Beethoven was born in Germany. He is regarded     1     one of the greatest composers in the history of music. Unfortunately, he     2     (begin) to lose his hearing in his twenties. He thought about giving up, but he continued to write music until his death in 1827. Beethoven produced some     3     (amaze) pieces, including his Symphony No. 9 in D minor.

One day in February 1824, Beethoven’s ninth symphony was     4     (final) completed. Before the performance, Beethoven was afraid that the performance would be     5     disaster. After all, he could not hear his orchestra — even if he is a musical genius.

The audience did not hesitate     6     (clap) and cheer loudly as Beethoven walked out onto the stage. For more than an hour, Beethoven jumped about in front of the orchestra,     7     (wave) his arms wildly in the air, and madly turning the pages of his score.

As the final,     8     (joy) note signalled the end of the symphony, the audience jumped to their     9     (foot), clapping, cheering and waving their hats. But Beethoven continued conducting, his head buried in the score. It was not until one of the singers took his arm and turned him to face the audience     10    Beethoven realised his symphony was a success.

Nowadays, one of the common     1     (phenomenon) is to see ordinary people listening to music with headphones,     2     (absorb) themselves in their own world. Moreover, people often share     3     (satisfy) records with their friends. In     4     (add), we can gain relief from pressure in the deepest part of our being.

    5     is proved that music can be used as a cure     6     diseases. Listening to positive and peaceful music will have     7     positive impact on people, which enables many patients     8     (reduce) pain. Classical music has reached a stage     9     it is often used in cancer treatment     10     the aim of relieving aches and side effects.

The first creature     1     (orbit) our planet was just 2 years old. Her name was Laika. She was a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space     2     (explore) when scientists wondered     3     it was lethal (致命的) for living things.

Humans are born explorers. Since the dawn of civilization, we     4     (attract) over the horizon to find food or more space, or just to see what’s beyond those trees, mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore has reached new heights. Airplanes could shorten distances, simplify travel and show us Earth from     5     new aspect. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even     6     (high).

Our first steps into space began. Laika was followed into orbit four years later     7     the first human, Yuri Gagarin. Space travel is nothing like that in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations     8     (involve) inertia (惯性) and gravity. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died while doing     9     (they) jobs.

That hasn’t stopped people from signing up and blasting off (发射升空). NASA’s Apollo programme has ended but private companies are readying their own space programmes. A company     10     (name) Space X is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars. Maybe you’ll be a member of them. Don’t forget to bring your dog.

The astronauts aboard China’s Tiangong space station have given a live science lecture to Chinese students on earth. They showed     1     they worked and lived in the station. The lecture was interactive as the students on the ground were able to communicate     2     them in real time.

The space environment has many special     3     (condition) that are not available on the ground, and there are many scientific experiments that can only be done there. Although the experiments     4     (explain) by the astronauts are not unusual, they can help motivate young people to have enthusiasm (热情) for science.

With the     5     (construct) of the Tiangong space station, Chinese astronauts are able to stay in the station for a long time     6     give lectures from space. Tiangong can become a long-term classroom in space,     7     (open) the door of knowledge to people at home and abroad.

In 2013, the astronauts of Shenzhou-10 manned spaceship     8     (give)the first lecture from space to Chinese students. Now the signal is     9     (clear) and more stable thanks to the advancements in Chinese telecommunication technology.

It’s predictable that more space lectures of various forms     10     (deliver)from the Chinese space station in the future. It’s hoped that more astronauts, scientists and engineers will emerge (出现) from the students watching the lectures to carry on the exploration of the unknown.

Chen Sifang, a 23-year-old student from Beijing Normal University, gives movie     1     (appreciate) classes to children in Xinghai county, Qinghai province to promote art and culture.

The class is part of a nonprofit project     2     college students volunteer during their vacations in remote areas and give art and culture classes to local children.     3     (launch) in July and lasting almost a month, the project has sent more than 100 college students to six regions.

Chen recalls that it took the volunteer lecturers six hours     4     (travel) from Xining to the county, which has     5     average altitude (海拔) of 3,900 meters. As the bus approached, they saw clear blue skies, vast grasslands and roaming (漫游) cattle,     6     (make) them feel refreshed.

After consulting with her fellow volunteers, Chen selected 30 movies     7     coaching materials for nearly 70 local students from three primary schools and two junior middle schools. A young girl said one of Zhang Yimou’s movie was her favorite because the romance between the two main characters was similar to     8     of her own parents`. “It is very interesting. I have never had this kind of class before,” says 14-year-old Yang Chengyan,     9     is eager to read more sci-fi tales now because of this class. A film could     10     (true) leave a mark on their lives.

If you are at home alone and you also want to sing together     1     hundreds of other people, you can try singing in a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir,     2     helps connect ordinary people together and enables them     3     (add) their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the     4     (globe)   ommunity.

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and     5     (conduct)Eric Whitacre. He began studying music at the University of Nevada in 1988 and     6     (fall) in love with Mozart’s classical music when he sang for the university choir. In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works.     7     (inspire), he asked his fans to make videos, which he then joined together into one performance. Whitacre’s next effort was the Virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which     8     (see) on stage on 23 July 2014 in the UK.

The virtual choir is a     9     (wonder) way for people around the world to sing with one voice and thus make the world a     10     (good) place.

Students at Dashui primary school in Xinjian town, Zunyi city, Guizhou province, set up     1     rock band to realize their musical dreams, thanks    2     China’s “double reduction” policies to reduce the heavy burden on students.

On Nov. 9, students and teachers of the school     3     (cheerful) enjoyed the band’s     4     (perform) at the playground.

The band,     5     was set up in October, is made up of seven students from different     6     (grade), with a vocalist, a drummer, a keyboardist, a bass player and three guitarists.

“Their talent and dreams are likely     7     (give) them wings that could drive them to fly away from the mountains,” said Fan Biao, an instructor for the students, who graduated in 2019 and     8     (apply) to serve as a teacher in a special posting (派驻) at Dashui primary school.

“Last term, the average score of our school ranked     9     (one) in the final exam of the primary school group in the county. The facts have shown that students were motivated after     10     (carry) out the ‘double reduction’ policies,” said Fan.

Jan Tchamani, an English teacher in Birmingham, UK, suddenly developed a serious illness and had to quit her job. At age 50, she found herself out of work and     1     (stick) at home with only her computer to keep her company. After     2    while, she discovered that     3     (surf) the Internet could help her feel less lonely and bored. She could listen to music, watch films, play games, and explore the world. She also joined an online group     4     she could talk about her problems and get support and advice from others. She realised that one of the greatest benefits of the Internet was its     5     (able) to remove the distance that usually exists between people.

She was so inspired by the people she       6     (meet) online that she decided to start an IT club to teach older people how to use computers and the Internet. She and her friends now organise events and collect money to pay for private teachers. Many people have been helped by the club. A 59-year-old man learnt how to apply for work online and found a great job. Now that he works and can take care of     7     (him), his daughter has time to study at university. A 61-year-old woman who was living alone has started a small online company together     8     two friends. She no longer feels lonely, and her company has become quite successful.

Jan’s life has been     9     (great) improved by the Internet. “When you go through tough times, you meet others who are facing similar challenges,” Jan says. “Thinking about other people’s situations inspired me     10     (offer) help.”