1 . It’s happened to all of us: a song comes on the radio, and we are immediately transported back to a time in our past.
There are a few things that connect tunes with our memories. Music is often a necessary element of many important life events, and it is also very effective in arresting our attention.
We often become familiar with a piece of music because we hear it as background music. The more familiar a piece of music is, the more effective it is in bringing back memories.
Tiffany Jenkins, writing for a culture column, has a different opinion:
It’s clear that our memories and music are closely linked — to the point that music is being used to help Alzheimer’s disease sufferers access memories that they thought they had lost.
| A．Familiarity is important. |
| B．Music itself is easy to remember. |
| C．But what makes music so effective in doing this? |
| D．Our musical preference usually forms during our teens. |
| E．This applies to music more than other cultural products. |
| F．Pop music especially can be connected with an important memory. |
| G．Music and these life events are likely to be linked together in our memories. |
2 . American country music is also known as country western music. It has a very long history. It comes from the folksongs of immigrants (移民) from Britain. Country music uses simple music and words to express everyday feelings such as loneliness, love, and sadness. That is to say, country music describes life. It talks about friends and enemies, trucks and roads, farm and crops. People in many parts of the world like country music, because everyone can understand what the music is about.
Country western, music became popular first among cowboys (牛仔) in the American west countryside. Cowboys had to take care of cows day and night. When they were alone with the cows, they often sang beautiful and peaceful songs to calm the animals and to overcome their own fear. They were not well-educated and so they sang about their daily life in very simple words. They played guitars，violins and other instruments. In the south of America, many people added instrument. from their homes, like bottles and spoons. When cow hoys visited their friends and families on holidays like Thanksgiving, they usually sang and played country we stemn music.
In recent years, many musicians have made country we stem music a little different from the one in the past. These changes make the songs sound even better. Today singers such as Carth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Rabbitt, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Travis and a group called Alabama are singing and playing in different styles. They have brought count ty western music more and more fans from all over the world.
1. The underlined words “calm the animals” here mean “make the animals” become| A．sad and lonely | B．quiet and relaxed |
| C．angry and wild | D．upset and scared |
| A．Early immigrants lived a very simple life. |
| B．Many country music singers are not well-educated. |
| C．Cowboys usually played country western music on holidays. |
| D．In the west of America, cowboys added instruments from their homes. |
| A．violins | B．bottles | C．knives | D．spoons |
| A．it has a long history | B．it comes from Europe |
| C．it is sung by cowboys | D．it is easy to understand |
William, a highly skilled plumber (水管工) with three decades of experience, was admired by everyone for his outstanding plumbing abilities. However, what many didn’t know was his deep love for music. Ever since he was a young boy, William was passionate about singing. He dreamed of attending a music school and becoming a famous pop singer, just like his idol Willie Nelson. He even dreamed about performing in his own private concerts someday. Unfortunately, tragedy struck when a car accident claimed the lives of both his parents, abruptly ending all his ambitions for the future. As the eldest brother in his family, William had to drop out of school and find a job to support his two younger sisters.
After three decades, William’s passion for singing remained as strong as ever. As he went about his plumbing work, he always carried a little radio with him, belting out tunes and joyfully singing along. The dull tasks of repairs became enjoyable and much more manageable with music in the background. Occasionally, when inspiration struck, he even composed a song or two of his own. In fact, he had setup a small basement studio where he recorded some of these songs, purely for the fun of it.
One day, William received a call from a client, Remus Gall, asking him to help repair the pipes in his kitchen. William accepted the mission readily. Upon arriving at Mr. Gal’s, he was led into the kitchen and began his work. As usual, while doing the repair work, he happily sang along to his small radio. Coincidentally, Remus Gall was a music producer and owner of a small recording company. Remus overheard the plumber singing and immediately realized there was something in William’s voice. He was amazed that an ordinary plumber should have such great talent in singing. After the repair work, Remus got the chance to talk with William and introduced his profession to him.
