1 . Born and raised in Kunming in Yunnan province, Yin Jiongjie is the son of two musicians and grew up listening to music and watching music performances. His father bought lots of recordings and DVDs of world-renowned classical musicians and symphony orchestras to ensure that his only son had as much exposure to music as possible.
As a child, Yin learned to play the piano and the violin. Later, he gave up the latter and focused instead on the piano. Even then, he decided that he would become a conductor one day. “There can be over 100 musicians in an orchestra but there is only one conductor. The conductor is like the composer’s messenger, which is a magical experience,” he said.
When he was 14, Chen Lin and Chen Bing, two conductors from the Central Conservatory of Music came to Kunming to choose students. Yin’s father allowed him to perform for them. Standing on the stage of the theater at the Yunnan Arts University, Yin raised his baton (指挥棒) and demonstrated how he would conduct to a recording of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World. Ten months later, he moved to Beijing and enrolled at the Middle School Affiliated (附属) to the Central Conservatory of Music and later studied at the university under Chen Lin.
Since 2015, Yin has been chosen by the Central Conservatory of Music to participate in several master classes with conductors, among them South Korea’s Chung Myung-whun and Canada’s Yannick Nezet-Seguin. “There’s a huge gap between the training you receive in a conservatory and what is required of a professional conductor. The most basic thing is to build and expand my repertoire, and gain a deep understanding of each piece,” he says. “It is a skill that involves psychology, body language, knowledge of history, culture and music, and a sensitivity to everything that makes us human. And I have a long way to go.”
1. What can we learn about Yin Jiongjie from the first two paragraphs?| A．His father excels at classical music. | B．His father is a symphony conductor. |
| C．He kept playing the piano and violin. | D．He had a dream of being a conductor. |
| A．Visited. | B．Impressed. | C．Joined. | D．Applauded. |
| A．Better late than never. | B．Rome wasn’t built in a day. |
| C．The early bird catches the worm. | D．When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| A．Talented and generous. | B．Honest and trustworthy. |
| C．Determined and humorous. | D．Purposeful and hard-working. |
1. 活动介绍；
2. 活动反响以及你的感受。
注意：
1. 词数为80左右；
2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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1. What do we learn about the speaker’s mother?
| A．She made a lot of records. |
| B．She had a varied taste in music. |
| C．She once worked in the field of music. |
| A．Classical music. | B．Country music. | C．Dance music. |
| A．Her mom. | B．Her sister. | C．Her schoolmate. |
4 . On April 3, at 7:30 p.m., the Symphony (交响乐团) of Oak Park & River Forest will hold their sixth concert at Symphony Center on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. This event has been a long time coming. After 2010, the Symphony performed a concert at the Avenue every two years until 2020, when the concert was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, they finally decided that the time was right to reschedule.
The concert will have two parts: the world premiere (首次公演) of Alex Groesch’s Symphony No. 3 and Hector Berlioz’s Te Deum, which hasn’t been performed in Chicago since 1982. The whole performance will last about 90 minutes.
Alex Groesch’s piece was not part of the original 2020 program, but it was added to this spring’s concert. “Music director Jay Friedman had this idea to premiere Alex’s symphony. It turned out to be a shrewd move as it’s gotten a lot of interest. Alex is a young musical talent,” said David Leehey, the president of the Symphony board.
This is the second time one of Alex’s symphonies will be performed. Alex, 28, started working on this symphony about five years ago, and began taking it a lot more seriously last year. He also received guidance from Friedman. Alex described his work as being in the Romantic style, and said his goal is to bring out nostalgic (怀旧的) feelings in people.
The second piece, Te Deum, was originally composed for Napoleon III’ s coronation (加冕典礼) in 1852, but it was not actually performed until 1855. The idea for performing Te Deum came from Leehey. He performed it when he was 22 years old and the audience loved it. He said it’s more approachable to an audience that may not be that musical.
The excitement is growing, and the Symphony hopes the community will come out to support their performance at the Symphony Center in downtown Chicago.
1. Why is the upcoming concert so exciting?| A．It marks a long-awaited return. |
| B．It will feature two new symphonies. |
| C．It will be held in Chicago for the first time. |
| D．It is the longest performance in Chicago’ s history. |
| A．Rapid. | B．Wise. | C．Generous. | D．Unexpected. |
| A．It is his first symphony. |
| B．It was inspired by Friedman. |
| C．It aims to encourage people to work hard. |
| D．It was the outcome of years of effort. |
| A．It is his favorite musical piece. | B．It has long been popular in France. |
| C．It is easy for people to understand. | D．It will bring in a handsome profit. |
5 . Songs that make our hearts happy can make them stronger too, US researchers reported on Tuesday.
