Music plays an important part in our lives. Music is for dancing, drinking, eating, loving and thinking. Some songs remind us of our childhood or youth. Others remind us of the people we love. Many important occasions (场合), like weddings and funerals, have special music. Every nation has a national song like the Chinese “MARCH of the VOLUNTEERS”
In the US, high schools and colleges have school songs too. Music is a part of the history of America. It expresses the problems and feelings of its people.
As the years go on, the music grows and changes. Modern science has also changed music. Inventions such as records, radios, movies, electric instruments, tape recorders and videos have changed the way we play and listen to music. They have helped to make music an important form of international communication.
American music, from the earliest folk songs to modern “pop”, is known around the world. Music is one of America's most important exports. It stands for a living history of America. And it brings the people of the world together. Even when people don’t understand the same language, they can share in the same music.
Many people learn and practice English by singing songs. Understanding American music can help you understand American people, their history and culture. So, as the song says, “Put a dime in the jukebox (自动点唱机), baby.” Let’s listen to the music!
1. What does the text mainly talk about?| A．Music is changing greatly. |
| B．Music is very important in our lives. |
| C．There are many different kinds of music. |
| D．Music is one of America’s important exports. |
| A．inventions | B．changes |
| C．electric instruments | D．tape recorders and videos |
| A．learn English well |
| B．get a good knowledge of the world |
| C．solve the problems of our feelings |
| D．understand American history and culture |
| A．Music can help us think of the past good times. |
| B．Many high schools and colleges have school songs. |
| C．Music comes from the earliest folk songs. |
| D．Different people can only share different kinds of music. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】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 is 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 German providing a perfect chance to practise speaking the language.
Exit Festival, Serbia
Set on the banks of the Danube in an old fortress (城堡), the festival began as a way to show people’s dissatisfaction with the government. These days it’s less political (政治的) 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, Scotland
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 weekend 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. 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 German. |
| A．For political reasons. | B．For personal reasons. |
| C．To help stop a fight. | D．To offer help to the poor. |
| 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. |
【推荐2】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 people will also like them.
◆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.
◆Hire sound engineers to give the musicians all the help they need.
◆
| A．You need to find security people. |
| B．We can find enough songs to get a lot of money. |
| C．Bigger sports stadiums will be perfect as well. |
| D．But remember, you are trying to attract fans of all ages. |
| E．People should have practiced many different songs. |
| F．You can find a location by going to the local government and asking for permission. |
| G．The last thing you want is that a group is on the stage but the speakers don’t work. |
【推荐3】Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programs are music.
Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This is started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching.
1. This passage mainly talks about ____.| A．American music | B．American popular music |
| C．three sorts of music | D．popular music singers |
| A．that Americans dislike popular music |
| B．that popular music is an important kind of music in America |
| C．how to become an international star as a pop singer in America |
| D．popular music in America is what every teacher like |
| A．earn a lot of money | B．make a radio stations buy your CDs or tapes |
| C．make many CDs or tapes | D．make young people love you and what you sing |
【推荐1】Come to Austria!
Soll is a village in the mountains in western Austria, and the Hotel Post, run by a local family, is clean and not expensive. From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forest and the mountains. Temperature in summer is usually from 20℃ to 25℃ in the daytime, but much cooler by evening.
Enjoy Thailand!
When you visit Bangkok in Thailand, don't miss the early morning river boat trip to the Floating Market just outside the city. There you will find many kinds of fruits and vegetables. There you can buy and pay for them when you sit in your boat. Don't forget your hat: the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40℃ at midday!
Visit Hawaii!
Maybe the most beautiful place in Hawaii is Kauai. You can visit its long, sandy beaches in the south and the west of the island, and mountains and forests in the north, but be careful: there are many mosquitoes（蚊子）, and don't be surprised if it rains in the center of the island. Daytime temperatures there are usually from 24℃ to 26℃ by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening.
