Wearing Hanfu and sitting in front of a Chinese zither (筝), Peng Jingxuan, a young Chinese student, moves her fingers gently along the strings on a street in Paris, France.
Peng has shared more than 200
Chinese zither (筝), or guzheng, is an ancient musical instrument with 21-26 strings and a length of 1.63 meters. Peng
Considering her audience’s
1. What is the speaker mainly talking about?
| A．His feeling after receiving an award. |
| B．His experience about traveling around. |
| C．His preference for different music types. |
| A．Ireland. | B．Scotland. | C．England. |
| A．A single song. | B．A three-song collection. | C．A twelve-song collection. |
| A．A young musician. | B．One of the speaker’s fans. | C．The host of the ceremony. |
1. What does the song remind the man of?
| A．A friend. | B．A holiday. | C．A story. |
| A．Lazy. | B．Distant. | C．Active. |
| A．It is too loud. | B．It is too old. | C．It lasts too long. |
1. What are the speakers watching?
| A．A movie. | B．A stage performance. | C．A TV show. |
| A．A cook. | B．A salesman. | C．A musician. |
| A．Inform the man. | B．Encourage the man. | C．Consult the man. |
5 . Music is arguably the most life-enriching academic subject.
Increase language capabilities
Music and language have a far-reaching relationship. Musical training stimulates the same part of the brain that deals with understanding language. Children who have some exposure to music al education will, therefore, have a greater understanding of tones and how different phrases are arranged.
Improve hand-eye coordination (协调)
Music is a great way for your child to meet new people and create lasting friendships. If they decide to take up music as an extracurricular (课外的) activity, they’ll be bonding with like-minded children who share their passion. In a time when children are increasingly interested in communicating online and focusing on digital skills, music is a refreshing return to face-to-face contact.
Bring about a sense of achievement
When your child does achieve a musical goal, they get the incredible satisfaction that comes from working hard to obtain something.
| A．Develop social skills |
| B．Encourage teamwork |
| C．In that sense, music is a great confidence builder |
| D．Hand-eye coordination is important in many sports |
| E．Learning an instrument to a high level is no easy task |
| F．It activates emotional responses and creativity like no other |
| G．It can be incredibly useful if your child is learning a second language |
6 . An American country music star has used artificial intelligence (AI) to make music again, years after suffering a stroke (中风).
Randy Travis is 65 years old. He was a popular country music performer in the 1980s and 1990s and won several Grammy awards during his career. But in 2013 he suffered a stroke, which made it hard for Travis to speak, not to mention making music and returning to the stage.
Kyle Lehning, Travis’ long-time music producer, said Where That Came From was a song that fit Travis’ way of singing. When Travis was at the top of his career, he was known for a more traditional kind of country music. It was a contrast to the pop-country songs that were popular in the late 1980s.
Lehning talked about the process of making the song. First, another singer recorded the song in what is known as a “demo (试样唱片)”. Then the AI system analyzed the song and added Travis’ voice to it. Then Lehning worked with Casey Wood, a recording engineer who knew Travis well, to get it perfect. The two music professionals made changes to the speed of some of the sounds. At last, a song “sung” by Travis was created.
“I really wish somebody had been here with a camera,” Lehning said about the experience of watching the computer apply Travis’ voice to the song. “And it was shocking to me, because how good it was!”
The final version of her husband’s song is much different than what happens when a computer programmer uses AI to create something without permission. “I seemed on top of the world,” Mary Travis said about the chance to hear her husband’s voice in a new song. “Owing to the advanced technology, I have the chance to listen to what I have been wanting.”
She added that her husband had a thoughtful look on his face when he first heard the song. “I think he went through every emotion in those three minutes of just hearing his voice again,” Mary Travis said.
1. What can we learn about Randy Travis?| A．His music featured a fast rhythm. | B．He stopped his career after a stroke. |
| C．He was once known for classical music. | D．His music has been popular since the 1980s. |
| A．Recording a demo of a singer. |
| B．Analyzing the voice of Randy Travis. |
| C．Applying Randy Travis’s voice to the song. |
| D．Changing the speed of the recorded song. |
| A．The new music with her husband’s voice excited her. |
| B．The final version of the music was far from satisfying. |
| C．Creating something without permission was annoying. |
| D．The process of making the music was smooth and easy. |
| A．AI Improved a Music Star’s Singing Ability |
| B．AI Has Made Great Advances in Making Music |
| C．AI Connected Singers’ Experiences with Music |
| D．AI Helped a Music Star without Speech Make Music |
7 . Music plays an important role in our lives.
Unlike food, music isn’t necessary for our survival.
Studies have shown that certain pieces of classical music will have the same effect on everyone.
Neuroscientists conducted research using PET scans to detect the release of dopamine in the brain when subjects listened to their favorite songs. They later used MRI to view the pleasure center of the brain where dopamine is released and then mapped out its connection with other areas of the brain.
The pleasure center of the brain predicts what kind of music we will enjoy based on the connection it makes to other parts of our brain.
