1 . For some people,music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes(音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music sets them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret,a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn't involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can't see. certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed(诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say,” No thanks, I'm amusic,'“says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”
1. Which of the following is true of amusic?| A．Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them. |
| B．They love places where they are likely to hear music. |
| C．They can easily tell two different songs apart. |
| D．Their situation is well understood by musicians. |
| A．dislikes listening to speeches |
| B．can hear anything nonmusical |
| C．has a hearing problem |
| D．lacks a complex hearing system |
| A．her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier |
| B．she were seventeen years old rather than seventy |
| C．her problem could be easily explained |
| D．she were able to meet other amusics |
| A．Amusics' strange behaviours. |
| B．Some people's inability to enjoy music. |
| C．Musical talent and brain structure. |
| D．Identification and treatment of amusics. |
Music is one of the most
I believe music has the power
I believe music affects people in many ways. To me, music is
3 . A few extraordinary female singer-songwriters from the 1970s helped form music as we know it today, and continue to inspire so many with their soulful melodies(旋律).
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell’s influence goes beyond her own generation. Her earnest songwriting continues to be a source of inspiration for many, who acknowledge her position as a pioneer of female expression in music.
The 1971 album Blue showed Joni’s truthful self, telling the stories of her experiences in life and in love. Blue was later chosen by the New York Times as one of the 25 albums that represented “turning points and the highest points in 20th-century popular music”.
Carole King
Carole King wrote or co-wrote over 118 hits between 1955 and 1999, making her the most successful female songwriter in the second half of the 20th century. However, King initially found herself less recognized than her husband and writing partner at the time, Gerry Goffin.
As the 1970s arrived, so did Carole King in full bloom. Now pursuing a solo career, 1971 saw the release (发行)of her album Tapestry. The album was highly significant, not only commercially but symbolically.
Joan Armatrading
Still in the 1970s but putting in the work on this side of the pond, Joan Armatrading became the first black British female artist to achieve international praise.
Joan’s place as a female pioneer in music continued as she became the first UK female artist to be nominated (提名)for a Grammy in the blues category, going on to receive two further nominations. An artist who is confident with who she is and what she wants to create, Armatrading famously keeps her private life to herself and lets her music do the talking.
1. What is the album Blue about?| A．Female wisdom. |
| B．Female creativity. |
| C．Joni’s musical dream. |
| D．Joni’s life experiences. |
| A．In 1955. | B．In 1999. |
| C．In 1970. | D．In 1971. |
| A．Brave. | B．Self-confident. |
| C．Odd. | D．Unsociable. |
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（ \ ）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多改（从第11处起）不计分。
I have been collecting the songs of the Beatles for a long time. The first time when I saw them on the television , I was immediately attracting by them. Actual, the reason why I love the songs is because my favourite song Yesterday is among them, which conveys sadness. Besides, not all their songs were like that song. Some are funny; others are cheerful and express original idea and have lovely tunes.
The Beatles seemed to have a ability to describe the hopes and fears of young people and communicate them. I’m sure our music will be remembered forever.
请你在学校论坛写一则报告，内容包括：
1.数据情况并进行分析；
2.选择一种你最喜欢的音乐类型并简要说明理由。
要求：词数80-100左右；
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Li Hua
6 . “If music is the medicine of the soul, let it play on,” said a famous person. I think he said so probably because he had got some help from music. Music has some strange functions. Medical scientists have found that a person who feels stressed can actually listen to a certain kind of music and become relaxed.
Researchers said that since stress comes as a result of some events in life such as starting a new family, starting a new business and starting a new job, one can actually listen to good music and feel good because good music touches humans in a positive way. Music helps you forget these events that make you worried and remember the important events that once happened in your life.
Depression(抑郁症) is a disease caused by stress, smoking, social problems, etc. Depression is also caused by difficulties such as failure in business. Depression may bring us weakness, headaches and loss of concentration. Good music makes one remember happy moments or days. If you play music about love, it makes you feel like falling in love again though you may have had several upset experiences. And such good feelings make you healthy.
Anxiety is another health problem that can be controlled by music. Anxiety is one of the side effects of some major health problems such as liver cancer and breast cancer. Good music makes you feel relaxed and relieves the pain caused by these diseases and you will feel better. Good music also makes you sleep better, and you need to know that sleep puts your body in a healthy condition. Good sleep takes away the effects of stress, depression and anxiety from a person.