1. Which of the following about Soll is TRUE?| A．Soll is a mountain village in Austria. |
| B．From the Hotel Post you can see the whole forest and the mountains. |
| C．The Hotel Post is clean but expensive. |
| D．It is a little cold in summer. |
| A．in the middle of Bangkok | B．on the river |
| C．famous for the boats | D．full of vegetables and fruits |
| A．Kauai is one of Hawaii's islands. | B．The weather is neither too hot nor too cold. |
| C．It doesn't often rain in Kauai. | D．There are forests and mountains in Kauai. |
| A．Soll and Bangkok | B．Thailand and Kauai |
| C．Soll and Hawaii | D．Bangkok and Kauai |
| A．Ona map. | B．In a fashion magazine. |
| C．In a textbook. | D．In a travel guide. |
【推荐2】Eating chips, chocolates and cakes may damage a child’s intelligence, according to researchers at Bristol University. Their study suggests a link between diet high in processed(加工的) food and a slightly lower IQ. Writing in the journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, they suggest poor nutrition may affect brain development.
The eating habits of 3,966 children taking part in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were recorded at the ages of three, four, seven and eight and a half. The researchers said three types of diet appeared: processed diet which was high in fat and sugar and fast food, traditional diet of meat, potatoes and vegetables, and healthy diet of salads, fruit and fish. The children all took IQ tests when they were eight and a half.
The researchers found a link between IQ and diet, even after taking into consideration other factors such as the mother’s level of education and the social class. Diet high in processed food at the age of three was related to a slightly lower IQ at the age of eight and a half, suggesting early eating habits had a long-term influence. Dr Pauline Emmett, who carried out the study at Bristol University, said, “Brain development is much faster in early life, and it’s when it does most of its growing.”
Although the relationship between diet and IQ was very strong, the influence was quite small. Processed food was linked with IQs only a few points lower. Experts in the field said the results had shown common sense was right. Fiona Ford, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, said, “It’s well worth looking at the long-term influence of diet, for everyone’s familiar with the short term. The research agrees with the type of advice we already know, but that’s not always enough. Sometimes a society has to help a person change; we need to educate more young parents about healthy eating.”
1. All the following can lead to a slightly lower IQ except _______.| A．birthday cakes | B．fruit salads |
| C．chocolates | D．KFC food |
| A．one year and a half | B．two years and a half |
| C．four years and a half | D．five years and a half |
| A．Diet affects people’s intelligence greatly. |
| B．The research has shown the short-term influence of diet. |
| C．The British Dietetic Association has known the results of the research. |
| D．The British Dietetic Association has a duty to encourage young parents to adopt healthy diet. |
| A．Processed food reduces children’s intelligence. |
| B．Healthy food makes children grow rapidly. |
| C．Eating habits change children’s intelligence. |
| D．Proper diet makes children wise and healthy. |
【推荐3】President Coolidge’s statement, “The business of America is business,” still points to an important truth today-that business institutions have more prestige（威望） in American society than any other kind of organization,including the government.
Why do business institutions possess this great prestige?
One reason is that Americans view business as being more firmly based on the ideal of competition than other institutions in society.Since competition is seen as the. major source of progress and prosperity by most Americans, competitive business institutions are respected.Competition is not only good in itself. it is the means (by) which other basic American value such as individual freedom,equality of opportunity and hard work are protected.
Competition protects the freedom of the individual ensuring that there is no monopoly（垄断）of power. In contrast to one all-powerful government，many businesses compete against each other for profits Theoretically, if one business tries to. take unfair advantage of its customers, it will lose to competing business which treats its customers more fairly. Where many businesses compete for the customers’ dollars, they cannot afford to treat them like inferiors or slaves.
A contrast often made between business,which is competitive,and government, which is a monopoly, Because business is competitive,many Americans believe that it is more supportive of freedom than government, even though government leaders are elected by the people and business leaders are not. Many Americans believe,then,that competition is as important, or even more important, than democracy（民主）in preserving freedom.
