two gala performances in the city. Besides highlights of classical ballet, such as Swan Lake and Manon, the program will also include modern pieces from the company's repertoire. The leading etoiles are Ludmila Pagliero and Karl Paquette.
7:15 pm, Jan 15-16. Shanghai Oriental Art Center, 425 Dingxiang Road, Pudong district. 021-6854-1234.
Ensemble of swans
Shanghai Ballet will present two performances of Swan Lake. The production choreographed by British artist Derek Deane has just completed a tour in 26 cities of the Netherlands. The spectacular production features an ensemble of 48 dancers.
7:15 pm, Jan 22-23. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district. 400-106-8686.
1. If you only spare some time in the afternoon, you can enjoy ________.
| A．Beethoven's Coriolanus Overture |
| B．Classical ballet Manon |
| C．The Golden Nightingale |
| D．Classical ballet Swan Lake |
| A．Pianists | B．ballet performers |
| C．cellists | D．violinists |
| A．Forbidden City Concert Hall and China National Center |
| B．Forbidden City Concert Hall Shanghai Grand Theater |
| C．Shanghai Oriental Art Center and Shanghai Grand Theater |
| D．China National Center and Shanghai Oriental Art Center |
【推荐3】From Mozart to Metallica, tons of people enjoy listening to various types of music while they paint, write, or draw. Many believe that music helps increase creativity, but an international study done by English and Swedish researchers is challenging that notion. Their findings show that music actually prevents creativity.
To come to their conclusions, researchers had participants complete verbal problems designed to inspire creativity while sitting in a quiet room, and then again while music played in the background. They found that background music “significantly damaged” the participants' ability to complete tasks connected with verbal creativity. The research team also tested background noises such as those commonly heard in a library, but found that such noises had no effect on participants' creativity.
The tasks were simple word games. For example, participants were given three words, such as dress, dial, and flower. Then, they were asked to find a single word connected with all three that could be combined to form a common phrase or word. The single word, in this case, would be “sun” (sundress, sunflower, sundial). Participants completed the tasks in either a quiet room, or while listening to three different types of music; music with unfamiliar lyrics, instrumental music, or music with familiar lyrics.
“We found strong evidence of damaged performance when playing background music in comparison to quiet background conditions,” says co-author Dr. McLatchie of Lancaster University. Dr. McLatchie and his colleagues conclude that music(even familiar music with well-known lyrics) damages the verbal working memory processes of the brain, blocking creativity. Also, as far as the library background noises having seemingly no effect, the study's authors believe that was the case because library noises create a “steady state” environment that doesn't affect concentration.
“To conclude, the findings here challenge the popular view that music strengthens creativity, and instead show that music, regardless of its types, consistently damage creative performance in problem solving,” the study reads.
1. What does the underlined word “notion” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Suggestion. | B．Principle. | C．Opinion. | D．Theory. |
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
| A．To prove that music is beneficial to health. |
| B．To test whether music is helpful for creativity or not. |
| C．To make it known that music can improve memory. |
| D．To indicate why background music in a library is popular. |
| A．Concentration. | B．Hearing ability. | C．Environment. | D．Patience. |
【推荐1】After taking a few steps back to get a running start, Hadj Benhalima dashed toward the building, pushed against its wall with his foot, pushed himself upward and stretched out his arm.
At the peak of his leap, he fingered oft a light switch, more than 1o feet off the ground. The bright lights of a nearby barbershop went off instantly
Groups of young athletes practicing Parkour—the practice of passing obstacles in a man—made or natural environment through the use of running, vaulting (腾跃), jumping, climbing, rolling, and other movements in order to travel from one point to another in the quickest and most efficient way possible without the use of equipment—have been swinging around big French cities switching off wasteful shop signs at night, in an effort to fight light pollution and save energy.
These so—called Light Off operations have become extra popular in recent months, with France embarking on energy conservation efforts.
Paris, the City of Light, is a favorite target. While its landmark monuments now go dark earlier than usual, many store signs still stay lit all night.
“Everyone can contribute in their own way” to save energy, said Kevin Ha, the leader of the Paris—based Op he Spot Parkour group, with about 20 members. “We put our physical abilities to good use.”
Enforcing the orders in place of the authorities certainly enters a legal gray area. But the group said all the police officers they have met during their rounds have approved of their deeds—as long as it causes no damage.
1. Which of the following options is NOT Parkour’s feature?| A．It doesn’t need any tools to assist movement. |
| B．It can only be practiced in an enclosed environment. |
| C．It aims to travel from one point to another in the quickest way. |
| D．It is practiced through running, vaulting, jumping, climbing, etc. |
| A．To invite more youths to join them in competition. |
| B．To overcome physical boundaries and build fitness. |
| C．To reduce the consequences of energy consumption. |
| D．To tour around feeling the unique beauty of Paris at night. |
| A．They are honest. | B．They are creative. | C．They are selfish. | D．They are optimistic. |
| A．They gave their unspoken agreement. |
| B．They took these actions as illegal. |
| C．They believed there must be damage caused. |
| D．They held an indifferent attitude towards them. |
【推荐2】The Vjosa River, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, has been declared a national park by the Albanian government, making it become the first wild river park on the continent.
