1 . I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola (中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.

Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.

Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.

Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers, but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.

3 . In 2021, scientists studying animal communication discovered that some dogs connect objects with words similarly to babies. Then what about cats, which are commonly believed to be unconcerned about human affairs?

Saho Takagi, a researcher at Azabu University, doubted cats’ seeming unconcern. “Cats don’t appear to listen to people’s conversations, but in fact, they do,” said Takagi. According to previous research, cats understand human communication better than expected. Like dogs, they can use human pointing and stares to find food. They even can tell the difference between human facial expressions and states of attention, according to a 2016 study. However, cats can do more than that.

Another study showed that cats can discriminate their own names from the names of their cat companions (those that live in the same house). The researchers believed that cats learned to connect names with other cats by observing communication between their owners and their cat friends.

In a recently published study, Takagi and her colleagues compared two groups of cats: cats living with at least two other cats and cats living in “cat cafés” with up to 30 cats. Using a simple two-phase (阶段) test, they assessed the cats’ responses to hearing their names and seeing their faces on a monitor. Sometimes, the cat that appeared on the screen matched the name spoken; other times, the name and the image did not match. If cats knew the names of their cat friends, they would investigate by staring doubtfully at the monitor when the name and image did not match. House cats had a significantly longer stare than café cats, indicating that house cats generally expected a specific cat’s face upon hearing the cat’s name.

“This is the first evidence showing that house cats link human words and their social companions through daily experiences,” the researchers wrote. “However, we could not recognize the mechanism (机制) for learning. But with more and more scientists becoming interested in cats, who are much smarter than we assume, this question is sure to be solved.”

A Blind Man Helped Me See, the Beautiful World

It was late afternoon when the chairman of our company gave me an assignment: I would leave the next day to accompany an important American businessman to tourist sites in northern Thailand. Silently angry, I stared at my desk. The piles of paper bore witness to a huge amount of work waiting to be done, even though I had been working seven days a week. How will I ever catch up? I wondered.

After a one-hour flight the next morning, we spent the day visiting attractions along with hundreds of other tourists, most of them loaded with cameras and small gifts. I remember feeling annoyed at this dense collection of people.

That evening my American companion and I climbed into a crowded van to go to dinner and a show, one which I had attended many times before. While he chatted with other tourists, I exchanged polite conversation in the dark with a man seated in front of me —Hans, a German who spoke fluent English. I wondered why he held his head motionless at an odd angle when listening. Suddenly the truth struck me. He was blind. “Could I sit beside you at the dinner?” he asked. “I’d love it if you’d describe a little of what you see.” “I’d be happy to,” I replied.

Seated at a table close to the stage, Hans asked, “What do other tourists look like?” “All nationalities, colors, shapes and sizes, a gallery of human faces,” I whispered. “Very close to us is an elderly Japanese woman,” I said. “Just beyond her a yellow-haired white boy of about five is leaning forward. They’re quiet, waiting for the performance to start. It’s the perfect living portrait of childhood and old age, of Europe and Asia.” Hans nodded and said, “The music seems out of tune to our Western ears, but it has charm.”

Then he asked me to describe the musicians to him.

Born in Suzhou, Kunqu Opera distinguished itself by the detail of its rhythmic patterns and became widely popular during the Ming Dynasty. During Mid-Autumn Festival in Ming and Qing dynasties, opera performing groups often     1     (gather) in Suzhou, staging wonderful theatrical display s in ancient China.

    2     (combine) songs performed in the Suzhou dialect, graceful body movements, martial arts and dance, Kunqu Opera uses a rich variety of movements to express specific emotions. Graceful movements extend to the fingertips     3     unique melodies create rich and poetic worlds for audiences     4     (enjoy).

Kunqu Opera held a powerful influence on many forms of opera in China, including Peking Opera,     5     is about 200 years old. Kunqu Opera is thus known as the mother of all Chinese operas. In respect of this     6     (treasure) history, UNESCO acknowledged it as one of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2001.

    7     a true reflection of Chinese culture, stories performed in Kunqu Opera go beyond the limits of time and space. The Peony Pavilion, written by playwright Tang Xianzu, who is often compared to Shakespeare, is still loved by fans     8     (global).

A living heritage is     9     endless dialogue between the present and the past, and Kunqu Opera is a perfect     10     (carry) to pass that legacy on for China’s future generations.