Competition in business is also believed to strengthen the ideal of equality of opportunity. Competition is seen as an open and fair race where success goes to the swiftest person regardless of his or her social class background. Business is therefore viewed as an expression of the idea of equality of opportunity rather than the aristocratic(贵族的)ideal of inherited privilege.
1. The statement “The business of America is business” probably means ________.| A．America is a great power in world business |
| B．Business is of primary concern to Americans |
| C．The business institutions in America are concerned with commerce |
| D．Business problems are of great importance to the American government |
| A．by protecting their individual freedom | B．when given equality of opportunity |
| C．by way of competition | D．through doing business |
| A．People with ideals of equality and freedom. | B．Both business institutions and government. |
| C．Honest business | D．Both businessmen and their customers. |
| A．in many countries success often depends on one’s social status |
| B．businesses in other countries are not as competitive as those in America |
| C．American businesses are more democratic than those in other countries |
| D．Americans are more ambitious than people in other countries |
【推荐1】FREE Homeschooling
If you are reading this page you are looking into homeschooling. YAHOO! So proud of you for taking the road less traveled for your kids. It may not always be easy, but it is rewarding! 123 Home-school4Me is here to help you on your journey! We’ve got lots of tips, resources, and over a million pages of FREE Home-school worksheets, games and lesson plans to help you provide a solid, fun, and affordable education for your kids!
Let me walk you through some homeschooling basics and how 123Homeschool4Me can help you home-school!
Why Homeschooling
For some it is a better education, impact of being socialized at school, passing on your faith, spending more time with your kids, helping your child with a special need, making learning fun, or any number of other reasons. Keep reminding yourself WHY you choose to home-school and make that your primary focus.
How to Home-school
* Decided to Home-school after much careful research and thought
* 25 Reasons Why We Love Homeschooling
* Find out the legal requirements to home-school in your state -- every state has different requirements that you must follow to home-school legally - Homeschooling Laws in your State
* Follow any and all legal requirements to home-school legally (see above)
* Pick a curriculum - you have tons of choices to fit your family and children
* How to Choose a Home-school Curriculum
* Our Curriculum Choices
* Plan your school year - with any state regulations in mind, pick when your school will start end, take breaks, what days of the week you will meet and for how long, and what pace you need to go through your curriculum to finish in a year.
* Use these Free Home-school Forms to organize your year
* How to Home-school in 15 Hours a Week
* Don’t Home-school alone! Just because you aren’t sending your kids to public or private school doesn’t mean they won’t be with others from outside your family.
* Getting Social in Your Home-school
* Start teaching your child - Your taught your child how to use the bathroom and put on their shoes. You can do this! Just dive in!
Okay, so that was super simplified, I know! But really that is all you need to start with.
Make sure to read the links above for more information on each point.
How to Start Homeschooling
Make Home-school FUN and Affordable! This is where123Homeschool4Me.com comes in! Mom leaves little time to think of fun, creative educational activities that make concepts stick. Plus the cost to buy cool games and additional worksheets for every little skill can be unacceptable!
We’ve got you covered! This site is filled with thousands of creative ideas and 1,000,000+ FREE educational print-ables to make learning fun!
1. According to the above material, 123Homeschool4Me is probably _________.| A．a website | B．a counselor | C．a magazine | D．an advertisement |
| A．Restoring the child’s faith. | B．Getting social in the home-school |
| C．Challenging the road less traveled. | D．Tailoring the courses to kids’ needs. |
| A．simplified lesson plans and fun activities |
| B．interesting games and affordable worksheets |
| C．free teaching resources and practical suggestions |
| D．detailed curriculum plans and free homeschooling |
【推荐2】Alabama: Priester’s Pecans
Dessert in the South basically starts and ends with an ooey-gooey pecan(核桃) pie. Especially in Alabama, where the pecan is the official state nut. While there are plenty of farms that pick and package pecans, perhaps the most famous is Priester’s, a family-run business that’s been supplying Alabama with its favorite nuts for over seven decades.
