1 . Opera at Music Hall
It’s on 1243 Elm Street. The season runs June through August, with additional performances in March and September. The opera honors enjoy the membership discounts.
Phone: 241-2742.
http://www.cityopera.com.
Chamber Orchestra
The orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from March through June.
Call 723-1182 for more information.
http://www.chamberorch.com.
Symphony Orchestra
At Music Hall at Riverbend, the regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer.
For ticket sales, call 381-3300.
http://www.symphony.org/home.asp.
College Conservatory of Music (CCM)
Performances are usually held at Patricia Cobbett Theater. CCM organizes a variety of events. Students with their student ID cards can attend the events for free.
For more information, call 556-4183.
http://www.ccm.uc.edu/events/calendar.
Riverbend Music Theater
It’s on 6295 Kellogg Ave. It’s a large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover and big name shows all summer long!
Phone: 232-6220.
http://www.riverbendmusic.com.
1. Which number should you call if you want to see an opera?| A．241-2742. | B．723-1182. | C．381-3300. | D．232-6220. |
| A．In February. | B．In May. | C．In August. | D．In November. |
| A．To Music Hall. | B．To Memorial Hall. |
| C．To Patricia Cobbett Theater. | D．To Riverbend Music Theater. |
2 . Music is all around us. It’s an accessible and popular art form which accompanies our daily lives. Advertisers have long understood the popularity and emotional power of music and capitalized on it. They spend much time and money securing the right soundtrack (配乐) for an advertisement in order to boost sales. For example, Microsoft spent a reported US$3 million using Start Me Up as part of their advertising campaign for Windows 95.
As one researcher puts it, “Music expands pictures and colors words, and often adds a form of energy available through no other source.” This is supported by other studies, which suggest that music matching the main message of an advertisement has a positive effect on consumer engagement. This is known as “musical congruity” and can result in better attention, a positive emotional response, finally improving the effectiveness of an advertisement.
Take the simple but interesting advertisement for Air France, with the soundtrack of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23, for example. It projects greatness and elegance in the hope that viewers will associate those qualities with the airline. The research, which looked at hundreds of viewer comments about the music used in advertising, suggested it was successful.
Music is also effective at arousing (唤醒) emotional memories in advertisements creates associations with consumers’ past experiences. A good choice of music allows businesses to tap into this nostalgia for commercial benefit.
However, the use of popular music in advertising can also arouse arguments between artistic effort and commercialism. Some people believe a work of art shouldn’t be used for the pursuit of profit. The findings of study showed that consumers sometimes passionately oppose the use of music produced by respected musicians in advertisements, as they believe that it destroys the aesthetic integrity (美学完整性). For example, Nike’s use of the Beatles’ song Revolution was seen by some as using John Lennon’s music to sell shoes. It made some Nike wearers so angry that they refused to buy the products.
1. What does the underlined phrase “capitalized on” in paragraph 1 mean?| A．Taken advantage of. | B．Held on to. |
| C．Checked up on. | D．Cried out for. |
| A．It helps cut down the cost of advertising. |
| B．It reminds consumers of their past experiences. |
| C．It makes advertisements much more convincing. |
| D．It explores the relationship between music and digital art. |
| A．Tolerant | B．Unclear | C．Doubtful | D．Objective |
3 . A small group of brave and curious young Irish musicians have taken it upon themselves to save a tradition of songs. Their project aims to put the elders of a nearly-past generation in front of a microphone, to protect their songs and stories for musicians to hear and study for all time.
Some experts often pass warnings about how much oral tradition the human race loses to modernity every year. In Ireland, a country famous for its singers, the Song Collectors Collective (SCC) celebrates that history by honoring the people who have kept its roots alive. Most of them are from the reclusive (隐居的) traveler communities. Rather than simply collecting words, each song can be accessed only by exploring the life and story of the person who sang it for the SCC, or the so-called “Tradition Bearer”.
Take Freda Black, for example, a great-grandmother in her mid-eighties. She kept so many songs that she admitted she couldn’t possibly count them. She would go on to feature in the recently released album by a modern folk singer and SCC member, Sam Lee. “I love spending time at the knee of these elders,” Lee said. “I am very lucky. I catch an end of an era.”