“You’ve really got a beautiful voice.” Remus said sincerely. “Have you ever thought of releasing an album of your own? If so, I would be more than glad to help 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。
William was greatly shocked by what he heard.
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After three months’ hard work, William’s first-ever album finally came out.
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1. How does the woman feel about the festival?
| A．Bored. | B．Disappointed. | C．Interested. |
| A．It is more exciting. |
| B．It is suitable for his brother. |
| C．It has his favorite band. |
| A．See a film. |
| B．Do her work. |
| C．Go to the music festival. |
5 . How similar are language and music?
Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.
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.
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.
| 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. |
6 . Inside а tiny shop in Manchester, Adam Birce carefully carves at а woodblock. He looks carefully at each piece to ensure they fit and match before gently setting them together. Adam Birce, the owner of Four Strings, restores stringed instruments like violins, and his passion is restoring and appreciating what has already been crafted and loved.
Birce started playing the violin in grade school and grew to truly appreciate it. He played semiprofessionally out of high school and later got his degree in music at Virginia Commonwealth University as a violinist. After graduating, he landed a job selling violins. “As fate would have it, I was asked by my employer to learn to fix violins 15 years ago,” he says. “I soon moved off on my own to do restoration.” Since 2014, he has been on a mission with Four Strings to offer excellent fine-instrument restoration services to the community.
Violin restoration isn’t a self-taught skill. Each summer for the past decade, Birce has traveled to the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts for up to two weeks to study under famous violin restoration expert Hans J. Nebel. Here, students learn everything from delicate edging repair to violin identification. “A lot of the work itself is learning as you go,” Birce says. “It’s a lot of problem-solving and critical thinking, like coming up with a woodworking plan.
“How long а job takes varies. Most are about 3-6 months for major work, unless a full top-to-bottom restoration is needed, which can take even longer,” Birce explains. “I leave that up to the client if they want to commit to that.” One of his longest jobs was working on a Scottish violin from the early 1800s that had been water-damaged. “I had to use every skill in my toolbox to fix it,” Birce laughingly recalls. “It was a very onerous job.”
If there’s one thing to be learned from Birce’s passion, it’s that each violin is unique in its own right. He compares the fine instruments market to the fine arts market. “A lot of these instruments are fine art,” he says. “I kind of say this is a Picasso I’m playing or a Degas. I’ve worked on a few, which is always a joy.”
1. What does paragraph 2 mainly talk about?| A．The special features of Four Strings. | B．The procedures of violin restoration. |
| C．Birce’s life experience with the violin. | D．Birce’s influence in the music industry. |
| A．It’s effortless. | B．It’s self-taught. | C．It’s extremely dull. | D．It’s highly professional. |
| A．Creative. | B．Well-paid. | C．Dangerous. | D．Demanding. |
| A．Birce prefers art to music. | B．Birce has a deep love for his job. |
| C．Birce wants to be as famous as Picasso. | D．Birce has become a master of violin restoration. |
| A．The drum. | B．The bass. | C．The keyboard. |
1. What is the woman doing?
| A．Selling CDs to the man. |
| B．Helping the man choose CDs. |
| C．Looking for some new music. |
| A．He doesn’t like Benny. | B．He has got one | C．He dislikes country music. |
| A．They’re gifted | B．They’re creative. | C．They’re untalented. |
| A．Choose more CDs. |
| B．Go to the woman’s house. |
| C．Listen to his new CDs at home. |
9 . The Beatles will release what is said to be their last ever song this week, pieced together from recordings spanning more than four decades and it would not have been possible without AI.
Now and Then has been edited together from a recording of the late John Lennon playing the piano and singing at his home in New York in 1979. Now, artificial intelligence has been used to extract usable sections from that noisy tape. These have been combined with guitar tracks from the late George Harrison, recorded in 1995 when efforts were made to finish the song. The endeavour was called off due to poor sound quality, which AI has now been able to solve.