1. What do you know about music according to the famous person in Paragraph 1?| A．Music can treat many kinds of diseases. |
| B．Music can help you keep mentally healthy. |
| C．Music can take the place of medicine in treating illness. |
| D．Music can make you remember things that happened in the past. |
| A．By letting people have a good sleep. | B．By making people think positively. |
| C．By showing something new to people. | D．By making people focus only on important things. |
| A．Stress | B．Depression. | C．Anxiety. | D．Upset |
| A．The benefits of listening to music to health. |
| B．Stress can bring us many kinds of diseases. |
| C．Some diseases have something to do with music. |
| D．Tips for us to live a healthy and comfortable life. |
7 . The nine women of Bella Mondo win over yet another audience. The group is one of just a handful of all-women ensembles (乐队) in Ivory Coast.
It all started in 2007, Prisca Allou was a music student. A music producer came to see her. He said he wanted to make an all-female ensemble to keep a promise to his late mother.
Allou got on board and was charged with recruiting (招募) other members. “It wasn’t easy at first. Some parents were against it. You know, in Africa, the place of women is often seen as being either in an office or at home. That was the fixed image.” Allou spread the word and took out ads in local papers. Most of the girls she found were not professional players. “I just played some tamtam. I learned to play drums when I joined Bella Mondo.” The girls spent the next four years learning to play their instruments. Many gave up along the way, but eight of them soldiered on with Allou, and Bella Mondo was founded.
The band plays original songs and covers. Their music spans a wide range of styles: funk, reggae, pop music. They released their first album in 2013... and have performed in Paris, Dakar, Cotonou and, of course, here at home in Abidjan.
You can see them nearly every Thursday at this bar, the same place that gave the band its start years ago. “Oh yes, I was surprised at first. A woman singing, you see that every day, but an entire band, playing all the instruments and everything? It was extraordinary. I was dumbstruck. Bella Mondo is a great band.” The women are now working on their second album.
1. Why did the music producer want to found a female ensemble?| A．To sponsor music students. | B．To comfort his mother. |
| C．To carry out his promise. | D．To win over an audience. |
| A．Most women couldn’t afford. | B．Parents didn’t want to break tradition. |
| C．All parents disapproved of it. | D．Women weren’t willing to leave home. |
| A．The band has travelled a lot. | B．The band has gained its popularity. |
| C．The band has released albums. | D．The band seems to be united as one. |
| A．Satisfied. | B．Determined. |
| C．Amused. | D．Astonished. |
8 . In June, 11-year-old Nigerian ballet dancer Anthony Mmesoma Madu was filmed barefoot, spinning and leaping gracefully in the air and landing in concrete, rain puddles (水坑). Just a few short months later, he has become an Internet star and gained a famous scholarship in America.
Madu thought he was being recorded for a study session by his ballet instructor, instead, the short video of him practicing his moves was posted on social media and has been shared widely across the world, with some of his fans including Hollywood actors Cynthia Erivo and Viola Davis.
His dancing also caught the attention of Cynthia Harvey, the artistic director of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Dance in New York. Harvey was so impressed by his talent that she tracked him down and offered him a scholarship with the American Ballet Theatre where he will attend a summer school in 2021.
Madu says his interest in ballet developed after watching Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses, a 2006 cartoon about 12 princesses who share a passion for the dance. "When I was watching the cartoon, I told my mum that I want to do ballet." he said.
He eventually got the chance to learn the dance after relocating to Ojo, a suburb (郊区) of Lagos with his mother, where they met Daniel Owoseni Ajala, founder of the Leap of Dance Academy. Ajala founded the dance academy in 2017 and has been teaching ballet for free to children who are unable to pay for a dance education since then.
When the self-taught instructor learned of Madu's desire to dance, he said he encouraged Madu's mother to let him sign up. It was during one of their sessions that he recorded Madu's dance video, but he never imagined that it would circulate rapidly.
"The video wasn't something we imagined to come out the way it did. It was just something that was supposed to show corrections of movements. It was bigger than I imagined, and I started getting calls. Celebrities were posting us," he said.
