1 . Derek Paravicini is lucky to be alive. Born three and a half months early, he weighed only 0.6 kilograms and almost _______ three times while he was in hospital. _______, Derek’s early birth left him with some disabilities — he is blind; he can’t tell left from right; he can _______ count to ten.

Yet Derek is a _______ talent. The 41-year-old remembers every one of the thousands of pieces of music he has ever heard and can play them without _______ on the piano — even if he only heard the song once. years ago. Because he is blind, he cannot _______ music. All of the music he plays is in his _______. His brain has been described as a perfectly programmed musical _______. When he hears a chord with ten notes in it, he can even _______ all ten, while most professional musicians can only recognise about five.

Derek was two years old before his family discovered his ________. When he was given an old keyboard, he ________ his family by reproducing the songs he had heard outside. His family then arranged for him to go to a school for the ________ where he met a university professor who helped him to ________ his musical talent.

By the age of nine, Derek had ________ at a large concert hall in London with a famous orchestra, Since then, he has appeared on TV shows and travelled the world ________ performances. He has recorded his own CDs and there is even a book about his life.

2 . When Shao Tianshuai was 14, her dance teacher told her she had expressive eyes and an oval face, which were best suited for Kunqu Opera. She didn’t pay much ________to the comment until her mother __________ her to give the opera a try.

In 2001, Shao _________ for the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater in Beijing and came out with flying colors. The theater company is the only ________ platform in northern China devoted to Kunqu, an existing form of Chinese opera with a history of around 600 years.

Kunqu Opera, like many traditional Chinese operas, is _______ from one generation to another through singing demonstrations. It takes years to ________ basic skills, only after which performers can try and build their own _________.

“This type of opera was on the edge of decline (衰退) and the theater only had a dozen performances a year before I applied there,” says Shao. “However, the UNESCO tag gave the art a ________ life. The opera received government support and attracted the attention of young audiences.”

Usually, she performs her regular shows. ________, she arranges training for young performers and ______ on creating new pieces. She notes that two-thirds of the performers in the company are young, which injects energy to the theater founded over six decades ago.

Now, at 36, she is one of the leading ________ of Northern Kunqu Opera Theater and gives ________ 100 performances a year. Shao says, “In order to build up a young fan base, we use social media platforms and create original Kunqu Opera pieces, which ________   young people without changing the __________ of the art.”

“The heartwarming part is that so many young people like Kunqu Opera performances, whether online or offline. They are ________ to learn and explore, and as actors we cannot ask for more,” says Shao.