Yangko, a rural Chinese folk dance with a history
Yangko employs drumming, Suona, dancing and singing. Content is based
Chinese singer-songwriter Liu Shuang was on a journey to Beijing when he received a message,
The song
The elderly man lost his wife and he has not remarried, so he often visited the old ballroom and danced alone
Millions of people have been touched by the song and the story behind it.
3 . We are born to dance. Dancing changes the way we feel and think, and increases self-worth.
As a dance psychologist and teacher, I have witnessed the ways dancing has changed the lives of hundreds of people. Then I set up the Dance Psychology Lab so that I could combine my knowledge in psychology with dance, using science to study the relationship between movement and the brain. What I found was extraordinary: people with Parkinson's disease（帕金森病）and dementia（痴呆）getting a new chance to live longer；an increase in the self-worth of teenagers；reductions in sadness and anxiety in adults；increases in social bonding between people；and fundamental changes in the way people think and solve problems. All because of dancing.
Dancing stimulates the link between the body and the brain. The emotional high we get from dancing is due to dopamine（多巴胺）.This brain chemical plays a role in how we feel, and low levels are associated with feelings of anxiety, hopelessness, pain and mood swings. Dancing is a great way to overcome these negative feelings because the exercise and our emotional responses to the music we're hearing can increase the release of dopamine in different parts of the brain. As dopamine levels go up, we can shake off some of those negative feelings and float into an excited state.
Scientists suggest that the best time to learn a dance routine is before you go to sleep. This is because the brain builds new knowledge structures while we sleep, and it is these structures that strengthen our ability to learn and remember information.
In our lab experiments, we found that people who did 20 minutes of improvised（即兴的）dancing became more creative when answering creative-thinking tasks. For example, before dancing, participants could generate about four or five alternative uses for a common object such as a brick or a newspaper, but after dancing they could generate seven or eight.
1. Why does the author build the Dance Psychology Lab?| A．To change how people think and feel. | B．To help people increase their self-worth. |
| C．To find out different social relationships. | D．To study how dancing influences the brain. |
| A．Dopamine levels go up. | B．Their intelligence is raised. |
| C．Sleep quality is improved. | D．Parkinson's disease and dementia are cured. |
| A．In the morning. | B．Before sleeping. |
| C．While working. | D．In the evening. |
| A．Dancing helps with our creativity. |
| B．Dancing creates more activities. |
| C．Dancing attracts more participants. |
| D．Dancing inspires us to use more objects. |
4 . Throughout all the events in my life, one in particular sticks out more than the others. As I reflect on this significant event, a smile spreads across my face. As I think of Shanda, I feel loved and grateful.
It was my twelfth year of dancing, I thought it would end up like any other year: stuck in emptiness, forgotten and without the belief of any teacher or friend that I really had the potential to achieve greatness.
However, I met Shanda, a young, talented choreographer (编舞者). She influenced me to work to the best of my ability, pushed me to keep going when I wanted to give up, encouraged me and showed me the real importance of dancing. Throughout our hard work, not only did my ability to dance grow, but my friendship with Shanda grew as well.
With the end of the year came our show time. As I walked to a backstage filled with other dancers, I hoped for a good performance that would prove my improvement. I waited anxiously for my turn. Finally, after what seemed like days, the loudspeaker announced my name. Butterflies filled my stomach as I took trembling steps onto the big lighted stage. But, with the determination to succeed and eagerness to live up to Shanda, expectations for me, I began to dance. All my troubles and nerves went away as I danced my whole heart out.
As I walked up to the judge to receive my first place shining, gold trophy (奖杯), I realized that dance is not about becoming the best. It was about loving dance for dance itself, a getaway from all my problems in the world. Shanda showed me that you could let everything go and just dance what you feel at that moment, After all the doubts that people had in me, I believed in myself and did not care what others thought. Thanks to Shanda, dance became more than a love of mine, but a passion.