Home to more than 1,000 animal and plant species, the river flows for 270 kilometers, from Greece, through Albania and into the Adriatic Sea. Giving the credit to no dams or other artificial barriers, it is rich in aquatic species and supports a large number of wildlife species, including otters, the endangered Egyptian vulture and the critically endangered Balkan lynx.
The wild river national park will include almost 13,000 acres of land, crossing most of the body of the country, with thousands of people living in its surroundings. The decision to establish the park is more important than people may realize. For years, the Vjosa’s fragile ecosystem has been under threat: at one point as many as 45 hydropower plants (水 电 站) were planned to build across the region. But thanks to the campaigning by environmental NGOs, the tiny Balkan nation was placed at the forefront of river protection.
Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, described the creation of the national park as a “truly historic moment” for nature as well as social and economic development. “Today we protect the only wild river in Europe once and for all,” he said. “This is about to change a mindset. Protecting an area does not mean that you make it in isolation from the economy.” He said national parks attract 20% more tourists compared with non-protected areas.
The park will cover the 118 miles of the Vjosa in Albania, three main tributaries (支流), and some land, including areas at risk of flooding. Phase II will add other tributaries. Unlike the IUCN's Wilderness Protected Areas, which limit the number of visitors, it will allow recreational tourism and some other activities such as local fishing, particularly for 60,000 residents in the catchment.
“We hope it will inspire others to come together to protect the wild places we have left, in a meaningful way,” said Ryan Gellert, Patagonia’s CEO, adding that the park was proof that the “destruction of nature did not have to be the price of progress”.
1. What makes the Vjosa River rich in wild species?| A．Sufficient water. |
| B．The government's policies. |
| C．The large area of fertile land. |
| D．The absence of human disturbance. |
| A．It helps to establish hydropower plants. |
| B．It relieves the power shortage in Albania. |
| C．It strengthens the protection of Vjosa's ecosystem. |
| D．It promotes the development of the local wild land. |
| A．Building the park is beneficial to the economy. |
| B．More wild rivers need to be protected in Europe. |
| C．Non-protected areas will inspire a boom in tourism. |
| D．Social progress comes at the cost of the natural environment. |
| A．It includes more tributaries. |
| B．It limits the number of visitors. |
| C．It covers areas at high risk of flooding. |
| D．It combines leisure activities with tourism. |
【推荐3】I’m Naomi Shah, and today I’ll be talking to you about my research involving indoor air quality and asthmatic（哮喘） patients. 1.6 million deaths worldwide. One death every 20 seconds. People spend over 90 percent of their lives indoors. And the economic burden of asthma go beyond that of HIV and tuberculosis（肺结核） combined.
Now these statistics had a huge impact on me. I started researching, and I soon found that indoor air pollutants were the main causes. But soon after, I developed a novel mathematical model that essentially measures the effect of these environmental pollutants（污染物） on the lung health of asthmatic patients.
I have a volunteer subject in the audience today, Julie. And all of Julie’s data has been pre-entered into my interactive software model. So Julie’s going to her doctor’s office to get treated for her asthma. And the doctor has her sit down, and he takes her peak breath flow rate. I’ve entered it up into the interactive software model. I’ve also entered in her age, her gender and her height. Any users just clicked on “lung function report” and it’ll take them to this report that I created. When the doctor sees this , maybe he would say, “Wow, we need to give her steroids（类固醇), medication and so on.”
But I want everyone here to reimagine a world where instead of prescribing steroids and medication, the doctor turns to Julie and says, “Why don’t you go home and clean out your air cleaner. Clean out the air dusts in your home, in your workplace, in your school. Stop the use of incense and candles. And if you’re remodeling your house, take out all the carpeting and put in hardwood flooring.” Because these solutions are natural, these solutions are sustainable, and these solutions are long-term investments -- long-term investments that we’re making for our generation and for future generations.
So I’m very passionate about this research and I really want to continue it and expand it to more diseases besides asthma, as well as more pollutants. To know more relationship between them is my main task. But before I end my talk today, I want to leave you with one saying. And that saying is that genetics loads the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger（扳机）.