“It is a common request for the songs and stories to be recorded and shared as the old ways are not being passed on and this huge store of knowledge of an ancient way of life is forgotten. In the current era of accessible recording technology, there is no excuse for not documenting and sharing this rich but fragile (脆弱的) tradition,” wrote the SCC．Having collected hundreds of recordings from dozens of singers, the SCC is beginning to host educational events, sharing the stories and singing voices for those interested in hearing them, as well as how people can become collectors in their own way.
1. How do those young Irish musicians save the tradition of songs?| A．By spreading their new music styles. |
| B．By recording old folk songs and related stories. |
| C．By teaching young people to learn traditional songs. |
| D．By improving the living conditions of elderly musicians. |
| A．He is glad to keep a valuable tradition of music. |
| B．His latest album carries the memory of his grandma. |
| C．He is lucky to have got some help in learning music. |
| D．His music is inspired by conversations with Freda Black. |
| A．Market demand. | B．The support of famous musicians. |
| C．High praise from the elderly. | D．Technological progress. |
| A．Effective and interesting. | B．Successful but confusing. |
| C．Necessary and meaningful. | D．Professional but dangerous. |
4 . Is there a friend of yours who always sings out of tune (曲调) but never realizes it? Don’t be so hard on them — they may have amusia (失音症) — the inability to tell the difference in tunes.
Apart from singing out of tune, people with amusia may also find it hard to recognize music they’ve heard before without the help of song lyrics. Besides, people who suffer from amusia can have difficulty in recognizing melodies and a total inability to tell between different musical sounds, according to Live Science. However, people with amusia can recognize common environmental sounds as well as the high and low sounds in human voices, meaning that this inability can be specially related to music.
In many cases, people who have amusia are born with it, as 46 percent of these individuals’ family members were found to have similar conditions, according to a 2017 study. Brain imaging shows that their brains receive and respond to music pitch (音高) information, but it is not reaching conscious awareness, meaning that the mind can’t understand the information.
Scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand also think that amusia is related to people’s special processing skills. They invited people with amusia, musicians and students from non-musical backgrounds to perform a task related to spacial (空间的) imagination. They were asked to decide whether pairs of images are the same object moving around or mirror images.
The result showed that the amusia group made more mistakes than the other two groups. Amusia might be related to the way brain stores information about the high and low sounds in songs, according to the study.
Although those who aren’t confident about their singing skills often say they’re “tune-deaf”, people with amusia only make up about 1.5 percent of the population, as shown in the study. “Like dyslexics (诵读困难者) can learn how to read, those with amusia should be able to better their ability to recognize tunes if they start early enough,” Isabelle Peretz, a professor of psychology from the University of Montreal in Canada, told Live Science.
1. According to the article, what is the main difficulty faced by people with amusia?| A．Recognizing tunes. | B．Identifying human voices. |
| C．Understanding song lyrics. | D．Recognizing common environmental sounds. |
| A．It is a result of brain damage. |
| B．It is very popular among old people. |
| C．Those who are tune-deaf often suffer from amusia. |
| D．Many individuals with amusia are born with it. |
| A．Start to explore and learn music early. | B．Sing frequently with friends. |
| C．Learn how to read earlier in life. | D．Go for medical treatment. |
| A．The effects of music on brain function. |
| B．The symptoms and causes of amusia. |
| C．Ways for individuals with amusia to learn to sing. |
| D．The impact of environmental sound on humans. |
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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| A．Ambitious and honest. | B．Talented and curious. |
| C．Devoted and creative. | D．Generous and determined. |
| 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 |
7 . 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. |
| A．The vibrations lacked variety. | B．The vibrations were irregular. |
| C．The motors were the same. | D．The motors hardly worked. |
| 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. |
| A．It’s comforting. | B．It’s challenging. | C．It’s satisfying. | D．It’s disturbing. |
8 . Many people love to listen to music while driving. Thanks to the world’s musical roads, drivers now don’t need to turn the radio on.
A musical road can create music when a car tires go over grooves (凹槽) on the road. To produce beautiful music, drivers must pass over the grooves at a certain speed. Signs often tell drivers the right speed.
In Hungary, there is a musical road in honor of one of the country’s most popular musical performers — Laszlo Bodi. Bodi was the lead singer for the band Republic.
| A．Musical roads are also keeping drivers safe. |
| B．There is not any music road in Eastern countries. |
| C．Musical roads help improve the road safety greatly. |
| D．But they can also enjoy music while taking road trips. |
| E．Formed in 1990, the group is one of Hungary’s biggest acts and is still active today. |
| F．The first musical road was created in Gylling, Denmark, in 1995. |
| G．For example, in Japan, there are many musical roads throughout the country. |
9 . Music is not just a set of sounds and rhythms. Its influence on the brain is much deeper than any other human experience. Keep on reading to know all those amazing powers of music.
