2 . A Country Music Song Changed Her Life Forever

When Sarah was a teenager, she used to fight over almost everything with her family. But five years ago, while she was studying abroad in England,     1    . It made Sarah think about her family and friends back in the US. She came to realize how much she actually missed all of them. Ever since then, she has been a fan of American country music.

    2    . Nashville, Tennessee is the home of country music. Many songs these days are just about modern life in the US, such as the importance of money and success, but not about belonging to a group. However, country music brings us back to the “good old days” when people were kind to each other and trusted one another. It reminds us that the best things in life are free -     3    .

Sarah hasn’t been to Nashville yet,     4    . She has already read a lot about the place and done some research on it. She knows that there is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. There are also always a lot of great country music concerts with famous musicians and singers, like Garth Brooks.    5    . “Garth is one of the most successful musicians in American history. He’s sold more than 120 million records. I hope to see him sing live one day!”

During my teenage years, I developed a deep love for ballet (芭蕾). I would volunteer at a local dance school     1     was next to my home. It was a great chance for me to be part of the dance community.

One day, there was a debate about the preferred style of ballet among the teachers. Some preferred the traditional ballet, while others     2     (be) more interested in exploring modern movements. I found the content of     3     (they) discussions interesting.

In order to contribute to the dance world, I decided to open my own ballet school and make it     4     (attract). I worked hard to clean up     5     old building and turn it into a beautiful studio (工作室). The greenhouse nearby provided a perfect space for practice and warm-up exercises.

Creating a suitable environment for learning and dancing was important to me. I wanted my students to feel interested.     6     (actual), one of my main challenges was coming up with creative ideas for each class. I wanted each topic to ignite (激发) curiosity and     7     (excite).

I was excited when my first group of freshman     8     (dancer) joined the school. It was easy for them     9     (mix) up the dance steps at first, but with practice, they became more fluent in the movements     10     before.

4 . Have you ever noticed that some songs start with a “one, two, three, four”? You can hear it in songs by artists as different as The Beatles, OutKast, and Taylor Swift. But why are they counting? The counting you hear is a small clue to a big fact—math is behind almost everything in music! Let’s WONDER together!

First, let’s start with “counting in.” Musicians will often count to make sure that they all start the song at the same time. Once they start together, everyone has to stay on the same beat. Every song has a steady beat. One of the first ways that young children can start to learn math ideas is by learning how to make a steady beat!

A steady beat is one kind of pattern. Other patterns in music relate to math, too. We can see patterns in how far apart notes are from each other. Sometimes we play more than one note at a time.

Musicians also need numbers to understand how to play music. If you look at written music, you will see two numbers on the left side. Often, the numbers are 4/4. This is called the time signature. The top number of it tells the musician how many beats are in each part of the line of music. The second number tells us what type of note gets one beat. The “4” on the bottom lets us know that a quarter note gets one beat.

It is clear that music is good for our brains, whether or not it makes us better at math. Playing music uses several parts of your brain at the same time. Musicians need to use their brains to see the music, hear the notes, and touch the instrument in just the right ways to make sounds!

These are just a few of the ways that music and math are related. As you learn more about music and math, you'll see more connections!

8 . An orchestra is attempting to bring people living with dementia (痴呆) back into the present. The work being done by Manchester Camerata has never been more important, given that there are about 900,000 people with the condition in the UK, a number that is predicted to nearly double by 2040.

People with dementia often find listening to music can reignite old memories from long ago. Much more overlooked, though, is the impact that making music can have on the present. While some with dementia can often feel trapped in the past, some researchers believe the act of creating music—as well as listening to it—can help to reconnect then to the here and now.

A new BBC documentary—Dementia, Music and Us—follows the work of Manchester Camerata and its principal flautist (长笛手) Amina Hussain. who, also a professional music therapist, leads classes across the north-west of England that have been described as life-changing. Classes for the community consist of improvisation (即兴创作), singing, and writing their own music.

Keith, 62, was diagnosed with dementia when he was 53. Like many, he really struggled to come to terms with his new reality. He found the sessions to be genuinely life-changing. “I think the thing that saved us was the first ever music group we went to because from that group it opened other groups up for us.” he said. “The workshops make you smile, enjoy life and it just brings the best out of you.”

Researcher Dr Dowlen is seeking to better understand the “in the moment” benefits of music-making for people with dementia. She believes the improvisational music workshop experience allows people to “create something that is held now in the moment.” She added, “Improvisational music-making is particularly important for people with dementia, especially when it comes to building their confidence and their self-esteem.”

10 . Last Friday, a robot called EveR6 led an orchestra (管弦乐队) in a performance of Korean music at the National Theater of Korea. EveR 6 is about as tall as a person, and has a human-like face that can show emotions. Its joints (关节) allow it to move its arms quickly and smoothly in many different directions.

But EveR 6 doesn’t think on its own like some advanced Artificial Intelligence programs. Instead, it has a limited group of movements that it has been trained to perform. To make these movements as natural as possible, EveR 6’s movements are based on those captured from real human conductors.

In Friday’s performance, the National Orchestra of Korea presented a concert titled “Absence”. The concert included five different pieces of music. Two were conducted by EveR 6, and two were conducted by Soo-Yeoul Choi, who leads the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. Both conductors worked together on the final piece.

Mr. Choi was impressed with the way EveR 6 moved. “The robot was able to present such detailed moves much better than I had imagined,” he said.

But Mr. Choi added that the robot’s biggest weakness is that it can’t hear. “Some people think that conducting is just a combination of hand waving and keeping the beat,” said Mr. Choi. “But a good conductor needs to listen to the orchestra, so that he or she can correct and encourage the orchestra as it plays.”

Mr. Choi and EveR 6 both conducted a piece of music called “Sense”. Instead of musical notes, EveR 6 had instructions for how to play the piece. The conductors and musicians had to work together to create the music. Mr. Choi communicated with the musicians while EveR 6 kept the beat. Mr. Choi said that once EveR 6 started, the musicians had “no choice but to follow its beats”.

Mr. Choi doesn’t think robots are likely to replace human conductors. But he believes robots could be helpful in situations like practice sessions where the same thing needs to be repeated many times.