2 . Have you seen the incredible guitar playing of man born with no arms? The musician who was born without arms is being _______ for his greatest guitar-playing skills in a short documentary (纪实的) video which shows him playing the instrument with his _______.

Mark Goffeney, 46 of San Diego, who is _______ as “Big Toe” because of the way he plays the guitar, shows how he became a talented performer despite his _______ in the inspiring video. “I first _______ the instrument when I was nine, after my father brought home a beat-up _______ with only four strings. My first guitar came from some place like a landfill (垃圾场),” says Mark, who adds that he became “_______” about becoming a musician at age 12.

Mark devoted every waking hour to searching his town and trying to join a _______, but ran into _______ because of his disability. Therefore, he started his own rock band, called Wicked Misfit, and began booking gigs (特约演奏) in California.

Things were ________ professionally for Mark because of his disability. But everything ________ when he started playing music from the heart. “When I ________ pursuing this fantasy dream of being a rock star and just started playing music to make whatever milk money I could to support my family, everything started feeling good and ________ out for me,” he shares.

Today, Mark ________ with his band, Big Toe, and also becomes a street-performer in California, where he makes quite good money ________ by passers-by.

1.

A．praised

B．prepared

C．chosen

D．named

2.

A．arms

B．hands

C．feet

D．fingers

3.

A．treated

B．ignored

C．known

D．served

4.

A．suffering

B．injury

C．courage

D．disability

5.

A．dealt with

B．took up

C．set down

D．picked out

6.

A．guitar

B．piano

C．violin

D．drum

7.

A．doubtful

B．worried

C．curious

D．serious

8.

A．society

B．band

C．party

D．family

9.

A．comments

B．activities

C．difficulties

D．chances

10.

A．encouraging

B．interesting

C．easy

D．tough

11.

A．paused

B．changed

C．happened

D．formed

12.

A．stopped

B．began

C．enjoyed

D．finished

13.

A．figuring

B．working

C．looking

D．trying

14.

A．connects

B．meets

C．performs

D．communicates

15.

A．donated

B．required

C．charged

D．raised

4 . 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。

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and conductor Eric Whitacre. Born in the USA on 2 January 1970, Whitacre began     1     (study) music at the University of Nevada in 1988. He fell in love with Mozart’s classical music when he sang for the university choir.     2     (move) by this music, he said, “It was like seeing color for the first time.” He graduated     3     university in 1995 and then received a master’s degree in musical composition from the Juilliard School in New York in 1997. Over the next 10 years, Whitacre’s     4     (origin) compositions began to become quite popular among choirs and singers. This led to the creation of the virtual choir.

In 2009, Whitacre received a video of a girl who was singing one of his works.     5     (inspire), he asked his fans to make videos, which he then joined together into one     6     (perform). His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 185     7     (singer) from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views on     8     Internet. Since then, the virtual choir     9     (become) a worldwide phenomenon. Whitacre’s next effort was the Virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF,     10     was first seen onstage on 23 July 2014 in the UK. Altogether, 2,292 young people from 80 countries joined in to sing Whitacre’s song “What If.”

5 . Best Sleep Music Apps

If you’re in search of a better night’s sleep, trying a sleep music app might be the answer. Here are some sleep music apps to choose from.

Calm

Calm has an impressively large library of relaxation and sleep-causing sounds. It stands out for providing the latest collection of modern music from popular artists. This app offers a free version, but to really take advantage of what Calm has to offer, you had better choose the paid version, which costs $69.99 for one year. A lifetime membership is $399.99.

Headspace

Headspace is an app designed in the simplest way that makes it quick and easy to use its library of sleep-specific music, so it is friendly to the aged. Helpful suggestions point out features like how to set a timer without making you feel the app difficult to use. Headspace only costs $39.99 yearly.

Relax Melodies

Relax Melodies is designed to calm your mind with relaxing sounds. “Discover” page helps you find some app features, like bedtime stories and breathing exercises. Though its free version provides a great introduction to the idea of sleep music, the paid version unlocks a larger library of sounds. It only costs $49.99 yearly or you can pay $8.99 a month.

Pzizz

One thing that sets Pzizz apart is its voice narration (旁白), with male and female options available. Usually, the voice is low and calm. If you find the presence of a voice to be comforting or benefit from someone helping you to relax your mind and body, then Pzizz is suitable for you. Monthly costs for it are $7.99, yearly $49.99 and lifetime $249.99.

1. Which app would you recommend to your grandparents?

A．Calm.

B．Headspace.

C．Relax Melodies.

D．Pzizz.

2. What do Calm and Relax Melodies have in common?

A．They offer physical exercises.	B．They include collections of modern music.
C．They provide free service.	D．They introduce users to a large library.

3. What can you do with Pzizz?

A．Create the voice narration you like.	B．Chat with someone before sleep.
C．Listen to low and calm music.	D．Listen to the voice you like best.

6 . “The arrow shot is so straight that it hits the bull’s eye. The young people will have good luck…” Dargye sang as he worked on his handmade bag.

Dargye, 56, an artist who excels at traditional craftsmanship (技艺) and Tibetan folk music in Drinba village in Dragyib district, Nyingchi, Tibet autonomous region, remembers many folk songs he learned from his father and uncle. Now, it’s his turn to pass them on.

“I have liked traditional songs and dances since I was a child,” said Dargye, who has four apprentices (学徒). “The songs tell the histories of our ancestors and carry our unique culture, and it’s always a lot of fun to perform these traditional songs and dances at various gatherings.” The song topics vary from archery, love, to labor and praise for the land. In addition to teaching these songs to his family members and apprentices, he also uses social media platforms such as WeChat to teach songs.

