1 . To stream or not to stream? That is a question facing both music listeners and musicians.

Taylor Swift made news recently by pulling her music off Spotify, the world’s biggest streaming music service and turned to iTunes downloading and stores for sales. Back in July, Swift swept the pop music industry by selling almost 1.3 million copies of her album, 1989 in its first week. In an article Swift wrote, “The music industry is not dying... it’s just coming alive.”

Her cheerful attitude surely comes from her own unique position. So far this year, Swift has made $64 million, according to Forbes. She’ll make plenty more by bringing in about 70 cents for each dollar paid to download her music. It is much more than the royalty (版税) rate paid out by Spotify of between $0.006 and $0.0084 per song stream.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), money from streaming on YouTube, Pandora and Spotify has helped bring in more money. But the small amount Spotify pays to musicians still caused many of them to withhold some or all of their music from the service, like artists from Beyoncé to The Beatles.

Yet for bands struggling to get by, struggling even to be heard, keeping their music off streaming services is not so easy. Such bands need to get their music out any way they can, and if they’re going to make money, they need to make their music easily accessible to listeners.

To stream or not to stream is a difficult choice for fans, too. The streaming model puts ownership (所有权) of the music in the hands of the music industry. Rather than letting you own your collection, the music business is moving toward a model similar to on-demand cable TV. Every song written is available online whenever and wherever you’d like to hear, but the problem is that you, the user, need to pay over and over again each time you stream it.

1. Why did Taylor Swift say “music industry is coming alive”?

A．Because she got a unique position in music industry.

B．Because her new album made a great offline success.

C．Because the birth of streaming brings great chances to music.

D．Because Spotify becomes the world’s biggest streaming music service.

2. What does the underlined word “withhold” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Keep back.

B．Pick out.

C．Hold onto.

D．Put away.

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．Taylor Swift promotes free music streaming.

B．Streaming puts ownership of music in the hands of fans.

C．Some bands still depend on streaming for chances to be heard.

D．Fans can own music with a once-for-all pay on streaming platforms.

4. What can be a suitable title for this text?

A．The Music Industry Is Coming Alive

B．Streaming Leaves Musicians and Fans in a Dilemma

C．To Pay or Not to Pay: a Tough Choice for Music Fans

D．The Rise of Streaming: a Threat or Opportunity for the Music Industry

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A new adaptation of Chinese mythological stories has won the heart of audiences with its distinctive style. The animation series, Yao—Chinese Folktales,     1     (gain) more than 110 million views online since it was released.

The series, co-produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio and Bilibili, is     2     collection of 20-minute short films, consisting of eight separate stories     3     (feature) monster-like characters, or yao in Chinese. The collection,     4     ranges from ancient stories to science fiction, from emotional connection with hometowns to romantic love     5     from life themes to questions for humanity, presents Chinese culture and philosophy. For example, the first episode, named “Nobody”, tells a pig monster’s story     6     (base) on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. The creative team put the perspective on the little monsters who used to have blurry faces and didn’t even have names in the story.

Li Zao, general producer, said it was impossible     7     (predict) what the eventual outcome would be at first. Now, the     8     (favor) comments exceeded the expectations of the creative team. These contained both the audience’s     9     (recognize) of the work and their hopes of Chinese animation. Besides adapting     10     the taste of the masses, the team also wanted to guide them to appreciate different types of work.

3 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

A realistic drama A Lifelong Journey has become a huge hit on TV and online recently.    1    (focus) on the ups and downs of Zhou’s family over five decades, it has caused nostalgia (怀旧) among many viewers. With the drama    2     (release) on China Central Television and streaming platform iQiyi on Jan 28, its viewership is    3    (steady) on the rise. Many viewers issued a    4    (describe) of the show that it was like a time machine to drift into the past, reflecting how they got here.

Adapted    5    Liang Xiaosheng’s award-winning novel of the same name, the show explores themes of family, friendship and romance in a bittersweet story. Set in    6    1960s, it’s not surprising that the family has to deal with lots of social    7    (change). like the restart of Gaokao, the country’s Reform and Opening-up, the boom of Xiahai and the nation’s anti-corruption campaign. Following the lives of Zhou’s family, the Grama gives viewers an insight into the ordinary Chinese who have turned a country in    8    (poor) into the second largest economy in the world.

