The famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven did not inherit much musical talent from his ancestors, according to a new study. Researchers say the findings are a good example of how     1     (we) DNA doesn’t determine what talents will be developed in life.

The researchers examined Beethoven’s DNA using a hair sample     2     (collect) during a separate study last year. Their goal was to explore his genetic predisposition(倾向) for music,     3     is closely tied to musical ability.     4     (do) this, they compared Beethoven’s DNA with that of nearly 14,500 other individuals in database. With his genetic information, they calculated a polygenic(多基因的) score     5     a sign of his predisposition for musical talent.

“Interestingly, Beethoven, one of the     6     (well-known) musicians in history, had an unremarkable score for general musicality —     7     (rank) around the top 10% of people based on modern samples,” said Tara Henechowicz from the team.

The authors who published the study in Current Biology said it would be wrong to conclude that Beethoven had little talent, but it does highlight the problems in making predictions based     8     (pure) on DNA.

“The mismatch between the DNA-based forecast and Beethoven’s musical genius     9     (provide) a valuable teaching moment because it demonstrates that DNA tests cannot give us a final answer about     10     a given child will end up being musically gifted,” said Ms. Henechowicz.

Yangko, a rural Chinese folk dance with a history     1     (date) back thousands of years, originates from farming life in ancient times. The dance relates to sacrifices to the farmland god when people prayed for a good harvest. As time passed, the     2     (origin) dance developed, taking in various artistic forms and skills, including opera, acrobatics and martial arts, and eventually turned into the type of Yangko     3     is seen today.

    4     (preserve) this Chinese folk culture, it was included in the inaugural(首批的)items of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. It is     5     (common) performed in northern China during festivals, especially for Chinese New Year and the Lantern Festival. Performances or competitions     6     (organize) in towns and villages to express people’s joy and their hope for a better life.

Yangko employs drumming, Suona, dancing and singing. Content is based     7     folk stories and legends. Costumes are richly-colored and opera-styled, enabling     8     (character) to be easily identified. During a performance, the actors will dance and sing, following lively rhythms. Highly skilled and interesting acts such as stilt(高跷)walking     9     carrying a wedding sedan chair(花轿)are also included. As a part of traditional Chinese culture, Yangko     10     (concentrate) the group consciousness of the Chinese people, and has outstanding historical and cultural value.

Few people expected that a new song     1       (write) by Chinese pop singer songwriter Daolang, who kept himself out of the spotlight for years, would go viral (爆火) on social media. However, the track Luocha Haishi, one of the 11 original songs from the 52-year-old artist's latest album titled Shan Ge Liaò Zai (Folk Songs Fading Away)     2       (become) one of the biggest hits of the year so far. The song, which     3     (release) on July 19, got 8 billion streams by 6 pm on July 30.

The curiosity surrounding the song seems to be driving its     4       (popular). Social media users are     5       (fierce) debating if the lyrics have hidden meanings. Reading between the lines, some online listeners said the song is ạ stinging sat ire (尖锐的讽刺) on the current “unhealthy and chaotic (混乱的) environment in show business”, while others see Luocha Haishi     6    Daolang’s “revenge” on people who once criticized     7     (he) music.

“As a researcher on classic Chinese literature, I appreciate Daolang whose new song is     8    (create) and gives Liaozhai Zhiyi a new interpretation. I don't know whether the song is targeted at a certain group of people     9     one person.     10     makes it meaningful is that it fuels discussions and makes people think,” said Miao Huaiming, a professor at Nanjing University's   School of Liberal Arts.

Singing is one of those universal actions that everyone can do for fun, regardless of how they sound. According to recent studies     1    (conduct) at Goethe University Frankfurt, singing can be actually helpful to your immune system. The study focused     2     a group of people who sang in a professional choir and discovered that the amount of proteins in the blood that function as antibodies (抗体) was     3    (obvious) higher after singing, so people involved in music could be less likely     4    (get) sick.

Singing actually is the perfect physical exercise for people who are injured, disabled or elderly. Not only     5    (do) singing help increase your lung capacity, but it helps stimulate circulation. This can lead to better results when people hit the gym thanks to the person’s increased aerobic (有氧的) capacity and newfound physical or mental strength.

The simple truth is that singing makes you happy. It releases endorphins (内啡肽), a chemical     6     reduces pain and makes you feel     7    (happy) and less stressed. People who sing, especially in choirs and on the stage are known to have better social skills and be loss lonely.     8    (stand) on the stage and performing can be tough,     9     when you do it in a group, it can help improve your sense of self as well as increase your     10    (confident).