They found that when people listened to their favorite music, their blood vessels (血管) dilated in much the same way as when they are laughing, or taking blood medications (药物治疗).
“We have a pretty impressive effect,” said Dr Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology (心脏病学) at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
“Blood vessel diameter (直径) improved,” he said. “The vessel opened up pretty significantly. You can see the vessels opening up with other activities such as exercise.” A similar effect is seen with drugs such as statins (抑制素).
When blood vessels open up more, blood flows more smoothly and is less likely to form the clots (凝块) that cause heart attacks and strokes. “We are not saying to stop your statins or not to exercise but rather to add this to an overall program of heart health,” said Miller.
Miller’s team tested 10 healthy, non-smoking men and women, who were told to bring their favorite music. They spent half an hour listening to the recordings and half an hour listening to music they said made them feel anxious while the researchers did ultrasound (超声波) tests designed to show blood vessel function.
Compared to their normal baseline measurements, blood vessel diameter increased 26% on average when the volunteers heard their joyful music. Listening to music they disliked — in most cases in this group heavy metal-blood vessels narrowed by 6%, Miller said.
Miller said he came up with the idea after discovering that laughter caused blood to flow more smoothly. “I asked myself what other things make us feel good, besides calories from dark chocolate of course. Music came to mind. It makes me feel really good.” he said.
Most of the volunteers chose country music but Miller said the style is not so important as what pleases each individual.
1. The underlined word “dilate” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “________”.| A．widen | B．move | C．change | D．increase |
| A．Taking exercise. | B．Listening to unpleasant music. |
| C．Bursting into laughter. | D．Taking drugs like statins. |
| A．blood clots are caused by heart attacks and strokes |
| B．music is better than chocolate for your health |
| C．different music has different effects on different people |
| D．a person’s overall health is more influenced by how much exercise he gets |
| A．A travel journal. | B．A school textbook. |
| C．A medical brochure. | D．A local newspaper. |
6 . On a fresh May morning, with my guitar in tow, I ventured down the road to a busy restaurant. I was about to
As I reflect upon my childhood, I’m
I was 10 years old and our entire fourth grade was in
The broad road in front of the busy restaurant was filled with people. I pulled out my guitar. As I
| A．gather up | B．deal with | C．bring about | D．keep off |
| A．accused | B．comprised | C．informed | D．reminded |
| A．lighted | B．ignored | C．sustained | D．held |
| A．life | B．music | C．reading | D．sport |
| A．discovered | B．adjusted | C．stolen | D．expressed |
| A．preparation | B．support | C．store | D．exchange |
| A．provided | B．identified | C．equipped | D．entrusted |
| A．developed | B．paused | C．approached | D．evolved |
| A．vain | B．total | C．turn | D．public |
| A．composed | B．struck | C．heard | D．transferred |
| A．embarrass | B．enjoy | C．improve | D．enlighten |
| A．spread | B．released | C．followed | D．recalled |
| A．If | B．As | C．Because | D．Although |
| A．gratitude | B．honour | C．fulfillment | D．depression |
| A．liberated | B．prevented | C．protected | D．discouraged |
In ancient times, Quzhou, a city in the western part of Zhejiang province,
Quzhou, boasting a population of about 2.27 million, has become one of the most popular tour destinations for young Chinese this year, thanks to the
In March 2023, singer-songwriter Xue Zhiqian held two concerts at the Quzhou Sports Center, which was designed by architect Ma Yansong
The nation's booming performing arts scene has also helped promote tourism, a report
Since March, Quzhou
1. Where does the conversation take place?
| A．At a studio. |
| B．At a concert hall. |
| C．At a radio station. |
| A．Sing his song. |
| B．Write a new song. |
| C．Listen to some singers. |
Learning to play
Learning to play an instrument isn’t easy at the beginning and
A lot of adults regret not having learnt to play an instrument when they
10 . How Arts Promote Our Economy
When most people think of the arts, they imagine the end product, the beautiful painting, a wonderful piece of music, or an award-winning performance in the theater.
The arts create jobs that help develop the economy. Any given performance takes a tour bus full of artists, technical experts, musicians, or writers to create an appealing piece of art. These people can earn a living wage for their professional knowledge and skills.
Arts contribute to cultural development.
| A．Another group is needed to help market the event. |
| B．Above analysis in mind, you needn’t worry about your career and have an alternative plan. |
| C．The arts boost the development of economy throughout a community despite the side effects. |
| D．In fact, arts groups bring broader value to our communities, especially in economy |
| E．A successful arts neighborhood creates a series of effects throughout a community. |
| F．Artists and audience are all from diverse backgrounds. |
| G．Culture binds together not only hearts and souls, but the entire society |