1. What did the author think her dancing would be for the twelfth year?| A．A change for the better. | B．A disappointment as before. |
| C．A proof of her potential. | D．A pride of her teachers and friends. |
| A．By offering her financial help. | B．By entering her in a competition. |
| C．By coaching her for longer hours. | D．By awakening her passion for dancing. |
| A．Proud. | B．Nervous. | C．Scared. | D．Relieved. |
| A．Success lies in patience. | B．Fame is a great thirst of the young. |
| C．A good teacher matters. | D．A youth is to be treated with respect. |
5 . In a world of music streaming services, access to almost any song is just a few clicks away. Yet, the live performance lives on. People still fill sweaty basements, muddy fields and gilded concert halls to hear their favourite musicians play. And now neuroscientists might know why—live music engages the brain’s emotion centres more than its recorded counterpart.
Concerts are immersive (沉浸式的) social experiences in which people listen to and feel the music together through crescendos, key changes and rhythmic drops. Moreover, they are dynamic — artists can adapt their playing according to the crowd’s reaction.
It was this last difference that led neuroscientists, based at the Universities of Zurich and Oslo, to study the brain responses of people listening to music. In the “live” experiment, participants lay in an MRI scanner listening to the music through earphones, while a pianist was positioned outside the room. The pianist was shown the participant’s real-time brain activity as a form of feedback. In the recorded condition, participants listened to pre-recorded versions of the same tunes.
The scientists were interested in how live music affected the areas of the brain responsible for processing emotions, particularly the amygdala, an area deep inside the brain. The results, just published in the journal PNAS, revealed that live music had a significantly greater emotional impact. Whether the music conveyed happiness or sadness, dynamic live performances led to increased activity not only in the amygdala but also other parts of the brain’s emotion processing network. The researchers also found that participants’ brain activity tracked the acoustic (声学的) features of the music, like tempo and pitch, far more closely when it was played live.
While the study didn’t fully recreate the live concert experience, the findings suggest that artists’ ability to adjust their performance in real time contributes to the emotional resonance (共鸣) of live music. Some musical acts now attempt to recreate live concerts, such as ABBA Voyage, an immersive pre-recorded VR concert, but without artists’ capacity to read audience’s mood and respond accordingly, it will never quite match the real thing.
1. Why do people attend live shows despite music streaming services?| A．Because they prefer being with friends at a concert. |
| B．Because they enjoy the process of finding popular music. |
| C．Because they intend to meet their favorite musicians in person. |
| D．Because they value the emotional connection live music brings. |
| A．observe the participants’ brain activity as feedback |
| B．compare the effectiveness of live performances and recorded ones |
| C．provide live accompaniment to participants inside the MRI scanner |
| D．demonstrate their ability to read and respond to the audience’s mood |
| A．Live music affected only the amygdala of the brain. |
| B．The brain responded more intensely to acoustic features of live music. |
| C．Live music had a reduced emotional impact compared to recorded music. |
| D．The participants’ brain activity was especially sensitive to dynamic music. |
| A．It fails to create a perfect performing atmosphere. |
| B．It matches the sound quality of live performances. |
| C．It greatly stirs up the audience’s emotional response. |
| D．It lacks artists’ response based on audience’s feedback. |
6 . Liu Ziqing fell in love with ballet as a little boy. But he never really got the
Most people in their early 50s call themselves lucky if they can lightly jog a few times a week without
“I had been
Becoming a ballet dancer at age 53 wasn’t a(n)
| A．ability | B．right | C．chance | D．desire |
| A．food | B．paper | C．money | D．medicine |
| A．product | B．habit | C．reward | D．luxury |
| A．ended up | B．stuck to | C．felt like | D．kept on |
| A．refused | B．decided | C．pretended | D．remembered |
| A．controlling | B．suffering | C．reducing | D．hiding |
| A．curiosity | B．imagination | C．flexibility | D．patience |
| A．find | B．use | C．make | D．attain |
| A．stand | B．vary | C．conflict | D．connect |
| A．carrying out | B．putting up | C．thinking about | D．setting about |
| A．responded | B．stressed | C．complained | D．recalled |
| A．temporary | B．challenging | C．easy | D．interesting |
| A．suppose | B．understand | C．accept | D．suspect |
| A．defeated | B．missed | C．hated | D．ignored |
| A．supportive | B．ashamed | C．afraid | D．proud |
7 . There exist colors in music. Mary has been performing music since she was a little girl. At the age of 5, a rare illness worsened her
Years passed and Mary turned 15. One day, she sat in the car
More surprisingly, music led Mary on to a talent show. At the piano, Mary’s hands
Without vision, music acts as Mary’s eyes, showing her a colorful world that is worth valuing.