A recent study suggests that preterm (早产的) babies appear to experience less pain and feed more when listening to music. Experts led by Dr. Manoj Kumar of the University of Alberta, Canada, found that music had a beneficial effect on reducing pain for preterm babies experiencing painful medical tests. It also appeared to benefit full-term babies during operations.
Many people experiencing brain damage have speech and movement-related problems. Music can help recover from brain injuries. As a different and effective treatment, doctors often advise such patients to listen to good music to improve the parts of the brain responsible for these two functions. When people with neurological (神经系统的) disorders hear a musical beat, it helps them to regain a balanced walk.
Though music cannot make deafness disappear, it really can stave off the loss of hearing. There was an experiment involving 163 people where 74 were musicians. Participants were asked to pass some listening tests. Musicians heard the sounds better than non-musicians, and this difference gets clearer with age. This means that a 70-year-old musician bears better than a 50-year-old non-musician, even in a noisy environment.
Besides, music mends a broken heart. It is not about a thrown-away love, but about a heart attack. The matter is that music can help people recover from a heart attack or heart operation by reducing blood pressure, slowing down the heartbeat rate, and reducing anxiety. Listening to the quality music produces positive emotions, improves the movement of blood, and expands blood vessels, thus, promoting quick recovery of the whole cardiovascular (心血管的) system.
1. How does music affect preterm babies?| A．It helps reduce their pain. |
| B．It helps develop their potential in music. |
| C．It helps improve their hearing systems. |
| D．It helps repair their neurological systems. |
| A．导致 | B．增强 | C．延缓 | D．促进 |
| A．It has a positive effect on human body systems’ work. |
| B．It can help people prevent diseases caused by anxiety. |
| C．It helps make a person feel optimistic about life. |
| D．It can help patients recover in a slow way. |
| A．Who can benefit from music | B．The best time to listen to music |
| C．The way to choose quality music | D．How music affects our mind and body |
10 . Nick Rose-Stamey is a lot like Jack Black’s character in School of Rock- a guitarist who discovers a passion for making music accessible to children. Working in the nonprofit arts education sector over the last 10 years raised his awareness of the lack of music programs in public schools, and later inspired his nonprofit, Band in a Bus. “The original idea was to take an old school bus and turn it into the best band class on wheels,” he says.
In fact, activities of Band in a Bus don’t actually happen on a bus. It provides instruments, courses, and staffing to students. Kids 18 and under can also participate in enriching summer programs through Band in a Bus, such as Bucket Brigade, five weekly classes where grades K-4 learn rhythm (节奏) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) principles through contemporary music. There are also teen bands for grades 7-12 where kids learn to play pop music and develop social and team work skills.
When schools went virtual during the COVID-19 period, Rose-Stamey thought it was a shame that instruments were left sitting on shelves instead of in the hands of kids. So he created and distributed more than 1,000 “Band in a Box” DIY kits. Each kit contains small noise makers like kazoos, drumsticks, and shakers, with the intention of introducing a modernized music class experience that meets kids where they are.
“It is reported that if a kid has 30 minutes of a performing arts or creative elective every singleday, then that’ll help them develop their social, emotional and leadership skills, because there’s a lot of team work when it comes to making music. You have to learn how to work well with others,” Rose-Stamey says.
In the last year, Band in a Bus has worked directly with more than 500 students. “Music is a win-win for everybody,” Rose-Stamey says. “I just hope that someday we can stop making it the first kid out in the dodge ball (躲避球) game.”
1. What motivated Rose-Stamey to establish Band in a Bus?| A．The movie School of Rock. | B．The band classes in public schools. |
| C．His music learning experiences. | D．Insufficient music education. |
| A．They mainly focus on pop music. | B．They are usually organized on a bus. |
| C．They encourage team-building activities. | D．They combine music with other subjects. |
| A．To promote noise making instrumental kits. |
| B．To help students gain access to music at home. |
| C．To lift students’ mood during the COVID-19 period. |
| D．To enable students to take creative electives every day. |
| A．We should treat every student equally. |
| B．We should give music enough importance. |
| C．We should reconsider the rules of the dodge ball game. |
| D．We should encourage fair competition in various activities. |