Alaska: Salmon jerky
Forget beef jerky(肉干)—in Alaska, it’s all about the salmon jerky. Home to five different species of the flavorful fish (king, red, pink, silver, and chum), the northernmost state produces nearly one-third of the wild salmon consumed around the world. Bonus: Salmon is one of the seven healthiest fish you can eat.
Arizona: Saguaro cactus
The largest cactus(仙人掌) in the United States, the saguaro cactus is found only in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. Living to be up to 200 years old, the cacti, whose flower is also the state’s flower, are generally around 30 feet tall and can grow unlimited arms. Want to see for yourself? Visit one of these 10 outstanding desert escapes in America.
California: Wine Guide
It isn’t called “Wine Country” for no reason. Northern California, specifically Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley, produce over 60,000 registered wine labels, making vino(酒类产品) the state’s most valuable agricultural product. If you’re looking for the most popular varietals(优质酿酒葡萄汁), the top two frequently planted grapes are chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.
1. How long has the Priester’s farm lasted?| A．About 7 years. | B．About 30 years. |
| C．About 70 years. | D．About 200 years. |
| A．Alaska. | B．Arizona. |
| C．Alabama. | D．California. |
| A．A library guide. | B．A news report. |
| C．A project handbook. | D．A travel guide. |
【推荐3】Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service. The Facebook website was launched on February 4, 2004, by Mark Zuckerberg, along with fellow Harvard College students and roommates.
The founders had limited the website’s membership to Harvard students at first; however, later they expanded it to various other universities, and eventually to high school students as well. Since 2006, anyone who claims to be at least 13 years old has been allowed to become a registered（注册了的）user of Facebook, though differences exist in the youngest age requirement, depending on local laws. Facebook has more than 2 billion monthly active users as of June 2017. As of April 2016, Facebook was the most popular social networking site in the world, based on the number of active user accounts.
Facebook may be accessed by a large range of desktops, smartphones over the Internet and mobile networks. After registering to use the site, users can create a user profile showing their names and so on. Users can add other users as “friends”, exchange messages, post photos and so on.
Facebook makes most of its income from advertisements which appear on screen, marketing access for its customers to its users.
1. What does the underlined word “launched” in Paragraph 1 mean？| A．Prevented. | B．Started | C．Permitted. | D．Supplied. |
| A．Harvard students. | B．High school students. |
| C．Students in all universities. | D．Old people. |
| A．How to become a Facebook member. | B．How Americans communicate today. |
| C．A brief story of Mark Zuckerberg. | D．A brief introduction to Facebook. |
【推荐1】When I was 16 years old，I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn’t the first time I had been abroad. Like most English children，I learned French at school and I had often been to France，so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn’t understand English. But when I went to America I was really looking forward to having a nice easy holiday without any language problems.
How wrong I was! The misunderstanding began at the airport. I was looking for a public telephone to give my friend Danny a ring and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking like being lost and asked if he could help me.
“Yes，” I said.“I want to give my friend a ring.”
“Well，that’s nice，” he said.“Are you getting married? But aren’t you a bit young？”
“Who is talking about marriage？” I replied.“I just want to give my friend a ring to tell her I’ve arrived. Can you tell me where there’s a phone box？”
“Oh！” he said.“There’s a phone downstairs.”
When at last we did meet up，Danny explained the misunderstanding to me.
