1 . National Music Theater Competition
The 2024 National Music Theater Competition (NMTC) will be held. It was launched in 2011 as the first national competition for the emerging professional music theater soloist (独唱者). NMTC has provided industry connections for past competitors and winners that have led to their success on Broadway and other venues.
Prizes (each prize only for a person)
The champion: $5,000 plus a concert at the next national conference of National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), a $1,000 Gift Certificate from Hal Leonard, a Career Management Services package from Stage Door Connections.
The runner-up: $2,500 plus a $500 Gift Certificate from Hal Leonard.
The third place: Louise Lerch Prize; $1,000 cash prize.
The fourth place: Bill Hayes Prize; $750 cash prize.
Qualification
Singers aged from 20 to 28 as of September 15, 2023.
Entrance Procedure
Application requires a fee of $900, but for these students of NATS members the fee is $75. Application fees due to cancellation by the applicant won’t be returned. All application materials must be submitted by September 15, 2023. If you are planning to submit your application for the online round, you must complete the submission by September 15, 2023, but you’ll have 30 days after the deadline to upload your audition (试唱) videos. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Where to Audition
The preliminary (预选的) round
Live auditions: November 1 to 10, 2023 in New York City.
Online auditions: Video submission deadline is October 15, 2023.
Semifinal and final rounds
Live auditions: The semifinal round: January 3 to 9, 2024; the final round: January 15 to 20, 2024.
The semifinal and final rounds will be held in New York City as part of the 2024 NATS Winter Workshop.
1. Why was the National Music Theater Competition launched?| A．To make people like music. |
| B．To promote the leisure industry. |
| C．To popularize Broadway musicals. |
| D．To seek promising talents. |
| A．A $500 Gift Certificate and Louise Lerch Prize. |
| B．$2,500 in prize money and a Gift Certificate. |
| C．A Career Management Services package. |
| D．A chance to perform at a concert. |
| A．Being at least 28 years old. |
| B．Applying for membership of NATS. |
| C．Submitting application materials on time. |
| D．Uploading audition videos by September 15. |
| A．Competitors can enter the semifinal round on January 18, 2024. |
| B．Both online and live auditions are available in any round. |
| C．There are three rounds in the competition in total. |
| D．Application submission deadline is October 15, 2023. |
| A．To call on people to explore their potential in music. |
| B．To attract young singers to apply for the competition. |
| C．To appeal to young singers to become NATS members. |
| D．To encourage people to enter the musical industry. |
2 . Heroes Stamp Design Competition
Welcome to the Heroes Stamp Design Competition! Children aged 4-14years are invited to design a stamp. Eight designs will be chosen for this stamp series from the Royal Mail. One of the designs could be yours. There are 120 great prizes on offer for area winners and runners-up. Plus, cash prizes for the winning schools too.
Stamp Designing
The stamp design will be based on your hero or heroes of the coronavirus pandemic. The past year has been very difficult for so many people. There are countless frontline workers and volunteers who have continued to work tirelessly to keep the country moving.
Being a stamp designer is a very skilled job. One of the jobs of a stamp designer is to reduce the size of a picture to fit the stamp. When designing your stamp, have a think about what kind of image of your hero or heroes would make a good miniature (微型的) design for a stamp. The final stamps produced will be about 3.7cm wide×3.5cm high.
Things to consider
Your stamp design must be drawn on the official competition entry form (报名表) which your teacher will give you.
Your design must be your own original work.
Drawings must be flat, so please don’t stick any materials or textures (纹理) to your design.
Please use lots of colour (no black and white images) in your design.
Please avoid using highlighter pens (荧光笔).
Good Luck
The closing date for the competition is 28th May. Please ask your teacher, or parent, for one of the official entry forms. You’re then ready to start designing! We can’t wait to see all of the amazing designs from gifted children across the country.
Good Luck!
1. Who would probably take part in the competition?| A．Students. | B．Doctors. |
| C．School teachers. | D．Professional designers. |
| A．It will begin on 28th May. |
| B．It is for a series of four stamps. |
| C．It asks competitors to honour heroes on their stamps. |
| D．It will provide each competing school with cash prizes. |
| A．About 3.5cm wide×3.5cm high. | B．About 3.7cm wide×3.7cm high. |
| C．About 3.5cm wide×3.7cm high. | D．About 3.7cm wide×3.5cm high. |
| A．It should be black and white. |
| B．It should be drawn with highlighter pens. |
| C．It should be flat with textures. |
| D．It should be drawn on a given form. |
| A．advertise for some newly issued stamps | B．send a notice about designing stamps |
| C．call on people to respect modern heroes | D．encourage people to be frontline workers |
It was a cold winter. After work, I returned home. I started to take my coat off, when my son Justin ran through the door of his room. He shouted, “Dad! Dad! I’m going to play baseball tonight.”