7 . Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition ______ ended one night in 2010. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school senior was in a car accident that put her in the ______ for 51 days and left her paralyzed (瘫痪的) from the waist down. For most people, that would have killed any hope of a dancing career. For Hill, however, it was the ______. “I wanted to prove that I was still ‘______,’” she said. That word for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her ______. “I have to move with my hands. It definitely took much learning and ______.”

After graduation, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to ______ women like her. She met people who had suffered disabilities but ______ her determination, and she invited them to dance with her. In 2014 Hill formed a team of dancers with disabilities she calls the Rollettes. “I want to ______ the stereotype (成见) of wheelchair users and show that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or you’re ______.” she said. Dancing on wheels can be just as artful and fulfilling. In disabled dance competitions, they’re ______, and as the audiences’ excited reactions indicate, the happiness is contagious (传染的).

Hill is a real ______. She has achieved her childhood ______. Every year she holds a dance camp for wheelchair users. For many, it was the first time they’d felt they ______. A girl once told her it was the most _____thing when she rolled into a room and everyone was at eye level.

8 . “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish, by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”---Albert Einstein

If you have a kid with special needs in the school system, you’re likely to have come across that saying hanging on a classroom wall. My five-year-old daughter Syona has cerebral palsy (脑瘫) and it means, combined with her communication and sight problems, that normal standard isn’t always an accurate measure of her abilities.

By now you have probably heard about Chris Ulmer, the 26-year old teacher in Jacksonville, Florida, who starts his special education class by calling up each student to give them much admiration and a high-five. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Syona’s teacher and how she supports each kid in a very similar way. Ulmer recently shared a video of his teaching experience. “I have seen their confidence increase rapidly.” he said. All I could think was: how lucky these students are to have such good teachers.

Syona’s teacher has an attitude that can best be summarized in one word: wonderful. Her teacher doesn’t focus on what can’t be done---she focuses on what can be done. Over the past several months, my husband Dilip and I have seen Syona’s confidence increase greatly. She uses words she wouldn’t have thought of using before. She recently told me about her classmates trip to Ecuador and was very proud when I understood her on the first try.

I actually wonder what the influence would be if we did something similar to what Ulmer does with his students in our home. We’ve recently started our day by reminding each other of the good qualities we all have. If we are reminded of our strengths on a regular basis, we will become increasingly confident about progress and success.

Katie was exceptionally small. We were in the fifth grade, but she was as short as a third grader. Although her body was small, Katie was big at heart. She had a sharp mind, too. Sometimes she got her share of teasing, but Katie knew how to handle it. All the kids who knew Katie liked her a lot.

Katie loved helping others in the class, so whenever someone was stuck on the computer he always called her for help and advice. Katie loved jokes and she always had a joke that would cheer someone up whenever he was down. She was truly the most kind and generous friend anyone could ask for.

But the other day she was in big trouble. She was such a sweet girl; a third-grade teacher always dreamed of having a classroom filled with students like Katie. She was never ever a discipline(纪律)problem. I just couldn’t imagine why she had made her parents so angry.

It seemed that Katie had been running up(积欠)sizable charges in the lunchroom. Her parents explained that Katie brought a great homemade lunch each day, and there was no reason for her to buy school lunch. They assumed a sit-down with Katie would solve the problem, but failed. So they asked me to help them get to the bottom of this situation.

So the next day, I asked Katie to my office. “Why are you charging(记账)lunches, Katie? What happens to your homemade lunch?” I asked. “I lose it,” She responded. I leaned back in my chair and said, “I don’t believe you, Katie.” She didn’t care. “Is someone stealing your lunch, Katie?” I took a new track. “No. I just lose it,” she said. Well, there was nothing else I could do.

The problem was still unsolved the next week until I noticed a boy in the school canteen.

Online communities and social networks have changed people's lives for the better. Jan Tchamani,     1    English teacher in the UK, had to quit her job due     2     her serious illness. At age 50, she found herself out of work and     3     (stick) at home with only her computer to keep her company. Later, she discovered that     4     (surf) the Internet could help her reduce     5     (lonely) and boredom. She also joined an online group    6    she could talk about her problems and get support and advice from others. She realized that one of the     7     (great) benefits of the Internet was that it could remove the usual distance between people. She was so     8     (inspire) by the people she met online that she started an IT club to teach older people how     9     (use) computers and the Internet. Her next goal is     10     (start) a charity website to raise money for children in poor countries.