“Don’t worry，” she said to me.“I had many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from us British. You’ll soon get used to all the funny things they say. But most of the time British and American people can understand each other！”
1. Where was the writer from?| A．He was from America. |
| B．He was from France. |
| C．He was from England. |
| D．He was from China. |
| A．to buy a ring for his friend |
| B．to make a call to his friend |
| C．to go to the telephone company |
| D．his friend to see him off |
| A．means the same in America as in England |
| B．means “call somebody” to the old man |
| C．means “be going to get married” |
| D．has different meanings in America and in England |
【推荐2】Sixteen years ago, I learned an important life lesson in the back of a New York City taxi.
I was on my way to Grand Central Station, and we were driving in the right lane when a black car suddenly sped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My driver fit the brakes hard, skidded, and missed the other car by a few inches. The driver of the other car, the man who had just nearly caused a huge accident, started shouting at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at him. He was really friendly!
“Why did you just do that?” I asked him. “This guy almost destroyed your car and could have sent us to the hospital!”
This was when my taxi driver told me what I now call “the Law of Garbage Trucks”.
“Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger, and full of disappointment,” he said. “As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, and if you let them do, they’ll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, just smile, wave, wish them will, and move on. You’ll be happier because of what you have done.”
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and dump it on other people—at work, at home, or on the street? It was on that day that I said, “I’m not going to dump anymore.”
1. What happened when the writer was taking a taxi?| A．He saw a car accident. | B．Someone destroyed the taxi. |
| C．The taxi driver was injured. | D．Another car almost hit the taxi. |
| A．He shouted back at the driver. |
| B．He sent the driver to the hospital. |
| C．He was friendly towards the driver. |
| D．He dumped some garbage in front of his car. |
| A．Many people like to drive garbage trucks. |
| B．Many people dump garbage wherever they like. |
| C．Many people are warm-hearted and make others happy. |
| D．Many people need to dump their feelings now and then. |
| A．Dump your garbage on him or her, too. |
| B．Be friendly and go on with your own work. |
| C．Tell them to dump their garbage in the right place. |
| D．Try your best to encourage them not to do that again. |
【推荐3】Elixir
written by Eric Walters
Twelve-year-old Roth becomes a friend of Dr. Banting and his assistant, Mr. Best,who are in search of a cure for diabetes (糖尿病). She finds herself torn between her sympathy for the animals being experimented on and her friendship with Banting and Best.
George Washington Carver
written by Elizabeth Macleod
Meet the "Peanut specialist", George Washington Carver, the inventor and professor who made over 325 products out of peanuts. Through his agricultural research, he also greatly improved the lives of countless black farmers in the southern Unite States. See also MacLeod's Albert Einstein: A life of Genius.
The Inuit Thought of it: Amazing Arctic Innovation
written by Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald.
Explore more than 40 ideas necessary to Inuit survival. From ideas familiar to us today to inventive concepts that shaped their lives, celebrate the creativity of a remarkably intelligent people. Also see other books: the Chinese thought of it by Tingxing Ye and A Native American Thought of it by Rocky Landon and David MacDonald.
Made in Canada:101 Amazing Achievements
written by Bev Spencer
What things do we use daily that have a Canadian connection? Here Are 101 common things that were invented in Canada or by a Canadian, including the Blackberry, alkaline (碱) batteries the Blue Box recycling program.
Newton and the Time Machine
written by Michael McGowan
Ten-year-old boy Newton has invented a time machine to see Dinosaurs up close.
But it disappears on a test run with his two huge friends, King Herbert and Queen Gertrude, in it! Can he save them before time runs out?
1. Which of the following best describes Roth's feeling in Book 1?| A．Frightened. | B．Curious. |
| C．Painful. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Book 3 introduces 40 inventive concepts. |
| B．Animals are mentioned in Book 1 and Book 5. |
| C．Alkaline batteries were invented by Dr. Banting. |
| D．George Washington Carver was a black farmer in the US. |
| A．Newton's human friends | B．the names of the time machine |
| C．the inventions of the time machine | D．two dinosaurs |
| A．Elizabeth Macleod | B．Eric Walters |
| C．Rocky London & David MacDonald | D．Bev Spencer |
