2 . Laurie Horam never thought of himself as musical. At home, his dad never listened to music, while one of his boarding school teachers labelled him tone deaf. But last month he started to play the harmonica (口琴)on the streets of Bradford. People clapped, danced and threw coins into his case for the local food bank. Horam caught himself thinking. “How, at the age of 79, do I come to be playing music to people on the streets?”

The question preoccupied him, because, some years ago at a family gathering, Gavin, his eldest son, said: “You know what, Dad? It can’t be coincidental. We must have got our musical abilities from you.” Horam has three sons and they cover a range of instruments. He was surprised. “There can’t be music in me, because I can’t play! ”he said.

Eight years ago, Horam, a retired civil servant, was on his way back from a trip with his family. Gavin stopped at a music shop. He walked out and said: “Here you are. I bought this for you, Dad. It’s a harmonica. I’ll try to show you how to play a bit.”

They went to a session at their local pub. Gavin played the guitar and Horam sat in the corner with his harmonica, trying to make a sound that no one would hear. After six months, he was invited into the group. He discovered a talent for improvisation(即兴表演),responding to a note within a millisecond without batting an eyelid. “I don’t play by ear. I play by heart.” Actually, Horam says: “My harmonica plays me-how I feel, what I am, what I’ve been.”

Music has enriched life with friendship and made Horam feel “part of something much bigger” than himself. “At a time when the circle of life might be shrinking, mine is expanding,” he says. “Maybe we never know completely who we are or what we can do.”

1. Why did Horam play the harmonica on the streets of Bradford?

A．To recall the good old days.

B．To beg food from passers-by.

C．To live his childhood dream.

D．To collect money for charity.

2. What is Gavin’s attitude to his father’s musical ability?

A．Positive.

B．Disapproving.

C．Doubtful.

D．Unclear.

3. What does playing the harmonica allow Horam to do?

A．Enjoy the quiet.

B．Listen to his heart.

C．Express himself.

D．Sharpen his hearing.

4. What does music bring to Horam?

A．A lost soul.

B．A comfortable life.

C．A broader circle of life.

D．A new perception of family.

3 . Watching a movie can be a magical experience, but do you know that the music in the films we watch has always been an important part of creating that magical experience?    1    

The first commercial film with sound came out in 1927.     2    Even back in the early days of silent films，most movie theatres hired a musician or a group of musicians to provide music, mostly to drown out the sound of the film projectors (放映机) and people talking.

As sound-on-film technology developed, composers were hired to create original music for films. Like music written for an opera，film music serves to advance the story and the action.     3     In the same way, a film composer needs to support the screenplay’s storyline. The music also needs to reflect the screenplay’s mood, which includes everything from the action on the screen to sound effects to dialogue.

Music has a language of its own. The right piece of music can improve and sometimes even change a viewer’s ideas of what is taking place onscreen. Most of the time, music is used to stress the action onscreen, improve the mood of a scene, foreshadow action that is about to take place or even show the emotion of a character.     4     But in many instances the emotional power of the visuals would not be as great were it not for the music.

    5     Ask yourself, “How would this scene feel if the music were different? Is the composer trying to tell me how I should feel? Or are they merely pushing me in an emotional direction?”

A．So, how is the film music created?

B．Without it, it would be hard to imagine the scene.

C．An opera composer must follow the text of the opera.

D．Usually, composers and filmmakers don’t want to overshadow a film.

E．So the next time you watch a movie, pay close attention to the music.

F．The music in a film makes you cheer for the hero and cry at the drama.

G．Since then, music has been powerfully linked to the movie-watching experience.

4 . As a child, Liu Wenwen didn’t like the suona, a “loud” traditional Chinese musical instrument, also an ancestral treasure of her family that was to become her career.

Liu says she felt ashamed. In the 1990s, people admired things that were modern and international. The suona was considered out of date. Her father’s family has performed with the suona for seven generations, while the tradition on her mother’s side of the family can be traced back to the early Qing Dynasty. Despite her unwillingness, she followed her parents to play the suona as early as 3 years old. Besides it, Liu has also learned traditional Chinese vocal music and dancing—skills that have improved her oral muscles and sense of rhyme, helping equip her to be a professional musician.

It wasn’t until 2008 that she first found suona music beautiful. That was when she entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music to learn the instrument more systematically from Liu Ying, a professor and top player. “The music played by the professor is just amazing, and different from what I had heard before,” she says.

She loves exchanging ideas about suona playing techniques with her students. “It’s wonderful to see the younger generation carrying on this cultural tradition.” Liu Wenwen said she is pleased to see the suona regain popularity among young people, sometimes combined with jazz, opera and other art forms. This has stopped its decline in the 1990s. Her name, when mentioned on China’s social media platforms, often is followed by a video of her live performance at a concert in Sydney, Australia. Westerners were amazed by the loud, unfamiliar instrument and its colorful music. “I felt my hard work had paid off. I trained for over 20 years, probably just to win cheers and applause for traditional Chinese music on the international stage”.