The show’s director Li Lu,    9    became well known for his anti-corruption series in the Name of the People in 2017, said “China    10    ( witness) dramatic changes over the past five decades and it is time to create such a drama to remember the past.”

4 . Do you find yourself waiting for the next MrBeast video to drop so you can see his latest challenge? Or perhaps the newest experiment from Mark Rober? Maybe you’re wild about Harry Styles or Timothee Chalamet. You follow them on social media, connect with other fans online and maybe even message them now and again. Even though these people are celebrities, you feel like you know them.

Most of us form relationships of some sort with celebrities and fictional characters. We imagine having a conversation with that person or asking for advice. Sometimes we develop a more romantic crush. Embarrassing as it may sometimes feel, this is perfectly normal. Scientists call these faux friendships “parasocial relationships”. Social relationships involve two or more people. Parasocial ones, on the other hand, are completely one-sided.

Decades ago, parasocial relationships happened between TV viewers and the people on screen. This was especially true for talk-show hosts and newscasters who spoke directly to the camera. People watching felt as though these TV personalities were talking directly to them. Over time, they felt a close connection with them. It wasn’t just people on TV. Beatles fans went wild for the band, just as Harry Styles fans do today.

More recently, parasocial relationships have shifted to other types of screens. Many people, from children to adults, have some form of screen that they use for entertainment. Even young children form parasocial relationships with on-screen personalities. Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street can seem like friends. So can animated characters or superheroes.

“We root for them,” says Kristin Drogos. “We want them to do well.” Drogos is a communication researcher at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It’s that positive feelings toward these on-screen personalities that cause us to form a parasocial bond with them. And that connection can be powerful.

1. What does the author intend to do in Paragraph 1?

A．To suggest several ways to kill time.

B．To reflect the diversity of people’s interests.

C．To show people’s attachment to famous people.

D．To confirm the benefits of watching celebrities.

2. Which can best replace the underlined word “faux” in Paragraph 2?

A．Innocent.

B．Imaginary.

C．Fashionable.

D．Abnormal.

3. What can be concluded about recent parasocial relationships?

A．They can exist between human beings and non-humans.

B．People are more willing to become friends with talk-show hosts.

C．Superheroes are more popular among adults as on-screen friends.

D．Celebrities make the best of parasocial relationships to attract more fans.

4. What will the text probably talk about next?

A．How parasocial relationships benefit people.

B．What can influence a parasocial relationship.

C．How to communicate with on-screen friends.

D．What people share in parasocial relationships.

5 . Adapted from Liang Xiaosheng’s award-winning novel, the realistic drama A Li felong Journey recently has been a huge hit on TV and online.     1    

Given that A Lifelong Journey is set in the 1960s, it’s not surprising that the family has to deal with lots of social changes and uncertainties, like the restoration of Gaokao, the country’s reform and opening-up, the passion for private business and so on.     2     To create the neighborhood, the shooting crew built a set covering 8, 000 square meters in Changchun, Jilin province, collecting many old items, such as old-fashioned televisions and calendars, to re-create the past. The clothing, like Lei Feng-style hats, and interior spaces, also play an essential part, changing with time as the plot develops.

The five virtues in Confucianism—benevolence (仁), righteousness (义), courtesy(礼), wisdom and trust can be found in the lead character Zhou Bingkun, the youngest son in the family.     3     In the show, Zhou Bingkun used to be a factory worker, the one who has taken care of the big family and friends selflessly.

Following the lives of Zhou’s family, the drama gives viewers an insight into the lives of ordinary Chinese.     4     It is the kind of show that strikes your heartstrings and leaves you in tears even if you’ve already read the book.     5    

A．No wonder viewers thought highly of this drama.

B．It is time to create such a drama to remember the bygone times.

C．China has witnessed dramatic changes over the past five decades.

D．And it explores themes of family, friendship and romance in a bittersweet story.

