1 . Aesha Ash is a ballet dancer who began The Swan Dreams Project in 2011. It is a program designed to bring ballet to girls of color in her community. Aesha Ash is one of the few women of color to ever grace the stages of the School of American Ballet in New York City. She wants to expose her community to more positive images of women of color through the use of ballet. She wants to show the world that beauty and grace are not defined by status or race.

Aesha grew up in the inner city of Rochester, New York, where crime, gun violence and poverty were among the biggest threats to the community. For her, that’s normal. That’s just life in the neighborhood, but what she remembers most is the dance studio. She started dancing at the age of five. A teacher mentioned to her mother that she had some promise in ballet, and that it would be difficult for her, as a woman of color, to enter the ballet world. But the hardship she faced was the very thing that pushed her to pursue a career in ballet.

And there’s so much negative stereotypes (刻板印象) and misunderstanding of who they are in the media. Through the use of imagery and her career as a ballet dancer, she challenges stereotypes that exist for women of color, particularly those from inner-city communities.

“It’s important that our girls see that side of themselves because for many kids it’s hard to be what you can’t see. I hadn’t seen a black ballet dancer before I decided that was what I wanted to be. It was really important for me to be in my environment displaying that because this is where I’m from. It was always beyond ballet,” Aesha Ash stated.

1. Why did Aesha start The Swan Dreams Project?

A．To promote the images of females of color by ballet.

B．To expose her community to a world of women of color.

C．To grace the stages of the School of American Ballet.

D．To show the world that beauty and grace are defined by status.

2. Which of the following best describes the community she grew up in?

A．Comfortable.

B．Ancient.

C．Peaceful.

D．Unsafe.

3. What can’t we know from the passage?

A．Aesha had a gift for ballet according to her teacher.

B．The hardship Aesha faced was the color of her skin.

C．Acsha wanted to be a ballet dancer because of a woman dancer of color.

D．It is not easy to change the stereotypes that exist for women of color.

4. What is the main idea of the text?

A．A teacher provides chances for girls of color.	B．A woman brings ballet to the girls of color.
C．Ballet changes the life of a woman of color.	D．A woman has changed the negative stereotypes.

2 . How similar are language and music?

Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.     1     Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.

Both language and music have a writing system.

In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. Similarly, we use notes (音符) to keep a record of music. Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music.     2     By writing pieces of text or music, we are able to share experiences through time. We can read the ideas or hear the composition (作品) of someone who lived hundreds of years ago.

    3    

You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language he uses. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.

Both share emotion.

    4     Of course you may be able to see it in my face, but you will know for sure through my words. Similarly, music can sound angry, sad or happy. Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling, and allows us to share that emotion. When you feel happy, you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness.     5     I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions, often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics (歌词).

A．Both are expressive.

B．Both vary with culture.

C．How do you know that I am angry?

D．We use language to express our thoughts.

E．Similarly, music is part of many people’s lives.

F．So just as you read English, you can read music.

G．In contrast, you probably also listen to sad music when you are feeling down.

3 . Since the age of three, Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school _________ was in a car accident that left her paralyzed(瘫痪)from the waist down. For most people, that would have ended any _________ of a dancing career. For Hill, it was the beginning. She wanted to prove that she was still ‘_________’. So Hill danced in her wheelchair right alongside her nondisabled high school dance team. It _________ took a lot of learning and patience.

After graduation, Hill met people online who had suffered various spinal cord(脊髓) injuries but shared her _________ , and she invited them to dance with her. Hoping to reach more people in a larger city, Hill moved to Los Angeles in 2014 and _________ a team of dancers with disabilities called the Rollettes. “I want to _________ the stereotype(刻板印象) of wheelchair users and show that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or you’re _________ ,” she told CBS News.

