1 . “I couldn’t survive without music.” says fifteen-year-old Steve. In the morning, Steve wakes up to his favorite
“Last week I put my headphones on in the maths
“My mother
For
| A．English | B．news | C．information | D．music |
| A．breakfast | B．lunch | C．supper | D．dinner |
| A．work | B．office | C．school | D．party |
| A．workshop | B．class | C．lab | D．dormitory |
| A．excited | B．worried | C．angry | D．tired |
| A．terrible | B．hopeless | C．poor | D．surprising |
| A．usually | B．seldom | C．frequently | D．always |
| A．expect | B．bear | C．understand | D．hope |
| A．while | B．at | C．for | D．with |
| A．helps | B．leads | C．causes | D．forces |
| A．Unluckily | B．Actually | C．Disappointingly | D．Necessarily |
| A．first | B．last | C．moment | D．hour |
| A．grown-ups | B．parents | C．friends | D．teenagers |
| A．study | B．life | C．family | D．school |
| A．classical | B．country | C．light | D．loud |
2 . Last Friday, a robot called EveR6 led an orchestra (管弦乐队) in a performance of Korean music at the National Theater of Korea. EveR 6 is about as tall as a person, and has a human-like face that can show emotions. Its joints (关节) allow it to move its arms quickly and smoothly in many different directions.
But EveR 6 doesn’t think on its own like some advanced Artificial Intelligence programs. Instead, it has a limited group of movements that it has been trained to perform. To make these movements as natural as possible, EveR 6’s movements are based on those captured from real human conductors.
In Friday’s performance, the National Orchestra of Korea presented a concert titled “Absence”. The concert included five different pieces of music. Two were conducted by EveR 6, and two were conducted by Soo-Yeoul Choi, who leads the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. Both conductors worked together on the final piece.
Mr. Choi was impressed with the way EveR 6 moved. “The robot was able to present such detailed moves much better than I had imagined,” he said.
But Mr. Choi added that the robot’s biggest weakness is that it can’t hear. “Some people think that conducting is just a combination of hand waving and keeping the beat,” said Mr. Choi. “But a good conductor needs to listen to the orchestra, so that he or she can correct and encourage the orchestra as it plays.”
Mr. Choi and EveR 6 both conducted a piece of music called “Sense”. Instead of musical notes, EveR 6 had instructions for how to play the piece. The conductors and musicians had to work together to create the music. Mr. Choi communicated with the musicians while EveR 6 kept the beat. Mr. Choi said that once EveR 6 started, the musicians had “no choice but to follow its beats”.
Mr. Choi doesn’t think robots are likely to replace human conductors. But he believes robots could be helpful in situations like practice sessions where the same thing needs to be repeated many times.
1. What do we know about EveR 6 from the text?| A．It is an experienced conductor. | B．It has a lifelike appearance. |
| C．It is able to listen to music. | D．It is much shorter than a person. |
| A．Stolen. | B．Stopped. | C．Recorded. | D．Hidden. |
| A．Waving hands. | B．Keeping the beat. |
| C．Having instructions. | D．Communicating with musicians. |
| A．A robot conducting an orchestra. | B．An orchestra having performed in Korea. |
| C．Modern music combined with technology. | D．Two conductors getting worldwide recognition. |
Do you love American country music? It is
Nashville is
When you visit Nashville, you can find shops
The country songs most of the singers sing come from the rural areas in the southern United States. The songs often describe those day-to day situations and the
1. Why is the woman upset?
| A．The man is smoking. |
| B．The baby keeps crying. |
| C．The man lets the baby listen to rock music. |
| A．Sing a song. | B．Read about Beethoven. | C．Put on some different music. |
| A．Mother and son. | B．Husband and wife. | C．Teacher and student. |
5 . What’s On?
Electric Underground
7.30pm－1.00am Free at the Cyclops Theatre
Do you know who’s playing in your area? We’re bringing you an evening of live rock and pop music from the best local bands. Are you interested in becoming a musician and getting a recording contract? If so, come early to the talk at 7.30 pm by Jules Skye, a successful record producer. He’s going to talk about how you can find the right person to produce your music.
Gee Whizz
8.30pm-10.30pm Comedy (喜剧)at Kaleidoscope
Come and see Gee Whizz perform. He’s the funniest stand-up comedian on the comedy scene. This joyful show will please everyone, from the youngest to the oldest. Gee Whizz really knows how to make you laugh! Our bar is open from 7.00pm for drinks and snacks(快餐).
Simon’s Workshop
5.00pm-7.30pm Wednesdays at Victoria Stage
This is a good chance for anyone who wants to learn how to do comedy. The workshop looks at every kind of comedy, and practices many different ways of making people laugh. Simon is a comedian and actor who has 10 years’ experience of teaching comedy. His workshops are exciting and fun. An evening with Simon will give you the confidence to be funny.
