As a music teacher, I have always known that music touches the soul. It can 1 all kinds of barriers to reach students in a very special way. It can be the2for each child to find their light. I would like to3 a story about it.

       Fora few years I was4  with the opportunity to teach disabled students. One of my most5 students was a five­year­old girl called Vanessa, who had difficulty walking, and could not speak. We6 sat on the floor for our music lessons and Vanessa liked to7 on my lap (膝盖). One of her favorite songs was “John the Rabbit” . It was a call and response song where I sang the call and the students 8 twice while singing the repeating phrase, “Oh, yes！” Vanessa liked to 9her hands together with mine and clap with me. We probably performed that song during every class, Vanessa and I clapping together. But she 10 said or sang a word.

         One day, when the song was finished, Vanessa turned around, 11me in the eye, clapped her tiny hands twice and said the words “Oh, yes！” I opened my mouth in12and for that moment I was the one who could not speak. When my heart13started beating again I looked over at the assistant teacher to find her also14. Through music we had made an awesome connection.

        Several years later, I met Vanessa on the street in town. She waved with a big 15on her face and then clapped her hands twice, imitating the song we had 16so many times in our music class. The little girl,17 her connection with music, left an impression on me that will last forever. Every child has the 18 to learn and grow. It is up to us to19 the way to teach each and every one of our students. We all must find each child's 20.

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      Both of Jessica's parents were lawyers and expected her to follow suit. So she went to law school, got a job at a great firm in Washington, DC, and worked as a lawyer for a decade. But her heart was never in it. “I had a big salary but no personal satisfaction，” she says.

      Jessica found pleasure in the same thing that had brought her joy since joining the church choir at the age of 12. “Singing always felt like communicating something real at a spiritual and emotional level，” says Jessica. Yet she never considered it a career option. “That seemed like something people did in fairy tales, and I would never let my parents down，” she says.

It was her mom's diagnosis of brain cancer in 2009 that made Jessica realize she had to write her own happyeverafter. “Work was busy and my mother was ailing. So I was flying back and forth from Washington, DC to Houston to see her，” Jessica says. “I finally said，‘Enough！' and quit.” While caring for her mom, Jessica made a plan. She would spend her savings and study music for a year, and then open a parttime law practice so she could pursue her passion. Before her mother passed away two years later, she encouraged Jessica to follow her dream. Her song Live This Life was inspired by her mom, and her dad came to watch her perform at clubs.

       In 2012, Jessica moved to Nashville to try singing and songwriting. A decade of presenting cases in court gave her the confidence to sing for a crowd. “At 20, I would have been too shy to perform，” says Jessica.

    “Doing music is so free，” Jessica says. “There's no pressure to be a star. Success, to me, isn't a dollar amount or a record deal; it's doing what I love.”

At the beginning of 2005, Silly Buswas nothing more than a start up small business.Today, they have released(发行)four CDs all over the country, andmany music videos, which can be heard and seen on stations throughout theUnited States.They have alsoworked with well known companies, such as Radio Disney, XM Radio and NBC.

You may be asking yourself，“So, how is their music making adifference？Whatmakes Silly Bus different from other kids'music？”_Their first CD release focused onStandard of Learning (SOL) content for young children (Kindergarten through 2ndgrades)．Thesongs on this album cover different topics, including math, grammar, science,physical fitness, and history.

For their second and third CDreleases, they teamed with preschool educators to write songs connected withlearning the alphabet.Thesong TurkeyTime has fast become a national favorite, having been featured on NBC'sTodayShow the past two years on Thanksgiving Day.

They devote to start many CDs andsingles.For example, Silly Bus wrote, performed and produced“Watch Me, I Can DoThis！”forimproved support of SportsBackers' Monument Avenue 10K.This encouraging songwas used to call on thousands of children to take part in the yearly kids runof the event.Silly Bus wrote, performed and produced“Artie，”the Kids Extra theme song.The song iswell received and often broadcasted in different TV stations and on the web.

A．Itis their focus on educational content.

B．Makingmore money with a creative idea.

C．Makinga Difference with Educational Music.

D．Theyhave played for many organizations and schools.

E．SillyBus is best popular among children and parents.

F．Thesesongs include both phonics and language techniques.

G．SillyBus has worked with several companies and non­profit organizations.

—Yes, he did. He________his old friends for a long time.

—How come？As far as I know，they have been good friends for many years.

       Spring is a wonderful season to celebrate rebirth and new life.The long, cold winter is over.The weather is warmer and sunnier.The trees again have leaves and the flowers are blooming.The season represents hope, joy and beauty.At this time, many people think of this classical music piece—Spring ， which shows happiness.Italian composer Antortio Vivaldi wrote it in the 1700s.

       However，not all songs about spring show happiness.This song written and sung by K．D.Lang is about dreaming of spring in cold dark places.She recorded I Dream of Spring in 2008.

       Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote It Might as Well Be Spring for the movie State Fair in 1945.Frank Sinatra sings it.It is a feeling of restlessness or excitement brought on by the coming of spring.Richard Rodgers also wrote Spring Is Here, this time with Lorenz   Hart.Ella Fitzgerald sings this song about feeling lonely during this season.

       Frank Loesser wrote the sad song, Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year.Why has the season been delayed？Because the singer's lover had left her, Sarah Vaughn released her version of the song in 1953.

       By now you may be thinking，“Enough with the sad songs, already！”OK，then how about a cowboy song？Gene Autry was one of most famous singing cowboys of America.He recorded When It's Springtime in the Rockies in 1937.

       And finally, we'll leave you with a sunny song called Up Jumped Spring.Freddie Hubbard wrote this jazz song in 1977 and Billy Taylor Trio performs it.

Notes：

release vt.发行

—Yes. It was not yet eight o'clock________he arrived home.