Classic Is Never Gone

    Every year hundreds of films areproduced, yet how many are forgotten after six months? Movies come and go, as throw away as popcorn bags left on the floor of a cinema. But of those few films that people do remember, there is one that is truly “evergreen”(常青).

Whether you are young or old, or where you are in the world, the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind never seems to become unpopular. Last year the film celebrated its 75^th birthday.

    The movie comes from a best-selling book of the same name by US writer Margaret Mitchell. Hollywood was soon interested in turning the novel into a movie.

    The story is set in the periods before, during and after the American Civil War (1861-1865). It is about relationships between members of high-class families living in the south of America.

    The Civil War period piece highly rewarded the time and effort of the film makers who worked on it. Over twenty years, nostudio went beyond it in making the most money of any film ever made. It's the kind of movie that every studio dreams of making.

    Is there a connection between music and language? According to recent studies, the answer is yes: {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Here, we look at two examples

    A recent study by researcher Kraus shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability.{#blank#}2{#/blank#}The people in the first group were musicians, while those in the second group had no musical training. The musicians were able to hear the talking person more clearly.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Think about violinists in an orchestra (管弦乐团). When the violinists play with the group, they hear their own instrument and many others, too. But the violinists must listen closely to what they are playing, and pay no attention to the other sounds. In this way, musicians are able to focus on certain sounds, even in a room with lots of noise.

    Schlaug, a doctor at Harvard Medical School, works with stroke (中风) patients. Because of their illness, these people cannot say their names, addresses, or other information normally. However, they can still sing.{#blank#}4{#/blank#}Why does this work? Schlaug isn't sure. Music seems to make different parts of the brain work, including the damaged (损坏的) parts. This might help patients to use that part of the brain again.

    Music improves concentration (注意力), memory, listening skills, and our overall language abilities.{#blank#}5{#/blank#}Playing an instrument or singing can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp (敏锐的) as we get older. Music is not only enjoyable, it's also good for us in many other ways.

    Every year, hundreds of thousands of students travel to foreign countries to study. More than 30 percent of these students go to {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Around 15 percent go to France and 10 percent go to both England and {#blank#}2{#/blank#}. Australia and Canada are also popular countries with international students. A little{#blank#}3{#/blank#}10 percent go to Australia, and around {#blank#}4{#/blank#}go to Canada. In fact, almost eighty percent of all international students can be found in these {#blank#}5{#/blank#}countries. Now these countries are still trying to increase the number of international students studying in their countries.

    Every country has its own way of cooking. American people have their own way of cooking, don't they?

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But if you think that American people don't like cooking, you are wrong. It's true that most Americans eat fast food for their breakfast and lunch. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Parents see the importance of teaching their children how to cook, and most Americans say that home-cooked meals are the best.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} For example, baking(烘烤 )is the most popular way of cooking in America {#blank#}4{#/blank#} American cooks(厨师) pay attention to(注意) the balance of food. When planning a big meal, they try to cook meat, a few vegetables, some bread and sweet food. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}_ There are so many kinds of colorful foods, so the meal is healthy and looks beautiful, too.

A. But they also think cooking is interesting

B. They also like to make the meal look beautiful

C. Most people in the United States like fast food

D. Americans have their own way of cooking

E. Most American families have ovens (烤箱)

    As is known to all of us, Beijing Opera is one of the most important opera styles in China. It is an art on the stage which has about 200 years' history. It is not only a treasure of the Chinese nation but also a cultural symbol of China. Similar to western operas, Beijing Opera is a combination of singing, dancing, martial arts, music and literature, so it is also called the "Oriental (东方的) Opera" by western people.

    Beijing Opera uses special imagery in creating the characters. All roles are divided according to sex, personality, age and profession and social status. Hangdang is the general term for role in Beijing Opera. There are four types of roles in Beijing Opera today. They are sheng, dan, jing and chou. The sheng is the male protagonist (主角), the dan the female protagonist, the jing (painted face) a male supporting role with a different characteristics, and chou (clown) a comic or negative figure. Each kind of role has their own face-painting and dressing to indicate their identities.

    The Opera's performance requires not only the gentle voice but also the proficiency (熟练) of martial actions. A successful opera actor must suffer from the tough practicing period. In the old time, the children of poor families were sent to the opera group in order to earn a living. While now, the real opera artists are well respected by opera lovers.

    Mei Lanfang, one of the most remarkable performing artists in Beijing Opera, was born in Beijing into a poor family. His life was bitter and he had no opportunity to go to school, so he went to the troupe (戏班子) when he was 8 years old to learn Beijing Opera. Mr. Mei was on the stage when he was 11 years old to perform the plays of Beijing Opera. He has been an opera actor for more than 50 years, performing hundreds of traditional plays and over 30 modern plays. He portrayed many bright and lifelike female figures on the stage and became the model in Chinese Beijing Opera and even within the entire artistic circle.

    For most of us, the days are divided into day and night. But for two months each winter in Northern Norway (挪威), it's dark for 20 hours a day. There is no sunrise or sunset because the sun never gets above the horizon (地平线) .

    Would you like to live in darkness for this long? It may seem difficult, but many people in Norway love the beautiful colors of these months.

    To the south are the red and gold colors of the horizon. To the north, the sky is a special blue. Even the moon and the stars look blue. In the towns, the lights in the streets shine like little yellow diamonds.

    People do need light to be healthy and happy. Since they don't have much daylight during this time of the year, they exercise and eat foods with vitamins (维生素) A and D, people usually get energy from being in the sun.

    And darkness doesn't stop people there from having a good time. Each winter, some people are skiing on hills and skating on ponds that are lit up. Others are going to film and music festivals And other people are spending time with friends in cafes and restaurants. Of course, not everyone is so active in the dark months. Many people are just going to sleep a little earlier until the sun returns in spring.