Charlotte Stone
8.00pm-11.00pm Pizza World
Fine food with beautiful jazz music; this is a great evening out. Charlotte Stone will perform songs from her new best-selling CD, with James Pickering on the piano. The menu is Italian, with excellent meat and fresh fish, pizzas and pasta(面食). Book early to get a table. Our bar is open all day, and serves cocktails, coffee, beer, and white wine.
1. Who can help you if you want to have your music produced?| A．Jules Skye. | B．Gee Whizz. | C．Charlotte Stone. | D．James Pickering. |
| A．The Cyclops Theatre | B．Kaleidoscope | C．Victoria Stage | D．Pizza World |
| A．It requires membership card. | B．It lasts three hours each time. |
| C．It is run by a comedy club. | D．It is held every Wednesday. |
| A．5.00pm-7.30pm. | B．7.30pm－1.00am. | C．8.00pm-11.00pm. | D．8.30pm-10.30pm. |
6 . “If music is the medicine of the soul(灵魂), let it play on," said a famous person. I think he said so because probably he got some help from music. Music has some strange abilities. Medical scientists have found that a person that feels stressed can actually listen to some kind of music and become well.
The researchers said that since stress comes as a result of life events such as starting a new family, starting a new business, and starting a new job, one can actually listen to good music and feel good because good music touches the human mind in a positive way. Music helps you to forget the life events that make you worried and remember the important events that once happened in your life.
Depression(抑郁) is a disease caused by stress, smoking, social problems and so on. Depression is also caused by problems such as failure in business. Depression may bring us weakness, headache, and loss of concentration. Good music makes one remember happy moments or good days. If you play music about love, it makes you feel like falling in love again though you may have had several upset experiences. And such good feelings make you healthy.
Anxiety(焦虑) is another health problem that can be controlled by music. Anxiety is a side effect of some major health problems such as cancer of the liver and cancer of the breast. Good music makes you feel relaxed and removes the pains from these diseases and you feel all right.
Good music can send you to sleep. And you need to know that sleep puts your body in a healthy condition. Sleep takes away the effects of stress, depression and anxiety from a person.
1. According to the famous person in Paragraph 1, music can .| A．treat many kinds of diseases |
| B．help you keep healthy in your mind |
| C．take the place of medicine in treating illness |
| D．make you remember things that happened |
| A．letting people have a good sleep |
| B．making people think positively |
| C．showing something new to people |
| D．making people focus only on important things |
| A．Stress. | B．Smoking. |
| C．Failure in business. | D．Loss of concentration. |
| A．The Health Benefits of Listening to Music |
| B．Stress Can Bring Us Many Kinds of Diseases |
| C．Some Diseases Have Something to Do With Music |
| D．Tips For Us to Live a Healthy And Comfortable Life |
7 . Recent research shows that listening to music improves our health in surprising ways. If we take a music lesson or two, that musical training can help raise our IQs and even keep us sharp in old age.
As Bob Marely once put it: “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Research at Drexel University found that music reduced pain more than standard treatments in cancer patients. Other research showed that music can ease pain in patients.
A study with healthy older adults found that those with ten or more years of musical experience scored higher on cognitive (认知的) tests than musicians with one to nine years of musical study.
A study showed that students who listened to relaxing classical music for 45 minutes before turning in slept much better than students who listened to an audiobook or did nothing different from their normal routine. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try listening to a little Mozart before bedtime.
Music Raises IQ and Academic Performance| A．Music Relaxes People |
| B．Music Helps You Sleep Better |
| C．The non-musicians scored the lowest. |
| D．Here are some amazing benefits of music. |
| E．Therefore, standard treatments are strongly advised by doctors. |
| F．But the selection needed to be either classical pieces or their choices. |
| G．Research shows that learning music predicts higher scores in children. |
8 . From Mozart to Metallica, tons of people enjoy listening to various types of music while they paint, write, or draw. Most believe that music helps increase creativity, but an international study conducted by English and Swedish researchers is challenging that view. The study results were echoed by scientists from Lancaster University, and the University of Gavle, saying their findings show music actually weakens creativity.
To reach their conclusions, researchers had volunteers complete verbal problems designed to inspire creativity while sitting in a quiet room, and then again while music played in the background. They found that background music significantly weakened the volunteers’ ability to complete tasks connected with verbal creativity. The team also tested background noises like those commonly heard in a library, but found that such noises had no influence on subjects’ creativity.
The tasks were simple word games. For example, volunteers were given three words, such as dress, rise, and flower. Then, they were asked to find a single word connected with all three that could be combined to form a common phrase or word. The single word, in this case, would be “sun” (sundress, sunrise, sunflower). Volunteers completed the tasks in either a quiet room, or while listening to two different types of music: rock music or light music
“We found strong evidence of weakened performance when playing background music in comparison to quiet background conditions,” says co-author D. Neil McLatchie of Lancaster University. He and his colleagues find that music negatively influences the verbal working memory processes of the brain, preventing creativity. Also, as far as the library background noises having seemingly no effect, the study’s authors believe that was the case because library noises create a “regular state” environment that doesn’t affect concentration.
