1 . A music festival is a community event focusing on live performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme. On the list are the music festivals for fans around the world. Find your favorite now!
Field Day
January 1, 2023, Sydney
Field Day means New Year’s Day for young people in Sydney. Seen as the city’s original multi-stage party, it’s a gathering of friends coming together for a great fun-filled first day of the year. There’s an air of hope and positive energy on a perfect summer’s day.
The Envision Festival
February 27—March 6, 2023, Uvita
The Envision Festival is an annual gathering in Costa Rica that aims to provide an opportunity for different cultures to work with one another to create a better community. The festival encourages people to practice art, music, dance performances, and education. Meanwhile, our connection with nature is expected to be strengthened.
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival
March 2—4, 2023, Phoenix
The McDowell Mountain Music Festival is Phoenix’s musical celebration of community culture. Since its foundation in 2004, it has been the only 100% non-profit music festival designed to support, entertain and educate the community. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year from around the country, and it is an opportunity to experience true culture.
The Old Settler’s Music Festival
April 20—23, 2023, Dale
The Old Settler’s Music Festival is a nationally known music festival for American music. The festival is held in the country of Texas at the height of the wild flower season. The Old Settler’s Music Festival offers great music and activities for the whole family.
1. In which city can people enjoy a fun New Year’s Day?| A．Phoenix. | B．Uvita. | C．Sydney. | D．Dale. |
| A．It encourages people to receive education. | B．It is not aimed at making money. |
| C．It provides an opportunity for friend gathering. | D．It focuses on cultural exchanges. |
| A．Field Day and the Envision Festival. |
| B．The Envision Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| C．The Old Settler’s Music Festival and the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. |
| D．The Envision Festival and the Old Settler’s Music Festival. |
2 . George Li was born in 1995 and now is a young pianist on the rise. At age 10，he gave his first public concert and in 2015, he won a silver medal at International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Li recently released his first album, performing with some of the world’s great orchestras.
The centerpiece of Li’s album is the passionate Piano Sonata No. 2 by Chopin—the one with the funeral march as its third movement. Chopin is close to Li’s heart, as it was Chopin’s music that earned him the top prize at the Cooper International Competition at Oberlin Conservatory when he was just 15.
Li’s album, Live at the Mariinsky, released last fall on Warner Classics, opens with the Piano Sonata in B minor by Haydn. Li’s gentle touch makes the music shine. “I think the main requirement is the touch. It has to be so sensitive,” he says about Haydn. Imagine the champagne bubbles, or just that sound when the champagne pours into glass. ”
Li was born in Boston. His parents came to the U. S. from China in the 1980s. he says they had few opportunities to hear classical music in the process of growing up. Li began playing the piano at age four and thought of it only as a hobby. But one day, when he was 11, playing Beethoven’ First Piano Concerto, everything changed.
“All of a sudden，in the middle of the performance I felt different,” he says. “I was kind of transported in some other reality. And I felt all these emotions within the piece and within myself.” And that’s when Li’s light bulb switched on. After that moment he wanted to do this for the rest of his life. Fortunately for George Li’s fans，that’s likely to be a very long time.
1. What can we learn about George Li from the passage?| A．He was born and grew up in an artistic family. |
| B．He won the top prize at International Tchaikovsky Competition. |
| C．He played Haydn’s Piano Sonata in B minor in a gentle manner. |
| D．He released his album with Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto in it. |
| A．He didn’t know what reality was any more. |
| B．He felt as if he were transported to another space. |
| C．The performance seemed too excellent to be real. |
| D．His emotions responded to what was expressed in the piece. |
| A．The Key to George Li’s Success |
| B．George Li’s Journey into the World of Piano |
| C．The Birth of a Talented Pianist George Li |
| D．George Li’s Extraordinary Piano Skills |
| A．Some songs. | B．Their hobbies. | C．A band. |
