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Music Festivals in Europe

Visiting a festival abroad can be a great reason to travel and a way to experience different cultures. These days there are such a number of choices that it's possible to spend the whole summer watching live music in exciting places. Of course, it's also a chance to meet people from across the world.

Melt! Festival, Germany

This festival takes place on the site of an open-air museum for industrial machinery. There's also a lake which can be used for swimming when it's hot. This year's line-up has over 120 different bands(乐队). Around 90% of the people attending the festival are Germans providing a perfect chance to practise speaking the language.

Exit Festival, Serbia

Set on the banks of the Danube in an old fortress(堡垒), the festival began as a way to show people's dissatisfaction with the government. These days it's less political but still worries about people who are poor, ill, old, etc and tries to help them. This year's festival will host many famous bands. From electronic music and dance music to hard rock, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

Open'er Festival, Poland

Held in an airfield near the northern city of Gdansk, each year Open'er has a seriously good selection of bands. This year is no exception, with many famous bands set to play. Not only are there amazing artists, but both Poland and the festival itself also provide very excellent value for money.

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, UK

Set on a Scottish estate(庄园) near Inverness, this year Belladrum will welcome artists from around the world. The most enjoyable part of the festival is the ceilidh (traditional Scottish dance and party) which is always a lively event. It doesn't even matter if you're a beginner because the band teaches you each dance.

1. （1） What is special about Melt! Festival?

   A . It provides German lessons. B . It is held by a local museum. C . The bands are from 120 countries. D . Most of the festival goers are Germans.
3. （2） Why did Exit Festival begin?

   A . For political reasons. B . For personal reasons. C . To help stop a fight. D . To offer help to the poor.
5. （3） What makes Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival different from the others?

   A . It falls in summer. B . It is a live music festival. C . It teaches people Scottish dances. D . It invites the most famous bands.

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Changes have been taking place in Philadelphia since 1984. One by one, graffiti-covered walls have been changed into outdoor art. So far, more than 1,800 murals(壁画) have been painted. Philadelphia now has more murals than any other American city.

The walls that were once ugly with graffiti are now covered with beautiful pictures of historical heroes and modern art, thanks to the Mural Arts Programme (MAP). Its work makes schools and public places attractive. The programme began as part of Philadelphia's Anti-Graffiti Network. Jane Golden is the MAP's artistic director. "When people ask me what our programme is about," she says, "I answer them with one word: hope." Each year, the MAP offers the youth art programmes and workshops. Some one-time graffiti writers even help paint MAP murals.

Golden says that the MAP's work is all about developing a sense of community. When a neighbourhood requests a mural, the MAP works with the people there to develop a message. Some messages have been "Safe Streets", "Love And Care", and "Peace Walk".

The MAP receives up to 50 requests for murals each week. Last year, the workers painted 140 murals.

"The making of a mural enters people's collective memory as an extraordinary, pleasant moment in neighbourhood history," says Golden, who began as a muralist in Los Angeles.

1. （1） What is the MAP in Philadelphia aimed at?

   A . Helping the young find jobs. B . Protecting the neighbourhood. C . Fighting against graffiti. D . Attracting more visitors.
3. （2） How does the MAP decide on messages for a mural?

   A . By having discussions with people in the community. B . By seeking advice from the city government. C . By learning from the young graffiti writers. D . By studying the history of the city.
5. （3） Which of the following words best describes the work of the MAP?

   A . Difficult. B . Dangerous. C . Experimental. D . Successful.
7. （4） What can be the best title for the text?

   A . Love, From Graffiti Writers to Muralists B . MAP, a New Company in Philadelphia C . Jane, an Excellent Mural Artist D . Hope, One Wall at a Time

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Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal. Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.

Different cultures stress the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries, like the UK or France, people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or cafés rather than at the office.

Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.

Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values. However, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.

People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.

1. （1） What's the probable meaning of the underlined word "stress"?

   A . To draw special attention to. B . To ignore. C . To laugh at. D . To get close to.
3. （2） The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that ______________.

   A . the English prefer to make long speeches B . people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature C . even talk and silence can be culturally different D . too many words are of no use
5. （3） According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?

   A . By accepting different habits. B . By recognizing different values. C . By sharing different ways of life. D . By speaking each other's languages.
7. （4） What would be the best title for the text?

   A . Cross-Cultural Differences B . Multicultural Environment C . How to Understand Each Other D . How to Build Up a Relationship

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Jerome Kern is often called the father of American musical theatre. Kern is remembered for the hundreds of songs he wrote for musical plays and movies. To a great extent, he led the development of the first truly American theatre music.

Jerome Kern began his career as a songwriter in theatres in London and New York City. Success came quickly. By the early 1920s, Kern was a successful young composer for Broadway musical comedies. He worked with each song until he was satisfied that the music was perfect.

American musical plays at that time were still usually copied from European ones. Kern wanted to try something completely new. He thought a musical play should be a real work of art, not just a collection of songs and dances. He thought songs should help move the action of the play along, by showing a person's feelings. Kern wanted to do a truly American musical, with real American characters and real situations.

In 1927, he found the story he wanted. It was the book Show Boat by American writer Edna Ferber. Show Boat takes place in the 1880s on a passenger steam boat that travels along the Mississippi River. The boat is called a show boat because singers and dancers entertain the passengers. The captain of the show boat has a daughter who is a singer on the boat. She falls in love with a man who earns his money by gambling with cards.

The story dealt with some unusually serious issues for a musical. It showed the hard lives of African Americans in the South. And it showed marriage between people of different races, which was against the law at that time. Although serious in places, Show Boat was not a tragedy. The public and critics loved it. Show Boat became the greatest work of American musical theatre. Music critics said Kern's effect on musical theatre was revolutionary. It was Kern's music that made the show a great success, which has been performed thousands of times all over the world.