1. What urged Liu Wenwen to learn to play the suona?

A．Family tradition.	B．Personal interest.
C．Her professor.	D．Her ambition.

2. Apart from daily training, what did Liu do to be a professional musician?

A．Follow her parents to play the suona.

B．Learn music history at an early age.

C．Play the suona with her parents on the stage.

D．Better her oral muscles and sense of rhyme.

3. How did Liu first find suona music beautiful?

A．By learning from the famous professor Liu.

B．By visiting Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

C．By performing the suona music in Sydney.

D．By hearing her family playing the suona.

4. What can we learn from Liu’s last words in the last paragraph?

A．She learned the value of her performance.

B．She earned a fortune after 20 years’ training.

C．She worked hard and became an international professor.

D．She surprised many westerners with a video of her performance.

5 . An elderly black man sits on a drum with his legs on two sides. Using his fingers and the edge of his hand, he taps repeatedly at the drumhead, producing strong drumbeat. A second drummer joins in playing with the same rhythm. A third black man plays a stringed instrument, the body of which is roughly fashioned from a calabash (葫芦). Another calabash has been made into a drum, and a woman beats at it with two short sticks. One voice, then other voices join in. A dance accompanies this musical give-and-take, a moving picture that appears, on the one hand, informal and spontaneous yet, on closer inspection, ritualized (程式化的) and precise. It is a dance of massive size. A dense crowd of dark bodies forms into circular groups—perhaps five or six hundred individuals moving in time to the beat of the music, some swaying gently, others aggressively stomping their feet. A number of women in the group begin chanting.

The scene could be Africa. In fact, it is nineteenth-century New Orleans. Scattered firsthand accounts provide us with fascinating details of the slave dances that took place in the open area then known as Congo Square and there are perhaps no more fascinating documents in the history of African American music. Benjamin Latrobe, the noted architect, witnessed one of these collective dances on February 21,1819, and not only left us a vivid written account of the event but made several sketches of the instruments used. These drawings confirm that the musicians of Congo square, about 1891, were playing percussion (打击乐器) and stringed instruments almost identical to those characteristic of real African music.

Later documents add to our knowledge of the public slave dances in New Orleans but still leave us with many open questions — some of which, in time, historical research may be able to explain, while others might never be answered. One thing, however, is clear. Although these days we tend to view the intersection of black and white musical currents as a theoretical, almost symbolic issue, these storied accounts of the Congo Square dances provide us with a real time and place, an actual transfer of totally African ritual to the native soil of the New World.

1. Which of the following best describes the musical scene in the beginning?

A．It’s slow and relaxing.	B．It’s lovely and childlike.
C．It’s strong and organized.	D．It’s delightful and encouraging.

2. What’s the purpose of paragraph 2?

A．To help its readers to read a music history book.

B．To show the value of the accounts in music history.

C．To familiarize its readers with a type of ancient music.

D．To praise an architect who was a dedicated music lover.

3. What’s the new understanding of the music?

A．It’s more of a musical theory.	B．It’s more of a vivid life.
C．It’s more of a religious ceremony.	D．It’s more of a cultural symbol.

4. What can we learn about Congo Square?

A．A place where foreigners held musical festivals.

B．A place where music historians wrote their books.

C．A place where slaves could have a break from hard labour.

D．A place where African music found its voice on the new land.

6 . 阅读下面短文，文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。

Over 27 million Chinese watch the first online concert of Irish band Westlife at Friday night. Hold in London and livestreamed on WeChat, the concert impressed Chinese fans deep with many hit songs, as well as a Chinese song. Besides the good pronunciation in a Chinese song, the band’s interactions also thrilled the audience. For many Chinese, their most favourite English songs were by Westlife. The band left a mark on them during their youth, but the concert allowed them to share their memories with peer across the globe. This was just WeChat’s first move invite more global celebrities, said Zhu Liqun, which leads the marketing department.

8 . If you’re hoping to follow your ears to your next vacation destination, but haven’t yet found a festival that calls your name, we’ve got a list of some of our favorites to help you plan your escape.

Guẻa Trumpe t Festival

The trumpet is a part of daily life in Serbia—present at births, celebrations, and burials. And the annual event has been going strong for more than 50 years to celebrate the instrument and its cultural significance in this country.

Positiv us Festival

Positivus is the largest music festival in Latvia, attracting big-name stars across all major genres and giving new artists a chance to shine. It’s also one of the most accessible music festivals in the world, even for families with small children. Other pluses? Ticket prices are reasonable and the beautiful coastal location means you can swim in the water or hang in the cool shade of the forest on the same day, all while listening to live music.

