1 . As a child, Liu Wenwen disliked the suona, a “loud, high-pitched” traditional Chinese musical instrument, an ancestral heritage of her family that was to become her career.
Her peers at primary school laughed at her, saying her whole family was engaged only in “weddings and funerals.” Indeed, these are the two major occasions where the horn-like wind instrument is played in China’s rural areas. Liu felt ashamed. People admired things that were modern and international. “Suona, in comparison, was considered an art of the hillbilly.” Her father’s family has performed suona for seven generations.
The music is rooted in Liu’s DNA, but it takes time and hard work to become a skilled musician. The instrument was so loud that it annoyed the neighbors when she practiced at home. “So my parents would wake me up at 4 a.m. every day and take me to practice outside in a park.”
While she followed her parents to play the suona as a child, she only fell in love with the instrument at university. She found suona music beautiful for the first time in 2008, when she entered Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically.
On China’s social media platforms, her name is often followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia, alongside award-winning composer Tan Dun in 2017. For her debut on the international stage, she was playing Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to Phoenix, a masterpiece that often represents excellence in suona performance.
Liu promoted the “hillbilly” music to an international audience, thanks to Tan and his team, who recomposed the traditional music and arranged the piece into an orchestra. “It was a smooth dialogue between a Chinese instrument and a Western orchestra, loved by the musicians and audience alike,” she said. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage.”
1. What can we learn about Liu from the first two paragraphs?| A．She was born into a musical family. |
| B．She enjoyed playing the suona as a child. |
| C．She showed a talent for suona when she was young. |
| D．She felt ashamed of admiring modern and international things. |
| A．To get more time for her practice. | B．To avoid disturbing the neighbors. |
| C．To spend more time with her parents. | D．To make practising the suona a habit. |
| A．Audience like Chinese instruments better than Western orchestra. |
| B．Liu’s performance at a Sydney concert got her recognized by the public. |
| C．Liu promoted traditional Chinese music to the whole world with her parents. |
| D．Social media is a major platform to carry forward traditional Chinese music. |
| A．Technology. | B．Education. |
| C．People. | D．Entertainment. |
2 . Can you imagine a five-year-old boy writing and playing music on a child-sized violin? This was true of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart，a gifted boy who grew up to be one of the most creative composers (作曲家) of all time. Then you might think that the life of this child was easy all the time. Read on. Decide for yourself.
Mozart was born in January of 1756 into a musical family. His father, Leopold Mozart, knew the talent of his child and carefully taught him. Later, Mozart toured Europe, putting on concerts for the people of high social positions. He could listen to any piece of music once and then play it from memory. He could play the piano or the violin with his eyes covered. What’s more, music that Mozart wrote at the age of five was as good as works by many adult composers.
Mozart earned a living by selling his compositions, giving concerts and providing music lessons for the wealthy. Some of the operas Mozart wrote, such as The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, are still performed today. He composed 41 symphonies (交响乐). However, none of them earned him much money, and he spent far more than he was able to earn. Mozart often waited until the last moment to work on pieces that had been asked for.
By the spring of 1791, Mozart was ill and sad. He was deeply in debt (债务). His health, which had never been good, was becoming even worse. A stranger asked Mozart to write a musical piece for a funeral (葬礼). Mozart agreed, but then began to fear that it was being written for his own death. His fears turned out to be true. Mozart died in December of 1791, at the age of 35.
1. What is the purpose of the writer by saying “Read on. Decide for yourself ”in paragraph1?| A．To increase your reading interest. |
| B．To tell you it is your business to read it or not |
| C．To introduce that the child always led an easy life |
| D．To introduce the reason why you should read |
| A．He could play any music wonderfully |
| B．He could write good works at an early age. |
| C．He held concerts for the people of high social positions |
| D．He could listen to any piece of music once and then play it from memory |
| A．Mozart could support himself by working so hard |
| B．Mozart led a poor life although he wrote many pieces |
| C．Mozart’s compositions sold well and he made a lot of money |
| D．Mozart led a happy life because of much money |
| A．Mozart’s lifetime | B．Mozart’s talent | C．Mozart’s works B. Mozart’s father |
3 . Colette Maze has been playing the piano for over a century. She practices four hours a day and her fingers never tire. Music is her spiritual food. The piano, her passion and her friend, instills (注入) a sense of wonder in life each day, making her a source of inspiration to all.
