1 .

Are you interested in country music? I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired. The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.

Country music usually talks of everyday life and feelings. It's the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple.

Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of songs tell about the lives of famers. They talk about love, crops or death.

The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.

When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.

John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s. His song “Take Me home, Country Roads” is well-known and people still play it today.

1. Country music is usually at ___________.

A．everyday life and feelings	B．farmers' feelings
C．the lives of workers	D．the lives of young people

2. Country music develop___________.

A．in John Denver's city	B．in the Southern United States
C．in the Northern United States	D．in the Western United States

3. People began to make country song records___________.

A．in the 1920s

B．in1920

C．in the 1970s

D．in1970

4. Why did country music become popular in America?

A．Because city people liked the music.

B．Because farmers moved to cities with their music and it continued to change.

C．Because country music talked about city people's lives.

D．Because they were made into records.

5. Who is famous for the song Take Me Home, Country Roads?

A．A farmer in the countryside.	B．A person who moved to towns.
C．A person who lives in the mountains.	D．John Denver.

2 .

Inventions
Phone	The first telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. It made communications easier. But the telephones were only fixed in post offices. People had to go there to make calls to faraway people and the fees were very high. Later, a cellphone was developed in 1973 in America. It was one of the most useful inventions. People can use cellphones to communicate with others much more easily. They can take them anywhere to make private calls, even vision calls (可视电话). Cellphones have many other functions, such as sending messages, taking photos and reading online.
TV	The first TV set was invented by an English scientist, John Baird, in 1926. The invention helped people watch films at home instead of going to the cinema as before. At first, TV sets only broadcast black - white pictures. Several years later, colored TV sets made the pictures lively. However, they were heavy and thick, so it was difficult to move them. Then, digital TV sets came into being. They are light and thin. Many TV programs are available (可获得的) at any time. At present, people can use the IPTV( 网络电视) to record and replay programs.
Computer	The first modern computer was invented in America in 1946. It was as big as a room. It improved the speed and exactitude of calculation (计算). In the 1950s, desktop computers were invented in the same country. They became smaller and could be put on the desk. Since then, they have become very important in many fields of work and leisure. Before the 1970s, the computers were single. It was the Internet that joined the computers into a big family, so they could share information with one another. Around 1985, laptops were developedin Japan. They were much smaller and could be put on people's laps. They were light and easy to take.

1. The first cellphone was invented.

A．in 1876

B．in 1926

C．in 1946

D．in 1973

2. People could watch films before 1926.

A．in the cinema	B．on the computer
C．on the cellphone	D．on TV

3. A scientist from        _invented desktop computers.

A．China

B．the USA

C．the UK

D．Japan

4. The first modern computer was used for?

A．calculating

B．joining the computers into a big family

C．playing games

D．sharing information with one another

5. Which of the following is right?

A．Cellphones can't be used for making vision calls.

B．Digital TV sets are light and thick.

C．The first modern computer was as big as a desktop computer.

D．The Internet connects computers together.

3 . Everyone has a family name. In China, the family name is the first name, but in English countries the family name is the last name. Do you know how English people get their family names? And what do they mean? English people usually get their family name in these ways (方式).
Some family names come from the places of their homes. A man live on or near a hill, his family name may be (可能是) Hill. In England, people's names may be Wood, Lake because they live near the wood (树林) or the lake.
Some family names come from a person's job. If a person is a cook, his family name may be Cook.
And many people get their family names from their father's family names. If you hear the name "Jackson", you can know that he is the son of Jack.
1. In the passage, how many ways can English people get their family names?

A．two

B．three

C．four

D．five

2. A man lives near the lake. His family name may be ______.

A．Hill

B．Wood

C．Lake

D．Cook

3. Jack's family name is Cook. His family name may come from the ______.

A．place

B．hobby

C．job

D．country

4. A boy's family name is Jackson because he is ______.

A．Jack's father	B．Jack's best friend
C．the grandfather of Jack	D．the son of Jack

5. The passage mainly talks about ______ in English countries.

A．family names	B．English people
C．hills and lakes	D．jobs and homes