1 . At just 21 years old, Nija Charles is one of today's most popular songwriters.

She has been ________ with Beyonce, Jay Z, Cardi B, and many other today's popular music artists. Their works have been ________ . And she was even included in three Grammy nominations（提名）.

But just a few years ago, Charles was only a（n） ________ in the crowd. She was ________ in a musical family. "My dad is a DJ. My mom is a dancer," Charles ________ . "So growing up in this family, I was always ________ by music and crazily chased after musicians."

Charles said she first ________ music at age 13, when she asked her mom for a mini keyboard because she was ________ to produce. "So she got one for me, and I started tapping on the keys," she said.

Charles continued to learn music at New York University, where she'd make songs in her dormitory and post them online. Soon she was ________ in flying across the country on weekends, performing on stage and then studying at school.

"It was tough for me. There were some classes I ________ had to skip. But yeah, it was must time management and 1 had to ________ and finish my homework before I got on the plane or I'd finish the ________ on the plane. I wrote songs during the weekend. I made sure I studied hard so I could finish ________ that year," she said.

Talking about her success, Charles said, "It's ________ that my favourite artists are now the people I cooperate with. Several years ago, I was at their ________ but now I'm in the studio with them."

1.

A．working

B．competing

C．arguing

D．entertaining

2.

A．unaddressed

B．labour-saving

C．award-winning

D．unsearchable

3.

A．clerk

B．artist

C．focus

D．fan

4.

A．born

B．introduced

C．invited

D．forced

5.

A．proposed

B．complained

C．sighed

D．recalled

6.

A．annoyed

B．surrounded

C．changed

D．rejected

7.

A．appreciated

B．evaluated

C．accessed

D．composed

8.

A．empty-handed

B．longing

C．absent-minded

D．unwilling

9.

A．honest

B．lacking

C．weak

D．engaged

10.

A．definitely

B．slightly

C．scarcely

D．indirectly

11.

A．call back

B．get along

C．hurry up

D．settle down

12.

A．favorites

B．assignments

C．advertisements

D．ambitions

13.

A．performance

B．career

C．school

D．training

14.

A．incredible

B．ridiculous

C．simple

D．obvious

15.

A．classes

B．concerts

C．families

D．weddings

3 . When you hear the beginning of your favorite song from the radio, suddenly your neck is covered in goose bumps.

It's such a thing that a group of scientists call “skin excitement”—a feeling of cold caused not by a drop in temperature or sudden scare, but by the sense of beauty. “Skin excitement” can come from a song, a painting, a moving movie scene, or even a beloved memory-pretty much anything that causes the giving out of pleasure-soaked dopamine in your brain. But it does not come for all of us.

Your favorite music uncovers a lot about your personality，and so does how you respond to that music. Studies suppose that as few as 55 percent of people experience “skin excitement” when listening to music. And if you count yourself among this group, the goose bumps on your skin aren't the only giveaway—scientists can read it in your brain, too. In a new study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Harvard researchers performed brain scans on 10 students who said they reliably got cold when listening to music, and 10 students who didn't. They found that the cold-prone brains may really be excited by stronger emotions.

Cold-prone brains are generally more likely to show stronger emotional intelligence than no-cold brains. Cold-prone minds tend to have unusual active imagination, reflect more deeply on their emotions, and appreciate nature and the beauty of music and art to a stronger degree than no-cold brains.

So, what type of music causes the chills? It seems that the type is not so important; participants in the new study reported getting cold from songs of every kind. And any song connected with a strong emotional memory of the listener can produce the most reliable results. For me, that's the song Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler, which I listened to as a kid in the car with my dad, on the way to the summer camp.

1. What can we learn about “skin excitement” in the text?

A．It helps to produce doparmine.	B．It is caused by the pain in the skin.
C．It can be experienced by every music listener.	D．It is the human body's reaction to something nice.

2. What does the new study by Harvard researchers mainly find?

A．The percentage of music lovers in students.

B．The solutions to the goose bumps on one's skin.

C．The differences between cold-prone and no-cold brains.

D．The relationship between one's music preference and personality.

3. What are people with cold-prone brains like?

A．Beautiful and intelligent.	B．Emotional and dishonest.
C．Imaginative and sensitive.	D．Brave and strong-minded.

4. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A．Responses to Music Vary among People	B．A Feeling of Cold Is Caused by Horrible Music
C．Your Favorite Music Reveals Your Personality	D．Favorite Music May Bring Forth Goose Bumps

5 . Sirine Jahangir has a rare condition that left her completely blind by the time she was 10 years old. While her parents and doctors have tried to find _________ for her, there isn’t much they can do.

So her parents focused on helping her _________ her new life. Her father said, “One day, we were driving in the car, but she couldn’t look out of the window anymore to _________ things. I didn’t know what to do, so I just put the music on really loud. She _________ singing in the car, and she was so happy. And then she just found _________ every time I put music on.” It didn’t take long for them to realize Sirine has great _________! Her interest in music not only got her through some _________ and lonely times, but when she was 14 it also brought her to the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage.

When she _________ on the stage, she told everyone how much her _________ for music means to her. Then she __________ over to the piano, where she played a melody (旋律) and __________ beautifully enough to bring the audience to tears!

