1 . A children’s choir (合唱团) from the snowy highlands of Tibet recently ________ their beautiful singing to the capital, Beijing.

The Qomolangma Children’s Choir was set up in 2020. They recently paid a week-long trip to Beijing to ________ their music skills and show their talent to national audiences.

When journalists met the choir on Saturday, the children were ________ the recording of a music program at CCTV in Beijing. Before ________ the program, they received professional ________ from teachers at the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM). Besides, they also visited scenic ________ in Beijing such as the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and so on. Tenzin Dunyu, a 10～year-old member of the choir, told the journalists that he has been playing the zhanian for five years. The zhanian, a beautiful ________, is widely used in songs and dances in Tibet. For him, coming to Beijing and ________ in Tiananmen Square was both a nervous and ________ experience, marking his first journey outside Lhasa. Another 10-year-old member, Tsering Lhamo, has been singing for a year. Her trip to Beijing broadened her horizons, and when it came to what impressed her most, she said she ________ enjoyed the cheerful songs of the choir performed at CCTV.

Geng Muyao was the choir’s ________ from CCOM to help the children with training. She ________ that the choir was set up by the Tibetan government and ________ by CCOM. “Many members were ________ of vocal (声 乐的) training due to poor condition, so this choir experience means a lot to them. ”she said.

Including children from all over Tibet, the choir primarily shows Tibetan folk culture. Though the members are ________, the choir has performed at important events, achieving amazing success in a short time.

Netizens have praised Yu Tiantian from Zhengzhou, Henan province, for insisting on dancing for 15 years despite having a hearing disability from birth. Born in the 1990s, Yu’s world     1    (be) silent since she was one year old when her family found she couldn’t hear any voices. Through touching her mother’s throat    2    (feel) how the muscles affect the voice, Yu learned to speak.

However, like any other girl, Yu has a natural love for beauty.    3    (watch) others dance in a club during her childhood, Yu developed a deep affection for dance. After graduating from high school, Yu     4    (admit) to the Zhengzhou Normal University School of Special Education, majoring in dance. It was only when her university life started that she     5     (begin) to change, making friends and embracing a colorful world. Learning dance posed     6     great challenge for Yu. “I can’t hear the music,    7     I have to feel rhythm (节奏) in my heart. I follow the instructor and dance. I practice basic skills every day. ” said Yu.

After entering university, Yu has found her own pace and danced with all her heart. She and her roommates won first prize in a dance competition.    8     (encourage) by it, she began to take part in various competitions. Yu shares much in common with her roommates, all of     9    have hearing disabilities. Within a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere, their relationship grew much stronger.    10     (gradual), they had the idea to share their stories with more people.

5 . It was a warm evening in August in 1995. Robert Blocker was driving to Yale University after being appointed as the university’s Dean (院长) of Music. He didn’t expect to see many people, but a couple of students met him and showed him around.

“When I looked at the history of the university and how people are devoted to the school’s art programs, I was honored by the chance to work there. I could not wait for the next day to start my job. And that excitement never changed because every day was different. My job as dean was not scheduled. I walked around the campus and students talked to me. I went to rehearsals (排演) by the students and teachers and got inspired by them,” he adds.

After nearly three decades as the Dean of Music at Yale, the 77-year-old retired from the position on Aug 31. Also an expert pianist, he remains a professor of piano at the music school, as well as professor of leadership strategies at Yale School of Management. Among his countless contributions as dean, Blocker developed long-term relationships with fellow musicians in China. He once toured cities, including Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou, giving lectures to the youngsters.

“China is a very special place for me. I am very happy to be back after the pandemic (疫情) to meet my friends and colleagues,” Blocker says, adding that he is particularly excited about being with young students.

Yang Suxian, director of the Shenzhen Piano Music Festival, says, “He has been very supportive and has participated in the Shenzhen Piano Music Festival for years, even during the pandemic.”

Blocker’s vision of a more hopeful world is reflected in his belief that music bridges the understanding between people.

“Music brings hope. People may speak different languages and have different ideas but music speaks to each other’s heart, and that’s why we keep this work going on and why the work never ends,” he says, “Our job is to let music heal the world by allowing us to understand and find a common place in our hearts.”

7 . Like flavors of ice cream, people have different tastes and preferences for music. You need to map out your playlist based on the theme of your essay. Here are a few film scores for different themes, you can decide which is the best music for writing:

Nutmeg by Alexandre Desplat

Fear Will Find You by Hans Zimmer

The Station Inspector by Howard Shore

If you are a student writing a reflection paper about a movie your teacher asked you to watch, listening to its film score would get your creative juices flowing. Besides, you can even add what you feel about the music and its impact on the movie. So less work for you and more additional points on your paper.

Some would be happy to listen to anything while others are more specific. For example, there are people who would happily listen to any music while some are more particular and prefer classical music to jazz. If you are one of them, here are a few classical pieces you can listen to while writing:

Tambourin chinois, Op. 3 by Fritz Kreisler

The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a: VIII. Romance by Dmitri Shostakovich

The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The number one problem that writers complain about is writer’s block. Even if you are not a professional and just writing a 2000-word research paper, you can still experience writer’s block and not know how to get started. With that, here are a few songs to get you all pumped up to write:

Iron Maiden’s by The Trooper

Run Boy Run by Woodkid

Knights of Cydonia by Muse

If popular songs are not your thing, then you can just listen to famous scores from movies.

AMERICAN SINGER-SONGWRITER Lauv has released a new Korean version of his single “Love U Like That,” created with the help of AI voice technology. He enlisted the help of the Korean singer Kevin Woo, who aided with the translation of the song and recorded vocals.

Kevin’s voice singing the translation was recorded first. It was then arranged to match the sound     1    . AI voice technology was then used to match Lauv’s voice, and Kevin’s Korean version was     2     into Lauv’s voice.

“To help them build the model of my voice, I sent over a bunch of raw vocals that were just me singing in different registers (声区),” Lauv said. “It was very interesting to hear my voice like that. I gave a couple of notes-very minor things-after hearing the     3     version. And then they went back and made some modifications (修改).”

Lauv is the first major Western artist to jump on the AI translation bandwagon (加入潮流). He wants the new translated version of “Love U Like That” to be a way of showing his love to his Korean fan base. Although large numbers of fans around the world listen to English music musicians have noticed that some international audiences are increasingly turning their interest back to music in their local language - a trend they have nicknamed “Glocalization.” As a result, some AI voice synthesis (合成) companies are working to     4     translation. English-speaking artists can now join this growing movement and establish closer     5     with international fans.

It is an important moment for the music business. A series of deepfake (深度伪造) songs that mimic the vocals of real stars have caused a stir. The most     6     example is the one claimed to be sung by two major artists, Drake and The Weekend. At the same time, it is also becoming very clear that not all uses of AI in music are a cause for     7    . An artist’s “voiceprint” can also be used in a/an     8     way. Earlier this month, we saw The Beatles release their final song “Now and Then” (an instant No.1 chart hit, unsurprisingly), an AI-assisted salvage (抢救) of the voice from a 40-year-old cassette recording. AI tech can indeed enhance musicians’ work and     9     a positive contribution to the future of music.

In an interview, Lauv also touched on his openness about the use of AI in music. “I truly believe that the only way forward is to embrace what is possible now, no matter what. I think being able to embrace a tool like this is     10    . And being able to get artists paid is great,” he said.