In the town of Pinecrest, a young girl named Emily had a dream of becoming a professional dancer. She was attracted by the grace and beauty of ballet and contemporary dance, often practicing her moves while watching online performances. Emily’s family owned a small restaurant, where they hosted travelers from all around the world. Regrettably, her family could not afford to send her to an expensive dance academy, and the town did not have any professional dancers who could train her.
Despite the challenges, Emily stuck to her determination to succeed. She spent hours every day practicing in her poor studio at home, learning from online courses, dance videos, and attending occasional workshops in neighboring towns. She would try to perfect the dance moves she observed in the videos and developed her own unique dance style, drawing inspiration from the beautiful natural surroundings. Emily’s passion and dedication caught the attention of the local community, and she was invited to perform at various town events and celebrations.
One day, news spread that a well-known dance company would be visiting Pinecrest to hold a talent show. The show aimed to discover ambitious dancers from remote areas, providing them with an opportunity to learn from professionals and share their passion with others. Emily, filled with excitement, decided to participate in the show, viewing it as a chance to learn from the experts and gain recognition for her talent.
During the show, Emily performed a dance that fascinated the audience and the judges with her graceful movements and emotive expressions. The artistic director of the dance company, who was also one of the judges, was impressed by Emily’s natural talent and dedication to her craft. Recognizing her potential, the artistic director offered Emily a scholarship to train at their dance academy in the city.
注意：
1. 续写词数应为150左右;
2. 请按如下格式在相应位置作答。
Emily was overjoyed upon hearing the artistic director’s offer.
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Years later, Emily stood on the stage, taking a bow as the audience applauded.
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At noon that day, I drove back to my house after the performance. Just as I entered the living room, I heard a gentle sound coming from the bedroom upstairs — it was the sound of my favorite violin.
“Thief!”
I rushed upstairs. Sure enough, as expected, a boy of about 11 years old was petting my violin. The boy had messy hair and a thin face, his over-sized coat seemingly filled with something. At first glance, I found a new pair of shoes missing. It seemed that he was surely a thief.
Then, I saw his eyes full of fear and despair. My anger was immediately replaced by a smile. I asked, “Are you Mr. Tom’s nephew, Michael? I’m his housekeeper. Two days ago, I heard his nephew living in the countryside will come. It must be you. You’re really like him!”
On hearing my words, the boy was first astonished, but then quickly said, “Has my uncle gone out? I think I’d better first go out for a walk and visit him again in a little while.”
I nodded and asked the boy who was preparing to put down the violin, “Do you like to play the violin so much?”
“Yes, but I’m so poor that I can’t afford it.” the boy replied.
“Then, I can give this violin to you.” The boy looked at me questioningly, but he picked up the violin.
Going out to the living room, he suddenly saw on the wall my huge color photo in which I performed in the Sydney Opera House. He involuntarily trembled for a moment and ran out without looking back.
I was sure that the boy had understood what happened, because no one would decorate the living room with the housekeeper’s photo.
A few years later, I was invited to be a judge at a music competition of senior high school students. Fascinated by the gentle sound of one participant, I was wholeheartedly impressed by his wonderful performance and solid strength. As I flicked my eyes up to glance at the performer, I was so astonished to see a thin face, so familiar, yet now lit up with joy and confidence. The “thief”! For an instant, I was amazed that the kindness I offered to cover the boy’s misconduct would make such a big difference!
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After the competition, “Michael” ran to me, holding a violin box.
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3 . 3D-Printed Violins
While professional violinists often have instruments that cost between $2000 and $10, 000, it is possible to have one that costs millions depending on how they were and who made them.
However, the good news for them is that they will meet with low-cost and durable (耐用的) 3D-printed violins thanks to The Acoustical Society of America’s AVIVA Young Artists Program. The team’s inspiration roots in multiple places. Their goals were to explore the new world of sounds created by using new materials, to use the new technology of other fields, and to make music education accessible through the printing of more durable instruments.
“The next step is to lower the costs of production for making such instruments more widely available, especially in the field of education,” said Mary-Elizabeth Brown, director of the AVIVA Young Artists Program. Violins are not the only instruments that are produced through 3D-printing technology.
| A．Besides, the AVIVA violin is less damaged than its traditional wooden cousins. |
| B．3D-printed violins have been popular with beginners since they were invented. |
| C．The violin was built in two pieces using 3D printing. |
| D．The project is also to get violins to children that couldn’t otherwise afford them. |
| E．Indeed, even basic violins for students often cost $1000 or more. |
| F．Many instruments have been produced with a 3D printer before. |
| G．Most students have to give up learning the instrument due to the high cost. |
4 . Art is everywhere. Any public space has been carefully designed by an artistic mind to be both functional and beautiful. Why, then, is art still so widely considered to be the easy subject at school insignificant to wider society, a waste of time and effort?
