“Guys, remember. This competition is extremely difficult. There will only be a few selections to make it to the final round with the judges,” the music teacher, Mr. Brooks, explained. “But I hope all of you put your best foot forward and make our academy stand out!” The teacher was talking about a state-wide competition held by the best musicians in the area.
Shahnaz, the new student who had only come to the class two weeks before, took the teacher’s words to heart and put her heart and soul into a composition. She had learned how to play the piano for a long time and really did well in it. She wanted to prove herself.
All the students were supposed to improve their compositions with the help of their teacher, Mr. Brooks. However, he spent most of his time guiding the few outstanding students in his class.
He never had much to say to Shahnaz unless it was a comment about her mistakes, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to impress him. He was a good piano player and could teach her a lot. She hoped that her composition would be improved under the guidance of Mr. Brooks.
“OK,” Mr. Brooks said during one of his lessons, “it’s time for Shahnaz to play.” Shahnaz sat in front of the piano and began moving her fingers softly. She practiced and practiced once her composition was done and could almost play it by heart.
Finally, the piece was finished. Shahnaz looked at Mr. Brooks nervously and hoped to receive his recognition. But he just sighed “Frankly, you made many mistakes. You shouldn’t take part in the competition.”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150个左右；
2.请按如下格式作答。
Shahnaz left Mr Brooks’ class that day with a heavy heart, but she refused to let his words break her spirit.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The night of the competition finally arrived.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________1. Why is the record called The Hard Way?
| A．The music was hard to play. |
| B．Peter named it without any meaning. |
| C．It reflects Peter’s performing career. |
| A．In the halls. | B．On the streets. | C．In the bars. |
| A．Jazz. | B．Pop. | C．Blues. |
| A．France. | B．The UK. | C．The US. |
1. How many foreign students are visiting in the speaker’s school now?
| A．About 13. | B．About 20. | C．Over 30. |
| A．To attract more foreign students. |
| B．To exchange ideas about culture. |
| C．To help foreign students enjoy their time. |
| A．Before September 15th. |
| B．In the last week of September. |
| C．In the first week of December. |
| A．In the library. | B．In the garden. | C．On the playground. |
| A．Their favorite music. | B．A country singer. | C．A pop concert. |
1. Who is the man?
| A．A musician. | B．A tourist. | C．A reporter. |
| A．It costs more. | B．It is too small. | C．It is an open-air stadium. |
| A．Doing a research. | B．Asking for advice. | C．Having an interview. |
6 . The invention of the Compact Disc (CD) caused vinyl (黑胶唱片) music records to fall out of popularity over 30 years ago. But sales of vinyl records have been growing for the past 10 years. The COVID-19 pandemic only increased the sales.
Vinyl records, made out of a kind of plastic, had been the main method for listening to music until the 1980s when CDs took their place. As a result, many factories that produced vinyl records were shut down. Mark Michaels is the head of United Records, based in the city of Nashville, Tennessee. The company is the largest record producer in the United States. He said the industry “has found new machines, and is speeding up at a new pace”.
Many of the new customers are old enough to have listened to records during their childhood or young adulthood. A younger generation is also buying records. More current artists are meeting the new demand. They have begun releasing their newest records on vinyl as well as the normal electronic releases. John Mazzetti develops musical artists and has worked for Sting, Janet Jackson, and others at A&M Records. He said, “I love the vinyl experience. All of it. To me, there is an electrifying sound that I don’t feel from digital when I play records.”
There are now around 40 active vinyl plants in the US and most of them are small. They cannot make records as fast as people are buying them. It can take six to eight months for an order of records to be filled. Manufacturers are also dealing with shortages of materials, which can slow production even more.
Because record production is not meeting demands, nobody knows how much longer the market will increase at this rate. For his own part, Michaels said, “I believe in music, and I believe in the importance of music in people’s lives. I don’t think that will change.”
