Whether you admit or not, music is rooted in our daily life, weaving its beauty and emotion through our thoughts, activities and memories. So if you’re interested in music theory, music appreciation, Beethoven, Mozart, artists and performers, we hope you’ll spend some time here and learn from those music articles of note for all ages and tastes.
When I first started studying the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had thought that music history was somewhat of an unimportant pursuit（追求）. In fact, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits（学分）. I did not realize how really attractive music history was. You see, in our culture many of us do not really learn to understand music. When I began to learn about the history of Western music, however, it changed all that for me.
When most of us think about the history of music, we think of the history of rock music, we assume that the history is simple because the music is simple. In fact, neither is the case, The history of music, whether you’re talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is never simple.
Even when the class was over, I would not stop learning about the history of music. It had attracted my interest, and I wanted more.What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To advise readers to learn about music. |
| B．To show he has a good knowledge of music. |
| C．To ask readers to share their experience. |
| D．To prove that music has a long history. |
Why did the author take the history of classical music class?
| A．He was very interested in classical music. |
| B．Classical music would bring him fame. |
| C．Classical music was very important to him. |
| D．He wanted to get the points from the course. |
The underlined word “assume” in the third paragraph probably means “____________ ”.
| A．see | B．mean | C．think | D．wonder |
What did the author do after the class was over?
| A．He became tired of music history. |
| B．He kept on learning about music history. |
| C．He found music was difficult to learn. |
| D．He began to take part in music activities. |
(Originally created) What can we infer about the author according to the passage?
| A．He didn’t like music at the beginning. |
| B．He prefers history to music. |
| C．He doesn’t study hard at school. |
| D．The students in his school need some credits in other subjects besides the credits in their majors before they graduate from their college. |
D
One of the main challenges facing many countries is how to maintain their identity in the face of globalization and the growing multi-language trend. “One of the main reasons for economic failure in many African countries is the fact that, with a few important exceptions, mother-tongue education is not practiced in any of the independent African states.” said Neville Alexander, Director of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa at the University of Cape Town.
In response to the spread of English and the increased multi-language trends arising from immigration, many countries have introduced language laws in the laws in the last decade. In some, the use of languages other than the national language is banned in public spaces such as advertising posters. One of the first such legal provisions was the 1994 “Toubon law” in France, but the idea has been copied in many countries since then. Such efforts to govern language use are often dismissed as futile by language experts, who are well aware of the difficulty in controlling fashions in speech and know from research that language switching among bilinguals is a natural process.
It is especially difficult for native speakers of English to understand the desire to maintain the “purity” of a language by law. Since the time of Shakespeare, English has continually absorbed foreign words into its own language. English is one of the most mixed and rapidly changing languages in the world, but there has not been a barrier to acquiring prestige and power. Another reason for the failure of many native English speakers to understand the role of state regulation is that it has never been the Anglo-Saxon way of doing things. English has never had a state-controlled authority for the language, similar, for example, to the Academic Francaise in France.
The need to protect national languages is, for most western Europeans, a recent phenomenon—especially the need to ensure that English does not unnecessarily take over too many fields. Public communication, education and new modes of communication promoted by technology, may be key fields to defend.Neville Alexander believes that.
| A．mother-tongue education is not practiced in all African countries |
| B．lack of mother-tongue education can lead to economic failure |
| C．globalization has led to the rise of multi-language trends |
| D．globalization has resulted in the economic failure of Africa |
The underlined word “futile” (in paragraph 2) most probably means ““.
| A．useless | B．practical | C．workable | D．unnecessary |
Why do many English-speaking countries not support the language protection efforts described in the passage?
| A．They think language protection laws are ineffective. |
| B．They want their language to spread to other countries. |
| C．They have a long history of taking words from other languages. |
| D．It reduces a language’s ability to acquire international importance. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
| A．English has taken over fields like public communication and education. |
| B．Europeans have long realized the need to protect their national languages. |
| C．Most language experts believe it is important to promote a national language. |
| D．Many aspects of national culture are threatened by the spread of English. |
The main idea of the passage is .
| A．Fighting against the rule of English |
| B．Globalization and multi-language trends |
| C．Protecting local languages and identities |
| D．To maintain the purity of language by law |
C
So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake everything to do for children that only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible”.
Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also a public activity. It can be seen and observed.
Learning to read, however, involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public scrutiny.
If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable, what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest (探索) for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children.”
When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfill them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that
________.
| A．it is one of the most difficult school courses |
| B．students spend endless hours in reading |
| C．reading tasks are assigned with little guidance |
| D．too much time is spent in teaching about reading |
The teaching of reading will be successful if ________.
| A．teachers can improve conditions at school for the students |
| B．teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading |
| C．teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading |
| D．teachers can make their teaching activities observable |
The underlined word “scrutiny” most probably means “________”.
| A．inquiry | B．observation | C．control | D．suspect |
According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when
________.
| A．children become highly motivated |
| B．teacher and learner roles are interchangeable |
| C．teaching helps children in the search for knowledge |
| D．reading enriches children’s experience |
The main idea of the passage is that ________.
| A．teachers should do nothing in helping students learn to read |
| B．teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible |
| C．reading ability is something acquired rather than taught |
| D．reading is more complicated than generally believed |
B
He is a lesson to every boy who ever picked up a basketball and dreamed that it would change his life.
The lights were never brighter and the crowds were never bigger for a homegrown sports hero than they were a quarter-century ago for Ray Hall. But his athletic achievements, as impressive as they are, are to my mind not what is most admirable about the man.