Alfa Future People

Held in the Russian countryside, six hours east of Moscow by car, Alfa Future People is more than a massive electronic dance music(EDM) festival, with exhibitions on the latest related technology and athletic opportunities like a volleyball tournament and gymnastics classes.

Mysteryland

If you’re into EDM, you won’t want to miss Mysteryland. Not only is this Dutch festival a bellwether(风向标) of EDM, its grand stage setups will blow your mind. What’s more, this is also one of the most sustainability-focused festivals in the world. In addition to readily available recycling stations and organic eats, attendees can plant trees to reduce their carbon footprint.

1. Which festival should visitors attend if they are mainly interested in local culture?

A．Alfa Future People.	B．Mysteryland.
C．Guěa Trumpet Festival.	D．Positiv us Festival.

2. What can we learn about Positivus Festival?

A．It is usually held indoors.	B．It is affordable and family-friendly.
C．It is the largest music festival in Europe.	D．It is also well-known for its athletic events.

3. What do the last two festivals have in common?

A．They provide EDM classes.	B．They have related exhibitions.
C．They are sustainability-focused festivals.	D．They are famous for electronic dance music.

9 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

On 12th January 2007, an experiment     1     (conduct). About a thousand morning commuters (通勤者) passing through a subway station in Washington, D.C. were treated to a free mini-concert     2     (perform) by violinist Joshua Bell, who played for about 45 minutes on his Stradivarius violin. Bell reportedly paid 3.5 million dollars for the violin. However, only 7 people stopped and stayed to listen for a while. About 27 gave him money but continued to walk at their normal pace. He collected $52.17. When he finished     3     (play) and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any     4     (recognize). No one noticed that one of the best musicians in the world had played one of the most difficult pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

When some children would stop     5     (listen), their parents would grab them and quickly take them away. The experiment was     6     (clear) disappointing but raised some     7     (interest) questions such as “In an ordinary setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty be recognized by most people?” Three days earlier, in fact, Bell had played to a full house at Boston’s Symphony Hall,     8     tickets went for over $100.

This experiment gives way to a comparison of     9     public’s awareness of art in different settings.     10     pressure, it also reminds us of the challenge of adapting to surroundings. Furthermore, it makes us aware of how our intentions and expectations can influence our perception of worth.

10 . It was already dark. After the jetliner_________safe and sound, it taxied to a stop at its parking slot in Doha’s airport. A small group of_________people gathered at the bottom of the gangway (舷梯) to_________the passengers who were just free from the war. Among those _________was 59-year-old Ahmad Sarmast, director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

He wanted to seem organized and remain_________. After all, the_________of the last few months had taught the director that nothing’s done_________it’s done. But then13-year-old Farida, her violin case in hand, appeared at the_________of the gangway; another to-be _________Zohra, also13, followed. They saw Sarmast,__________down the steps and hugged him. “That’s when I __________ and started to cry.” he said. “We all were.”

With Farida and Zohra in Doha, the months-long, tough__________to evacuaees (撤离人员) of the music school was over after the Taliban’s triumph (胜利) in Afghanistan. The flight’s __________ meant that all those willing and able to leave the capital, Kabul—almost 300 students, faculty, staff and their families were __________ .

But the__________was bitter-sweet for Sarmast. “We’re excited, happy, and__________that we got our community out of Afghanistan, which gives them the opportunity to chase their dreams and __________ musical tradition,” he said. “At the same time, it’s also very__________.You see, everything in Afghanistan is__________, everything for which so many people took so many risks to make music __________.

1.

A．landed

B．settled

C．appeared

D．flew

2.

A．curious

B．anxious

C．depressed

D．excited

3.

A．protect

B．comfort

C．meet

D．invite

4.

A．waiting

B．cheering

C．laughing

D．crying

5.

A．serious

B．gentle

C．kind

D．calm

6.

A．lesson

B．experience

C．nightmare

D．journey

7.

A．until

B．when

C．after

D．if

8.

A．bottom

B．top

C．end

D．exit

9.

A．hostess

B．dancer

C．singer

D．musician

10.

A．fell

B．climbed

C．ran

D．rolled

11.

A．broke away

B．stood up

C．looked down

D．gave up

12.

A．battle

B．mission

C．struggle

D．task

13.

A．arrival

B．departure

C．stay

D．delay

14.

A．off

B．apart

C．out

D．away

15.

A．flight

B．memory

C．sight

D．moment

16.

A．amazing

B．lucky

C．delighted

D．hopeful

17.

A．preserve

B．serve

C．appreciate

D．love

18.

A．fortunate

B．painful

C．sweet

D．disappointing

19.

A．happening

B．changing

C．coming

D．collapsing

20.

A．favorable

B．appealing

C．accessible

D．popular