1 . 语法填空

The "Subject Three” dance     1     (originate)from lively wedding celebrations in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The tradition evolved into a     2     (culture) phenomenon, suggesting that in a Guangxi native’s life, there are three essential     3     (experience), or ‘subjects’: singing folk songs, slurping rice noodles, and dancing.

2 . Adding to the achievements of a remarkable year, Taylor Swift has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2023.

Already a superstar before 2023, Swift’s career has reached new heights thanks to the beginning of her Eras Tour that brought her 3.5-hour performance to 66 shows in 23 cities across North America, Argentina and Brazil. Promoted by her tour, Swift has been named the most-streamed female artist in the history of Spotify and Apple Music. According to Billboard, the tour made about $900 million (about 6.4 billion yuan) in 2023. In addition, the tour’s movie Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the biggest concert movie of all time, taking more than $250 million globally.

As she was declared (宣布) a billionaire by Bloomberg in November, a hidden “Taylor Swift economy” also promoted sales for business owners across the US. From soaps to a cruise inspired by her different “eras”, interest in Swift-related products went way up.

Apart from her financial contributions, Swift made a significant cultural impact by taking back control of her music. In 2019, her old record label, Big Machine, sold the master tapes of her first six albums (专辑) to Scooter Braun. The sale meant that she didn’t have the rights to the albums. In response to this, Swift began re-recording her first six albums, tagging (加标签于) them “Taylor’s Version”. This move stressed her belief that artists deserve to own their work. “It’s all in how you deal with loss,” she told Time. “I respond to extreme pain by resisting.”

Heading into 2024, Swift will start the Eras Tour again in Japan and Australia. As USA Today noted, “Her current top has been a long time coming, but it may also be just beginning.”

Does music have the power to help us sleep better? According to a recent research, it does. Using an experiment in     1     62 young adults listened to five nights of happy music, five nights of sad music, and five nights of pink noise, researchers found that people reported sleeping better and feeling more positive    2     (little) negative, and more satisfied with life on mornings after listening to music while falling asleep.

These benefits    3     (find) when comparing listening to music with listening to pink noise. Given that pink noise is thought    4     (help) deepen sleep, the additional beneficial effects of music beyond pink noise are    5     (impress).

Does the type of music matter? There were no    6     (difference) in sleep quality and well-being when comparing happy and sad music.     7     (important), all of the music was selected with the goal of being calm and relaxing. And although this study focused    8     young adults, other research has found effects on older adults, suggesting music might be helpful across the lifespan.

Why would music have these beneficial effects? So far, little research     9     (test) the reasons why music improves sleep quality but suggested reasons include relaxation, a distraction from unwanted thoughts,     10     masking of unpleasant background noise.

7 . Four unique European music traditions that are protected by UNESCO

Inuit drum dancing, Greenland

In 2021, UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) recognised Greenland’s Inuit drum dancing and singing as an intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产) of humanity. The drum dance typical of the tradition can be performed by one dancer alone or accompanied by a group of people singing songs about love, humour and hunting.

Uilleann piping, Ireland

Uilleann piping was included in the UNESCO’s list in 2017. It involves playing Irish music on a particular type of bagpipe (风笛) known as the “uilleann”. It is a highly developed and complex instrument, with some functions that cannot be found elsewhere. It often accompanies music played at weddings and parties, and it’s been passed on through several generations of Irish musicians.

Kaustinen folk music, Finland

In 2019, UNESCO added to its list Finland’s Kaustinen folk music, a tradition where the violin, with or without accompanying instruments, is played by ear. The style is characterised by rhythms or accents that make it easy to dance to. The 250-year-old tradition is played during wedding parties, public concerts and at music festivals in the small village of Kaustinen.

Fado, Portugal

Fado music, which originated in Portugal in the early 19th century, is now a symbol of Portuguese culture and tradition. It combines poetry and music to create a sometimes sorrowful, and always passionate melody, usually performed by a solo singer accompanied by guitars. It was included in the UNESCO’s list in2011.