Dancing on _________, the Rollettes discovered, can be just as fast, artful as the foot-based people. Hill has achieved her childhood __________. Every year she holds a dance camp for wheelchair users of all ages and abilities. In 2019, 173 people from ten countries __________. For many, it was the first time they’d felt they __________. “I had a girl say it was the most empowering thing when she rolled into a room and everyone was at __________ level,” Hill told CBS News. Edna Serrano says that being part of the Rollettes team has given her the __________ to get behind the wheel of a car. “I didn’t know I could do so many things that these girls have taught me,” she says. “It’s so __________ to have my teammates in my life, because they’re my teachers. I have more confidence.”

1.

A．teacher

B．senior

C．pupil

D．worker

2.

A．talk

B．season

C．hope

D．beauty

3.

A．lovely

B．right

C．pretty

D．normal

4.

A．surely

B．instantly

C．exactly

D．only

5.

A．knowledge

B．worry

C．pain

D．determination

6.

A．chose

B．formed

C．supported

D．played

7.

A．send up

B．give away

C．break down

D．break off

8.

A．rolling

B．running

C．lying

D．jumping

9.

A．buses

B．streets

C．floors

D．wheels

10.

A．memory

B．dream

C．illness

D．event

11.

A．attended

B．rushed

C．signed

D．moved

12.

A．touched

B．interested

C．relaxed

D．belonged

13.

A．shoulder

B．eye

C．mouth

D．foot

14.

A．plan

B．ability

C．courage

D．condition

15.

A．powerful

B．mysterious

C．stressful

D．natural

4 . 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.

Wandering sounds, irregular rhythms and a carrier of gentle emotions define the musical language of guqin, a seven string instrument created in ancient China.

The earliest piece of guqin in China,     1     (discover) in Hubei province in 2016, dates back to the Zhou Dynasty. The body of a guqin is made of lacquered (上漆的) wood and the strings of twisted silk. Unlike its seemingly simple appearance, making a guqin is    2    (extreme) demanding. An outstanding piece can take anywhere from two to several decades    3    (create). It is a result of art and time.

The tone of a guqin is quiet, light and    4    (distance). Vibrations (琴弦振动) are used to produce a flowing and lingering (持续的) quality,    5    abundant empty notes in between. As the listener fills in the gaps in their own minds, a connection is formed between music and man.

The guqin     6    (favor) by the scholars in ancient China. The most well-known guqin musician was Yu Boya in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. As he played his guqin in the mountains, a woodcutter named Zhong Ziqi heard the music and understood exactly    7    Yu wanted to express. This deep understanding formed     8    strong bond between them, and they became close friends. This is the famous tale behind the guqin masterpiece, Flowing Water, High Mountains. The piece has been passed down through     9    (generation) and is considered one of the most famous and important compositions in Chinese guqin music.

This graceful dialogue, flowing from brushed fingertips and    10    (travel) for thousands of years, is continuing to this day.

5 . Should you listen to music when you work? Some will say they love it, claiming that it improves their performance; others will say they cannot work effectively with music playing in the background.     1     It just depends on what sort of work you’re doing.

In a recent study, we brought participants into our lab with a variety of tasks. They included an easy task — searching through word lists and crossing out words containing the letter “a” and a more difficult task — memorizing word pairs and recalling the partner to each word. Some participants completed all of the tasks in silence, whereas others completed the tasks with instrumental music that was either loud or soft, and either simple or complex, the latter meaning music with more instrumental tracks.     2    

We found that participants who listened to simple music or no music performed about the same on the easy task.     3     Contrarily, participants performed worse on the more difficult task when they listened to any music, regardless of complexity or volume, compared to those who didn’t listen to any music.

    4     Not surprisingly, we typically need to use fewer of our mental resources when we perform easy tasks, whereas demanding tasks require more brainpower. However, because we might be less engaged during easier tasks, there’s a greater risk of drifting off to sleep. Music might give us the extra boost we need to get refreshed.     5     Listening to music can become overkill (过犹不及). So we have to strike a balance between the type of music and the type of task.

A．What should we make of these findings?

B．Several key findings emerged from our study.

C．However, difficult tasks already demand a lot of our mental resources.

D．Our research has found that the effects of work may depend on our personalities.

E．We want to develop a more comprehensive framework that could be applied broader.

F．However, participants who listened to complex music performed best on the easy task.