1. （1） The passage above is likely to appear in a ___________.

   A . poster B . radio programme C . notice D . news report
3. （2） According to the passage, Jerome Kern can be described to be ___________.

   A . adventurous and sympathetic B . brave and kind C . productive and creative D . hardworking and determined
5. （3） The story of Show Boat is ___________.

   A . serious B . light-hearted C . ridiculous D . tragic
7. （4） The purpose of the passage is to ___________.

   A . introduce Jerome Kern's life and his career B . explain how Jerome Kern's truly American musical plays were created C . tell us the unusual story of Show Boat D . show the differences between American musical plays and European ones

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

How to Organize a Music Festival

You love music and you always have. You want to carry out a music festival designed to attract music fans of all ages. Follow the steps and you'll organize a successful one.

▲Start by making a list of the local bands and artists that you like. You've taken this job because you love music, so put your taste to work for you. If you like these musicians, many of the local residents will also like them. You need to have many kinds of music for all age groups.

▲Find a great location that has much open space for outdoor festivals. You need to build a stage so the musicians can be seen from distances. Not all towns need such a license but it is a good idea to check before you start building. For an indoor location, you need to find a theater that is willing to give you enough space.

▲Hire sound and engineering people to give the musicians all the help they need. You can't expect the musicians to handle these problems because they are playing. Your sound and engineering experts will allow your stars to keep the music playing.

▲ If you are planning your festival for families, the last thing you want is a beer-swilling crowd starting a huge brawl (斗殴). Security people need to be present to make sure that nobody gets the idea that they want to start any kind of ruckus (骚乱).

A. You need to find security people.

B. Bigger sports stadiums will be perfect as well.

C. We can find enough songs to get a lot of money.

D. People should have practiced many different songs.

E. But remember, you are trying to attract fans of all ages.

F. The last thing you want is that a group is on stage but the speakers don't work.

G. You can find a location by going to the local government and asking for permission.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。

When I was a child, I began learning to play the piano, which was my favourite musical 1, but I was forced to give up when I started my middle school so that I could concentrate more on my studies.

It's one of my biggest 2 to stop practising the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would 3. However, I didn't keep my promise because I was occupied with my study. 4 I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been 5 that I never returned. I haven't taken lessons since then but to be honest, I 6 to. Sitting at the piano, I couldn't help recalling many memories—times of my practising at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher 7 me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so 8 that I could hardly say anything. But her 9 helped ease my shame. These memories, 10, good or bad, never caused my courage for playing the piano again.

This thought then led me to think that 11 is like music, and that we all try to play different 12 in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch (音准) 13 when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tune. However, we all continue to create our own 14 style of music. No matter what style our music is, it is important that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn't 15 that I've stopped making music.

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。

The Art of Chinese Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam(新疆维吾尔木卡姆艺术) is a (represent) name of various kinds of Muqam in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region(自治区), was declared one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005.

Muqam, (recognise) as the mother of Uyghur music, is not only artistic creation with a long history, but also a record of (communicate) between China and the regions to the west of it in history. It can be found in 19 countries and regions in Central, South, and West Asia, and North Africa, which is (particular) due to Xinjiang's central location along the Silk Road.

In Muqam ensembles(乐团), the lead instruments, called satar, are made from local materials and vary in form. The dancing skills involve unique steps, rhythms, and formations as well as (figure) such as flower-picking-by-mouth, bowl-carrying-on-head, and imitation of animals in solo dances.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, every possible means (use) to preserve the Twelve Muqam by the Chinese government. About 20 study centres have been set up (train) professional researchers on Muqam. Moreover, the government has introduced Muqam the national artistic education system.

假定你是书法俱乐部部长李华，请你写封邮件告知成员Chris参加下周五下午的中国书法课程。内容包括:

1）写信目的;

2）课程安排;

3）注意事项。

注意：1）词数80左右;

2）可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

参考词汇: calligraphy书法

Dear Chris,

……

Yours,

Li Hua

阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。续写的词数应为150左右。

David Aguilar is a boy born without his right arm. Because of that, Aguilar has always stood out from the persons at the same age. As a child, he was very nervous to be in front of other guys, because he thought that he was different. While growing up, Aguilar had to learn how to do everything with just one hand. Although he was able to do almost everything people with two hands can do, Aguilar explained that he still thought about getting a prosthetic hand (假手) throughout his childhood just so that he could look a little bit more normal and fit in with everyone else.

When Aguilar told his parents that those arms were cool because they were mechanical(机械的) and could make you look like a robot, his parents began thinking about buying a prosthetic arm for Aguilar. However, when Aguilar's parents started looking into getting their son a prosthetic hand, they discovered how expensive it was. And they couldn't afford to buy one for their son.

Yet when Aguilar was playing with his Lego(乐高) at the age of nine, he started experimenting with building his own prosthetic arm. He didn't know it at the time, but his favorite toy was about to change the way he viewed himself as well as change the course of his life. At first, he just wanted to create something that could help him and be part of him. As he linked the blocks together around his arm, he just started making this prosthesis from Lego. When Aguilar looked at himself in the mirror for the first time with his Lego prosthesis, he was amazed by what he saw.

However, the arm wasn't the most strong and would often bend and break if he tried to do any heavy lifting with it. So almost ten years later, Aguilar set out to build himself a new prosthetic arm and he hoped to help more people who didn't have enough money to buy prosthetic hands. One day, one of his dad's friends gave him a Lego plane as a gift, but all he saw was an arm.

Paragraph 1:

Since then, Aguilar has built two more models of his Lego arm.

Paragraph 2:

To help these people asking for help, Aguilar is studying bioengineering at university.