Art can connect culture with commercial (商业的) products in a way that not many other things can; art brings money and holds significant emotional and cultural value within communities. When people attend a concert they are paying for the art product—music, sure, maybe even hotel rooms, meals, and transport, but they also gain an incredible experience, a unique atmosphere and a memory that will go through the rest of their lives. People don’t just want material things anymore they want to experience life—the arts are a perfect crossover between culture and commerce.
Furthermore, the arts can bring communities together, reducing loneliness and making people feel safer. Social bonds are created among individuals when they share their arts experiences through reflection and discussion, and their expression of common values through artworks in honour of events significant to a nation’s experience.
The arts clearly have a pretty positive impact on physical and psychological health. It is found that people who frequent cultural places or participate in artistic events are more likely to gain good health compared to those who do not; more engagement with the arts is linked to a higher level of people’s well-being. The Royal Society of Public Health discovered that music and art, when used in hospitals, help to improve the conditions of patients by reducing stress, anxiety and blood pressure.
Children who are involved with the arts make greater achievements in their education: those engaged with drama have greater literary ability while others taking part in musical practice exhibit greater skills in math and languages. Kids with preference for the arts have a greater chance of finding employment in the future. Participating in the arts is essential for child development: encouraging children to express themselves in constructive ways could help to form healthy emotional responses in later life
Vital to human life, art is celebrated and used by nations across the world for various purposes. Life without art would be boring and dead still, for art is a part of what makes us human.
1. Art products differ from most other commercial products because ________.| A．they have both commercial and cultural values |
| B．they are more expensive and difficult to understand |
| C．they provide the chance to escape from material life |
| D．they are created only to meet people’s emotional needs |
| A．Arts strengthen social connections. |
| B．Arts have always been highly valued. |
| C．Arts promise kids a successful life. |
| D．Arts influence people more physically than mentally. |
| A．How Art Cures Our Hearts |
| B．Art: A Bridge Between Cultures |
| C．How Art Benefits Communities |
| D．Art: A Blessing to Humankind |
5 . Whether it is Mozart or Miley，your choice of music could determine whether you will perform well at your job. A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry，proofreading and problem solving. an officebased experiment，88 percent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music.
The study also found that 81 percent completed their work fastest when music was played. And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance，if you're doing your tax returns，then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills.
Listening to Jessie J or Justin Bieber could also improve your speed，with 58 percent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs. During proofreading，dance music，such as David Guetta，had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 percent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spellchecking with a 75 percent pass rate compared to 68 percent when no music was played at all.
The research，undertaken by Brightonbased Mindlab International，suggests that silent offices may be the least productive. The Music Works experiment revealed a positive correlation between music and productivity. Overall，it showed that when listening to music，nine out of ten people performed better，said Dr David Lewis，chairman of Mindlab International.
1. Whose music can help you do maths homework according to the study?| A．The music of Justin Bieber. |
| B．The music of Mozart. |
| C．The music of David Guetta. |
| D．The music of David Lewis. |
| A．Music makes you relaxed. |
| B．Music helps you to enter data faster. |
| C．Music improves maths skills. |
| D．Music has a positive effect on spellchecking. |
| A．88% of people worked faster |
| B．81% of people did their most accurate work |
| C．90% of people worked better |
| D．75% of people completed data entry task faster |
| A．Music may be helpless to people in office. |
| B．Silent offices can make people work better. |
| C．Different kinds of music have the same effect. |
| D．Silent offices may make people work least profitably. |
I have listened to music all my life. When I was twelve years old, the Beatles came to America and my whole world opened up. Maybe young people today cannot understand the influence of the Beatles when they exploded across America. Their influence changed the way we dressed, looked, acted and spoke... even our culture. The Beatles arrived in America from the UK just under three months after the assassination(暗杀) of President John Kennedy, which had put America into a great depression. And the freshness and lively spirit of the Beatles was exactly what the country needed to refresh itself.
Music links the heart of the hearer with that of the composer. This means that it mixes the spirit of the composer with your spirit when you listen to it. And the music can take your spirit out of your body and transport you into another world. Music has a great way of touching people. Music can make you laugh, cry or shout. It's also a great source of inspiration.
Try this one day and notice what happens: make yourself a cup of tea, sit on your sofa and play one of your favorite songs. Close your eyes, and soon you'll find yourself creating vivid mental images—matching the music that you are listening to.
1. Music has magical power because it ________.
| A．is a kind of language |
| B．can be played much louder than words |
| C．receives a personal radio signal |
| D．can influence a person's spirit |
| A．were the biggest band in American history |
| B．are not accepted by modern American people |
| C．appeared at a special time in American politics |
| D．represented the roots of American culture |
| A．feeling very refreshed |
| B．having emotional changes |
| C．painting some vivid pictures |
| D．feeling inspired by the composer |
| A．has been influenced by the Beatles |
| B．enjoys drinking tea in his spare time |
| C．admires President John Kennedy very much |
| D．likes to match his own feeling with that of the composer |