“To conclude, the findings here challenge the popular view that music increases creativity, and instead show that music, whatever type it is, is always a disadvantage for creative performance in problem solving,” the study reads.
1. The underlined word in Paragraph 1 can be replaced by ________.| A．challenged | B．accepted | C．doubted | D．heard |
| A．To play music. | B．To combine given words. |
| C．To create new words. | D．To connect words with music. |
| A．Quiet background inspires creativity best. | B．Library noise does no harm to creativity. |
| C．Music has a bad effect on language ability. | D．Music types matter in creative performance. |
| A．Quiet Environments Prevent Concentration. | B．Background NoiseAffects Concentration. |
| C．Composing Music Weakens Creativity. | D．Listening to Music Reduces Creativity. |
9 . Music, nature and picnics in the sun: here are the best operas to catch this summer.
Opera Holland Park, London
For a mixture of urban and country operas, this open-air theatre is built each summer right in the heart of one of the most quiet parks of London. Book early as tickets sell out fast, and remember to bring a blanket to keep yourself warm on chillier summer evenings!
July 19 to August 3, operahollandpark.com
Glyndebourne Festival Opera, East Sussex
Glyndebourne is one of the oldest opera festivals in the world. It attracts some of the world’s greatest artists. Besides, the festival’s the perfect occasion to put on your black tie or evening dress, enjoy a long picnic during the 90-minute interval (间隔). Summer festivals don’t get better than this.
July 15 to August 5, glyndebourne.com
Grange Park Opera, Surrey
Though it’s relatively new, the festival attracts some of the world’s top talents and this year’s edition is no different, featuring performances by one of the world’s most charming mezzo-sopranos, Joyce DiDonato, and the charismatic baritone Simon Keenlyside.
July 6 to August 5, grangeparkopera.co.uk
The Grange Festival, Hampshire
Surrounded by lots of green plants and overseeing a beautiful lake, the Grange Festival in Hampshire is certain to be one of the most impressive feasts for your eyes. Arrive a bit early to take in the countryside views. During the lengthy interval, you’ll enjoy a romantic dinner—an essential part of the festival.
July 1 to August 29, thegrangefestival.co.uk
1. What should you do if you go to Opera Holland Park?| A．Put on your best dress. | B．Book tickets early. |
| C．Enjoy a romantic dinner. | D．Perform on the stage. |
| A．For about half a month. | B．For about three weeks. |
| C．For about a month. | D．For about two months. |
| A．Opera Holland Park. | B．Glyndebourne Festival Opera. |
| C．Grange Park Opera. | D．The Grange Festival. |
10 . You have probably heard of the Mozart effect. It’s the idea that if children or even babies listen to music written by Mozart, they will become more intelligent. A quick Internet search reveals (显示) plenty of products to assist you in the task. Whatever your age is, there are CDs and books to help you taste the power of Mozart’s music, but when it comes to scientific evidence that it can make you cleverer, the picture is more mixed.
The phrase “the Mozart effect” was made up in 1991, but it was a study described two years later in the journal Nature that aroused real media and public interest about the idea that listening to classical music somehow improves the brain. It is one of those ideas that sound reasonable. Mozart was undoubtedly a genius himself; his music is complex and there is a hope that if we listen to enough of it, we’ll become more intelligent.
The idea caught on, with thousands of parents playing Mozart to their children, and in 1998 Zell Miller, the Governor of the state of Georgia in the US, even asked for money to be set aside in the state budget so that every newborn baby could be sent a CD of classical music. It was not just babies and children who were exposed to Mozart’s music on purpose, even an Italian farmer proudly explained that the cows were played Mozart three times a day to help them produce better milk.
I’ll leave the debate (辩论) on the impact on milk yield (产量) to farmers, but what about the evidence that listening to Mozart makes people more intelligent? More research was carried out but an analysis of sixteen different studies confirmed that listening to music does lead to a temporary improvement in the ability to handle shapes mentally, but the benefits are short-lived and it doesn’t make us more intelligent.
1. What can we learn from Paragraph 1?| A．Mozart wrote many musical pieces for children. |
| B．There is little scientific evidence for the Mozart effect. |
| C．There are few products on the Internet about Mozart’s music. |
| D．Listening to Mozart makes people of different ages cleverer. |
| A．Appear. | B．Grow. | C．Weaken. | D．End. |
| A．Favorable. | B．Objective. | C．Doubtful. | D．Positive. |
| A．What Music Is Beneficial? | B．What Is the Mozart Effect? |
| C．Listening to Mozart, Necessary? | D．To Be or Not to Be? |
