1 . You saw the video, right? The 45-second recording of a kid dancing in the rain? There was something inspiring about it. In a moment when our social media channels have been flooded with unsettling news, here was a kid whose love for dance couldn’t be stopped by the rain. Or by the concrete (混凝土) ground he was dancing on. Or the fact that he was barefoot (赤脚的).
Since it was uploaded to Instagram in June, the video of Nigerian ballet dancer Anthony Mmesoma Madu gathered thousands of views, likes, and comments. People seem to be absolutely stunned by the boy’s dedication (献身), elegance (优雅), and talent.
Madu is one of a dozen students between the ages of 5 and 12 at Leap Academy of Dance in Badagry. Daniel Ajala Owoseni, Anthony’s teacher, founded this school in Lagos in 2017. Unfortunately, even after 5 years, the school still doesn’t have a dedicated space for its students. Because of that, most of the time, they practice in Owoseni’s tiny home as well as public spaces in the community.
“We are trying to change the traditional thought around ballet dance. Boys can actually do ballet,” the teacher told the BBC. “Male ballet dancing is here to stay and it is not only supposed to be for females.”
“Where I live, there are no male ballet dancers like me,” young Anthony told a BBC reporter. When he is dancing, he said, “the feeling that comes over me is as if I am dreaming.”
The video eventually caught the attention of Cynthia Harvey, the current artistic director of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Dance, one of America’s most famous ballet schools. Fortunately, she succeeded in tracking Anthony down. Moreover, she had arranged for full scholarships (奖学金) so Anthony could attend the ABT virtual Young Dancer Summer Workshop, a three-week intensive program.
“A child who shows this much dedication, you just have to help,” she said. “You are not only changing your world there in Africa but you’re changing the hearts and minds of so many people.”
1. Why did Anthony’s video become so popular? (no more than 10 words)2. What does the underlined word in Paragraph 2 mean? (no more than 2 words)
3. What’s Paragraph 3 mainly about? (no more than 5 words)
4. What made Anthony qualify for the unusual scholarship? Give two of the facts. (no more than 10 words)
5. Do you consider Anthony as your role model? Please explain. (no more than 25 words)
1. Where is the speaker?
| A．On Stage 1. | B．On Stage 2. | C．On Stage 3. |
| A．Get first aid. | B．Use public telephones. | C．Meet their lost children. |
| A．Tell their neighbors. | B．Use the main entrance. | C．Leave their tickets behind. |
| A．The schedule. | B．Competition rules. | C．The performers. |
1. When did Mozart begin to practise the piano?
| A．At the age of three. | B．At the age of five. | C．At the age of eight. |
| A．His mother taught him. |
| B．He learned at school. |
| C．He learned through listening. |
| A．He found a good job. | B．He gave up his studies. | C．He remained confident. |
| A．Effort. | B．Luck. | C．Gift. |
4 . Math and music are two entirely different fields of study, but there is a strong relevance between them. At some point, they tend to overlap, and it is common for people good at math to be good at music. It may seem illogical to compare the two, but there are more similarities between math and music than you would imagine.
Numbers can tell us more about music. Sounds strange but it’s true. Music is divided into sections that are called measures, where each measure has equal amounts of beats. This is comparable to mathematical divisions of time. Now, each piece of music will tell us how many beats there are in each measure. All the music notes have numerical connections and a number of beats. It is important to understand the value of fractions (分数) and notes to count the music correctly.
The biggest similarity between math and music in pattern. For example, music has repeating choruses while math uses patterns to explain the unknown. You can use different mathematical phenomena in music. These include geometry (几何学), signal processing, etc. In fact, research has shown that when music shows some mathematical structure, it tends to be more popular.
In addition to their shared elements, math and music can be taught using the principles of both. A student who enjoys math and music can benefit from both. For example, music can enhance cognition and reasoning skills. For instance, Einstein listened to music when solving math problems to increase clarity. Similarly, playing music can improve cognition, as it increases communication between the two brains.
Music is a gateway to many things, and until now, you probably didn’t realize that it’s just as demanding, analytical, logical and scientific as math. Something as simple as learning “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the piano is actually setting your child up for bigger and better things; maybe they’ll pick up Pythagoras (毕达哥拉斯) in a flash, maybe they’ll be a genius in math, perhaps they’ll one day discover their own theory of relativity.
