1. What day is it today?
| A．Saturday. | B．Friday. | C．Monday. |
| A．She has no time to prepare. |
| B．Nobody can lead the dance group. |
| C．There aren’t enough people in the group. |
2 . How similar are language and music?
Language is part of our daily lives, no matter where we live in the world.
Both language and music have a writing system.
In English we record language using the alphabet, which is a collection of letters. Similarly, we use notes (音符) to keep a record of music. Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music.
You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language he uses. In the same way, we know that styles of music are different around the world, giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.
Both share emotion.
| A．Both are expressive. |
| B．Both vary with culture. |
| C．How do you know that I am angry? |
| D．We use language to express our thoughts. |
| E．Similarly, music is part of many people’s lives. |
| F．So just as you read English, you can read music. |
| G．In contrast, you probably also listen to sad music when you are feeling down. |
3 . The arts, especially music, should be part of every school’s lessons at every grade level. Students would be much smarter if they had some musical experience. They could improve their classroom skills, like paying attention and following directions. People develop all these skills when they learn music. Making music also lets children use their imagination. It provides students with a chance to try out their own ideas.
Music not only makes children better students, but also gives them something positive to do. In a music programme, children can be part of a band instead of joining a gang (团伙). Parents can enjoy listening to their children’s music instead of seeing them glued to a computer or TV screen. In a school band, students get to be part of a team. They can get along well with old friends and make new friends through music.
Music builds self-confidence, too. It gives children a sense of achievement and success. Making music is something for them to be proud of, and it lets kids practise performing in front of the audience. Music gives children an opportunity for self-expression, and that helps develop their self-confidence.
Once again, music is important because it can make children better students, give them something positive to do, and build their character. That is why music lessons should be offered in every single grade in every school.
1. According to the passage, music could make students smarter by________.| A．improving their classroom skills and paying attention |
| B．improving their classroom skills and imagination |
| C．improving their attention and imagination |
| D．letting them make music and try out their own ideas |
| A．Unwilling to turn on. |
| B．Always looking at. |
| C．Unwilling to move. |
| D．Always playing with. |
| A．make children express themselves |
| B．bring children success |
| C．give children something to be proud of |
| D．develop children’s self-confidence |
| A．Music Is a Must as a Course at School |
| B．Music Builds Children’s Self-confidence |
| C．Music Makes Students Much Smarter |
| D．Learning Music and Making Music Build Children’s Character |
4 . A Professor in music and music education at the University of NSW. Robert Walker, argues that all students should study the works of Western classical composers such as Haydn and Tchaikovsky.
Professor Walker says students are missing out on an important part of the culture heritage because they fail to study classical music, as the little music that children learn at school is mainly pop. The lack of music teaching is serious, especially in government schools where there are not enough specialist(专业的)music teachers.
A national review in 2005 made 15 suggestions, but Professor Walker said it still failed to deal with the lack of classical music taught in schools." I'm not against pop music, but it's very simple, and not difficult either to play or to sing,” Professor Walker says. "But classical music is challenging and although it is part of Australia's culture heritage, most children learn it only through Hollywood films."
"At least children ought to know what's happening in Western culture. It’s part of culture heritage," he says. "Asian students know more about Western classical music than most children in the west."
Professor Walker has taught music and music teachers in Britain, Canada and Australia and is a former chief (首席的) examiner for the International Baccalaureate and a former chairman of the research committee of the International Society for Music Education. Professor Walker says noschool curriculum(课程) in Australia lists a piece of music that children should study, such as the Mendelssohn's.
"This lack of standard texts means that some children can be brought up totally on Western classical music, others on Elvis Presley, or on any music the teacher wants to teach. The situation should be changed as soon as possible," he says.
1. What's the problem in music education in Professor Walker's opinion?| A．Children know nothing about their culture heritage. |
| B．Classical music education isn't valued in schools. |
| C．Pop music is simple and not difficult to play and sing. |
| D．Australia schools need more specialist music teachers. |
| A．part of culture heritage |
| B．good for their growing up |
| C．difficult to play and sing |
| D．popular only in Asia |
| A．He worries about the music education in schools. |
| B．He thinks pop music teaching shouldn't be allowed. |
| C．He is well known in Western classical music teaching. |
| D．He has worked in Britain, Canada and Australia. |
| A．Music teachers should teach anything that they like. |
| B．Most Children today are brought up by their music teachers. |
| C．Children's music education today depends on their teacher's taste. |
| D．Music teachers shouldn't teach the music of Elvis Presley at all. |
5 . I have been dancing since I was 14 years old, when my best friend dragged me to an after-school dance class. I enjoyed that dance class so much that I have been dancing ever since. After every dance class, however, I always have to stretch out my legs and back to make myself relaxed! It feels like as much exercise as going to the gym---but dancing is not widely considered to be a sport. Does that dancing is expressive and artistic mean that it is not a sport?
