Good morning. The program today is about music. The word “music” comes from the Greek word “muse”. The Muses are the goddesses of the arts. The Music is only one of the arts. It is like the spoken language, but it uses sounds. Today’s program brings together music from different concerts of the world. Who invented music? Who sang the first song? No one knows exactly the answers to these questions. But we know that music plays an important part in almost everyone’s life. Babies and young children love to hear people singing to them. When they are a little older, they like to sing the songs they have heard. When children go to school, their world of music grows. In the middle grades, students take music lessons. When they reach high school, they become interested in listening to pop music.
The records we have chosen for you today are from American country music, Indian music, pop music and so on. Music has meaning for everyone. It can make people happy or it can make them sad. In this program we shall study the language of music. We shall be trying to find out more about how music works. We shall try to find out how music says what people feel.
Now, here comes the music today , I shall explain why they are all good music. The first paragraph is mainly about the .
| A．styles of music | B．history of music | C．taste of music | D．knowledge of music |
Which is NOT the purpose of this music program?
| A．To study the language of music . | B．To learn more about the music. |
| C．To give a complete background to the music. | D．To give people some music to listen to. |
The speaker is probably .
| A．a host | B．a singer | C．a dancer | D．a teacher |
Sometimes it seems that time is flying． Perhaps it doesn't need to feel this way． Our experience of time can be possibly changed． By understanding the psychological （心理学的） processes behind our different experiences of time， we might be able to slow down time a little．
One basic law of psychological time is that time seems to slow down when we're exposed（接触） to new environments and experiences． The law is caused by the relationship between our experience of time and the amount of information our minds process． The more information our minds take in， the slower time seems to pass．
It follows， then， that we have different experiences of time in different situations． In some situations， our life is full of new experiences． Our minds process a lot of information and time seems to slow down． In other situations， we have fewer new experiences and the world around us becomes more and more familiar（熟悉的）． We become insensitive to our experience， which means we process less information， and time seems to speed up．
How can we slow down time？ Here are two suggestions．
Firstly， since we know that familiarity makes time pass faster， we can expose ourselves to as many new experiences as possible． We can give ourselves new challenges， meet new people， and expose our minds to new information， hobbies and skills． This will increase the amount of information our minds process and expand （增加） our experience of time．
Secondly， and perhaps most effectively， we can give our whole attention to an experience﹣to what we are seeing， feeling， tasting， smelling or hearing． This means living through our senses rather than through our thoughts． For example， on the way home， focus your attention outside of yourself， instead of thinking about the problems you have to deal with． Look at the sky， or at the buildings you pass， traveling among them． This open attitude to your experiences helps take in more information and also has a time﹣expanding effect．
To a certain degree， we can understand and control our experience of time passing． It's possible for us to slow down time by expanding our experience of time．
（1）According to the writer， we can expand our experience of time by ．
A． going to bed on time
B． traveling to new places
C． having dinner as usual
D． printing the same materials
（2）What can we learn from the passage？
A． Being familiar with the world around helps us get more information．
B． Understanding psychological time makes life pass more quickly．
C． We can take in more information by living through our senses．
D． We should build a stronger relationship between time and us．
（3）Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A． Slow Down Time
B． Only Time Will Tell
C． Race Against Time
D． Time Will Not Come Twice
Blue Lightning
Sally loved cars more than anything else． This spring she thought of building a go﹣kart to enter for the Go﹣Go Race． So she asked her dad for help．
"Well，" he said． "How about this： you do some research first and then come back to me with a design．"
A week later， Sally brought her notes and drawings to Dad． She named her go﹣kart "Blue Lightning"． Dad looked over her work， thinking． "Well， that's interesting，" he said． "Have a try． Just build Blue Lightning as you've designed．"
Over three weekends of hard work， Sally turned her design into a real， working go﹣kart and painted it light blue． Dad asked her to take it for a test drive． Sally agreed．
After she did that， Sally drove back to Dad． "Well，" she said． "Now I know why you wanted me to have a test drive．"
"Oh， do you？" he said． "Please share．"
"When I drove fast， there was a lot of pushback，" she said． "I think it's because of the lightning bolt （闪电） shape．"
"Very good!" Dad said．
"So， why didn't you tell me about that problem in the first place？" Sally asked．
Dad laughed． "Where's the fun in that？ If you give a man a fish， he'll eat for a day． But if you teach a man to fish， he'll eat for a lifetime．"
Sally said， "I see． Anyway， designing is half the fun !"