1. What reduced the popularity of vinyl music records?| A．The COVID-19 pandemic. | B．Slow process of production. |
| C．The age group of customers. | D．The invention of Compact Disc. |
| A．They have become more popular. |
| B．They are full of childhood memories. |
| C．They give him a different experience. |
| D．They are made by different musical artists. |
| A．Vinyl records will soon disappear completely. |
| B．The sales of vinyl records are making a comeback. |
| C．Vinyl records have already met the market demands. |
| D．The market of vinyl records relies on limited customers. |
| A．Optimistic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Critical. | D．Doubtful. |
7 . This was going to be a year of great jazz centennials (百年纪念) for 1920 marked the birth of several jazz musicians who either changed the course of the music or deeply enriched it. So let’s raise a glass to some of them:
Charlie Parker(August 29, 1920-March 12, 1955)
Of all the jazz languages that coursed through the 20th century, no one did more than Parker, for he developed complex improvisational methods that transformed the way musicians understand harmony and dissonance. The fact that Parker also happened to be a most influential saxophone player broadened the scope of his achievements.
Dave Brubeck (December 6, 1920-December 5, 2012)
Early in his long career, pianist-composer Brubeck was laughed at by some jazz lovers. How could a musician so popular among the masses possibly have anything to offer those who considered themselves “masters”? The joke was on them, of course, as Brubeck’s music was filled with new ideas in rhythm, embracing elements of Western classical music. No one played the piano quite the way Brubeck did.
Clark Terry(December 14, 1920-February 21, 2015)
Some musicians are at least as important for the influence they have on others as for the music they create themselves. Trumpet masters such as Miles Davis have credited Terry for having encouraged them in the earliest days of their careers. Terry’s work on trumpet affected those trumpeters and uncounted others.
Peggy Lee(May 26, 1920-January 21, 2002)
Singer-songwriter Lee proved that a vocalist needn’t shout to be heard around the world. Her soft vocals delighted jazz devotees and brought the music to huge audiences across the decades, thanks to hit recordings such as “Fever” and “Is That All There Is?” There were no vocal skills involved. Instead, Lee taught the jazz world the beauty of saying everything with a few well-chosen notes.
1. Who changed the way musicians understand harmony and dissonance?| A．Charlie Parker. | B．Dave Brubeck. | C．Clark Terry. | D．Peggy Lee. |
| A．He played music for a longer time. | B．They didn’t recognize his excellence. |
| C．He played the piano in a traditional way. | D．They had nothing to learn from him. |
| A．Her unique piano playing. | B．Her great influence on others. |
| C．Her beautiful singing voice. | D．Her mixture of western music. |
A Songwriter And An Army Dad Share One Touching Story
Two years ago, Connie Harington, a Nashville songwriter, was driving in her car, listening to a story on the public radio program Here & Now. And she heard a father remembering his son—a firefighter who was killed in a rescue mission.
“He mentioned that he drove his son’s truck,” Harrington says. “And he went on to describe the truck.”
Jared Monti was 30 when he was killed in rescue action in 2006. In the radio broadcast, his father, Paul, said his reasons for driving the truck Jared left behind were simple, “What can I tell you? It’s him. It’s got his DNA all over it. I love driving it because it reminds me of him, though I don’t need the truck to remind me of him. I think about him every hour of every day,”
Harrington was moved by what she heard and wrote down everything she could remember, all while fighting tears. A few days later, Harrington started turning those thoughts into a song, with two co-writers. Singer Lee Brice recorded the song, I Drive Your Truck and last month, it vaulted to No.1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
As the song grew in popularity, Paul Monti, the man whose words on the radio inspired it in the first place, got a message. It was from a woman whose son was rescued in the fire by Jared. “She sent me a message and told me that she had heard this song and that I had to listen to it,” Paul says.
Here’s the thing: Songwriter Harrington couldn’t remember the name of the father whom she’d heard on the radio—but she wanted desperately to find him, to let him know he was the inspiration. “You feel like this song was such a gift,” Harrington says. “And it has contributed to healing, I think, in people. And we just wanted him to know that it was his words that touched us.”
