1 . For some people, music is no fun at all. About 4% of the population is what scientists call “amusic”. People who are amusic are born without the ability to enjoy musical notes. Amusic people often cannot tell the differences between two songs.

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. In fact, most people cannot understand what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping center can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics have to stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in social loneliness. “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 those of people who can enjoy music. The difference is complex, as it is not connected with poor hearing and has nothing to do with intelligence. Amusics can understand other non-musical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding common 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 music problem. Now she knows that she is not alone. 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.

4 . The Benefits of Listening to Music

Whether you like Beethoven or Mozart, there is one thing I think we can all agree on: music makes life better.     1    .

Listening to music can reduce stress

A lot of us may turn to relaxing music when we are feeling stressed or tired. A recent research shows that slow, quiet classical music is suggested to have the most exciting effect.     2    . Or listening to a relaxing, classical-style movie soundtrack can also help you reduce stress.

Listening to music can improve your memory

The interesting part about the research is that it shows music helps your brain develop in many areas, one of the most important being your memory.     3    

    4    .

Do you work out? Have you always felt like you perform better when you listen to music? Strange as it might seem, there has actually been a lot of research done on this subject. And sure enough, one study shows that music can increase endurance (耐力) by 15%.     5    . However, another study suggests that it’s not the type of music, but rather the speed of the music—the beats per minute—that matter.

5 . As a young music therapist in Colorado, Shannon de L’Etoile saw that when mothers were encouraged to sing to their babies, they were amazed by the positive responses they received. She quickly realized that music could be a powerful tool for helping mothers learn more about their infants (婴儿). Soon, de L’Etoile began researching the practice, called infant-directed singing. She says it helps babies learn to regulate their feelings, which allows them to later behave well in school, and in the social and professional world.

“If a mother can sing in a way that catches the infant’s attention, it can help to promote the development of the infant’s brain,” said de L’Etoile. “Infant-directed singing is a way in which mothers can communicate with their babies that most infants can recognize and respond to. But mothers need to be sensitive to infant cues (提示).”

De L’Etoile is working with people at the Linda Ray Intervention Center to create a coaching program that will guide mothers in the practice. She is now in the process of training workers at the center, who will coach mothers for a month in the most beneficial ways to sing to their infants. The process includes watching and recording mothers as they sing to their infants and then showing these mothers how they can be sensitive to their infants’ feelings while singing. Mothers will be able to notice if the infant is benefiting because the baby will look longer at the mother and reach a happy state.

As part of the study, after each mother completes the training, de L’Etoile will work with a music engineering program to study recordings of the mother’s voice. The study result can show changes over time in the mother’s ability to change her singing according to the infant’s feelings. Videos of the babies will also be studied to discover their connections with their mothers over time. De L’Etoile has been working closely with center workers to develop the program so that it will meet the needs of different families.

China Oriental Performing Arts Group has launched its street dance group. Dating back to the 1950s, it is known for its grand dance performance,     1     (combine) singing and dancing shows of various styles. The company performs at home and abroad, which is of great     2     (significant) for impacting cultural exchanges.

The newly established dance group, in     3     members can exchange ideas to improve their skills, is advancing with great strides. Young people usually respond actively     4    Street Dance, including  breaking (霹雳舞), hip-hop, locking and popping. Over the past decades, young people     5     (attract) by street dance on various levels. There is     6     growing tendency among young generations and people can always find these street dance enthusiasts (爱好者)     7     (act) in every place, including schools, squares.

It is widely predicted that the     8     (origin) dance style will still attract many people. Li Jialong, president of the group, said that it took over a year to prepare the new street dance group, the first official group     9    (promote) street dance. The Staircase of art, a famous report     10     (publish) by Daniel, received great attention by illustrating the great process in dancing.

8 . I remember that it was a fall morning when the orchestra (管弦乐队) teachers came into Miss Newell’s third-grade classroom. “You have hands for the viola (中提琴),” Miss Ciano told me. I was excited because my hands were finally good for something. I told my parents I wanted to play, and naturally, they agreed.

Since I first touched the viola, I haven’t been able to put it down. Ignoring the difficulty, I am pulled closer to it each day.

Classical music is truly my best friend. It is the trusted friend of every man, woman and child. Various feelings are expressed in classical music. I discovered that when I was eleven and played a cello concerto (大提琴协奏曲) of Bach in a competition, the first movement was joyful, but the second movement was mysterious and full of pain. From the piece, I learned that music expresses not only feelings, but also sudden mood changes. By listening to classical music, I know that someone else shares these feelings. Since I am lucky enough to be able to play classical music, I am comforted by it when I am upset. It gives me a way to escape from my problems for a short period. Classical music can express my joy, sadness and anger.

Now look back at that fall day in the third grade and think how gullible I was for believing that anyone, even music teachers, could tell whether hands were perfect for a certain instrument. I’m certain they told me I had “viola hands” not because they were fortune-tellers, but because there was a lack of violists in our district. Classical music is one of the best things that ever happened to mankind. If you get introduced to it in the right way, it will become your friend for life.

10 . Since the age of three, Chelsie Hill had dreamed of becoming a dancer. That ambition ______ ended one night in 2010. Hill, then a 17-year-old high school senior was in a car accident that put her in the ______ for 51 days and left her paralyzed (瘫痪的) from the waist down. For most people, that would have killed any hope of a dancing career. For Hill, however, it was the ______. “I wanted to prove that I was still ‘______,’” she said. That word for her meant dancing, so Hill did it in her ______. “I have to move with my hands. It definitely took much learning and ______.”

After graduation, Hill wanted to expand her dance network to ______ women like her. She met people who had suffered disabilities but ______ her determination, and she invited them to dance with her. In 2014 Hill formed a team of dancers with disabilities she calls the Rollettes. “I want to ______ the stereotype (成见) of wheelchair users and show that dance is dance, whether you’re walking or you’re ______.” she said. Dancing on wheels can be just as artful and fulfilling. In disabled dance competitions, they’re ______, and as the audiences’ excited reactions indicate, the happiness is contagious (传染的).

Hill is a real ______. She has achieved her childhood ______. Every year she holds a dance camp for wheelchair users. For many, it was the first time they’d felt they ______. A girl once told her it was the most _____thing when she rolled into a room and everyone was at eye level.