1 . Two musicians from Germany are using robotic equipment to add sounds to their performances. The two-man band performs with a robot that can play several musical instruments at the same time. The robot can sound like a guitar, keyboard, drum or other instruments. When performing, members of the band provide many of the sounds, but others are controlled by a computer. Once connected to wires and set up, instruments can play on their own.

One of the instruments was created from a long, self-turning wooden stick that sits on top of a microphone stand（支架）.The stick contains long strings. They are tied on each end. The strings are connected to a small wooden ball. As the stick tums, the ball hits a block on the floor, creating a sound. The two-man band, called Joasihno, recently performed at the South by Southwest Conference and Music Festival in Austin, Texas. They describe their electronic sounds as “psychedelic（迷幻的）machine” music. “Actually, we call it a psychedelic robot group, ”said Cico Beck, one of the creators of the group.

The group’s other member, Nico Siereg, says playing in an experimental band with robots is not the same as playing in a traditional one. “It’s a little bit different because you also have in mind that there are machines playing around you,   but there’s no reaction from them, ” he said. But Siereg said that in some ways, the robots actually help him improve his performance. Since the self-playing instruments are programmed, he sometimes feels freer to focus on what he is playing, and at times to even play without preparation.

The musician says he can imagine similar technology having a greater influence on many different kinds of music in the future. “Technology is like a very important tool and it’s very often a very important part of inspiration, ” he said. But he also expressed hope that "real music won’t die.

In addition to performing recently in Texas, Joashihno has been busy putting on shows in Europe and in Canada. The band hopes its high-tech music “experiment” will keep reaching new people and pleasing the ears of its fans.

1. According to the first paragraph,   what can we know about the robotic equipment?

A．It is operated by a wooden stick.

B．It is controlled to make music.

C．It functions as musical instruments.

D．It is actually a set of wires connecting computers.

2. What does Nico Siereg think of playing music with robots?

A．It is better than playing with human beings.

B．It is just a pity that the robots cannot respond to him.

C．It has a negative effect on his performance because robots distract him.

D．It is strange for him to have some machines playing around him.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Robots will replace musical instruments.

B．This new style of performance has become popular around the world.

C．One member of the band doesn’t think playing with robots is real music.

D．The machines are programmed to create many sounds.

4. What is the best title for the passage?

A．Real Music Won’t Die	B．Adding New Blood
C．High Technology Is Applied to Music	D．Robots Will Wipe Out Human Beings

2 . Many kids start humming tunes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as their first songs, but Nygel Witherspoon was an exception. He preferred Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto in D Minor.

So when Nygel Witherspoon began to hum the very difficult concerto(协奏曲), his family guessed that he should have music lessons. He was, however, just 3 years old.

“He was calm, with an ability to focus.” recalled David Holmes, Witherspoon’s cello(大提琴) teacher from age 3 to l6.

Witherspoon is a familiar name in his hometown. He has inherited his talent from both sides of his family, including his aunt, the late jazz vocalist Shirley Witherspoon.

The 17-year-old doesn’t see himself as competitive. “I think it’s more important for students to have a supportive environment than a competitive one;” he said. “It’s great to have a support system, where you can be yourself and improve right along with others doing the same thing.”

Witherspoon’s love of music blossomed as he attended viola(中提琴) lessons with older siblings. Their teacher, David France, noticed that the little boy was a sponge(海绵).

“He’d absorb everything they did.” France said. Witherspoon was given a box violin, but he wanted to play “the big one”— the cello. He loved its size and tone. That’s when he was matched with his teacher Holmes.

Witherspoon’s drive is inspired by the connection music provides. He recalled that he and his siblings performed as a chambertrio(室内乐三重奏) at their grandmother’s nursing home. The positive reaction from residents gave him motivation.

“It’s so important, whether it’s hip-hop or classical,” he said. “Music is the universal language. It connects all of us.”

1. How was Witherspoon different from other kids when he was 3?

A．He began to teach himself music.

B．He was able to hum very difficult tunes

C．He had already made up his mind to learn violin

D．He could already play the songs he’d heard.

2. What does Witherspoon think is important for music learners?

A．Practicing hard.

B．Being very competitive.

C．Being in a supportive environment.

D．Having a good teacher from an early age.

3. What is France’s impression of Witherspoon?

A．He is a fast learner.	B．He is a creative player.
C．He works very hard.	D．He is open-minded.

4. What is the main purpose of the last two Paragraphs?

A．To compare Witherspoon’s performance with his siblings.