注意：
1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。
After lots of fruitless Internet searches, she finally found his name, Paul Moni.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
At the celebration party, Paul shared a more touching story about his son.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9 . You don’t have to be a Grammy-award winner like Beyoncé to sing. Actually, it’s a skill you can learn and practice.
| Give yourself permission to try From the beginning, set your expectations in a reasonable place. Everybody can do music—singing with kids or in a chorus. You play the guitar, but you needn’t be a performer with a band. Allow yourself to try without worrying about sounding “good” at first. Singing is a skill that takes practice and time to develop. |
| Practice stretching your speaking voice to your singing voice A few exercises help make that transition: Take a speaking phrase and start to stretch it. Make it a positive one, like “My voice is strong!” for the extra bonus of hearing some encouragement. While repeating the phrase, add some excitement to your speech—that’ll help you slide into singing naturally. There are also many vocal (发声) exercises online. |
| Find your own singing style To find what songs and styles suit you best, a music talent has established a singing method (Click HERE to find out) focusing on creating strategies specific to you. You can copy sounds but remember you’re trying to find your voice. Let Beyoncé be Beyoncé. Let whoever be whoever. That’s their identity. It’s important to say, “What do I sound like?” |
| Think about singing as a gateway to others This process is as much about self-acceptance as it is about building community. Be it in a band or a chorus, you and a bunch of friends just get together and there’s something amazing about making music. It promises a really good and deep community. |
For more help, you can email us at moreinfo@lifekit.org.
1. What does the author suggest readers do?| A．Dream big when starting singing. | B．Establish a music band with friends. |
| C．Copy songs and styles of famous singers. | D．Mix vocal exercises with self-motivation. |
| A．live a positive life | B．land a place in chorus |
| C．create music strategies | D．strengthen bonds with friends |
| A．lack confidence in singing | B．run a band or a music studio |
| C．want to register for a music course | D．desire to win Grammy Awards |
10 . Tina Leverton was 62 when she bought her first pair of ballet shoes. She said putting her feet into the soft leather was very emotional. She said: “I’ve waited a long time for it.”
A few days later, Leverton took her first ballet class after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. It showed older women dancing in a class near Leverton’s house. “As I came in the door, I found a big smile on my face. From the minute I started, I felt like coming home.”
Leverton had longed to dance as a child. Sadly, her parents couldn’t afford ballet classes, for they were first-generation Indian immigrants, struggling to make a living in the UK. Her father was a train driver on the underground in London and her mother held two cleaning jobs. Nonetheless, she harboured her dream of being a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员).
At her present age, a grand plie-lowering to the floor with bent knees-seemed to be out of the question. It took her three months to master the move: leaping and landing on one foot. ”I love the struggle and the challenge of learning something new. People in their 60s have a lot of self-limiting beliefs: ‘I can’t do it,’ ‘I’m not good enough.’ And maybe they’re not good enough. But it doesn’t matter,” she said.
Ballet has been transformative. At a medical appointment a few months after Leverton’s first class, a nurse measured her at 163cm, half an inch taller than she had thought. She attributes (归因) the difference to improved posture. Her muscle tone has improved and her lower back pain has stopped. Dancing has also brought new friends. She met a group of older, more independent women and worked together towards a team award with the Royal Academy of Dance. And then, of course, there is the joyful feeling. “Ballet is all the therapy (治疗) I’ll ever need,” said Leverton.
1. How did Leverton feel after taking her dance lesson?| A．Tired. | B．Confused. | C．Shocked. | D．Thrilled. |
| A．Her family was badly off. | B．She wasn’t able to leap high. |
| C．Her family laughed at her dream. | D．She had to focus on classes. |
| A．A team award. | B．Money and fame. |
| C．Friendship and joy. | D．A medical treatment. |
| A．Hard work pays off. | B．Never too old to pursue dreams. |
| C．Interest is the key to success. | D．Money isn’t everything. |