Most people can remember important news stories clearly, whether it was the murder of President Kennedy     1     the events of 9/11. But now, psychologists Martin Conway and Catriona Morrison from the University of Leeds are conducting     2     online research project into the power that music has to create “autobiographical memory” of the main events in our lives. Their online study asks people     3    (choose) a song by the Beatles, and describe the memories that they have when they listen     4     it.

Morrison explains that they looked at     5    (difference) age groups and their memories. It’s often     6     (think) that we remember more from the time when we were teenagers, which is called “the reminiscence bump”(怀旧性记忆上涨). This is the time in your life when you form     7    (you) idea of who you really are. For older people who have memories     8    (relate) to the Beatles’ music, the majority of them are of events that occurred in their teenage years. But younger people also had a very strong     9    (respond), and had vivid personal memories from their past.

    10    (ultimate), the project opens up possibilities for using music to engage with people who may have problems with memory. “You could use music to help improve people’s ability to remember,” says Morrison.

As the curtain on the stage falls slowly,Lincoln Center bursts into    1    (thunder)applause. Chinese ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan once again impresses the audience from all over the world       2    his perfect performance in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

Born in Huizhou City in 1992,Chan has become    3    (attach) to dance since childhood. However, his parents preferred him to be a doctor or a lawyer in the future. The uncompromising boy then wrote a seven-page letter to his parents describing his    4    (determine)to study dance. Thanks to the sincere letter, Chan    5    (eventual) gained the support of his family, and at 12, he was admitted to Guangzhou Arts School,    6    (mark)the start of his dream-seeking journey.

To get more people     7    (know) and love ballet, he often shares ballet teaching videos on social media,    8    provides ballet enthusiasts with a free chance to learn ballet. For every role he plays, he integrates Chinese culture and his understanding of life into his body language.

Chan    9    (try) hard to promote the Chinese culture on     10    western ballet stage now. Liang Zhu(Butterfly Lovers), a ballet adaptation of an ancient Chinese legend choreographed by him, will be performed at Lincoln Center in New York soon.

According to a recent report, traditional music has found increasing appeal among a large audience of young people, due to greater access to it and the passion of     1     (it) fans. The report focused on traditional Chinese art, such as operas and folk music, and     2     (analyze) age differences and locations. It found that more than 100 million people tune in to traditional Chinese music     3     (month).

According to the report, the popularity is a result of the rise in social media and networking, and through joint efforts made by traditional musicians, opera     4     (perform) as well as pop stars.

At the New Year’s Eve concert, folk musician Fang Jinlong adapted pop songs with Chinese folk tunes and played     5     (dozen) of musical instruments, including pipa and erhu. The performance, livestreamed by Bilibili, received much     6     (warm) feedback than ever from the young audience.

And in Zhang Yixing’s bilingual album, LIT, the young idol has mixed traditional Chinese elements with modern hip-hop,     7     (offer) his young fans opportunities to enjoy Chinese vibe and inspiring them     8     (discover) more about Chinese arts.

The report also gave an example of Kunqu Opera,     9     of the oldest Chinese operas,     10     attracts over 100 million listeners born after 1990.

The Book of Songs, also known as Shi Jing, is the oldest existing     1     (collect) of Chinese poetry. Three years ago, when Chinese musician Fang Jinlong read Shi Jing, he was interested in the stories told through the poems. Because he couldn’t     2     (full) understand the ancient Chinese language     3     (use) in the poems, he turned to experts whose elaboration further attracted him to explore the poems.

Then he decided to portray the poems with musical language by inviting composer Ma Jiuyue     4     (create) an album. Titled Music and the Book of Songs, the album was released on Jan 18,     5     (feature) 10 original songs composed by Ma. They     6     (perform) by Fang and won great popularity.

The 10 songs are based on 10 poems from Shi Jing, including Qiong Yao, which conveys gratitude to people who are eager to help others, Swallows, which     7     (send) farewell messages to friends and Jia Yu, which portrays the scenes of a joyful banquet.

“Young people gave warm feedback about traditional Chinese music     8     they had watched my performance. It inspired me to create more works for them, which helps popularize traditional Chinese music,” says Fang.

“The 10 pieces sound     9     (enjoy) and easy. For the listeners, it’s a fresh way to comprehend poems from Shi Jing,” says Ma. “We spent three years working on     10    project. There are so many meanings in the poems and we want to display them as deep as possible with music,” Ma says, “It’s our mutual goal to have traditional Chinese music reach a wider audience.”