Have you ever seen a Kunqu Opera, or heard the beautiful sound of a Guqin? These two traditional Chinese art forms are both included in UNESCO's list of "oral and intangible heritage of humanity" (人类口头和非物质文化遗产). This year, China has selected another art form to compete to join this special group. Muqam  (木卡姆), the traditional folk music of Xinjiang's Uygure people will be considered alongside other countries' entries. "The intangible cultural heritage of different countries and different people should be treasured by the world," said Wang Wenzhang, president of the Chinese Academy of Arts.
Known as the "mother of Uygur music", Muqam has a long history. Some scholars believe that its origins can be traced back to the "Great Western Region Melody". This developed during the Han (206 BC—220 AD) and Tang (618 AD—907) dynasties and enjoyed great popularity in central China. In the mid-16th century, the Silk Road connected China and Europe. Xinjiang was at the center of the cultural exchange between east and west. Muqam music was spread across Uygur-populated areas during that time. The queen of Yarkant Kingdom (叶尔羌汗国), whose name was Amannisahan, was a poet and musician. She devoted all her efforts to collecting and sorting Muqam music. With the help of other experts she finally worked out 12 pieces of music, which became the famous Twelve Muqam. When Amannisahan was doing her work, she did not seek materials from the fully developed Arabian and Persian music. Instead, she exploited the rich resources of Uygur folk music that spread across the north and the south of the Tianshan Mountains. As a result, the Twelve Muqam has a strong Uygur flavour.
The Twelve Muqam includes more than 340 classical songs, folk songs, love songs and pieces of dance music and instrumental music. The whole set takes 24 hours to play. Ever since it spread among the Uygurs, the Twelve Muqam has played an important part in their lives. They sing songs and dance to the music. Kurban Mamut, editor-in-chief of a Uygur language magazine, says that he often listened to the Twelve Muqam when he was a child. "The Twelve Muqam helps bring moral ideas to the Uygur children, and gives them a noble and strong personality," he said. After New China was founded, the local government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region made every effort to preserve the Twelve Muqam. In 1960, two volumes of the Twelve Muqam were published. This finally protected this oral cultural heritage. Over the past two decades, local Xinjinang cultural institutions have supported research projects. A number of books about the Twelve Muqam have been published. CDs, VCDs, and DVDs of the Twelve Muqam have also been made.
How many traditional Chinese art forms have been included in UNESCO's list of "oral and intangible heritage of humanity" by now?

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

According to the article, Muqam dates back to __________.

A．Great Western Region Melody	B．Arabian and Persian music
C．the Twelve Muqam	D．kunqu Opera

Who do you think it was that made the greatest contribution to the spread of Muqam?

A．The king of Yarkant kingdom	B．The emperors of Tang dynasty
C．Kurban Mamut	D．Amannisahan

What does the underlined word "This" in the last paragraph refer to?

A．The Twelve Muqam.	B．Two Volumes of the Twelve Muqam.
C．A Uygur magazine.	D．the publishing of the Twelve Muqam.

What is the best title of this article?

A．Muqam, an art form of Xinjiang.	B．Please listen to Muqam.
C．The Twelve Muqam.	D．An introduction of Uygur folk music.

科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等