G．Interestingly enough, our research has found that both of these perspectives can be true.

6 . As the saying goes, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Music is very important in our lives and here are four of the greatest musicians in history.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Born in Bonn, Germany, Beethoven never held an official position in Vienna. He supported himself by giving concerts, teaching piano, and the sale of his compositions. The last 30 years of Beethoven’s life were filled with a lot of hard times, the first of which was his deafness. Beethoven’s music greatly influenced the next generation of musicians.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach, “the father of modern music”, was born in Eisenach, Germany. His parents died when he was nine years old, and in 1695 he went to live with his brother Johann Christoph, who was an organist (风琴手) in Ohrdruf. He stayed there until 1700. Seven years later, he moved back to Weimar, where he served as court (宫廷) organist for nine years. His music greatly influenced classical music.

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland. He showed a talent for the piano at a very young age. Chopin began composing when he was still a child, but some of his early works have been lost. He gave his first public concert in 1818. Chopin was considered as the leading musician of his time.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Schubert was born and died in Vienna. Unlike most of his predecessors (前辈), Schubert was not a great performer. He never had much money but he was very productive. He wrote his first masterpiece when he was only sixteen. However, he died young, before his talents had even been known.

1. Where was Beethoven born?

A．In Vienna.

B．In America.

C．In Germany.

D．In Poland.

2. Who is called “the father of modern music”?

A．Bach.

B．Beethoven.

C．Schubert.

D．Chopin.

3. When did Chopin give his first public concert?

A．In 1707.

B．In 1818.

C．In 1810.

D．In 1828.

7 . 读后续写

There was a girl named Emily. Although her singing was pleasant to hear, lacking of courage, she never sings in front of strangers.

One summer, the neighborhood would hold a singing competition. Her best friend, Lucy, came to invite her to participate in the competition, but Emily said, “I’m afraid to take part in it.” Her mother said, “It’s okay; just do it bravely.” Emily followed her mom’s ad vice and decided to have a try. The day came. Emily and Lucy went to the competition site. But she was too timid (胆小的) to walk onto the stage. She had been waiting until others finished singing. She shakily forced herself to stand on the stage. She started to sing, but her voice was so low. What’s worse, she was so nervous that she forgot the lyrics (歌词) after singing a few words. Being laughed at by others, embarrassed and shy, she ran away from the stage.

Some boys ran after her and said, “Emily, coward (胆小鬼)! Emily, coward!” Emily didn’t argue with them. What she wanted was to go back home as quickly as she could. Finally, she rushed into the house, hugged her mom and cried sadly.

“Well, my poor girl, don’t cry. Tell me what happened to you,” asked her mom. Emily told her mother what she had experienced.

Listening to her, her mom cupped her face and said, “It doesn’t matter, girl. As long as you practice singing more in front of strangers, you will become braver little by little. So, my girl, don’t be beaten by a failure. You can go out to practice singing every day. No matter who is listening to you, go on singing and never stop. I believe there will be a harvest for you.”

注意：1. 续写的短文词数应为100 左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Emily listened to her mother carefully and followed her mom’s suggestion.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Going on singing, she walked into the park.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8 . How similar are language and music?

Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.     1     Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.

Both language and music have a writing system.

Both language and music have their own systems of notation. Language uses alphabets to represent sounds and create meaning.     2     By reading and writing in these systems, we can communicate and preserve ideas and compositions through time.

    3    

Listening to the language someone speaks can provide valuable clues about their geographical origin. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.

Both share emotion.

    4     While you may be able to perceive it through my facial expressions, you can judge it with certainty through my words. Similarly, music has the ability to convey emotions such as anger, sadness, or happiness through its sound. Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling, and allows us to share that emotion. When you feel happy, you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness.     5     I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions, often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics (歌词).

A．Both are expressive.

B．Both vary with culture.

C．How do you know that I am annoyed?

D．Similarly, music is part of many people’s lives.

E．Equally, music uses notes to represent pitches and rhythms.

F．We use language to express our thoughts.

G．In contrast, you probably also listen to sad music when you are feeling down.