His daughter, Chok Butri, also admires the folk culture. After posting a video of her daughter, Tsering Kyi, dancing on Douyin, she gained a lot of new fans on the popular short-video platform. “We are modern people living in a modern era, so it’s important and our responsibility that we use modern tools to pass on our traditional culture to make it last forever.” said Chok Butri, adding that she often posts songs and dances on WeChat and Douyin.

Dargye and his fellow villagers also recreate songs, adding modern elements such as aircraft and trains to the lyrics. Besides singing and dancing, Dargye makes handicrafts decorated with Tibetan cultural elements, including various hide and hair ropes, bags made of leather and cloth, and knife sheaths.

The local government encourages villagers to inherit (继承) and develop folk songs and other forms of traditional culture. Dargye’s efforts to preserve folk culture have been acknowledged by the government. In 2014, he was chosen as a county-level intangible (无形的) cultural inheritor and receives funds every year.

1. Why does Dargye want to pass the culture on?

A．He wants to satisfy his interest.	B．He wants to learn from the seniors.
C．He wants to bring people fun.	D．He wants to inherit and develop it.

2. What is the author’s purpose of mentioning Dargye’s daughter?

A．To show Dargye’s influence on her.	B．To show folk music’s effect on her.
C．To stress the benefit of modern tools.	D．To stress the popularity of folk culture.

3. Which of the following can best describe Dargye?

A．Ambitious and honest.	B．Talented and curious.
C．Devoted and creative.	D．Generous and determined.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．All efforts to protect culture are rewarded	B．A craftsman inherits songs to protect culture
C．An artist prefers traditional songs and dances	D．Tibetan culture is being protected and passed on

8 . When Belquer first joined a team to make a better live music experience for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, he was struck by how they had developed more solutions to enjoy concerts. “What they were doing at the time was holding balloons to feel the vibrations (震动) through theirfingers,” Belquer said. He thought the team could make something to help hard-of-hearing people enjoy live music even more with the technology now available.

Belquer, who is also a musician and theater artist, is now the “Chief Vibration Officer” of Music: Not Impossible, which uses new technology to address social issues like poverty and disability access. His team started by tying different vibrating cell phone motors to bodies, but that didn’t quite work. The vibrations were all the same. Eventually, they worked with engineers to develop a light haptic (触觉的) suit with a total of 24 vibrating plates. There are 20 of them tied to a undershirt that fits tightly around the body like a hiking backpack, plus one that ties to each wrist and ankle. When you wear the suit, it’s surprising how it feels.

The vibrations are mixed by a haptic DJ who controls the location, frequency and intensity of feeling across the suits, just as a music DJ mixes sounds in an artful way. “What we’re doing is selecting and mixing what we want and send it to different parts of the body,” said the DJ. The haptic suits were just one component of the event. There were American Sign Language interpreters; the music was displayed on a screen on the stage.

The suits are the star attraction. Lily Lipman, who has auditory processing disorder, lit up when asked about her experience. “It’s cool, because I’m never quite sure if I’m hearing what other people are hearing, so it’s amazing to get the music in my body.”

1. What surprised Belquer about people with hearing problems?

A．The attitude they held to life.	B．The way they enjoyed music.
C．The love they had for balloons.	D．The frequency they vibrated fingers.

2. Why did the team’s initial attempt fail?

A．The vibrations lacked variety.	B．The vibrations were irregular.
C．The motors were the same.	D．The motors hardly worked.

3. What is paragraph 3 of the text mainly about?

A．Displaying music on the stage.

B．Selecting proper suits for participants.

C．Mixed methods helping people feel the music.

D．Interpreters with excellent sign language skills.

4. What does Lily Lipman think of the suit?

A．It’s comforting.

B．It’s challenging.

C．It’s satisfying.

D．It’s disturbing.

9 . 根据课文内容，在空白处填入所缺的单词。

Inspired, he asked his fans to make videos, which he then joined together into one     1    . His first virtual choir, “Lux Aurumque”, had 185 singers from 12 different countries. It has received millions of views     2     the Internet. Since then, the virtual choir has become a worldwide     3    . Whitacre’s next effort was the Virtual Youth Choir for UNICEF, which was first seen on     4     on 23 July 2014 in the UK.

10 . 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。

A music concert “Echoes of Ancient Tang Poems” jointly performed by iSING! Suzhou and the Philadelphia Orchestra was staged at Kimmel Performing Arts Center in Philadelphia on Jan .6.

Another concert featuring Tang poetry was     1    (successful) held at the Lincoln Center in New York on Jan.7. Fifteen iSING! Suzhou singers from 10 countries led by Liao Guomin performed songs     2    (write) by young composers from 6 countries. The songs included many well-known poems dating     3     the Tang Dynasty, such as Luo Binwang’s Singing of Goose and Li Bai’s Quiet Thoughts by Night.

The iSING! Suzhou International Young Artists Festival     4    (set) up in Suzhou in 2014 as     5     (China) first international vocal (声乐) art festival. Over the past eight years, the festival     6    (attract) outstanding young singers from all over the world, spread     7     promoted Chinese and classical music, and enhanced cultural exchanges between China and the West, becoming a cultural card for Suzhou to go     8    (globe).

The performances were also held to commemorate (纪念)     9     fiftieth anniversary of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s China tour in 1973. The Philadelphia Orchestra, as the first American orchestra     10    (visit) China, bridged the two nations in the field of culture.