E．He was played by Lei Jiayin, who says he can almost “see his father” in the drama.

F．Disney has also announced it has acquired the drama series for an international release.

G．Most of the narrative took place in a shantytown (棚户区), where Zhou’s family lives.

6 . The kid’s face is glowing green from the iPad in her hands, which shows a cartoon boy singing a nursery rhyme and dancing with dinosaurs. She’s so attracted that she doesn’t respond when her mother calls her name. “It’s literally like crack for her,” says her mom Meng Zhou at their home.

It is CoComelon, which may be the most streamed children’s entertainment program in the world. The show was watched for 33 billion minutes last year and had 3.6 billion views on YouTube in January, as many as three-quarters of whom were from outside the U. S. . CoComelon was a Top 10 show on Netflix for more than 100 straight days in 2021, and its music is streamed 1.3 million times a day on Spotify.

CoComelon is not only a ratings juggernaut (收视率主宰). It’s also a model for a new approach to children’s TV. A room of adults could work very hard for years on a concept that helped kids learn important ideas, only to find out viewers weren’t interested. CoComelon’s parent company, Moonbug Entertainment, searches digital platforms like YouTube for popular kids’ programming to figure out what the audience want to watch.

It’s clear that much of CoComelon’s popularity is caused by this program. As parents juggled childcare and remote work, demand for kid content increased greatly, thus making CoComelon successful. The success of the show is the influence that CoComelon has on babies and kids. You can see the evidence in the dozens of TikTok videos showing kids who hear the marimba tones of its theme song. And, Zhou’s daughter’s third word, after Mama and Dada, was CoCo.

As the show and others like it become inescapable, parents are going to have to deal with whether this type of children’s programming works for their families. Sure, their kids may love it — but does that mean it’s any good for them?

1. Why does the author mention the kid in the first paragraph?

A．To explain a phenomenon.	B．To introduce a topic.
C．To make a prediction.	D．To present a fact.

2. What do we know about Cocomelon from the text?

A．It only attracts babies and kids in the U. S.

B．Its music is streamed 1. 3 million times a day on Netflix.

C．It serves as a model showing how to make children’s TV.

D．It is the most popular entertainment program on YouTube.

3. What does the underlined word “juggled” mean in Paragraph 4?

A．Balanced.

B．Matched.

C．Compared.

D．Connected.

4. What’s the author’s attitude towards the popularity of Cocomelon?

A．Objective.

B．Dissatisfied.

C．Uninterested.

D．Supportive.

7 . Have you ever heard of the group Westlife? Maybe you have, but I’m sure many of you don’t know very much about it.

Westlife is an Irish boy band group, which was made up of 6 boys in the beginning and called IOU. The group quickly became popular with young people thanks to their song Swear It Again, which was at the top of the UK charts (排行榜) in April 1999.

Chinese fans got their first chance to see Westlife on March 6th, 2006 in Beijing. Although the four-member group has been singing pop for seven years, the young boys have all grown up and their songs are still very popular. When they performed in Beijing, Westlife released (发行) their new album Face to Face in China. Face to Face has been at the top of the British charts for a long time. The album’s most popular song You Raise Me Up mixes traditional Irish music with pop music.

Although hip-hop is quite popular among the young, Westlife has no plans to change. They said, “Hip-hop is for the young, but pop can be enjoyed by moms who are busy cooking meals and raising the kids.

1. Westlife is from ________.

A．America	B．China
C．Ireland	D．Germany

2. The number of singers in the group ________ between 1999 and 2006.

A．went from 6 to 4	B．went from 4 to 6
C．went from 5 to 4	D．didn’t change

3. What happened on March 6th, 2006?

A．Chinese fans fell in love with Westlife.

B．Chinese fans were first introduced to Westlife.

C．Chinese fans first heard Westlife’s songs.

D．Chinese fans could see Westlife in Beijing.

4. The underlined word album means ________ in Chinese?

A．电影	B．书
C．歌手	D．专辑

5. What style of music does Westlife make?

A．Hip-hop music.	B．Pop music.
C．Rock music.	D．Classical music.