1 . The “Got Talent” crew is one of the pioneers in finding and publicizing music talents and has been giving the world some of its most favorite artists for almost two decades. This year “Britain’s Got Talent” (BGT) uncovered a musical genius named Malakai Bayoh who amazed the audience with perfect high-note singing. The London-based 13-year-old boy appeared for the show’s audition (试镜) in April, 2023 and was accompanied by his mom and sister. “My big dream is to be a singer. I started singing at 7,” said Bayoh to the BGT team and added jokingly, “My mom made me join the choir (合唱团) because she’s very bossy.” The teenager mentioned she’s his biggest fan.
Bayoh’s mom was shocked as he was about to perform and said, “It scares me because, on his first show, somebody heckled (对……起哄) him. It was bad to think that someone would boo (喝倒彩) a child on stage because it could’ve knocked his confidence completely.” Contrary to his mom’s fear, Bayoh set the stage on fire singing the song “Pie Jesu” and the entire crowd were struck by his beautiful voice. As he ended his song, the audience and the judges gave him a standing applause. Simon Cowell, a judge, had just one word to say and it was “Golden Buzzer”, sending him straight to the semi-finals of the show.
Cowell and the other judges called Bayoh’s performance “flawless” and “heavenly”. His angelic voice made the audience tear up and the judges thanked the teen for coming on the show. Bayoh went on to become one of the finalists of the show.
Bayoh’s audition at the BGT became popular on social media. People loved the boy’s impeccable singing and some musicians even commented on how perfectly he hit the high notes. “I’m a trained singer and a music teacher by profession, and sang this song as a young performer myself. I can say with absolute certainty that this song is most beautifully sung this time. With proper technique and breathing, this boy sang really well,” posted @mayacorinne878.
1. What can be learned about Bayoh from paragraph 2?| A．He comes from a single-parent family. | B．He is humorous in speech. |
| C．His dream was inspired by his fans. | D．His mom used to be a singer. |
| A．Bayoh’s difficulty in singing. | B．The judges’ attitudes to his son. |
| C．Bayoh’s performance on stage. | D．Some audiences’ initial responses. |
| A．Touched. | B．Annoyed. | C．Relieved. | D．Amused. |
| A．To uncover more musical geniuses. | B．To show musicians’ ability to sing well. |
| C．To stress Bayoh’s excellent singing. | D．To contradict some audiences’ comments. |
With the worldwide celebration of the Chinese New Year, traditional Chinese cultural forms such as the Yingge Dance (Dance of Heroes) and dragon and lion dances have once again attracted widespread attention.
As the Chinese New Year is increasingly celebrated
Literally
Based on the stories of the 108
From a centuries-old art form to a magnum opus (杰作) of Chinese tradition worldwide, the
1. When will the woman probably finish translating this time?
| A．In two days. | B．In four days. | C．In five days. |
| A．She does it for fun. | B．She is learning the language. | C．She wants to sing it for the man. |
4 . Four Best Rock Drummers (鼓手) of All Time
Ginger Baker
Ginger Baker is a legendary drummer who was best known for his work with the band Cream. He was born in England in 1939, and he first gained fame in the 1960s for his innovative style and powerful technique. Baker was a master of jazz, rock, and African rhythms, and he was one of the first drummers to use double bass (低音) drums.
Phil Collins
Phil Collins rose to fame as the drummer for the rock band Genesis, but he soon became known as a solo artist in his own right.
One of Collins’ most symbolic moments is during the middle of the song In the Air Tonight. Collins plays a symbolic drum fill that even non-drummers collectively know how to play almost by instinct (本能). The drum fill was so impressive that it has been used in countless commercials and TV shows.
Keith Moon
Keith Moon was one of the most influential drummers of his generation. As a member of The Who, he helped pioneer a new drumming style characterized by its power and energy.
Moon was known for his aggressive playing style and willingness to take risks. For example, he often incorporated long drum fills into his playing. In addition, he was not afraid to experiment with new techniques.
Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr is best known as the drummer for the Beatles. But Ringo’s life didn’t start out on such an attractive note. He was born in Liverpool. England, in 1940. Ringo’s father left when he was three, and his mother soon died of cancer. Ringo was sent to live with his aunt, who was so poor that she often couldn’t afford to feed him. Yet, despite these difficult beginnings. Ringo persevered and went on to have a remarkable career.