__________ to everyone but Sirine, all four judges voted (票) her into the next round of the __________!

Afterward, she said, “I can’t even say it’s a dream come true, __________ I didn’t even dream of it at any point. I never thought that would be __________ in my life.”

1.

A．destinations

B．examples

C．challenges

D．treatments

2.

A．bring about

B．adapt to

C．give up

D．figure out

3.

A．see

B．hear

C．guess

D．move

4.

A．minded

B．considered

C．started

D．missed

5.

A．recognition

B．power

C．fortune

D．happiness

6.

A．value

B．talent

C．confidence

D．experience

7.

A．easy

B．amazing

C．energetic

D．difficult

8.

A．danced

B．appeared

C．lied

D．painted

9.

A．achievement

B．misunderstanding

C．love

D．knowledge

10.

A．headed

B．ran

C．pulled

D．changed

11.

A．smiled

B．cried

C．sang

D．jumped

12.

A．Painfully

B．Obviously

C．Unfortunately

D．Unsurprisingly

13.

A．meeting

B．competition

C．experiment

D．funding

14.

A．because

B．if

C．before

D．unless

15.

A．frightening

B．formal

C．realistic

D．awkward

6 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

That was a big competition. We all knew it. The entire school was filled with excitement and anticipation. It was the annual choir(合唱) competition, and we were determined to participate despite knowing that many of us were not the best singers.

As the class monitor, I felt responsible for calling in my classmates and convincing them to join the chorus. I knew it wouldn’t be easy; some of them were hesitant and gave me skeptical looks, while others ran away. But I wasn’t ready to give up.

With a persuasive tone and genuine enthusiasm, I spoke to my classmates, explaining why it was important for us to participate as a team. I told them that it wasn’t about being the best, but about coming together and enjoying the experience of singing as a group. Slowly, I started to see some students were interested and a few of them promised to give it a try.

Our rehearsals (排练) were intense, filled with laughter, and sometimes frustration. We tried our best to perfect our harmonies and cooperation, but deep down, we still held onto the belief that we would probably end up at the bottom of all-the choirs. In that moment of despair, a boy from our choir whispered, “Are we just asking for humiliation(羞辱)?” The words made our doubts and fears stronger.

But right before it was our turn to step onto the stage, Mrs. Wood, our music teacher, brought us together in a tight group. She looked into our eyes and said firmly, “We are not here to impress; we are here to express.” Her words made all the difference.

With an understanding of the true meaning of our performance, we stepped onto the stage. As the music started, we sang from our hearts. We didn’t worry about being perfect or winning the competition; we focused on expressing our love for music and the joy of singing together.

注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

When the performance ended, our headmaster stepped onto the stage.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The competition results were announced later, and we were awarded a special medal for our team spirit.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

If New Year’s Eve had an official song, it would be Auld Lang Syne. Every year, just after the clock strikes midnight, many people around the world will sing this beloved song. Why is Auld Lang Syne a New Year’s tradition? From its beginning as an 18th-century Scottish poem     1     its popularity today, Auld Lang Syne always    2    （carry）the spirit of the holiday.

The song is actually a poem written by Robert Burns in 1788. Traditionally     3    （consider）Scotland’s national poet, Burns raised the country’s national awareness by writing it in the dying-out Scots language. In English, “auld lang syne”     4     （rough）means “times long past”. The song tells of old friends meeting after time apart.

Although Burns’ version is the only one we know today, there were also some earlier     5    （version）of the poem,     6     （include）Allan Ramsay’s from 1724. Burns’ version     7     (inspire) by an old man’s singing.

Burns was not satisfied with his version of the poem’s     8    （origin）tune and dismissed it. So between 1799 and 1801, George Thomson composed     9     different tune for the song. It’s the one we sing today.

With its emphasis on friendship and parting, Auld Lang Syne expresses the spirit of New Year’s Eve,     10     is saying goodbye to one year so that another can begin.

8 . I was a radio presenter for many years, including hosting a music show. I soon noticed that almost everyone chose music from the same period: when they were in their teens or early twenties.     1    

Firstly, we tend to have a different good memory between the ages of about ten and thirty.     2     The second reason is that music is a powerful trigger for our emotions, which in turn spark our memories. The music in our teen years is likely to have lots of emotions to understand, so even a very small part of a particular song can bring powerful feelings and memories flooding back.

    3     It can have a calming effect, putting you in a relaxed mood, ready, to remember. Rhythms and rhymes are great memory aids. And when we love a song, we tend to repeat it over and over, again. Singing or playing something can even activate “muscle memory”, and there are many cases of people with severe memory loss still being able to perform music they learned decades ago.

So the next time you hear a familiar song, put it to good use, to explore and exercise your memory. Think about the places and people it reminds you of and the emotions it brings.     4     Remember a particular time in your life, think about the music you listened to then and let it take you back, following the connections as you piece together the past.

You can also use music when you’ re learning.     5     If you’re dealing with several topics, play different styles of music while learning different things.

Experiment to see what works for you, Songs can have a powerful impact on memory, and that should be music to everyone’s ears!

A．There are two very good reasons for that.

B．The following practical suggestions are just for you.

C．There are further ways in which music boosts recall.

D．Find recordings that energize your thinking in your study.

E．Some people use music to make themselves fall asleep faster.

F．You may feel as if you rediscover the richest details of your past.

G．Most of us have more novel and exciting memorable experiences then.