1 . 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。

A Great musician Brings Ancient Chinese Sounds to London

On the afternoon of the second Saturday of every second month, Cheng Yu dresses in traditional Chinese attire(服装)and takes a guqin and pipa to a special gathering she started in London 20 years ago. Cheng is a master of the two instruments who was trained at Xi’an Conservatory of Music before     1    (play)with the China National Traditional Orchestra. She later studied     2     master’s and doctoral degrees in University of London.

Cheng Yu has been active since she started educating people and performing Chinese music in the United Kingdom. To Cheng, sharing and promoting Chinese     3    (tradition) instruments and music to westerners brings her     4     greatest joy and fulfillment. The gathering she started, called yaji, is a tradition among Chinese literati(知识界)that goes back to more than 1,000 years ago, to a time    5     ancient scholars and artists got together to drink tea, write poems, appreciate art and enjoy music.

The bimonthly yaji in London     6    (organize)by the London Youlan Qin Society now and focuses on traditional Chinese music, with attendees playing music on Chinese instruments and     7    (musician)sharing their understanding of music. Over the years, the yaji gatherings in London     8    (attract)professional musicians, scholars, office workers and amateur appreciators of Chinese culture from all over the UK and sometimes from elsewhere in Europe.

Charlie Thomas from Birmingham said: “It’s not just Chinese people who come. I met a German lady who also liked guqin. People here are so welcoming and they have     9    (entire)different backgrounds but share similar interests in guqin.” Thomas has studiedguqin with Cheng for about a year. “    10    (compare)with violin, the sound of the guqin is calming,” he said, adding that playing the instrument helped him calm down and solved a sleeping problem he had.

3 . The spotlight shines brightly on the dancers as they gracefully leap across the stage. But what sets this performance apart from others is not just the skill and grace of the dancers but the unique and meaningful use of recycled materials in their costumes and set design.

The famous Japanese ballet company, K-Ballet, recently showed their new production “Plastic”, which aims to raise awareness about the global plastic pollution crisis. The costumes worn by the dancers are made from used bubble wrap, the stage is surrounded by four massive walls constructed from recycled plastic bottles, and even the 100 umbrellas used in the performance were found abandoned in the streets of Tokyo.

The dancers, including guest star Julian MacKay, look like space-age creatures with hand-cleaned plastic bottles tied to their bodies as they dance on stage. MacKay, from the United States, notes that the issue of plastic waste “really hasn’t gotten that spotlight” in the dance world and believes that the performing arts can inspire people to take action.

The problem of plastic waste is a pressing one. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), plastic waste has doubled globally in the past 20 years, and only 9 percent of it is successfully recycled. The United Nations predicts that the volume of plastic entering the oceans will nearly triple (成为三倍) by 2040.

K-Ballet plans to keep its costumes and set design for at least a year with the hope of restaging the show and after that, the bottles will be recycled by Shirai, a waste management company. The chow’s experience and message moved audience members who attended the performance. Ayumi Kisaki, a 30-year-old actor, said, “It’s an issue I don’t usually think about. But these dancers highlighting the issue of plastic call me and all of us to find ways to recycle and reuse the plastic.”

1. How did K-Ballet draw the public’s attention to its “Plastic”?

A．By applying new equipment and set design.	B．By exhibiting new plastic products on the stage.
C．By creatively using recycled materials in dance.	D．y inviting American dance star Julian MacKay.

2. What can he inferred from Julian MacKay’s comment about “Plastic”?

A．It is the best art in the dance world.	B．It is a pressing show to the audience.
C．It will inspire more people to take up dancing.	D．It integrates art with environmental protection.

3. What’s the function of paragraph 4?

A．Introduce another topic of the text.	B．Add some background information.
C．Provide some advice for the readers.	D．Summarize the previous paragraphs.

4. What does Ayumi Kisaki think of the performance of “Plastic”?

A．Impressive.

B．Entertaining.

C．Depressing.

D．Logical.

5 . 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。

On 12th January 2007, an experiment     1     (conduct). About a thousand morning commuters (通勤者) passing through a subway station in Washington, D.C. were treated to a free mini-concert     2     (perform) by violinist Joshua Bell, who played for about 45 minutes on his Stradivarius violin. Bell reportedly paid 3.5 million dollars for the violin. However, only 7 people stopped and stayed to listen for a while. About 27 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected $52.17. When he finished     3     (play) and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any     4     (recognize). No one noticed that one of the best musicians in the world had played one of the most difficult pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

When some children would stop     5     (listen), their parents would grab them and quickly take them away. The experiment was     6     (clear) disappointing but raised some     7     (interest) questions such as “In an ordinary setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty be recognized by most people?” Three days earlier, in fact, Bell had played to a full house at Boston’s Symphony Hall,     8     tickets went for over $100.

This experiment gives way to a comparison of     9     public’s awareness of art in different settings.     10     pressure, it also reminds us of the challenge of adapting to surroundings. Furthermore, it makes us aware of how our intentions and expectations can influence our perception of worth.

