The Ocean of Stars, a symphony (交响乐) concert by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, was staged at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, on July 15, 2023.     1     part of the ongoing Hua Xia Music Festival hosted by Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the concert     2     (conduct) by Chen Xieyang, featuring famous pianist Wu Chun. Chinese music     3     (work), including The Ocean of Stars and Mulan Psalm, all by Chinese composer Guan Xia, were performed.

The orchestra teamed up with Suzhou Silk Museum, presenting a modern show, which saw musicians of the orchestra wearing and showing     4     (tradition) Chinese silk clothes at the Jinji Lake Concert Hall. Started by conductor Chen, artistic director of the orchestra, the two-week Hua Xia Music Festival,     5     was in the third year, aimed at     6     (promote) Chinese music works.

Suzhou Symphony Orchestra also announced     7     (it) 2023-2024 season on July 15, which would close in July 2024. It was the orchestra’s     8     (eight) season, which gathered music artists with     9     average age of 30 years old from around the world.

The year 2023 marked the 65th anniversary of foreign relations between China and Algeria. It was the first time the orchestra     10     (perform) in Africa at the 13th International Classical Music Festival in Algiers, Algeria.

2 . A 63-year-old man learning ballet a decade ago has become a hit on social media. James Cox has been a ballet ___________ as long as he can remember, but he never really got the chance to practice it himself. Growing up in a poor rural family, his main focus was always on ___________ or doing housework instead of dancing that was definitely a ___________ he could not afford. He ended up becoming a farmer, but he never got over his love for ballet.

“One day, I saw a ballet basic training course on TV, which ___________ the idea that I should try to learn to dance,” James said in an interview. Ballet requires a fit and ___________ body that is almost impossible to ___________ at a certain age without lifetime training. Becoming a ballet dancer at age 53 was far from ___________ in the world, and most of his friends didn’t understand why he ___________ this tough training at his age. But James Cox ___________ them all with the help of his family, who have always been very ____________ of his passion.

Not only does ballet make him a delighted man, but he is convinced that it has done ____________ for his health as well. “In the past, I had stomach problems. After dancing ____________ over the past decade, the stomach issues have mostly ________   ,” the 63 year old ballet dancer said “When I am in this class, I feel ____________ as if I have become young again,” James added “I am now doing what I ____________ to do when I was young.”

3 . Nick Rose-Stamey is a lot like Jack Black’s character in School of Rock- a guitarist who discovers a passion for making music accessible to children. Working in the nonprofit arts education sector over the last 10 years raised his awareness of the lack of music programs in public schools, and later inspired his nonprofit, Band in a Bus. “The original idea was to take an old school bus and turn it into the best band class on wheels,” he says.

In fact, activities of Band in a Bus don’t actually happen on a bus. It provides instruments, courses, and staffing to students. Kids 18 and under can also participate in enriching summer programs through Band in a Bus, such as Bucket Brigade, five weekly classes where grades K-4 learn rhythm (节奏) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) principles through contemporary music. There are also teen bands for grades 7-12 where kids learn to play pop music and develop social and team work skills.

When schools went virtual during the COVID-19 period, Rose-Stamey thought it was a shame that instruments were left sitting on shelves instead of in the hands of kids. So he created and distributed more than 1,000 “Band in a Box” DIY kits. Each kit contains small noise makers like kazoos, drumsticks, and shakers, with the intention of introducing a modernized music class experience that meets kids where they are.

“It is reported that if a kid has 30 minutes of a performing arts or creative elective every singleday, then that’ll help them develop their social, emotional and leadership skills, because there’s a lot of team work when it comes to making music. You have to learn how to work well with others,” Rose-Stamey says.

In the last year, Band in a Bus has worked directly with more than 500 students. “Music is a win-win for everybody,” Rose-Stamey says. “I just hope that someday we can stop making it the first kid out in the dodge ball (躲避球) game.”

Yangko, a rural Chinese folk dance with a history     1     (date) back thousands of years, originates from farming life in ancient times. The dance relates to sacrifices to the farmland god when people prayed for a good harvest. As time passed, the     2     (origin) dance developed, taking in various artistic forms and skills, including opera, acrobatics and martial arts, and eventually turned into the type of Yangko     3     is seen today.

    4     (preserve) this Chinese folk culture, it was included in the inaugural(首批的)items of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. It is     5     (common) performed in northern China during festivals, especially for Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival. Performances or competitions     6     (organize) in towns and villages to express people’s joy and their hope for a better life.

Yangko employs drumming, Suona, dancing and singing. Content is based     7     folk stories and legends. Costumes are richly-colored and opera-styled, enabling     8     (character) to be easily identified. During a performance, the actors will dance and sing, following lively rhythms. Highly. skilled and interesting acts such as stilt(高跷)walking     9     carrying a wedding sedan chair(花轿)are also included. As a part of traditional Chinese culture, Yangko     10     (concentrate) the group consciousness of the Chinese people, and has outstanding historical and cultural value.

5 . On March 18, 2018, I was alone at home in San José, Costa Rica, drinking a cup of tea, unaware that my life was about to change. I ______ an e-mail with the subject “scholarship selection result”.

My heartbeat ______ as I read through it. I had been chosen to receive a full scholarship for a master’s degree in ______ at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Finally, I would be able to ______ the ancient tales of dragons and the old legends (传说) of China, which had always ______ me.

Five months later, I arrived in Shanghai, ______ an entirely new world. At the airport, two of my Costa Rican friends were waiting for me and ______ me to the dormitory.