1. What can we know about Anthony Mmesoma Madu?| A．He decided to apply for a scholarship. |
| B．He became one of Viola Davis' big fans. |
| C．He posted his short video on social media. |
| D．He impressed many people by his dancing. |
| A．After attending a dance academy. | B．After moving to a suburb of Lagos. |
| C．After watching a lively cartoon. | D．After meeting Daniel Owoseni Ajala. |
| A．Demanding but sympathetic. | B．Warm-hearted and respectable. |
| C．Stubborn but generous. | D．Creative and outstanding. |
| A．A Non-profit Dance Academy | B．A Wonderful Dance Performance |
| C．A Self-taught Ballet Instructor | D．An 11-year-old Nigerian Ballet Boy |
Erie Clapton returns to the Royal Albert Hall next May, marking his only UK shows in 2021. Clapton’s career as a professional musician has seen him create an abundance of records with numerous bands.
Time: May to July- the first Tuesday and the first Sunday per month.
Starts: 7:30 pm.
There is a ticket limit of six tickets per household.
Call 472-556 for more information.
http://www.royalalberthall.com
Concertgebouw Hall
It goes without saying that the Concertgebouw and jazz and pop music make a perfect combination. The stages of both the Main Hall and the Recital Hall have borne witness to nearly the whole of jazz history.
Note: Concerts until December 31, 2020 do not have assigned seating due to our COVID-19 measures. Staff members will show you to your seats. For the Main Hall you can choose in which section you would like to sit: balcony, stage or orchestra.
A free schedule of events is available by calling the box office at 488-576 for more information.
http://www.concertgebouw.com
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is pleased to present Encore BSO Recitals, a colorful and wide-ranging online concert series spotlighting 50 musicians of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It will give viewers a rare opportunity to experience the individual attraction of many of the musicians who make up the world-known ensemble(乐团).
Video streams begin on Thursdays at noon Eastern Time.
A donation of S25 or more will give you access to all nine videos in the series.
http://www.boston.com
Carnegie Hall
Pianist Jonathan Biss 2021 master class focuses on the late solo works of Beethoven, Brahms, and Schubert - a fascinating journey for the six young pianists who participate. Biss hosts this program-which also includes an interaction between performers and audience.
Students with L.D. cards can attend the events for free.
Phone: 654-112.
1. How many performances will Eric Clapton give in Royal Albert Hall in 2021?
| A．2 | B．4 | C．6 | D．8 |
| A．A family cannot purchase more than six tickets to Eric Clapton’s performances in the Royal Albert Hall. |
| B．Visitors can enjoy the performance for free in Concertgebouw Hall by calling 488-576 in advance. |
| C．The Boston Symphony Orchestra will present Encore BSO Recitals in a concert hall in Boston. |
| D．Pianist Jonathan Biss will play the solo works and host a performer-audience interaction in Carnegie Hall. |
| A．offer free tickets | B．have a ticket limit |
| C．have the theme of music | D．are performed by famous bands |
10 . As you move out of your teens and into your 20s and 30s, your musical tastes start to solidify and you likely quit keeping up with popular music. Now, research has found the average age at which your music library is unlikely to change: 33.
The study's author reached this conclusion by analyzing data on U. S. Spotify users and comparing it to artist popularity data from music intelligence company The Echo Nest.
To determine the age at which we stop seeking out new tunes, the author gathered self-reported age data from Spotify and looked at users' " Taste Profiles," which tracks how many times listeners have streamed individual artists. These artists were then matched to their popularity rank on The Echo Nest.
The average teen listens almost only to music among the Billboard, the 200 highest-ranking albums in the country, but this music represents a smaller part of their streaming as they age. In their teens, they listen to a lot of the same music, over and over again. Frank T. McAndrew, a professor of psychology at Knox College, explains that's the "mere exposure effect" at work, and it basically means, the more we're exposed to something, the more we like it.
There are many reasons why a person may stop streaming the current top musical hits, and the author looked into one by identifying Spotify listeners with large amounts of children's music and nursery rhymes in their libraries. In other words, when users may have become parents.
But the study concludes with some good news for parents: “If you're getting older and can't find yourself staying as relevant as you used to, have no fear — just wait for your kids to become teenagers, and you'll get exposed to all the popular music of the day once again!”
1. What happens after teens grow older?| A．They quit listening to music. | B．Their interest in music fades. |
| C．They change their music libraries. | D．Their musical tastes become stable. |
| A．Interviews. | B．Analyzing data. |
| C．Observation. | D．Tracking popularity. |
| A．They listen to what they like repeatedly. |
| B．They act like their favorite popular stars. |
| C．They experience different styles of music. |
| D．They like high-ranking music worldwide. |
| A．Parents will regain their faith in music. |
| B．Parents will influence their teens in music. |
| C．Parents will hear their favorite music again. |
| D．Parents will enjoy the music for teens again. |