Colette Maze was born in Paris in 1914. She started playing the piano at the age of five. As a young student, she was taught a technique by the legendary piano master Alfred Cortot, which focuses on relaxing the arms and hands when playing. To this day, the manner in which Colette Maze touches the piano while playing the tender music of Robert Schumann and Claude Debussy is still unusual and attractive.
Contrary to the social conventions of the times, Maze decided to pursue music as a career. “She decided she was an artist, a musician, not a housewife, so she married the piano,” said her son Fabrice Maze. Later she became a piano teacher and a single mother with great difficulty. The piano always brings her solace. “Music is an affective language and a poetic language. In music, there is everything—nature, emotion, love, dreams,” Colette Maze said.
Colette Maze’s talent and enthusiasm are priceless, especially during the times of the pandemic. “She helps improve morale (士气). Though at an old age, she is in good form for she has passion and can look after herself. Her sense of humor, her joy, and her love of life make other people smile,” Fabrice Maze said.
Colette Maze explained that life is not about being old or young. “Youth is inside us. Life is all about staying passionate and curious. You can’t let that slip away. If you appreciate what’s beautiful around you, you will find a sense of wonder in it,” she said. Every day she plays the piano, and her fingers lightly touch the keys, embracing life and engaging with the love and tenderness of her music.
1. How did Alfred Cortot influence Colette Maze?| A．He presented her with a special piano. | B．He invited famous pianists to train her. |
| C．He took her to enjoy some piano concerts. | D．He taught her a unique way to play the piano. |
| A．Pity. | B．Comfort. | C．Glory. | D．Trouble. |
| A．Colette has given up a lot for music. | B．Colette is highly spoken of by music lovers. |
| C．Colette inspires others to live with strength. | D．Colette feels concerned about other people’s life. |
| A．Be active and passionate about life forever. | B．Family support is important to career success. |
| C．Experience helps to promote excellence. | D．It’s never too old to learn. |
4 . World-famous music and movie star Olivia Newton-John has died in southern California. The highly awarded Newton-John sold more than 100 million record albums during her career. From 1973 to 1983, she was among the world’s most popular entertainers. She had 14 top 10 singles in the United States alone and won four Grammy Awards.
Newton-John is perhaps most remembered for her performance in 1978’s wildly popular musical movie Grease. She starred as a high school student Sandy, and was partnered with John Travolta. One song the two shared in the film, You’re the One That I Want, sold more than 15 million copies.
“I was afraid that at 30 I was too old to play a high school girl,” Newton-John told The Telegraph in 2017. “Everything about making the film was fun, but if I had to pick a favorite moment, it was the transformation from what I call Sandy 1 to Sandy 2. I got to play a different character and wear different clothes, and when I put on that tight black clothes to sing You’re the One That I Want, I got a very different reaction from the guys on the set.”
Physical, Newton-John’s biggest single, came out in 1981. The energetic dance song was hugely popular, holding Number One position on Billboard’s hit list for 10 weeks straight. Later, the music industry magazine named Physical the Song of the Year. A video linked to the song won a Grammy Award as well.
In 1992, Newton-John faced loss and sickness. Her father died and she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then Newton-John created an album, Gaia: One Woman’s Journey, about her battle with cancer and the loss of her father.
Newton-John married John Easterling in 2008. She became involved in several causes, serving as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme and a national spokeswoman for the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition. She also founded the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center in Melbourne, Australia.
1. What is Sandy in paragraph 2?| A．A film director. | B．A music teacher. |
| C．A film character | D．A music composer. |
| A．Because of her age. | B．Because of her gender. |
| C．Because of her acting skills. | D．Because of her tight clothes. |
| A．Her film. | B．Her dance songs. |
| C．Her sufferings. | D．Her husband’s encouragement. |
| A．Newton-John’s physical pain. |
| B．Newton-John’s social activities. |
| C．Newton-John’s happy marriage. |
| D．Newton-John’s artistic achievements. |
5 . “I don’t feel like I’m very good at drawing real people in the real world,” says Axel Scheffler. The illustrator (插图画家) is famous for his unusual and wonderful pictures of animals, but now the COVID-19 pandemic has brought him back into the real world.
