Question

In 2009, the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers were invited to perform in Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxemburg. In 2011, they were voted as one of the world’s top five performance groups by audiences of Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s Amazing Voice program.

Thinking back the group’s first tour in Europe, Camake Valaule, a physical education teacher and the founder of the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers, admitted that he felt very nervous. He was worried that the audience would fall asleep since most of the 75-minute performance was a cappella, that is, singing without instrumental sound. Surprisingly, the audience listened with full focus and high spirits. Camake said, “They told me afterward that through our performance, they had a vision of our country, our village, without having to visit it. This experience greatly increased our confidence.”

According to Camake Valaule, singing traditional ballads has helped students and their parents to re-understand their culture. “It used to be that the only ones who could sing these songs were tribal elders aged between 50 and 60. Now with the children performing the pieces, parents are beginning to ask, ‘Why do we not know how to sing these ballads?’ Many times nowadays, it is the children who teach the songs to their parents, putting back the pieces of a blurred memory.”

Winning international fame, however, was neither the original intention nor the main reason why Camake founded the group in 2006. The most important thing was to make children understand why they sing these songs and to preserve and pass on their culture. Referring to the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School and Taiwu Village following Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, Camake said, “We could not take the forest or our houses in the mountains with us; but we were able to bring our culture along. As long as the children are willing to sing, I will always be there for them, singing with them and leading them to experience the meaning of the ballads.”

1.Which of the following is true about Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers?

A. The group was first established in 2009.

B. The group was founded by a PE teacher.

C. The singers usually sing popular folk songs.

D. The singers learn to sing from their parents.

2.On his first trip to Europe, why did Camake think the audience might fall asleep?

A. The average age of the audience was between fifty and sixty.

B. Most of the performance was not accompanied by any instrument.

C. Nobody could understand the language and the meaning of the songs.

D. The audience could not visualize the theme sung by the school children.

3.What does the underlined part “the pieces of a blurred memory” in the third paragraph most likely refer to?

A. The fading memories about old tribal people.

B. The children’s ignorance of their own tradition.

C. The broken pieces of knowledge taught at school.

D. The parents’ vague understanding of their own culture.

4.What did Camake realize after the incident of Typhoon Morakot?

A. The significance of the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School.

B. The need to respect nature to avoid being destroyed by it.

C. The importance of passing on the traditional culture.

D. The consequence of building houses in the forest.

Answer 1