Known as “Sugar Ray” in his teens, Hall was rated among the country’s top 25 high school basketball players. An inner-city kid from a solid family, Hall took on the challenge of lifting Canisius College — still recovering from its failure — back to respectability, rejecting more favorable offers. His status of a savior (救世主) brought more pressure than any 18-year-old should have to handle. However, I watched him mature into the player who led Canisius back to daylight.
After college Hall played professionally in Italy and Greece for over 10 years until a car accident at 32 ended his basketball career. The news that he would never play again shocked Hall but unlike so many others he was ready for life after basketball. When I met Hall — still fit at 46 — for lunch Monday, he wore a cut-sharp gray suit, designer tie and blazing white shirt that screamed Success. “That was always the question — when the cheers end, where do you go? Who do you turn to?” he said. “It starts and ends with that person in the mirror.”
Hall got the concept of academics-first from his parents. He graduated from Canisius a semester early. “No matter how good of an athlete you are, you are just one injury away from losing it all,” he said. “But if you take care of things academically, you are prepared until you leave this earth.”
For the past 14 years, he has been in a computer sales job at Ingram Micro. He married his college sweetheart. They have three kids and a nice house in the suburbs. He figured out early what others learn too late: Athletics is part of a journey, not the destination.
Congratulations, Ray, you made it. In more ways than one.Ray was regarded as a savior because ________.
| A．he liked to take on challenges |
| B．he helped his team to regain its glory |
| C．he was faithful to his hometown city |
| D．he fought hard against failure at a young age |
According to the writer, which of the following best describes Ray’s success?
| A．Unlike other athletes, he was academically superior. |
| B．He defeated his injury and returned to the playground. |
| C．He enjoys a successful job and a happy family. |
| D．He has gained impressive athletic achievements. |
What’s the right order of the events related to Ray?
a. He was rated among the best high school basketball players.
b. He was in a car accident.
c. He graduated from Canisius College.
d. He started his computer sales job.
e. He gave up his athletic career.
| A．a, c, b, e, d | B．a, c, e, b, d | C．c, a, b, d, e | D．c, a, e, b, d |
We can learn from the passage that ________.
| A．Ray was from an academic family |
| B．Ray was very mature in his teens |
| C．Ray was once desperate facing the cruel reality |
| D．athletics was not Ray’s final goal in life |
What was the writer’s intention in writing this passage?
| A．To describe the difficulties of being a professional athlete. |
| B．To explain the importance of choosing the right college. |
| C．To emphasize the need for a good education. |
| D．To warn against playing professional basketball. |
A
For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner. Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?
Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict. In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it. From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness. And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely.
In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the dilemma. The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things. Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends. Second, blaming. The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong. Third, needing to be right. It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something — and therefore to command respect. Unfortunately, as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress.Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?
| A．Both can continue for generations. |
| B．Both are about where to draw the line. |
| C．Neither has any clear winner. |
| D．Neither can be put to an end. |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict. |
| B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict. |
| C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them. |
| D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents. |
Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________.
| A．give orders to the other | B．know more than the other |
| C．gain respect from the other | D．get the other to behave properly |
What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Causes for the parent-teen conflicts. |
| B．Examples of the parent-teen war. |
| C．Solutions for the parent-teen problems. |
| D．Future of the parent-teen relationship. |
Where do you think this passage can be found?
| A．In a report. | B．In a letter. |
| C．In a novel. | D．In a textbook. |
首先请阅读下列William J. Bennett家庭教育系列读物的封面及基本信息：
A .Bennett gives this thrilling account of the virtues of America
and the many brave men and women who have made
it the powerful nation it is today. The tale of human struggle
and victory captures what is unique about America.
B．Filled with stories of the heroes and virtues, this book presents stories and poems that show children what it means to be an American, so this book is a national popular one and the best seller of the year.
C．The book intends to inspire children to find heroes in their lives,
such as Jackie Robinson, Abraham Lincoln and this book also includes tales about everyday people, such as a young boy who goes in search of an angel to watch over him, only to find that he has one—his mother.
D．This collection of stories will help children develop their most important quality, character and includes stories from the Bible, and from sources
as diverse as well-known fairy tales, the philosophy of Plato,
the poetry of Robert Frost and Aesop’s fables.
E．This book is a treasury of timeless stories which teach young
people the importance of showing virtues in one’s daily life.
It is a perfect gift for graduation or other special occasions.
Well-known works from Aesop, Dickens and Shakespeare are
presented to teach virtues.
F.This inspiring book offers examples of good and bad, right
and wrong in great works from literature and in stories from
history. Organized by stages along life journey, these stories
serve as reference on moral compass, guiding the readers
through challenges in their life.
以下是购书者对这些书籍的简要评论。请将简要评论与封面及基本信息匹配起来。This great book by Bennett guides the kids to find heroes in their lives through a collection of stories. Also it just tells us stories about common people as heroes, which is very instructive. So it is very popular among the kids.
Drawn from familiar western history as well as a wide selection of tales from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the stories are great, designed to inspire as well as instructive. This book is a good guide that will help family members meet the challenges of life at any age.
Bennett will make you feel terrific about America. The big topic of politics and war reclaim the place they used to enjoy in the old histories. He never misses the chance to tell a good story. He has an eye for the strange and the surprising about America.
This book is well-received for children in America, because it is full of stories and poems to tell our kids how to be a hero and what virtues they should have, which can be their moral compass to their life and that will mean a lot to be American kids.
Bennett selected stories and poems to teach young people the importance of virtues in their daily life, which is really a perfect gift for graduation or other special occasions. This book belongs on every young person’s bookshelf.