Some dancers would argue that dancing is a sport, as it requires great physical stamina, strong muscles and impressive flexibility. No matter what style of dance you are participating in, you will always be using all of your muscles while dancing and this can often be for several hours a day. Additionally, in the more traditional dance style (like ballet), men often lift their female dance partners high in the air. That means the dancers are often just as athletic as footballers, runners or swimmers.
On the other hand, many people argue that dance is an art form. Dance often exhibit emotion, represent characters and tell stories. Dancing to music is creative and visually appealing to the eyes and ears, just like watching a play or a professional show. The shiny costumes, the stage make-up and the big hairstyles are artistic and imaginative. It is easy to see why many people consider dance to be an art form.
I personally believe that dance is both a sport and an art. I believe that a great dancer will be a mixture of an athlete and an artist. You could have the strongest muscles in the world but not necessarily be a great dancer. Likewise, you could be a great actress who can express emotions easily but you still might not be able to dance. However, whether you consider dance to be an art or a sport, the important thing is to enjoy it! Dancing is a great way to make new friends and it’s a really fun way to exercise!
1. Why does the author think having a dance class is like taking exercise?| A．Because she finds it also needs physical effort. |
| B．Because she takes interest in dancing as well as in sport. |
| C．Because she should do much exercise before dancing. |
| D．Because she finds dancing has hurt her legs and backs. |
| A．activity | B．shape |
| C．strength | D．condition |
| A．Topic—Comparison—Opinion. |
| B．Opinion—Discussion—Effect. |
| C．Main idea—Argument—Discussion. |
| D．Introduction—Supporting Examples—Conclusion. |
| A．Having a large amount of exercise. |
| B．Being creative and imaginative. |
| C．Requiring great physical strength. |
| D．Creating emotions accurately. |
The study shows that musical harmony can be learnt, and it is a matter of training the brain to hear the sounds. So if you thought that the music of some foreign culture (or Jazz) sounded like the crying of cats, it’s simply because you haven’t learnt to listen by their rules.
The researchers used 66 volunteers with a range of (一系列的) musical training and tested their ability to hear combinations (组合) of notes (音符) to determine if they found the combinations familiar or pleasing. They found that people needed to be familiar with combinations of notes. If they couldn’t recognize the notes, they found the notes dissonant. This finding put an end to centuries of theories claiming (声称) that physical functions of the ear determine what we find attractive.
The study found that trained musicians were much more sensitive (敏感的) to unpleasant notes than non-musicians. When they couldn’t find the note, the musicians reported that the sounds were unpleasant, while non-musicians were much less sensitive. This shows the importance of training or nurturing (培养) the brain to like particular sound of combinations of notes, like those found in jazz or rock.
Depending on their training, a strange chord (和弦) sound was pleasant to some musicians, but very unpleasant to others. This showed us that even the ability to hear a musical note is learnt.
To confirm (证实) this finding, they trained 19 non-musicians to find the notes of a random (随机的) selection of western chords. Not only did the participants’ ability to hear notes improve rapidly; the chords they had learnt sounded more pleasant—regardless of (不论) how the chords were played.
The question of why some combinations of musical notes are heard as pleasant or unpleasant has long been debated. “ We have shown in this study that for music, beauty is in the brain of the beholder(观看者),” a researcher said.
1. According to the passage, why do people sometimes find foreign music quite unpleasant?
| A．Because they don’t like the person playing the music. |
| B．Because they have no talent for music at all. |
| C．Because they have no idea about how to listen. |
| D．Because they hear music too often. |
| A．informal | B．unpleasant |
| C．inspiring | D．unfamiliar |
| A．find the beauty of chords without training |
| B．enjoy the beauty of music when played by musicians |
| C．be trained to like particular music |
| D．make friends with real musicians |
| A．Improve Your Brain By Listening to Music |
| B．You Can Be a Musician Without Being Trained |
| C．Music Can’t be Taught |
| D．Love of Music Is Not Natural But Nurture |