1. What does the author think about math and music?| A．Math and music are deeply intertwined. |
| B．Music is a totally different subject from math. |
| C．It sounds reasonable to compare math and music. |
| D．People expert at math all tend to be music lovers. |
| A．Measure is a piece of music. | B．Math helps in reading music. |
| C．Music sound appears strange. | D．Music beats equal to math numbers. |
| A．Patterns are common in both math and music. |
| B．Certain music skills are practised via choruses. |
| C．Music principle seems easier than mathematics. |
| D．Reasoning skills in math chiefly rely on music. |
| A．Musical involvement promotes to be a genius. |
| B．Music allows kids to combine math with piano. |
| C．Music offers kids potential success in mathematics. |
| D．Music may enhance the mathematics skills of all kids. |
5 . A music column by New Music Friday is from https: //www.npr.org, sharing the best albums released every Friday. Readers can enjoy and download the album’s title track online. The column is well enjoyed by the music explorers. Here are some recent hits.
The best releases out Sept. 30
By Stephen Thompson, Keanna Faircloth, Bob Boilen, Tarik Moody
It’s been five years since Björk last released an album, but now the Icelandic icon (偶像) is back with a deeply inventive set called Fossora. Every sound on the record feels as if it’s springing into the mix from a different direction, as her energetic voice shares space with everything from bass clarinets (低音单簧管) to the voices of Björk’s own creation. Fossora was inspired, at least in part, by the death of the singer’s mother, but joy also exists.
The best releases out Sept. 16
By Cyrena Touros, Christina Lee, Tarik Moody, Stephen Thompson
The superstar K-pop girl group BLACKPINK is one of the biggest pop juggernauts in the world, with billions of streams and massive world tours to its name. Born Pink, its second full-length album, promises to further promote BLACKPINK’s domination of the U.S. charts.
The best releases out Sept. 9
By Christina Lee, Ann Powers, Stephen Thompson, Cyrena Touros
Ari Lennox experienced a huge breakthrough with 2019’s much-loved Shea Butter Baby, but her new album age/sex/location promises to be even bigger. She’s been trying many her singles for many months now, and even dropped a five-song EP last Friday, but the album is finally here. It somehow sounds modern even if it recreates the most unforgettable R&B sounds of the’90s and early’00s.
1. Why is Björk’s mother mentioned?| A．She gave Björk an energetic voice. |
| B．She helped Björk to record the new album. |
| C．Her death gave Björk some inventive ideas. |
| D．Her leaving delayed the release of Fossora. |
| A．It is made up of five songs. |
| B．It is adapted from Shea Butter Baby. |
| C．It is intended for single music-lovers. |
| D．It is trying to make another breakthrough. |
| A．Stephen Thompson. | B．Tarik Moody. |
| C．Christina Lee. | D．Ann Powers. |
6 . Musicians want to be heard. Making that happen involves time and effort that could be spent making music, however. Fortunately, Richmonders Elijah Hedrick and designer Rian Moses-Hedrick have started a platform to help. HearRVA shines a spotlight on Richmond musicians. “We’re basically trying to play matchmaker with music fans here in Richmond,” Rian says.
The promotion platform was created in July last year by the designer and her husband, Elijah. HearRVA’s website offers videos of local performances, a list of live music spots and playlists of songs from Richmond-based musicians. Musicians submit links to their work to be considered for promotion at no cost. The site is a passion project for the married couple and is supported by money donations from the natives.
One of the next steps is an interview series, “Liner Notes,” which highlights local musicians and the motivations behind their music. The series was launched in November with local singer Devonne Harris, who plays recorded popular music on the local radio. “It’s a great way for listeners to get a close look into what’s going on behind some of the creative forces in the city,” Harris says. “Sometimes having extra insight adds more of a connection, so people can really go back to listen to your music and be grateful for what you do and listen to it from a different angle.”
Rian and Elijah are looking ahead to season two of “Liner Notes”, which they plan to release next year. For them, everything ties back to providing exposure to local musicians. “People always want to go to LA or New York because they think they have a better shot there, and the market’s bigger,” Rian says, “but why don’t we grow the market here?”
1. What is the main purpose of HearRVA?| A．To bring local artists close together. |
| B．To build a useful source for musicians. |
| C．To show how to appreciate local music. |
| D．To connect local musicians with music lovers. |
| A．The great local demand for it. |
| B．Local musicians’ desire for fame. |
| C．Local people’s financial support. |
| D．The married couple’s gift for music. |
| A．The comparisons between different musicians. |
| B．Effective ways of composing or playing music. |
| C．Different opinions on a certain kind of music. |
| D．Reasons why local musicians create their music. |
| A．Negative. | B．Positive. | C．Uncertain. | D．Indifferent. |