B．To show that motivation plays a big role in music studies.

C．To stress that music connects people.

D．To show how studying music helped Witherspoon overcome difficulties.

3 . Listening to music is considered a good thing for adults. Indeed it is. Scientific studies have proved it. Music has so many good effects on our body, mind and mood that this world will certainly not be a good place without music. Then, is music good for children? Some parents think so and let their children learn or listen to music. But some parents don't know the importance of music to children. Here are some reasons why music is important to children.

First, music is good for children’s intelligence. Studies have proved that children who learn music are likely to have higher intelligence than those who have no interest in or dislike music. This is because the brain gets stimulated (刺激) by the rhythm and tone of music.

Music also has soothing (抚慰的) effect on children and helps remove their stress. Today’s children are under a lot of stress from schoolwork. Being under too much stress impairs children’s health. Luckily，listening to music can help them feel better.

Music can improve children’s moods. Some children are sad by nature. They seem to be lost in their own thoughts and don’t take interest in their surroundings. In such cases，a method known as “music therapy” comes to their rescue. It changes their moods and places a new kind of spirit in them.

Music is also a universal language that children ought to learn. Our world has become a global village. People are getting more and more interested in other cultures and countries. Music can help them in understanding foreign cultures.

Now we can say that music is very important not only to adults but also to children. So children should be encouraged to learn music or listen to music.

1. By mentioning scientific studies in Paragraph 1, the author wants to show       .

A．Children should listen to music

B．Why adults should listen to music

C．Listening to music is only good for adults

D．Why scientists are interested in music

2. What does the underlined word “impairs” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．shows.	B．changes.
C．improves.	D．harms.

3. The last but second paragraph shows that listening to music means       .

A．Understanding foreign cultures better

B．Learning languages better

C．Accepting the fast developing world easily

D．Showing greater interest in other cultures

4. What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Why do Children Love Music?

B．How to Choose Music for Children

C．Why is Music Important to Children?

D．How to Teach Children Music Easily

4 . Music is often targeted at teenagers. Because teenagers go through big changes and start making life-affecting decisions in their teens, people naturally wonder what effects music has on teenagers. Does it lead to violence? Help test scores? Teach them valuable lessons?     1    

Music can help students improve academic performance. Studying music involves math and science, so students often improve in these areas.     2    According to a report, students who took part in music performance scored 41 points higher in math than those who did not take part in music performance.

Being a teenager can be rough emotionally. Music is an especially emotional art form covering every type of emotion.     3     As music is a way to express emotions, many teenagers might try to make their own music, which can create healthy emotional expression.

    4     Thus, listening to music can teach teenagers a lot about their own culture and other cultures. They can learn musical traditions, musical instruments, history lessons and more. Plus, as listening to music is a fun activity, this can often be a more interesting way to learn about a culture, rather than simply reading a textbook.

Music tastes and interests can often bring people together, especially teenagers.     5     As well, music is often enjoyed at concerts and dance clubs where teenagers often hang out. Typically, the people attending these concerts and dance clubs already share a common interest, so a connection can be easily made.

A．Music is often related with culture.

B．This improvement can benefit them in tests.

C．Music greatly improves teenagers,learning abilities.

D．While there are negative effects, there are many positive effects, too.

E．If they can find a song that matches their mood, they will feel comfortable.

F．Rap music presents a new vocabulary teenagers won't learn in an English class

G．Two teenagers who like the same style of music are easily to start up a friendship.

5 . Top Music Festivals

Festival season is just kicking off, and there is a lot to look forward to in the upcoming months.

Firefly Music Festival

Many people haven’t thought of going to Delaware for a summer vacation, but mid-June is a great time to plan this trip if you love music. Headliners for this year’s show are The Weekend, Muse, Twenty-One Pilots, Chance the Rapper, and Bob Dylan.

Date: June 15—18，2017

Location: Dover, Delaware, USA

Music Type: Rock

Price: $79—$2,499

Roskilde Festival

This Denmark music festival has been a local tradition since 1971. There will be nine stages for this year’s events to host groups like the Foo Fighters, Blink 182, and The Lumineers. What’s interesting about this festival is that in addition to the big headliners, you can also get to know up-and-coming regional artists from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

Date: June 24—July 1, 2017

Location: Roskilde, Denmark

Music Type: Rock, emerging regional artists

Price: DKK 995—DKK 1,995 (around $144—$289)

Secret Solstice

With long, dark, and cold winters, nobody celebrates summer quite like Icelanders. To see for yourself, plan a trip to Iceland this June to check out the Secret Solstice festival. Not only will you enjoy seeing bands like Radiohead and Afrika Bambaataa, but you can also experience the other-worldly landscapes and geothermal(地热的) springs nearby as well.

