Imagine having the o    1     to sing together with hundreds of other people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they p    2     alone on video. These videos are uploaded o    3     the Internet, and then they are put together into the video that you can see online—a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere—all you need is a video camera and an Internet c    4    . You do not even need a s    5    . A virtual choir helps connect o    6     people together. Many people do not have close friends or contacts who have the same interest in m    7    . Many others do not have the chance to join a local choir. A virtual choir e    8     them to add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has p    9     to be a positive influence on the lives of many people. A    10     one virtual choir member said, “Music helps me to forget my problems. With music, I become someone else.”

Have you ever faced a time when things looked dark and you had no hope at all? Two years ago, I was told I had a serious     1     which was difficult to cure. My body     2     all the time and thus I thought I didn’t have much longer to     3    . I was very afraid and I felt so alone and discouraged. Then one day, I had to go through a two-hour medical     4    . The doctor wanted me to     5    , so he had me listen to some music, and one of the songs was “Happy”. The song made me feel so much better that from then on I began to listen to music all the time. John A. Logan said, “Music is the medicine of the     6    .” And it’s-true. Music helped me recover.

Music gave me happiness. When I listened to music, it made my     7     fly like a kite in the wind. Music gave me     8     and brought me relief. It was the rock I leant on to become strong and to get through those hard times. Moreover, music gave me hope and a sense of     9    . It became my best friends. It spoke words of encouragement to the deepest part of my     10    .

Imagine     1     to sing together with hundreds of people while you are at home alone. You can do this in a virtual choir. Virtual choir members record themselves while they perform alone on video. These videos are    2     the Internet, and then they are put together into one video that you can see online — a virtual choir. Anyone can take part in a virtual choir from anywhere — all you need is a video camera and an Internet connection. You donˈt even need a studio. A virtual choir helps    3     together. Many people do not have    4     who have the same interest in music. Many others do not have the chance to join a local choir. A virtual choir    5     add their voices to those of other individuals and become part of the global community. It has proved to be a     6     the lives of many people.

The virtual choir was the idea of award-winning composer and     1     Eric Whitacre.     2     in the USA on 2 January 1970, Whitacre began study music at the University of Nevada in 1988. He     3     in love with Mozart’s classical music     4     he sang for the university choir.     5     by this music, he said, “It was like seeing color for the first time.” He graduated     6     university in 1995, and then     7     a master’s degree in musical composition from the Juilliard School in New York in 1997. Over the next 10 years, Whitacre’s     8     compositions began to become quite     9     among choirs and singers. This     10     to the creation of the virtual choir.

How are you doing? I’m glad to receive your e-mail. I am writing to tell you something about my favourite type of music.

（1）    1    （我最喜欢流行音乐，把它视为生活的好伙伴）. There are several reasons for it. First of all, pop music is lively and it has a natural sense of rhythm. So it suits young people at my age. Secondly, it helps me ease my stressed feelings. When I feel tired after I have been studying hard for some time, （2）    2    （我常常听音乐，这总使我感到放松）. It is also a cure for my sadness （3）    3    （因为它能把那些不愉快的时刻变成高兴时刻）. Lastly, pop music does not have complex lyrics. As a result, it is simple to understand.

What’s your favourite type of music? Looking forward to your reply.

Best wishes!

Yours,

Li Hua