1. What does the underline word “subject” probably refer to in Paragraph 3?| A．The research leader. | B．The research participant . |
| C．The research instructor . | D．The research designer. |
| A．Doubtful | B．Favorable |
| C．Critical | D．Disapproving |
| A．She had better use incense and candles. |
| B．She should have the air cleaner replaced . |
| C．She has got to take steroid and medication. |
| D．She is supposed to carpet the floor with hard wood. |
| A．To show the author’s passion. |
| B．To stress the significance of the environment. |
| C．To emphasize the urgency to deepen the research. |
| D．To introduce the research between diseases and pollutants. |
【推荐1】Travelling is a very good activity. When you are fed up with your work and when you can get a holiday, you can go to the beautiful spots to enjoy the beauty of nature and the special character of other cities. You can breathe fresh air, visit some places of interest，meet different people and make friends with them．If you do so, you will forget your tiredness and troubles and build up your health. As a result, you will feel fully relaxed and you will have the energy to undertake the new tasks waiting for you．
But sometimes, travelling is not an enjoyable thing. For example, when the bus or car you take has a bad accident, you just sit in and waste your time．What’s more，the weather can be changeable. If you are climbing a mountain，it may rain suddenly. You may be caught in the rain and may catch a cold. The worst thing is that you may have your money stolen and you may have an injury. All these are terrible things that can happen to a tourist．
Therefore，before going on a trip, you must prepare yourself carefully. Firstly, you must have clear information about the weather. Secondly, you should choose a good companion so that you can help each other. Thirdly, you must be careful everywhere and try to avoid accidents. If you do this, you’ll surely enjoy your travels and avoid any unnecessary trouble．
1. In the first paragraph，the underlined phrase “ are fed up with’’ means“________”．| A．are fond of | B．can’t do | C．are tired of | D．are interested in |
| A．You may meet with unexpected troubles on a trip． |
| B．You may get ill on a trip． |
| C．You will have to spend a lot of money on a bus or in a car． |
| D．It’s necessary for you to know about the weather before you travel． |
| A．be careful enough | B．have a holiday with a good friend |
| C．take an umbrella with you | D．be well prepared for your trip |
Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling (兄弟姐妹) or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter.
New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be boosted throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually stretching (拉伸) careers.
The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is static by the age of about 18. Current scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores stabilize (稳定).
But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can “upgrade” their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation (刺激) from others is crucial as the “brain seems to be rather like a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets”. However, the opposite is also true – so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels fall as a result.
He found the “understanding quality” of a family changes the IQs of all members, especially children. It can “lift” or hold back, depending on the “gap between their brightness and that of their siblings and parents”. A bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage, compared to a similar child with equally bright siblings. However, children with a low IQ could gain six to eight points by having brighter siblings and special educational treatment to help pull them up.
Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80 percent of intelligence, the remaining 20 percent is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. Therefore, the best way to boost IQ level is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.
1. We can learn from the passage that ____.
| A．as the age grows, you will become smarter |
| B．a 35-year-old man is surely smarter than himself at the age of 18 |
| C．you will be smarter if you have a partner, a friend or a sibling |
| D．after 18, you still have the possibility to become smarter |
| A．unstable | B．fixed |
| C．varied | D．repeated |
| A．intellectual stimulation from others makes the brain work better |
| B．people should avoid working with those intellectually challenged |
| C．one’s IQ could be held back if he has bright brothers or sisters |
| D．the IQ of children is least influenced by the understanding level of a family |
| A．Genetics Determines Intelligence. |
| B．Watch Out for Intelligence Falling. |
| C．Bright Siblings Make You Smarter. |
| D．Brain Is Like Muscle. |
【推荐3】Can exercise during childhood protect you against memory loss many years later? Exercise early in life seems to have lifelong benefits for the brain, in rats at least.
“This is an animal study, but it shows that physical activity at a young age is very important — not just for physical development, but for the whole lifelong track of cognitive development during ageing,” says Martin of the University of Toronto, Canada. “In humans, it may put off the appearance of Alzheimer’s symptoms, possibly to the point of preventing them.“
Martin’s team divided 80 young male rats into two equal groups, and placed running wheels in the cages of one group for a period of six weeks. Around four months later — when the rats had reached middle age — the team taught all the rats to connect an electric shock with being in a specific box. When placed in the box, they froze with fear.
Two weeks later, the team tested the rats in three situations: exactly the same box in the same room, the same box with the room arranged differently, and a completely different box in a different room.
The rats without access to a running wheel when they were young now froze the same percentage of times in each of these situations, suggesting they couldn’t remember which one was dangerous. But those that had been able to run in their youth froze 40 to 50 percent less in both changed box settings.
“The results suggest the amount of physical activity when we’re young, at least for rats, has influence on brain and cognitive health — in the form of better memories — when we’re older,” says Arthur Kramer of Northeastern University in Boston, who has found that, in humans, exercise improves the growth of new brain cells.
1. The study shows that______.A．physical activity is important for physical health |
| B．using the running wheels is of benefit to the rats’ growth |
| C．physical activity can prevent human’s Alzheimer’s symptoms |
| D．exercise when young can prevent memory loss when older in rats |
A．exercise | B．development | C．benefit | D．study |
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By describing the process. | D．By showing differences. |
| A．Surprised. | B．Objective (客观的). | C．Critical (批判性的). | D．Doubtful. |
