1 . Adele’s new album, “30”, is finally available. Last month, hundreds of millions of us streamed its first single, “Easy On Me.” This song arouses feelings not easily put into words, but we can probably agree it is a sad song.     1     Yet sad music does pull us in and lift us up.

Let’s start with a biological theory. When we experience real-life loss, or empathize (体会) with another’s pain, certain hormones are released within us.     2     They do so by making us feel calmed and supported. Feeling Adele’s pain, or recalling our own, may cause such chemical changes within us.

Psychologically, a key reason we enjoy sad songs is that they profoundly move us. Feeling moved can come from us suddenly feeling closer to other people. Indeed, when we have listened to “30”, we may turn to reaction videos to see how others feel.     3    And it boosts our feeling of being moved and triggers feelings of comfort and belonging.

    4     Adele’s songs allow us to view the pleasure in terms of the meaning she helps us make. Adele takes hard life experiences and makes sense of them. This is what much sad art does. It takes the pain and suffering of the world and gives it meaning. As philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once put it, someone who has a why to live can bear almost any how.

Ultimately, we listen to Adele’s songs when we want to recall, reflect, or belong. They let us feel her sadness, share our suffering, and connect with others. To all of us, Adele’s songs say:     5    

A．You are not alone in your pain.

B．Music speaks louder than words.

C．These help us to tackle loss and pain.

D．We can also think at the spiritual level.

E．Few people are aware sad music makes us feel good.

F．This lets us share an emotional experience with others.

G．This may make us better prepared for when real loss strikes.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个恰当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The piano used to be a rare foreign import in China, now four in five are made here. Much of this can     1       (trace) back to the tiny Chinese island named Gulangyu.

After the first Opium War in 1842, foreign powers forced the emperor to permit their residents     2     (live) in several “treaty ports” (通商口岸). One of those was Xiamen. Gulangyu, which lies just     3     5-minute ferry ride offshore, was an international settlement. Expatriates (侨民) helped make the piano an everyday amusement. There was soon     4     (hard) a family on the island that did not host or go to hear an evening recital (独奏会).

It was the largest number of pianos per person in China     5     led to a stream of outstanding musicians. The island’s most celebrated musician is Yin Chengzong. In 1969 he arranged an earlier revolutionary cantata (大合唱) into the “Yellow River Piano Concerto”. It remains China’s first-class     6     (compose). Where once Western classical music     7     (flow) into China, pianists are pouring out. Of the 50m children     8     (learn) the instruments worldwide, as many as 40m may be Chinese.

The government invests generously on orchestras,     9     now number over 80, and new concert halls. Fastidious parents and cool young things crowd     10     (they) to hear the latest wunderkind, Lang Lang and Yuja Wang, to name just a few.

3 . Music is present in any part of the world, and it is appreciated and felt everywhere. Without its presence, life could be boring. Studies show that music is good for your body and mind.     1    

Music can increase pain management. Listening to music can help increase your pain tolerance (耐痛性).     2     Listening to music can help you gain a sense of control over your ability to deal with pains. If you have a certain pain, for example, listening to music that you enjoy can help reduce the pain that you experience.

●    3     Listening to certain types of music, such as relaxing music, can naturally reduce both your heartbeat rate and breathing rate. Additionally, music has shown promising results as a treatment for heart disease. Whether it involves listening to music or composing music, the calming effect that music produces further improves your heart’s health by supporting it throughout the healing process.

●Music can reduce anxiety and depression     4     When it comes to anxiety and depression, music treatment can help to reduce the amount of stress hormones. For example, listening to music that you enjoy can naturally decrease the amount of cortisol (皮质醇) that your body releases.

●Music can improve self-expression and communication. Self-expression and communication are an important part of the human experience, especially when it comes to basic emotional and mental health needs.     5     By listening and singing along to music, kids who struggle to interact and communicate with others can practice using the very skills needed to do so.

A．Music can improve heart health.

B．Music can increase your heartbeat rate.

C．Here are some benefits of music treatment.

D．They are two common pains in your daily life.

E．It has been proved to be helpful for anxious and depressed people.

F．Listening to music can also help decrease the strength of your pains.

G．For kids weak in both areas, music treatment can help develop their relative skills.