Date: June 15—18, 2017

Location: Reykjavik Iceland

Music Type: Eclectic, Indie

Price: €149— €1,599 (around $160—$1, 725)

Montreal Jazz Festival

All jazz lovers owe it to themselves to check out the Montreal Jazz Festival at least once in a lifetime. This event brings together some of the best names in jazz music, as well as diverse R&B, funk(骤停打击乐), and soul artists.

Date: June 28—July 8, 2017

Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Music Type: Jazz, R&B, Soul, Funk

Price: $27.25—$210.25

1. What is common to the music festivals mentioned in the text?

A．They are held in Europe.	B．Their music types are rock and hip-hop.
C．They are given in the open air.	D．They take place in summer.

2. What can we infer about Delaware from the text?

A．It is the city of music.	B．It is not a summer destination.
C．It is the home of Bob Dylan.	D．It is a city of high expense.

3. What is the purpose of Icelanders to hold the Secret Solstice festival?

A．To welcome summer.	B．To memorize the past winter.
C．To celebrate the coming of spring.	D．To advise the local beautiful landscapes.

6 . ▲Sunday Cushion Concerts
Times: 10 am.&11am.
Tickets: $5 per person

The regular Sunday Cushion Concerts introduce children and their families to different instruments and styles of music. Bring your own cushions and secure places by booking in advance! Tickets are available to book over the phone 01865 325325.

▲Christmas Show: The Elves (精灵) and the Shoemaker
17-22 December 2019
Tickets: $7 per person

A poor shoemaker is down on his luck, but as Christmas draws close, a simple act of kindness inspires some magical elves to offer their services. Their amazing shoes attract customers from far and wide, earning the shoemaker fame and fortune! But how will he ever repay them?

This classic story is brought to life for 3- to 7-year-olds and their families. Please book in advance to secure places! For other details, call us at 01865 325331.

▲Moving Music
Michaelmas Term Concert: 6 October 2019
Times: 11:30am & 2pm
Tickets: $5 per person

Please reserve your places in advance, and pay on the door.

This series of concerts is designed especially for people living with dementia(痴呆), and their families, friends, and carers, to enable them to enjoy a concert experience together and to help unlock memory and movement through the power of music. Concerts are held approximately every three months.

For more details or to arrange access for transport: Phone 01865 286660.

▲Turtle Key Opera
Friday mornings in Trinity Term: April-June 2019

Turtle Song is FREE to all participants. To sign up or for more information contact Turtle Key Arts on 01865 525265.

Turtle Song is an opportunity to compose and sing your own songs with professional musicians. The group will meet weekly over a nine-week period between April and June 2019. The aims are to help people with all forms of dementia and people with memory problems.

1. Which event should you choose if you want your kid to learn about different styles of music?

A．Moving Music.

B．Turtle Key Opera.

C．Sunday Cushion Concerts.

D．Christmas Show: The Elves and the Shoemaker.

2. Which number should you call if your 4-year-old girl likes magical stories?

A．01865 325325.	B．01865 325331.
C．01865 286660.	D．01865 525265.

3. What’s the similarity between the last two events?

A．They are both free of charge.

B．They are both held every three months.

C．They both benefit people with dementia.

D．They both allow people to sing their own songs.

7 . Country music is one of the most popular kinds of music in the United States today because it is about simple but strong human feelings and events-love, sadness, good times, and bad times. It tells real-life stories and sounds the way people really talk. As life becomes more complicated(复杂), it is good to hear music about ordinary people.

Country music, sometimes called country-western, comes from two kinds of music. One is the traditional music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern Unite States. The other is traditional cowboy music from the west. The singers usually play guitars, and in the 1920s they started using electric guitars. At first city people said country music was low class. It was popular mostly in the South. But during World War II, thousands of Southerners went to the Northeast and Midwest to work in the factories. They took their music with them. Soldiers from the rest of the country went to army camps（军营）in the South. They learned country music. Slowly it became popular all over the country.