The elder illustrator has just helped to produce what must have been one of the fastest books in history. Coronavirus: A Book for Children was written, illustrated and then published for free online in the space of a week!
Facts are important but the book is also frank about the uncertainty the world faces. There’s a chapter on vaccines (疫苗) which explains that the disease is new and currently has no cure. “Honesty is crucial for children of any age, you have to have their trust,” said Scheffler. The book deals with issues such as not seeing grandparents and coping with annoyed parents who might be trying to work from home themselves at a stressful time. The reaction to the book has been overwhelming.
“I’m not a doctor or a nurse but as an illustrator this was something I could do to help and I feel proud that it has had this amazing response,” said Scheffler.
Like all good children’s stories, the book ends on a positive note. There’s a picture of families, doctors and nurses celebrating together and the caption (说明文字) reads “One day this strange time will be over.” Scheffler said, “Right now, hope is very important for children, because one day this pandemic will indeed be over and then perhaps we can stand close together again as the characters do on the last page of this book.”
1. Why is Axel Scheffler so well-known?| A．He draws wonderful pictures of animals for books. |
| B．He is always interested in the real world. |
| C．He is better at drawing real people than others. |
| D．He observes different kinds of animals. |
| A．It was mainly about how to cure the disease. |
| B．It was free of charge for readers online. |
| C．It was the fastest book written in history. |
| D．It was fully finished in less than a week. |
| A．Negative. | B．Proud. | C．Indifferent. | D．Doubtful. |
| A．The Fastest Book Was Illustrated Within a Day |
| B．An Illustrator Helped Published One of the Fastest Books |
| C．An Illustrator Was Encouraged by Doctors and Nurses |
| D．The CO VID-19 Pandemic Brought an Illustrator Back to Reality |
6 . Wang Fang, a Suzhou native, has given her heart and soul to Kunqu Opera. Wang, who has twice won the Plum Performance Award — China’s top award for theater and opera performances-started to learn the traditional art form in 1977.
Born with a melodic voice, Wang loved to sing and dance when she was little. She performed frequently, and was recruited by the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe (剧团) when she was in middle school. However, her parents refused the troupe’s invitation, insisting that she should concentrate on her studies and not drop out of school. After members of the troupe visited the parents repeatedly and showed great sincerity,Wang’s parents finally agreed.
Learning the traditional art form was never easy. She started to learn how to pronounce words, sing them lyrically and make gestures gently. As an actress playing martial artists roles at first, she had to spend extra time practicing kung fu movements. Years later, Wang used the word “unimaginable” to describe how hard the days were when she first learned Kunqu. She was soaked in sweat when practicing movements in summer, while in winter she often had chilblains (冻疮) on her hands when training in shabby classrooms with broken windows. “But I was young and determined at the time. No matter how difficult, I always got up early the next morning to practice,” Wang recalls.
Wang says she did not love Kunqu at first, but in her early 20s,when she watched the show Peony Pavilion performed by Zhang Jiqing, a master of the art form, it clicked. “I was shocked,” Wang says. “Her every movement was full of elegance and delicacy. Each of her lines and songs was perfect. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Kunqu for the first time in my life, and it has stayed with me since.” Now, Wang has herself become a master of Kunqu. Her performances have impressed generations and helped to promote the art form among young people.
1. Why did Wang’s parents turn down the troupe’s invitation at first?| A．They didn’t think Wang had artistic talent. |
| B．They saw no future in learning Kunqu Opera. |
| C．They didn’t want Wang to ignore her studies. |
| D．They regarded members of the troupe as insincere. |
| A．Wang has made great efforts to learn Kunqu well. |
| B．Artists should be given more attention and care. |
| C．Traditional culture needs to be further promoted. |
| D．Wang has played a key role in the development of Kunqu. |
| A．Winning the Plum Performance Award. |
| B．Joining the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe. |
| C．Watching Zhang’s masterly performance. |
| D．Being greatly admired by the audience. |
| A．It is never too late to learn. | B．Rome was not built in a day. |
| C．Doing is better than saying. | D．Don’t judge a book by its cover. |