6 . A new song by the famous band The Beatles has been released despite half of the band members no longer being alive, thanks to the help of AI.

The Beatles was a legendary British rock band that remained second to Elvis Presley from the 1960s. It was made up of four musicians—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The new song, titled Now and Then, is unique because it combined the singing of McCartney and Starr with Lennon, who passed away in 1980, and the guitar skills of Harrison, who passed away in 2001.

The song was initially written and partly recorded by Lennon in the late 1970s and further developed by band mates years later but as technology then was limited, they didn’t release it due to the sound quality not being satisfying.

Peter Jackson, most famous for directing The Lord of the Rings, directed the music video for Norw and Then and it can be watched now online. It was thanks to new Al audio restoration (音频修复) technology that Peter Jackson allowed the four band members to “come together” one last time.

Since its release last week, the song has been well received in the UK. Beatles fans around the world favoured this historic musical event.

”Now and Then is an absolutely heart-warming piece of work, “posted Liam Gallagher, whose hits were affected by The Beatles’ musical style.

Of course, there are those who are not totally interested in the song. ”Now and Then is not terrible. But honestly, it’s kind of boring, “Geoff Edgers wrote in The Washington Post.

The Times in the UK said the song showed Al being used to its best advantage.

1. Why was the song “Now and Then” not released at first?

A．The song was not completed.	B．The sound quality was not good enough.
C．The band members did not like the song.	D．The song was let out before its official release.

2. How did Peter Jackson contribute to the song?

A．He wrote and recorded the song.

B．He invented new audio restoration technology.

C．He restored the band members’ sound using AI.

D．He played the guitar on the recording.

3. What is the attitude of The Times towards the release of Now and Then?

A．Supportive.

B．Curious.

C．Unfavourable.

D．Unclear.

4. What is the best title of the text?

A．The Beatles Remains Second to Elvis Presley

B．Beatles Fans Welcome the New Song of The Beatles

C．Peter Jnckson Directed the Music Video for The Beatles

D．The Beatles Released a New Song with the Help of Al

8 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the woman mainly introducing?

A．Her first album.

B．Her life as a singer.

C．Her happy family.

2. How many albums does the woman have now?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Ten.

3. What do we know about the woman’s last album?

A．It was called By Myself.

B．It sold nearly 5 million copies.

C．It was the most popular in 20 countries.

4. What are the woman’s daughters?

A．Students.

B．Nurses.

C．Cooks.

9 . Like flavors of ice cream, people have different tastes and preferences for music. You need to map out your playlist based on the theme of your essay. Here are a few film scores for different themes, you can decide which is the best music for writing:

Nutmeg by Alexandre Desplat

Fear Will Find You by Hans Zimmer

The Station Inspector by Howard Shore

If you are a student writing a reflection paper about a movie your teacher asked you to watch, listening to its film score would get your creative juices flowing. Besides, you can even add what you feel about the music and its impact on the movie. So less work for you and more additional points on your paper.

Some would be happy to listen to anything while others are more specific. For example, there are people who would happily listen to any music while some are more particular and prefer classical music to jazz. If you are one of them, here are a few classical pieces you can listen to while writing:

Tambourin chinois, Op. 3 by Fritz Kreisler

The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a: VIII. Romance by Dmitri Shostakovich

The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The number one problem that writers complain about is writer’s block. Even if you are not a professional and just writing a 2000-word research paper, you can still experience writer’s block and not know how to get started. With that, here are a few songs to get you all pumped up to write:

Iron Maiden’s by The Trooper

Run Boy Run by Woodkid

Knights of Cydonia by Muse

If popular songs are not your thing, then you can just listen to famous scores from movies.

1. Which is classical music?

A．Nutmeg.	B．Run Boy Run.
C．Iron Maiden’s.	D．The Lark Ascending.

2. Whose work will you choose to get motivated with your writing?

A．Hans Zimmer.	B．Howard Shore.
C．Muse.	D．Fritz Kreisler.

3. What is the author’s advice for people who don’t like popular songs?

A．Listen to famous songs from movies.

B．Listen to songs recommended by others.

C．Listen to songs sung by famous singers.

D．Listen to songs created by famous artists.

10 .

Welcome to School Dance Club Are you tired of sitting too long? Do you want to be healthier? Join the School Dance Club and move your body! Choice of dances: folk, modern, pop, etc. Level of difficulty: Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Teachers: Helen White — 13 years of teaching experience — Graduated from International Master Dance School John Smith — First prize winner of “Dancers on Stage” for 4 years starting from 2016 Ken Power — Skilled in different kinds of dance, especially in “fusion (融合)” dance Who to join: Aged 12~15 If you would like to be one of us, please kindly fill in the form and send it to Maria Cooper’s office before 18th March.

1. How many levels of difficulty does the Dance Club offer?

A．1.

B．2.

C．3.

D．4.

2. Who can join the Dance Club?

A．Teachers with rich experience.	B．Teachers good at dancing.
C．Students aged 10.	D．Students aged 13.

3. The text is probably a ________.

A．poster

B．diary

C．poem

D．report