New music fits into patterns already mapped out in the brain by our past musical tastes. It is pleasurable not only because it is familiar, but it is different just enough to feel new and exciting.
| A．Enjoying music is unique to humans. |
| B．They cause the same changes in the brain. |
| C．However, it is extremely rewarding and pleasurable. |
| D．It was these connections that were the most interesting revelation. |
| E．Music, therefore, can be used as a mood enhancer or as a motivator. |
| F．We can recall vivid memories and emotions when listening to music. |
| G．There is a lot of research about music and its relationship to intelligence. |
8 . Music can really affect your well-being, learning, quality of life, and even happiness. The fact that music can make a difficult task more tolerable may be why students often choose to listen to it while doing their homework. But is listening to music the smart choice for students who want to improve their learning? A new study suggests that for some students, listening to music is a wise strategy, but for others, it isn’t. The effect of music on cognitive (认知的) function appears to depend partly on your personality — specifically, on your need for external stimulation (刺激).
Researchers not only assessed listeners’ personality but also changed the difficulty of the task and the complexity of the music. Participants first completed a personality test used to determine the need for external stimulation. Then, they engaged in an easy cognitive task (searching for the letter A in lists of words) and a more challenging one (remembering word pairs) in order. Participants finished both tasks under one of two sound conditions: (1) no music, (2) with music.
The data suggests that for those with a high need of external stimulation, on the simple task of finding A’s, the scores for the music condition were significantly worse than those for the silent condition. On the complex task of learning word pairs, their performance was worse whenever music was played. For those with a low need of external stimulation, however, on the simple task, such participants’ scores for the music condition were much better than those for the silent condition. On the complex task of learning word pairs, the participants showed a small but reliable benefit when listening to music.
According to the study, there are individual differences in the impact of music on cognitive function. Students who are easily bored and who seek out stimulation should be cautious of adding music to the mix. On the other hand, students with a low need for stimulation may benefit significantly from the presence of music.
With the right personality, the right music and the right task, the presence of music may significantly improve cognitive functioning. Given the benefits of music, subscription to Spotify will be rewarding!
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To explain what is stimulation. | B．To lead into the topic. |
| C．To make a prediction. | D．To offer some advice. |
| A．It is done under one and only sound condition. |
| B．Participants only need to complete a personality test. |
| C．The difficulty of the two tasks decreased in the experiment. |
| D．Participants were grouped by their needs for external stimulation. |
| A．The complexity of tasks might reduce the benefit of music. |
| B．Students should listen to music when performing complex tasks. |
| C．Students with less external stimulation perform badly with music. |
| D．The presence of music benefits students who seek for external stimulation. |
| A．A dictionary. |
| B．A psychology journal. |
| C．A music platform. |
| D．A personality test. |
1. Where are the speakers looking for information?
| A．Online. |
| B．At the ticket office. |
| C．In the daily newspaper |
| A．A pianist. |
| B．A jazz lover. |
| C．A pop singer. |
| A．Josh Groban. |
| B．Alan Jackson. |
| C．Lee Ann Womack. |
| A．$14. |
| B．$50. |
| C．$100. |
10 . Every parent remembers their child’s firsts: their first tooth, their first steps, their first words. Pennsylvania mum, Michelle Wallace can add another first to that list. Her daughter, Olive Wallace, only ten years old, sketched out her first musical composition in pencil. Days later, the musical piece became popular.
Olive Wallace’s grandmother is a retired Californian music teacher. Olive’s aunt also teaches music. Olive herself plays two instruments. “Olive has played the violin for 2 years at her elementary school,” says Michelle. “She also plays the clarinet and sings in her school’s choir. She loves music!”
When Olive shared with her mom the composition she’d written, Michelle shared it with the TikTok (抖音) community. “My 10-year-old daughter wrote this,” Michelle explained in a TikTok video. “Could somebody play this? I need to know if it’s any good or if it makes any sense.”
After Michelle’s video was viewed six million times, the composition had been played and shared by hundreds of TikTok musicians, including well-known professionals.
Actually Olive intended her composition as a song for the Elps, a civilization (文明) of her own creation. On her Elpjungle website, Olive writes about Elps: “For a long time, Elps had kings. King after king the Elp kingdom was led, until one king, King Whirlpool, suddenly for unknown reasons, started to go crazy. He was later overthrown and the queens took over. This song was created to show the end of the kings’ rule and the beginning of the queens. It was titled ‘For Greatness We Bring’ because shortly after the new queen was elected, a whole new kind of Elps was brought in.”
The TikTok musical world used their talents to bring her composition to life by playing the composition on many instruments. It’s clear that Olive has a bright and creative future ahead of her.
1. What can we know about Olive from paragraph 2?| A．She wants to be a teacher. | B．She comes from a musical family. |
| C．Her aunt plays two instruments. | D．Her mother is a music teacher. |
| A．To express her thanks. | B．To learn about its quality. |
| C．To show her devotion. | D．To make it gain popularity. |
| A．The reason for creating it. | B．The way to bring it to life. |
| C．The public interest in it. | D．The story behind it. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Doubtful. | C．Positive. | D．Unclear. |
