1 . Why is music so important to children? Here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

Music has a positive (积极的) effect on young children’s development!

New research shows that music has a good influence on young children’s cognitive (认知的) skills, such as spatial reasoning (空间推理) and memory. Research also shows that offering children an interesting environment can support children’s healthy growth and development.

Young children enjoy making music with others! Making music with others gives children a wonderful feeling of belonging to the group. Children might have difficulty joining in activities with others because they are shy, have limited language ability or special needs, but they can freely take part in a music activity.

Music makes young children happy!

Children seem to experience much pleasure and joy when listening to music, making music and dancing to music. Whether they are singing along to a CD, playing an instrument or dancing to music around the classroom, most children seem to thoroughly (彻底地) enjoy participating in a music activity. How wonderful it is to offer children the chance to do some activities about music!

1. New research shows that music can improve young children’s ________ skills.

A．cognitive

B．reading

C．writing

D．speaking

2. Which is one of the reasons that children have difficulty joining in activities with others?

A．They don’t know others.	B．They want to play games alone.
C．They are shy.	D．They don’t like music.

3. Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined phrase “participate in”?

A．come in

B．arrive at

C．take part in

D．get used to

4. There are ________ of the author’s thoughts on the subject.

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

5. What’s the best title for the passage?

A．How to Make Music with Others

B．The Influence of Music on Young Children

C．What Wonderful Music!

D．The Importance of Music in Early Childhood

2 . There are many different kinds of music in the world. Now let's study some of them.
Classical music Classical music is a form of music which needs high musical skills. If you want to learn this kind of music，you have to go through proper training.
Heavy metal music Heavy metal music came out after World War Ⅱ. The melody (旋律)of the song is heavily influenced by the structure of it. It is also known as “information music”. In heavy metal music，songwriting is based on a form.
Hip－hop music This kind of music always includes the use of instruments such as the guitar，violin，piano，bass (低音电吉他)，drums and so on. In this kind of music，the bass is the main instrument. It was first played by a group of traveling singers and poets of West Africa.
Opera music It first appeared in Italy in the 1600s.It has a great mixture of theatrical (喜剧的)art and musical invention and is used in theaters.
Jazz music This kind of music has strong and complex (复杂的)melodies. The main musical instruments are the cornet，trumpet and violin，which help carry the melody.
Besides these，there are many other kinds of music such as the blues，new－age music，Celtic music，religious music，and chamber music (室内乐).
1. ________ music needs high musical skills.

A．Classical

B．Heavy metal

C．Hip-hop

D．Opera

2. The main instrument in hip-hop music is the _________________.

A．guitar

B．violin

C．piano

D．bass

3. The ________ is used in both hip－hop music and jazz music.

A．piano

B．violin

C．trumpet

D．cornet

4. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Heavy metal music appeared after World War Ⅱ.

B．Only after proper training can you learn classical music.

C．Opera music first appeared in Italy.

D．People call jazz music “information music”.

5. What's the BEST title for the passage?

A．Different kinds of music	B．Our favorite musicians
C．We love music best	D．Welcome to the music club