1 . What are the two different things that make humans different from other animals? One is language, and the other is music. It is true that some animals can sing. However, the songs of animals are very simple. It is also true that humans, not animals, have developed musical instruments.
Music is clearly different from language. However, people can use music to communicate with others, especially expressing their emotions. When music is combined with speech, it’s a very powerful form of communication.
If music is truly different from speech, then we should process music and language in different parts of the brain. The scientific studies have proved that it is true. For example, Vissarion Shebalin, a Russian composer, had a stroke (中风) in 1953. It injured the left side of his brain. He couldn’t speak or understand speech. However, he still could compose music until his death. On the other hand, sometimes strokes cause people to lose their musical ability, but they can still speak and understand speech.
Why does music have a strong effect on us physically and emotionally? That’s a hard question to answer. Geoffrey Miller, a researcher at a university, thinks that music and love have a strong connection. Music requires a special talent, practice and physical ability. For example, playing a musical instrument requires fine muscular control. You also need good memory to remember the notes. And playing those notes correctly suggests that your hearing is in excellent condition. Finally, when a man sings to the woman he loves, it may be a way of showing off.
However, Miller’s theory still doesn’t explain why certain combinations of sounds influence our emotions so deeply. For scientists, this is clearly an area that needs further research.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the main topic. |
| B．To show the author’s attitude. |
| C．To analyse causes. |
| D．To describe a process. |
| A．is translated into a language |
| B．is combined with speech |
| C．is sung by some famous musicians |
| D．is mixed with the cry of an animal |
| A．he is one of the luckiest persons |
| B．he is really interested in composing music |
| C．the brain processes music and language separately |
| D．music and language are two different things for some |
| A．The effects of music on humans’ works. |
| B．The studies on how music affects our works. |
| C．The reasons why music affects us. |
| D．The ways of using music in daily life. |
1. What day is it today?
| A．Saturday. | B．Friday. | C．Monday. |
| A．She has no time to prepare. |
| B．Nobody can lead the dance group. |
| C．There aren’t enough people in the group. |
1. What music makes the man want to dance?
| A．The 80s music. | B．The song “Holiday“ | C．Madonna’s new music. |
| A．Think about past experiences. | B．Drive more carefully. | C．Try something new. |
| A．Getting good grades is important. |
| B．One shouldn’t study history at school. |
| C．Studying is complicated. |
| A．He will forget the past. | B．The woman is right. | C．He will study harder. |
1. What do we know about Radio Caroline?
| A．It closed down in 1964. |
| B．It was popular with the young. |
| C．It was started by a ship owner. |
| A．Several DJs of Radio Caroline. |
| B．Books signed by The Beatles. |
| C．Letters from music fans. |
| A．In April. | B．In May. | C．In June. |
5 . Free Summer Concerts in Downtown Gastonia
Gastonia presents 4 downtown concert events. As usual, profits from adult beverage sales support local charities.
May 19: On the Border with Garrett Huffman
Garrett Huffman 6:00 pm
Garrett Huffman entertains audiences with a variety of musical styles, including 80’s hits, country, and alternative pop.
On the Border: The Ultimate Eagles Tribute 7:30 pm
On the Border treats fans to an authentic concert experience while journeying through the Eagles songbook. The band covers every big hit, from ballads such as “Desperado” to rockin’ hits like “Heartache Tonight”.
June 23: The Voltage Brothers with Emerald Empire
Emerald Empire 6:00 pm
Playing all your favorite songs from the 70’s to the 90’s, Emerald Empire will get you dancing all night long.
The Voltage Brothers 7:30 pm
The Voltage Brothers’ repertoire consists of your favorite R & B, Swing, Disco, Funk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Motown, and even Classic Rock hits.
August 11: Caleb Davis with Tangerine Trees
Tangerine Trees 6:00 pm
Tangerine Trees is the Carolinas premier Beatles tribute band, recreating the authentic sounds of the original The Beatles.
Caleb Davis 7:30 pm
Caleb Davis takes crowds to experience a diverse mix of blues, rock, pop, and dance hits from the 60’s through the 90’s.
Sept 15: Kids in America with Akita
Akita 6:00 pm
A funk band, Akita creates a wave of infectious beats that draws a crowd and gets your feet moving.
Kids in America 7:30 pm
Kids in America is a high-energy, power-packed fun band. It covers from new wave, pop, dance, rock, hair metal, and sing along iconic ballads.
New in 2023!
Games, activities, and toys are provided for kids!
Local favorite food vendors (摊贩) are on hand for tasty treats!
In addition to beer, we’ve got seltzers, IPAs, and sodas.
Water is available free of charge.