4 . For over a decade, Zubin Kanga, a pianist, composer and technologist, has changed the limits of the forms of musical performances. He has both organized and performed shows that have pushed barriers, with motion sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), live-generated 3D visuals and virtual reality among the technological advancements used to unlock new possibilities of music and performances.

Kanga’s approach to employing cutting-edge technology was first informed by the relative limitations of his chosen instrument. “The piano is a very accurate technology,” he says. “From the early 20th century till now it hasn’t really changed at all. It’s an amazing instrument, but it does have certain limitations in terms of the types of sound you can create.”

One of the early works is Steel on Bone, composed by Kanga himself. He performs the piece using MiMU multi-sensor gloves. “I can put up one finger, and that’ll produce a particular sound,” Kanga explains. “And then I can control that sound just by moving my wrist through the air — I can do that with lots of different gestures.”

“For Steel on Bone, I’m actually playing inside the piano with these steel knitting (编织) needles, and getting all these interesting effects on the strings. Then I’m using samples of them. Sometimes I’m using live delays and operating them. The sound can change depending on how my hands are moving. It allows me to make a very theatrical piece, and people can see this immediate connection between how I’m moving — these very big, almost conductor-like gestures through the air — and the way the sound is changing,” said Kanga.

This is just the start, and Kanga goes on to be enthused with the use of motion sensors to make music, the possibilities that AI offers composers as a tool, and how virtual reality could transform performances and more.

1. What do technological advancements do for music and performances?

A．Remove music barriers.

B．Bring new performance forms.

C．Popularize musical performances.

D．Make performances professional.

2. Why does Kanga talk about the piano in paragraph 2?

A．To indicate its stability.

B．To prove its rare accuracy.

C．To show it has a long history.

D．To clarify why he uses technology.

3. How does Kanga perform Steel on Bone?

A．By moving his hands in the air.	B．By pressing the piano keys.
C．By beating the steel knitting needles.	D．By making very small gestures.

4. Which can be the best title for the text?

A．Technology: When It Replaces Music

B．Virtual Reality: Future of Performances

C．Zubin Kanga: When Music Meets Technology

D．AI Music: From Composing to Performing

5 . 阅读下面材料, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Dream of the Red Chamber,     1     epic masterpiece in Chinese literature,     2    (stage) as an original ballet show by the National Ballet of China (NBC) this coming Friday, according to the troupe at a media event.

Considered as one of the four great classical     3    (novel) of Chinese literature, the Dream of the Red Chamber, through the perspective of Jia Baoyu, narrates a story about the fall of his large wealthy family and     4     (he) complex relationship with Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. It shows the beauty of women and complicated ancient Chinese society from all angles,     5     has a far-reaching influence and world-renowned reputation.

The ballet dance drama will present this Chinese classic novels through a romantic Western-style narration,     6     (offer) a visual feast with carefully designed winter snow stage setting and the costumes of the characters. By integrating Chinese silk into the ballet skirts, the designer Yang Donglin commits himself     7     achieving a “combination of Eastern and Western aesthetics (美学)”.

”You can imagine     8     appealing it is to see the use of Western ballet to tell a classic Chinese story, "chief choreographer Tong Ruirui told the Global Times on Thursday.

“NBC has done     9    (remarkable) in adapting this wonderful classic into a ballet. It’ll definitely help the story gain much     10     (wide) recognition around the world, ” commented Zhang Qingshan, president of Chinese Society of Dream of the Red Chamber.

6 . 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.

2. Why didn’t Leverton learn to dance she was young?

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.

3. What did dancing bring to Leverton?

A．A team award.	B．Money and fame.
C．Friendship and joy.	D．A medical treatment.

4. What can we learn from Leverton’s story?

A．Hard work pays off.	B．Never too old to pursue dreams.
C．Interest is the key to success.	D．Money isn’t everything.

8 . Throughout all the events in my life, one in particular sticks out more than the others. As I reflect on this significant event, a smile spreads across my face. As I think of Shanda, I feel loved and grateful.

It was my twelfth year of dancing, I thought it would end up like any other year: stuck in emptiness, forgotten and without the belief of any teacher or friend that I really had the potential to achieve greatness.

However, I met Shanda, a young, talented choreographer (编舞者). She influenced me to work to the best of my ability, pushed me to keep going when I wanted to give up, encouraged me and showed me the real importance of dancing. Throughout our hard work, not only did my ability to dance grow, but my friendship with Shanda grew as well.