Dad smiled． "Good． Sometimes， learning happens during the process． We learn how to do something right by doing it a few times first and making mistakes along the way．"
That encouraged Sally and she worked even harder． When she showed Dad her new go﹣kart， he nodded with pride．
Finally came the race． Sally wasn't worried about whether she would win﹣in her mind， she had already won， by building something better than ever before．
（1）Sally thought of building a go﹣kart to ．
A． practice driving
B． enter for a race
C． play with friends
D． do some research
（2）What did Sally's dad ask her to do after she built the go﹣kart？
A． To have a test drive．
B． To take a good rest．
C． To give it a cool name．
D． To paint it light blue．
（3）Sally's story mainly tells us that ．
A． winning a race is important
B． fishing brings us a lot of fun
C． driving experience is necessary
D． learning happens during the process
Experiencing China
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Mike， Canada I spent three months with my host family（接待家庭） in China． It was a lifetime experience． I was able to experience Chinese living and culture，from basic Tai Chi to Beijing Opera． I even visited a famous traditional Chinese medicine hospital． Now I have a better understanding of Chinese culture． |
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Joanna， Australia I stayed with my host family for five months． My host mother is a Chinese teacher and she is really warm﹣hearted． With her help，my Chinese has improved a lot． And I have got used to a new culture． My favorite part of the experience was sharing my feelings in China with her． |
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Bill， America My host mother is a wonderful cook! She makes me all kinds of traditional Chinese dishes． They are tasty and I like them very much． Just like me，my host parents love to learn about different cultures． They often ask me questions about life in America． |
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Cindy， Germany Recently I took part in a program to study Chinese． I lived with a host family in China for six months． My host sister is a really hardworking student． It was amazing to see how she made progress in English． And a close relationship has developed between us． |
（1）Who visited a traditional Chinese medicine hospital？
A．Mike．
B．Joanna．
C．Bill．
D．Cindy．
（2）How long did Joanna stay with her host family in China？
A． Three months．
B． Four months．
C． Five months．
D． Six months．
（3）Cindy thinks her host sister is ．
A． a wonderful cook
B． a responsible doctor
C． a warm﹣hearted teacher
D． a hardworking student
When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework， you might notice that there is no letter E． Have you ever thought about why that is so？
In the A， B， C， D and F grading system， the first four letters are typically considered passing grades． An F in this system simply stands for"fail"．The word"fail"happens to start with the letter F， which seems to leave out the letter E． The fact of the matter is that any letter can mean "not﹣passing" or "fail"．Some schools have U grade for"unsatisfactory"，or I grade for "incomplete"．
Even with all this said， we should also point out that E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter grades in the US．
The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College． In 1897，they began to use the following grading scale：
A： 95﹣100%（excellent）
B： 85﹣94%（good）
C： 76﹣84%（fair）
D： 75%（barely passed）
E： below 75%（failed）
We can see the inclusion of E instead of F．
Gradually，the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US． However， many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F．There is no evidence（证据） to really support this，but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent"．
Why do we have letter grades？ Well，part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools． As the 20th century began，growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms． Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy，fair and clear way to grade students．
Today，more and more people argue that letter grades don't fully reflect（反映） student learning．However，as teachers try to improve grading methods，many parents continue to favor the letter grades they got as kids．They are familiar（熟悉） and easy for parents to understand． So while they might not be perfect， the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon．
（1）what does an F stand for in the A、B、C、D and F grading system？
（2）when was the letter grading system first used in the US college？
（3）what is one possible explanation for dropping the E grade？
（4）what did most teachers think of the letter grading system in the 20th century？
（5）why do many parents still prefer the letter grades today？
We often reach a point in our life when we should be ready for change that will help us unlock our self﹣improvement power． However， there's always something staring at us right under our nose but we don't see it． The only time we think of unlocking our self﹣improvement power is when everything gets worst．
When do we realize that we need to change diets？ When none of our shirts and jeans would fit us． When do we stop eating candies and chocolates？ When all of our teeth have fallen off． When do we realize that we need to stop smoking？ When our lungs have gone bad． We see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and difficult．
The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self﹣improvement power is when the whole world is falling apart． We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change， but change becomes more painful when we ignore（忽视） it．
Change will happen， like it or hate it． At one point or another． we are all going to finally unlock our self﹣improvement power not because the world says so，but because we realize it's for our own good．
Happy people don't just accept change； they embrace （拥抱）it． Unlocking our self﹣improvement power means unlocking ourselves out of the box of thought that is just the way we are． It is such a poor excuse for people who fear change．
Jane always tells everyone that she doesn't have the courage to be around groups of people． She heard her family tell the same things about her to other people． Over the years， that is what Jane has believed． Every time a great crowd come， she steps back and locks herself up in a room． Jane not only believes in her story， but lives it!
Self﹣improvement may not be everybody's favorite word， but if we look at things in a different way， we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved． Three sessions in a week at the gym would result in a healthier life． Reading books every day would build up knowledge． And only when we are enjoying the whole process of unlocking our self﹣improvement power will we realize that we're beginning to take things light and become happy．
（1）The writer mentions the three questions in Paragraph 2 to show that ．
A． we learn our lessons when we experience pain．
B． we are responsible for the problems we meet．
C． life fails us when we get into the wrong way．
D． life is a long journey full of ups and downs．
（2）What is the key to solving Jane's problem？
A． She needs to remember why she started．
B． She has to know how to get on with people．
C． She has to realize she is not what she is in her story．
D． She needs to understand the importance of confidence．
（3）The writer probably agrees that ．
A． the world tells us how to improve ourselves．
B． people change when they find it easy to do that．
C． welcoming change in life is a drive to become better．
D． enjoying the process of self﹣improvement makes life simpler．
（4）Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A． Is it important to take things light？
B． Is it necessary to embrace challenges？
C． To hold on to the last moment or to give up？
D． To free ourselves out of the box or to stay in it？