Finally, new recordings made earlier this year from Paul McCartney and Ringo Start were added. McCartney has teased the existence of the song in interview s and said in a statement: “There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear. It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it, it’s a genuine Beatles recording. In 2023 to still be working on Beatles music, and about to release a new song the public haven’t heard, I think it’s an exciting thing.”
When creating Now and Then, AI is used to separate the dialogue from other noises to help editor s create a workable documentary. Ultimately, the engineers were able to develop bespoke AI powerful enough to remove all background noise and isolate not only speech but even the sound of each instrument played in a band.
Jess Aslan at University of London, says The Beatles’ track is an interesting experiment because it was done transparently with the blessing of the living members of the band, but adds that AI is a double-edged sword that also presents risks to artists. “One significant issue is that generative AI is squeezing the already extremely narrow creative job market,” she says. “Another is that of ownership, as these large-scale models are in fact bypassing copyright laws and using artists’ data without permission.”
1. Why did George Harrison stop finishing the song?| A．He was unable to play the piano. |
| B．The sound quality was not satisfying. |
| C．The surroundings were too noisy for recording. |
| D．He was not able to solve the problem of combination. |
| A．It was quite easy to conduct. |
| B．It depended on AI completely. |
| C．John’s voice was specially decorated. |
| D．Efforts from many aspects were paid. |
| A．Objective. | B．Favorable. | C．Indifferent. | D．Critical. |
| A．The Beatles is a long-lasting memory. |
| B．John Lennon’s voice is hard to be recorded. |
| C．AI contributed to the new release of the Beatles. |
| D．Various ways are tried to finish John Lennon’s work. |
10 . It was in 2019, when I first arrived at Donghua University in Shanghai, that I discovered a local park filled with elderly people dancing in the early morning. It quickly became my favorite spot. I’d bring my coffee, and relax while watching them enjoy the rhythm of the music. Occasionally, I’d also join them. There, no one judges you for a misstep or for not keeping up with the rhythm. You simply enjoy the moment. It’s fascinating to see experienced dancers leading, while newcomers observe, learn, and eventually join in, just like me.
However, I’m not exactly new when it comes to dancing. My love for dance began at a very young age in my hometown, Uzbekistan. My mother would fondly recall how, as a child, I’d effortlessly move to the rhythm of music. At around 3 or 4, I gave my first performance just a week after being sent to learn in a dancing studio. The large stage and the vast audience made me nervous, but it was a defining moment that light my passion for dancing. Throughout my school years and later in college, I actively participated in various performances, exploring a wide range of dances, including traditional Uzbek dances and various other cultural dances.
When I first arrived in China, I had the privilege of showing the traditional Uzbek dance at a cultural event, introducing my culture to others. Later, at Donghua University, we established a dance club where students from around the world taught various dance styles. There I learned new dance forms and participated in university events.
However, outside of campus, I often found myself wandering into the park, watching people dancing or even dancing along on the square. The dance transcends age and background, offering an antidote to the loneliness and physical inactivity that often accompanies aging.
These two worlds — the vibrant public dancing in China and the rich Uzbek dance tradition — have profoundly shaped my life and brought me boundless joy.
1. Where did the author first see the square dance in China?| A．In Donghua University. | B．In a local park in Shanghai. |
| C．In a dancing club. | D．In a grand performance. |
| A．She has been experienced in performances. |
| B．She felt uneasy when the author got on the stage. |
| C．She always recalls the typical moves of their dance. |
| D．She sent her daughter to learn dancing at a young age. |
| A．She takes every opportunity to enjoy dance. |
| B．She has simply danced her traditional dance. |
| C．The dance club teaches her the square dance. |
| D．The square dance enables her to regain the skills. |
| A．Her memory of her dancing journey. |
| B．Her determination to teach the Uzbek dance. |
| C．The joy brought by different dancing experiences. |
| D．The different styles of the traditional Uzbek dance. |