Today country music is also popular everywhere in the United States and Canada—in small towns and in New York City, among black and white, and among educated and uneducated people. About 1, 200 radio stations broadcast country music twenty-four hours a day. English stars sing it in British English, and people in other countries sing it in their own languages. The music that started with cowboys and poor southerners is now popular all over the world.

1. It can be learned from the passage that country music comes from_________-

A．the Northeast and Midwest

B．factories and army camps in the South

C．the Appalachian Mountains and the West

D．real-life stories in small towns

2. Before World War II country music was popular mainly in________.

A．the south	B．the north
C．the Midwest	D．the Northeast

3. During World War II many Southerners went to the Northeast and the Mid-west   because____.

A．they wanted to take music with them

B．they wanted to make other people like country music

C．they wanted to work in the factories there

D．they wanted to make country music popular

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Country music is about human feelings and events.

B．Country music is sung by stars all in English.

C．Country music is popular among city people today.

D．City people didn’t like country music at first.

8 . Why doesn’t the conductor face the audience?    1    As the only person with his back to the audience, the conductor is a figure who is bathed in the spotlight, but his complex work requires a high degree of musical skill, as well as an ability to extract what he desires out of the group of artists he leads--his orchestra.

    2    A person may become a conductor without graduating from the conducting department of a music school or studying in any kind of conductor’s training program. However, becoming the conductor of a famous orchestra requires a great deal more than what is needed merely to join an orchestra.

    3    These naturally examine a conductor’s technique and musical interpretation while he conducts an orchestra through a prepared piece of music, but they also involve a sight-reading element.    4    The conductor then has to sit in a room and memorize the piece before coming out and leading the orchestra through the piece by memory. Not only does the conductor have to make his arm and hand motion properly, and signal all the entrances of each instrument, he has to point out intentional mistakes made by the orchestra members on the spot.

The least capabilities a conductor must have are: The ability to memorize an entire score. A good ear for distinguishing correct notes among the music of the entire orchestra.    5    

Of the conductors that meet these requirements, those with better musical insight and a higher level of charisma(魅力) will succeed.

A．The need for a common musical standard becomes necessary

B．The ability to lead a group of professional musicians

C．There are many conducting competitions

D．For this, the score of music is given to the conductor on site

E．This is how the role of the conductor came to be established

F．The role of the conductor is in fact not well understood

G．There are no examinations for becoming a conductor

9 . 假如你是李华，欲与本校另外四名同学组建一支乐队，但缺乏经验，请就以下情况或问题给知名音乐人卡曾斯（Cousins）先生发一封电子邮件以寻求帮助。
1.成员中有三名男生和两名女生，均喜欢流行音乐与现代舞蹈。
2.每周只在周末排练，时间是否足够？初期演奏宜多元化还是一种风格？
3.怎样获得较多的表演机会？
4.希望他能为乐队起个名字。
Dear Mr.Cousins,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua

10 . Music is often thought of as “easy” or “play time”,but it's not that at all.Music plays a very important part in our education.Students who learn music learn a lot of music history at school.This includes “modes（调式）”,which were used in churches during the development of music.They are still used today.Students learn about the historical events that were taking place when the music they play was written.They learn what the music was used for.So much of our culture is in music and has been for centuries.Music also helps with science.Students use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn't.Students also need science to understand something called the “overtone series”,which is about how music is produced by vibration（颤动）and why.Students learn a lot about languages.Many songs are written in other languages,including ancient ones.Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about.Some songs are famous poems or short works set to music.Students learn a huge amount of coordination（协调）through music,so parts of the body can work better together.Students must use fine motor skills in order to play an instrument.Singers and players must learn breath control and be in good shape to play.

Students learn about art.Some famous pieces were written about important works of art,and students learn about the artists and styles as they're playing the music.Music education also brings higher thinking to our children.It allows them to think about complex patterns (How can I make my part sound better?How do this music and these different parts fit together?).Students have to know absolutely what every other musician does at all times.In that way,it develops teamwork.As one can see,music is very important to education besides bringing us fun.

1. Learning music is helpful to the following subjects EXCEPT________.

A．science	B．language
C．politics	D．history

2. Students who learn music have to translate songs________.

A．because they are learning the language

B．because they must understand what they are singing about

C．because the songs are ancient ones

D．because they are famous poems

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Modes are still used in modern music.

B．Different kinds of music show different cultures.

C．It's easier for athletes to learn to play an instrument.

D．A good musician should know the importance of teamwork.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The importance of music.

B．The importance of music education.

C．Ways to learn music well.

D．Skills music students should have.