1. Who originally sings the song “Desperado”?| A．Garrett Huffman. | B．Caleb Davis. |
| C．Eagles. | D．Emerald Empire. |
| A．May 19. | B．June 23. | C．August 11. | D．September 15. |
| A．On the Border with Garrett Huffman. |
| B．The Voltage Brothers with Emerald Empire. |
| C．Caleb Davis with Tangerine Trees. |
| D．Kids in America with Akita. |
1.写信目的;
2.音乐会时间、地点、内容;
3.期待回复。
注意：1.可以适当增加细节，使行文连贯;
2.写作词数应为80左右。
参考词汇：folk music concert民乐演奏会
Dear Linda,
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Yours,
Li Hua
Although Emily’s singing was very pleasant to hear, lacking of courage, she never dared to sing in front of strangers.
One summer, the neighborhood where she lived 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 mama’s advice and decided to give herself a try. The day came. Emily and Lucy went to the competition site. But she was too frightened 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 after singing a few words. Being laughed at by others, embarrassed and shy, she ran away from the stage.
Some naughty 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 looked up at her mother and told her 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. 续写词数应为150左右；
2. 请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
Paragraph 1
Emily followed her mom’s advice and walked into the park where many people were singing and dancing.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
The second year, the neighborhood held the singing competition again.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8 . It is difficult for a teacher to decide whether to allow students to listen to music in the classroom. Every time students need to write an essay or work on a problem, they say, “Can I put my headphones on? I think better that way.” But is that really true? Does music help concentrate?
Research offers little to back up the idea that listening to music improves concentration. In one small study, 133 students performed reading tasks while listening to either light music, hip hop, or no music at all. Students who performed the reading tasks in silence scored the highest. Music with a higher intensity (强度) like hip hop was more distracting and had a bad effect on task performance.
Volume (音量) plays a more important role than the type of music. The study found that the louder the music, the worse the performance in concentration. The type of music didn’t matter. Data from the study showed once again that silence was the best environment to improve concentration.
However, music has a positive effect on work performance. Studies have showed that listening to music leads to positive changes in mood, as well as creativity. In fact, in music-listening cultures, which students are certainly part of, there’s actually a change in mood when the music is taken away.
It’s hard to convince my students that music doesn’t help with their concentration. Taj, a senior told me, “I wouldn’t be able to concentrate if I were listening to music and trying to read. However, when I write, I feel like music helps me concentrate deeply. I don’t have writer’s block. It’s easy for me to put my words on paper.”
“Maybe not with reading, but when it comes to math, listening to music certainly helps,” Danela told me. “You could actually be singing along with what you’re listening to and doing well in math.”
1. What does the underlined word “distracting” in paragraph 2 probably mean?| A．Making it difficult for someone to concentrate. |
| B．Causing great excitement. |
| C．Making someone want to do something. |
| D．Making someone feel frightened. |
| A．Students do well in reading tasks while listening to music. |
| B．Music can’t improve people’s mood and creativity. |
| C．Different types of music lead to different performances. |
| D．The volume of music affects concentration. |
| A．They believe music doesn’t help concentrate. |
| B．They use music to help with their paper-writing. |
| C．They can’t focus on reading while listening to music. |
| D．They don’t listen to music while doing math problems. |
| A．Should Students Listen to Music? | B．Does Music Help Concentration? |
| C．Is Music Related to Reading? | D．Can Music Change Mood? |
| A．The woman should learn the guitar. |
| B．The woman should change her mind. |
| C．The woman should give up the violin. |
10 . As a child, Liu Wenwen didn’t like the suona, a “loud” traditional Chinese musical instrument, also an ancestral treasure of her family that was to become her career.
Liu says she felt ashamed. In the 1990s, people admired things that were modern and international. The suona was considered out of date. Her father’s family has performed with the suona for seven generations, while the tradition on her mother’s side of the family can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty. Despite her unwillingness, she followed her parents to play the suona as early as 3 years old. Besides it, Liu has also learned traditional Chinese vocal music and dancing—skills that have improved her oral muscles and sense of rhyme, helping equip her to be a professional musician.
It wasn’t until 2008 that she first found suona music beautiful. That was when she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically from Liu Ying, a professor and top player. “The music played by the professor is just amazing, and different from what I had heard before,” she says.
She loves exchanging ideas about suona playing techniques with her students. “It’s wonderful to see the younger generation carrying on this cultural tradition.” Liu Wenwen said she is pleased to see the suona regain popularity among young people, sometimes combined with jazz, opera and other art forms. This has stopped its decline in the 1990s. Her name, when mentioned on China’s social media platforms, often is followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia. Westerners were amazed by the loud, unfamiliar instrument and its colorful music. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage”.
1. What urged Liu Wenwen to learn to play the suona?| A．Family tradition. | B．Personal interest. |
| C．Her professor. | D．Her ambition. |
| A．Follow her parents to play the suona. |
| B．Learn music history at an early age. |
| C．Play the suona with her parents on the stage. |
| D．Better her oral muscles and sense of rhyme. |
| A．By learning from the famous professor Liu. |
| B．By visiting Shanghai Conservatory of Music. |
| C．By performing the suona music in Sydney. |
| D．By hearing her family playing the suona. |
| A．She learned the value of her performance. |
| B．She earned a fortune after 20 years’ training. |
| C．She worked hard and became an international professor. |
| D．She surprised many westerners with a video of her performance. |