1. Who was a member of Cream?| A．Ginger Baker. | B．Phil Collins. | C．Keith Moon. | D．Ringo Starr. |
| A．His innovative style. | B．His powerful technique. |
| C．His use of double bass drums. | D．His drum fill in the song In the Air Tonight. |
| A．He rose to fame early. |
| B．He joined the Beatles in 1940. |
| C．He had a hard life in his childhood. |
| D．He was afraid to experiment with new techniques. |
5 . Mary Poppins held on to her famous black umbrella while floating overhead and singing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The audience watched in amazement, and many sang along! Poppins floated for a bit and eventually landed in the midst of the excited crowd before getting on stage. No, this wasn’t a scene from a Disney movie.
They had limited success until 1995 when Rieu was asked to provide entertainment for a soccer game. He got the entire stadium to sing along to a popular waltz.
Today Rieu is the best-selling classical artist worldwide. He has sold in the ballpark of an astonishing 40 million records. He is the biggest male solo touring artist on the planet. His concerts sell more tickets than Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen!
Many classical concerts are serious events, but Rieu’s are the opposite. He’s been nicknamed “The King of the Waltz” because he loves waltzes.
His shows are attended by people of all ages and always include surprises, like the delightful appearance by Mary Poppins. As Rieu says, “I only play music that touched my heart. And I know when it touches my heart, it will touch your heart.” During his performances, many audience members are visibly moved. They often clap, sing, dance, laugh, weep or hug one another. Rieu promises his audience, “You will have an evening that you will never forget.”And he is true to his word.
| A．Afterward, he sold over 200,000 CDs and his popularity rising. |
| B．Rather, it was part of one of André Rieu’s amazing concerts. |
| C．As a result, Rieu became a house-hold name and won great popularity. |
| D．Yet his shows consist of an extensive variety of musical genres and performances. |
| E．Then, Rieu continued his style until he got his nickname. |
| F．From early on, Rieu knew what he wanted - his own orchestra. |
1. Why did Danny decide to start his recording studio?
| A．To work with musicians. | B．To make a living. | C．To reduce costs. |
| A．Drawing cartoons. |
| B．Recording commercial music. |
| C．Making his own pop albums. |
| A．Advertise his productions. |
| B．Produce all kinds of music. |
| C．Deal with well-known musicians. |
| A．His skill at music arrangement. |
| B．His ability to employ new techniques. |
| C．His capability to meet market needs. |
7 . On a rainy afternoon in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, a group of amateur musicians gathered to lay down a few tracks. This wasn’t the first time the band had performed together, but it was their first time in a recording studio.
The band, which calls itself Infinity, first performed its work at the 2022 Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference in November. All four band members are diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental disorder that can cause people to interpret reality in abnormal ways, which can cause many kinds of disordered thinking.
Infinity formed five years ago when Flavio Chamis, a Brazilian composer and conductor, began working with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) on how to use music to treat mental illness.
“Having a mental health diagnosis is not a reason to not have a creative life,” Chamis said. Schizophrenia can be disabling, but therapy, medication and even playing music can help, according to a growing body of research.
Chamis and K.N. Roy Chengappa, a professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and the director of Pittsburgh’s schizophrenia conference, are continuing their efforts with the four musicians and to further investigate musical interventions in mental health outcomes.
As imaging techniques advance, scientists are working to answer precisely why music affects the brain in the ways that it does. Playing music seems to have an impact on timing systems in the brain, which are affected by major depression, schizophrenia and other illnesses. There is research indicating that training patients to play in rhythm can in fact help retrain the brain in other, less obvious ways. Interventions tend to have positive effects, but the research is still in early stages.
The band doesn’t have much formal music training, but they played and sang with touching sincerity. “It’s not supposed to be professional or perfect,” Chengappa said. “One of them has been my patient for 20 years. ... They’ve really blossomed.”
Chamis led the Infinity recording from the piano, with each musician in a separate sound-proof room listening to one another on headphones. The conductor and composer encouraged the musicians and gave advice after each take.
“It’s been great working on this with Flavio,” said guitarist David Baird. “I loved feeling like a professional. ... I want more.”