With the end of the year came our show time. As I walked to a backstage filled with other dancers, I hoped for a good performance that would prove my improvement. I waited anxiously for my turn. Finally, after what seemed like days, the loudspeaker announced my name. Butterflies filled my stomach as I took trembling steps onto the big lighted stage. But, with the determination to succeed and eagerness to live up to Shanda, expectations for me, I began to dance. All my troubles and nerves went away as I danced my whole heart out.

As I walked up to the judge to receive my first place shining, gold trophy (奖杯), I realized that dance is not about becoming the best. It was about loving dance for dance itself, a getaway from all my problems in the world. Shanda showed me that you could let everything go and just dance what you feel at that moment, After all the doubts that people had in me, I believed in myself and did not care what others thought. Thanks to Shanda, dance became more than a love of mine, but a passion.

1. What did the author think her dancing would be for the twelfth year?

A．A change for the better.	B．A disappointment as before.
C．A proof of her potential.	D．A pride of her teachers and friends.

2. How did Shanda help the author?

A．By offering her financial help.	B．By entering her in a competition.
C．By coaching her for longer hours.	D．By awakening her passion for dancing.

3. How did the author feel when she stepped on the stage?

A．Proud.

B．Nervous.

C．Scared.

D．Relieved.

4. What can we learn from the author’s story?

A．Success lies in patience.	B．Fame is a great thirst of the young.
C．A good teacher matters.	D．A youth is to be treated with respect.

9 . Listening to music perhaps is not the most obvious choice of relaxation.     1     The songs with 50 to 80 beats per minute allow the brain to learn and remember new facts more easily. Dr Emma Gray at the British CBT&Counselling Service in London said emotive pop and rock songs can produce a heightened state of excitement. The state is likely to improve creative performance in subjects such as English, Drama and Art. She believes students, who listen to classical music while they study, do better in math exams.     2    

Dr Gray’s research to examine the effect music has on studying found it important to choose the right music for the topic a person is studying. She said students, who listen to classical music with 60 to 70 beats per minute while they study, score on average 12 percent more in their math exams.     3     Dr Gray explained the left side of the brain is used to process information and solve problems.     4     The research found songs like We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus or Mirrors by Justin Timberlake develop logical thoughts and help students to learn and recall new facts.

Dr Gray said, “Music has a positive effect on the mind and listening to the right type of music can actually improve studying and learning.     5     Indeed, students who listen to music can actually do better than those who don’t.”

A．Music can put you in a better state of mind to learn.

B．Definitely music can not give you an edge over others.

C．In fact, music plays an important role in medical treatment.

D．Those are key skills in Science, Humanities and Languages.

E．Moreover, listening to music while revising makes students smarter.

F．Nevertheless, one clinical (临床的) psychologist believes pop songs do help us in learning.

G．This is because the rhythm in classical music helps students study longer and keep more information.

10 . Many people love to listen to music while driving. Thanks to the world’s musical roads, drivers now don’t need to turn the radio on.     1    

A musical road can create music when a car tires go over grooves (凹槽) on the road. To produce beautiful music, drivers must pass over the grooves at a certain speed. Signs often tell drivers the right speed.

    2    . Since the mid-1990, musical rads have appeared in many different countries.     3    . To warn drivers to the incoming music, all the roads are marked by colored musical notes that are painted on these roads. Drivers can decide whether to go over the grooves or not because they are set on the side of the road.

In Hungary, there is a musical road in honor of one of the country’s most popular musical performers — Laszlo Bodi. Bodi was the lead singer for the band Republic.     4    . Sadly, Bodi passed away in 2013. But people still remember him as there’s a road where drivers can hear 30 seconds of the Republic song “Road 67”.

    5    . In Indonesia, a road plays the first six notes of “Happy Birthday”. The fifth note is a little out of tune, though. This “mistake” keeps drivers awake and aware, and it has reduced the number of traffic accidents. Such is the power of music and musical roads.

A．Musical roads are also keeping drivers safe.

B．There is not any music road in Eastern countries.

C．Musical roads help improve the road safety greatly.

D．But they can also enjoy music while taking road trips.

E．Formed in 1990, the group is one of Hungary’s biggest acts and is still active today.

F．The first musical road was created in Gylling, Denmark, in 1995.

G．For example, in Japan, there are many musical roads throughout the country.