“Where at?”
“I don’t know! It’s downtown somewhere. Dad, it’s just downtown. We’ll find it.” I pulled my jacket back on. He took the baseball glove. It fit his left hand; he was left handed—not a good match. “So where are we going?” I asked.
“ I don’t know, Dad.”He ran to the door. “It’s downtown.” Saint John was not a big city. There were only a few blocks in either direction. “ I think it’s in the south end, Dad.” My son stared at me and held his glove. “ We’ll find it.”
We crossed the city center and entered the south end. We saw a few kids with gloves on their hands. “ I guess we’re heading in the right direction, son. Those kids look like they are ready for a baseball game.”
Justin’s eyes were sparkled with excitement, “ See? I told you, Dad.”“ I always believe in you, Justin.” I replied with a big smile. We found the field. The wind froze the parents through to the bone, but the kids failed to notice it. Their minds were on baseball.
It was a rag-tag group of boys and girls, just enough to form three teams. It was a poor league and there were no uniforms. They were lucky to have shirts that matched. They played in T-shirts and jeans. The young kids had no idea where the ball was to be thrown. I would have laughed, but my son was one of the ones throwing the ball to the wrong base. The three teams battled with each other, won and lost. The coaches, who were actually just elder kids, were patient. It was a game and they treated it that way. At the same time, they taught and encouraged the younger players.
Paragraph 1:
I heard that they would take part in the city baseball competition the next summer.
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Paragraph 2:
Nine months later, in winter, they attended the second city baseball competition.
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4 . The National Association of Teachers of Singing(NATS) celebrates the art of singing through a series of competitions and programs. They are designed to showcase the talented singers and performers who are soon to be rising stars in the profession.
National Student Auditions
Students of NATS members will begin by performing during their regional auditions. Five singers from each regional category will advance lo a national online screening round, where entrants will submit a video of their performances for judgment by a group of national judges.
Entry Fee: $75 per category
Prizes: S35,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in total.
Deadline for Applications: April 13, 2021(applications by emailed invitation only; following regional auditions)
NATS Artist Awards(NATSAA)
Preliminary competitions are held at the regional level, with one winner picked out of each of the 14 NATS regions. The 14 semifinalists then gather at the site or the NATS Winter Workshop for the final two rounds of the competition.
Entry Fee: $75
Prizes: The winner is awarded $13,000; the 2nd place, $6,000.
Deadline for Applications: September 5,2021
Art Song Composition Award
The competition is open to any composer whose submined work meets the requirements. The winning composer will receive a cash award and a performance of the winning composition at the next scheduled NATS National Conference.
Entry Fee: $30
Prizes: The winner is awarded $5,000; the 2nd place, $2,500.
Deadline for Applications: December 1, 2021
National Music Theater Competition
The competition is seeking the best rising music theater soloists, those who just need one break to move their careers forward. Applicants must be between ages 20-28. Preliminary rounds of the competition are scheduled to take place in fall 2021 and about 24 singers advance to the semifinal and final rounds.
Entry Fee: $90.
Prizes: The first prize is awarded 55,000; the 2nd place, $52,000.
Deadline for Applications: May 15, 2021
1. What is the purpose of these NATS competitions?| A．To decide who can join NATS. |
| B．To celebrate important music festivals. |
| C．To test and grade NATS teachers' professional skills. |
| D．To let NATS members and their students show musical talent. |
| A．NATS Artist Awards | B．National Student Auditions |
| C．An Song Composition Award | D．National Music Theater Competition |
| A．1,7500 dollars. | B．6,000 dollars. | C．2,500 dollars. | D．2,000 dollars. |
| A．April 13,2021. | B．May 15,2021. | C．Septembers,2021. | D．December 1,2021. |
| A．The best music theater managers. | B．Senior artists who have live concert experiences. |
| C．Solo performers aged 20-28. | D．Those who are good at playing musical instruments. |