I remember ______ when I approached the dorm building, I was drawn by the sweet melody (旋律) of a dizi (Chinese flute), which was totally ______ from all that I used to hear in my country.

In Costa Rica, I learned the conducting ______ well. However, it was my Chinese professor, Cao Tongyi, who guided me in ______ my skills. Studying in China and immersing (使浸入) myself in its music has been a wonderful ______ , introducing me to diverse sounds produced by Chinese musical ______ .

My mission is to ______ this amazing musical experience worldwide. I hope to spread the ______ of music far and wide.

6 . Getting older means greater maturity and wisdom.     1     In a society that is aging fast, it has become crucial to find ways to prevent related mental and emotional disorders. Music emerges as a promising tool for promoting well-being of the elderly.

Music has a great power to cause strong emotions and intense pleasure.     2     singing and dancing to music with others is not only fun but also improves mood. Musical activities are great ways to reduce stress because they take our minds off problems. They also help us feel less lonely and more connected with other people.

    3     A song may become a soundtrack for a particular time, such as a delightful party with friends that you had along time ago. Listening to that song allows you to remember all the happy memories from that time.

Finally, music contributes to keeping our thinking skills sharp. It makes our brains work hard in unique ways to understand the rhythm and melody.     4     For example, exposure to background music, particularly classical music, during cognitive (认知的) tasks is shown to improve older people’s cognitive processes, such as processing speed and working memory.

In conclusion, music is a powerful tool to fight against aging-related emotional and cognitive problems. It is an enjoyable and social activity, available to anyone regardless of their background or previous musical experience.     5    

7 . Guy Noble, one of Australia’s most famous conductors, who conducted the touring concert “East Meets West”, said he’d like to learn more about Chinese music. “I’m impressed by the history and the beauty Chinese music has,” he’s said in an interview recently.

“East Meets West” concert tour in Australia was resumed this year after being postponed twice due to the pandemic. It was hosted in Canberra last Saturday, bringing audiences some well-known Chinese and Western pieces such as Jasmine Flower, Carmen, Romeo and Juliet, and The Yellow River.

While it was called “East Meets West”, music from China and the West with the same themes was brought together. Chinese singer Ya Fen and Australian singer Victoria Lambourn performed a duet (二重唱) Hope Betrayed, which was inspired by the Chinese classic novel A Dream of Red Mansions. Noble said he loved the duet as it showed completely different singing styles: traditional Chinese opera style and Western opera style. “They’re not exactly the same, but they came together,” he said.

Having been a professional conductor for more than 20 years, Noble called music an international language. He noted that most music at the concert was about love, which was also an international language. He also spoke highly of some Chinese musicians, such as pianist Lang Lang who he thought has inspired many kids in China to learn music.

Noble admitted his knowledge of Chinese culture was limited. He said that conducting the Canberra concert was “an experience that I’ve enjoyed”, which made him more interested in discovering the background and history of the music, as well as the stories behind it. Noble is ready to create more things that can involve dance or calligraphy or some of the other aspects of Chinese culture, and put them together with music.

9 . When Belquer first joined a team to make a better live music experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, he was struck by how they had developed workarounds to enjoy concerts. “What they were doing at the time was holding balloons to feel the vibrations (震动) through their fingers,” Belquer said. He thought the team could make something to help hard-of- hearing people enjoy live music even more with the technology now available.

Belquer, who is also a musician and theater artist, is now the “Chief Vibrational Officer” of Music: Not Impossible, which uses new technology to address social issues like poverty and disability access. His team started by tying vibrating different cell phone motors to bodies, but that didn’t quite work. The vibrations were all the same. Eventually, they worked with engineers to develop a light haptic (触觉的) suit with a total of 24 vibrating plates. There are 20 of them tied to a vest that fits tightly around the body like a hiking backpack, plus one that ties to each wrist and ankle. When you wear the suit, it’s surprising how it feels.

The vibrations are mixed by a haptic DJ who controls the location, frequency and intensity of feeling across the suits, just as a music DJ mixes sounds in an artful way. “What we’re doing is selecting and mixing what we want and send it to different parts of the body,” said the DJ. The haptic suits were just one component of the event. There were American Sign Language interpreters; the music was captioned on a screen on the stage.

The suits are the star attraction. Lily Lipman, who has auditory processing disorder, lit up when asked about her experience. “It’s cool, because I’m never quite sure if I’m hearing what other people are hearing, so it’s amazing to get the music in my body.”

On a chilly December morning in Beijing, Zhang Ting     1    (rise) at 6 a.m. and started to dress for her trip to the Summer Palace. Two hours later, the stylish 28-year-old, a hip-hop singer-songwriter,     2    (wear) hanfu — traditional Chinese costume, arrived at the Summer Palace, an imperial garden established during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and     3     UNESCO World Heritage site. She visited here     4    (gain) inspiration for a new song, for which she planned to mix elements of     5    (tradition) Chinese culture with her own style of music, known as guo feng, or music with a Chinese flavor.

Zhang joined a workshop     6    (launch) by a platform aimed at supporting and cultivating original Chinese music and independent     7    (musician) from China.

Soon afterward, she wrote the song Hong Yu in memory of Liang Hongyu, a respected heroine during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). “Images of these female roles came instantly to mind     8     I saw the ancient stage at the Summer Palace,” she said.

The three-day activity brought together singer-songwriters from around the country and targeted new songs featuring elements of guo feng. Li Liang, head of the program, said, “Young people grow up with the Internet and are open     9     different cultures. They are now embracing     10    (they) own cultural aesthetics (美学), which is meaningful.”