1.| A．hearing | B．feeling | C．voice | D．vision |
| A．alternatives | B．treatments | C．companions | D．inspirations |
| A．perform | B．struggle | C．escape | D．compete |
| A．in silence | B．at ease | C．at a time | D．in a hurry |
| A．dry | B．tired | C．sharp | D．empty |
| A．hurt | B．stole | C．threatened | D．weakened |
| A．beat | B．stopped | C．sank | D．raced |
| A．However | B．Therefore | C．Moreover | D．Likewise |
| A．Fortunately | B．Slowly | C．Naturally | D．Suddenly |
| A．active | B．complex | C．ideal | D．fair |
| A．gift | B．memories | C．colors | D．creativity |
| A．touched | B．rested | C．circled | D．danced |
| A．broke | B．floated | C．shook | D．whispered |
| A．clapped | B．nodded | C．froze | D．wept |
| A．tears | B．cheers | C．laughter | D．life |
1. What does the woman think of electronic music?
| A．It is clever. | B．It is loud. | C．It is modern. |
| A．16. | B．17. | C．18. |
1. How does the woman feel about the result of the competition?
| A．Excited. | B．Delighted. | C．Disappointed. |
| A．Amber. | B．Mary. | C．Linda. |
| A．They were not fair. |
| B．They made a hard decision. |
| C．They didn’t listen carefully. |
10 . Last week, three days of cold rain had everyone in our house feeling a bit bad-tempered, especially my kid, who couldn’t go out to play. Then the music app on my phone recommended a station called “Rainy Day Jazz.” As the soft piano played, my daughter and I hugged closely, feeling comfortable and relaxed. Suddenly, our day was enjoyable. It turned out that Rainy Day Jazz was just the thing we needed.
Life — especially life with young children — can often feel very busy and rushed. One of the great benefits of music is that it offers a safe and dependable place to feel our feelings. When we are afraid, sad, or happy, we can invite music in. Kids can be great at expressing their emotions, but they don’t always have the ability to regulate them and move through them. When kids engage with music, a sense of emotional security is increased, allowing them to feel safer to fully experience their feelings.
Music has been a community practice throughout human history. Studies show that in early childhood, playing music in groups can increase cooperation skills and a sense of social belonging. In Pinkalicious and Peterrific, an educational children’s TV series, Peter is eager to share his musical experiences with others. Together, Pinkalicious and Peter make up their own happy song to sing and play, which cheers up the whole town.
Music is for everyone. Lots of parents feel like they don’t have enough talent for music. Actually, they should let go of their insecurities about what they think music should be. Kids will love singing, dancing, and playing music with you no matter how it sounds. What’s the most important is to get them emotionally engaged.
Ready to rock and roll? Here are some ways your family can interact with music. Make music accessible. You can empower your child to use music as an emotional support by giving them access to the tools they need. Talk about music. You can help your child explore the relationship between music and emotions by talking openly about your own relationship with music. Get your bodies moving. Children experience music in their bodies — not just in their minds! Music and movement are partners.
1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Kids are able to adjust their emotions. | B．Kids do well in showing their feelings. |
| C．Music benefits children in many aspects. | D．Music is a safe way to experience emotions. |
| A．Music creates connection. | B．Playing music brings fun. |
| C．Cooperation skills are vital. | D．Children are eager for music. |
| A．Get rid of unnecessary worry. | B．Become more skilled in music. |
| C．Purchase expensive instruments. | D．Get to know their own limitations. |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