1. What is special about the band Infinity?| A．All the members were professional. | B．It performed for people with schizophrenia. |
| C．All the members have mental disorders. | D．It formed and gave its first performance in 2022. |
| A．investigate the causes of schizophrenia | B．study the effect of music on mental illness |
| C．stimulate the members’ creativity in music | D．obtain the opportunity to cooperate with UPMC |
| A．intervening its timing systems | B．employing imaging approaches |
| C．changing its reaction time | D．making its rhythm less obvious |
| A．sincere | B．professional | C．depressed | D．confident |
Why Ear-worms Get Stuck in Your Head
We all get a sensation when a song, for no apparent reason, refuses to leave your head — in fact we’re no strangers to the dreaded “ear-worm.” But a new study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts reveals a fascinating insight into ear-worms, and why some songs are better than others in sticking in our heads by investigating the actual elements of the song that make it catchy in the first place.
To do this, most frequent ear-worms of the participants were entered into a database and compared to songs that had never been reported as an ear-worm at all. The melodic features of the tunes were then analyzed, revealing that ear-worm tunes were typically those songs that have overall melodic shapes common in Western pop music. A classic example of a common contour (音调的升降曲线) pattern is heard in Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, where the first phrase rises in pitch and the second falls. This makes the tune easy to remember and has been exploited in many other nursery rhymes, but also in pop music.
In addition to the melodic shape, the other ingredient to the ear-worm formula is the unusual interval structure. The aim of this is to surpass the listener’s expectations of an average pop song, showing unexpected leaps or more repeated notes than usual. “Our findings show that you can, to some extent, predict which songs are going to get stuck in people’s heads based on the song’s melodic content,” says one of the researchers, “This could help song-writers or advertisers write a jingle (短歌) everyone will remember for days or months afterwards.”
The authors conclude that studies of ear-worms can help explain how the brain works, and improve our understanding in how perception, emotions, memory and spontaneous thoughts behave in different people.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________| A．The film is made up of world classics. |
| B．Mamma Mia has moved from the stage to the screen. |
| C．Mamma Mia tells Sufi’s search for her mother. |
| D．The story of Mamma Mia has a lot to do with the band. |
| A．In Sweden. | B．In Shanghai. |
| C．In London. | D．In America. |
| A．The mature cast. |
| B．The story with ABBA music. |
| C．The European Song Contest 1984 champion. |
| D．The Chinese version of Mamma of 2011. |
10 . Pullman is a superb writer and Seagull is a brilliant communicator. They had a debate after Seagull posted a question on his social media platform: “When you were trying to create an environment for learning, what were your best pieces of classical music to listen to?” He received hundreds of suggestions — and one negative reply, from Pullman: “That’s not what classical music is for. Treat it with respect.”
That did it! Everyone — professional musicians, students, teachers — weighed into the argument, and the majority supported Seagull and were criticizing Pullman.
It’s easy to see why people are annoyed. We all want classical music to be as accessible as possible, especially to the young. If some of them are using Bach or Schubert as a tool to help them study, what’s the problem? They may also develop an attachment to classical music.
So is Pullman ridiculous and supercilious by objecting to classical music being used as background music? At first sight, his idea seems stuffy and extreme. By suggesting that classical music should be “treated with respect” and not used as background music, Pullman seems to be closing classical music of to millions of people.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that he isn’t the first to express concerns about classical music being devalued by becoming too commonplace in today’s technologically shaped world. In Benjamin Britten’s 1964 speech, the composer expressed exactly the same worries as Pullman. Britten suggested, “The true musical experience demands some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place, saving up for a ticket, some homework perhaps”. In short, it demands as much effort from listeners as from composers and performers.
I don’t agree with such an extreme viewpoint, but I do think it touches on a reality. You will never fully grasp the beauty of classical music if you half-hear it only in the background. That doesn’t necessarily matter. Music can be enjoyed on many levels. What Pullman and Britten are really saying is that, in a drive for “accessibility”, we shouldn’t deny the emotional and intellectual complexity underpinning (构成) much classical music.
1. What did Seagull’s posting result in?| A．Great admiration for Seagull. |
| B．Public criticism of classical music. |
| C．A discussion about learning environments. |
| D．An argument over the role of classical music. |
| A．Self-important. | B．Open-minded. | C．Impatient. | D．Considerate. |
| A．To show his affection for classical music. |
| B．To introduce young people to classical music. |
| C．To demonstrate classical music is demanding. |
| D．To support Pullman’s idea over classical music. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Doubtful. | C．Objective. | D．Uninterested. |
