Whatiscolor?Whydosomeofthethin-优题课

Is there a connection between music and language？According to recent studies，the answer is yes：Music helps develop certain language abilities in the brain．

A study from Northwestern University shows that playing a musical instrument can improve a person's hearing ability． As a part of the study， two groups of people listened to a person talking in a noisy room．The people in the first group were musicians， while those in the second group had no musical training．The musicians were found to be able to hear the talking person more clearly．

Musicians hear better， says study leader Nina Kraus， because they learn to pay attention to certain sounds． For example， when the violinists play in an orchestra（管弦乐队），they must listen closely to what they are playing and ignore（忽视） the other sounds． In this way， musicians can hear certain sounds better， even in a room with lots of noise．

Gottfried Schlaug，a doctor at Harvard Medical School，works with stroke（中风） patients．Because of their illness， these people cannot say their names，addresses， or other information normally．However， they can still sing． Dr. Schlaug was surprised to find singing words helped his patients finally speak． Why does this work？Schlaug isn't sure． Music seems to be able to make different parts of the brain active， including the bad parts． In some way， this helps patients use those parts of the brain again．

So music is not only enjoyable， but also good for us in many other ways． Playing an instrument or singing， says Nina Kraus， can help us do better in school and keep our brain sharp as we get older．

（1）What were the people in the first group asked to do in the study of Northwestern University？　　

A．Listen to different kinds of music．

B． Make some noise in an empty room．

C． Give the second group musical training．

D． Find out what the talking person was saying．

（2）The writer uses the example of violinists in Paragraph 3 to explain 　　．

A． how musicians play in an orchestra

B． how musicians ignore certain sounds

C． why musicians have better hearing ability

D． why musicians are not afraid of loud noise

（3）Gottfried Schlaug helps his stroke patients speak by 　　．

A． playing music for them

B．getting them to sing words

C． teaching them to play instruments

D． joining the bad parts of their brain

（4）What is the main purpose of the passage？　　

A． To introduce different ways of playing music．

B． To give some advice about making our brain active．

C． To show the relationship between music and language abilities．

D． To share the results of recent studies on treating stroke patients．

Future View

I think it will be great if they invent something so that we only have to sleep for one or two， hours every day．Then we'd all have much more time to do．things and to enjoy ourselves． Life would be better， I think， and everyone would do a lot more with their lives．

Miguel

If I could choose anything， I'd go for a time machine so that I could go back and do some things differently． Of course，that's impossible-but wouldn't it be great if it was possible？ I wish I could go back in time to when I was a kid and say some of the things in a different way!

Hannah

Well， of course， the best thing is medicine for really bad diseases（疾病）．A lot of scientists are working very hard to stop diseases like Ebola，a terrible disease that has killed many thousand people in Africa．So if they， found a special treatment for Ebola， or a way of completely preventing it，life would be easier in so many places．

Isabella

It will be great if there is some kind of fuel（燃料） we can use in cars that won't produce any pollution．I guess there are scientists right now trying to do that， and I hope they'll succeed because the world would be a much cleaner place， wouldn't it？

Charlie

I wish there was a machine that did homework! Wouldn't that be fantastic？ But I guess teachers wouldn't be very happy．

Georgina

（1）Why does Hannah want to go back in time？　　

A． To be young again．

B． To live a better life．

C． To do something for Africans．

D． To say some words differently．

（2）Who might be worried about the pollution of the world？　　

A． Miguel．

B． Isabella．

C． Charlie．

D． Georgina．

（3）In which part of a newspaper may this passage appear？　　

A． Health．

B． Science．

C． Travel．

D． Education．

A few months ago．I was nominated"，for Governor of the great state of New York， to run against Stewart L． Woodford and John T． Hoffman． I really felt dirty to run against them for all their shameful crimes that were reported on newspapers． However， as a candidate， I had no choice．

The next morning， as I was looking listlessly over the papers at breakfast， I came across this paragraph：

PERJURY﹣ Mr. Mark Twain， a candidate for Governor， was convicted' of perjury by thirty﹣four people， in Wakawak， in 1863． He intended to rob a poor woman of her land，her only stay and support after her husband died． For Mr. Twain himself， as well as the public， he needs to clear this matter up．Will he do it？

What a lie! I never had heard of Wakawak!

During the rest of the time， I got a title "the Infamous Perjurer Twain" on this paper．

Next came "Gazette"， with this：

WANTED TO KNOW﹣ When Mr. Twain was in Montana，his workmates lost small valuables from time to time， until at last， these things having all been found on Mr. Twain's person or in his suitcase．Will he explain this to his fellow﹣citizens？

I got a new title，"Twain， the Montana Thief"． But I never was in Montana in my life．

Then another newspaper article：

DELIRIUM TREMENS TWAIN ﹣ Mark Twain，who was to make a speech at the mass meeting of the Independents last night， didn't come to time! He argued that he had been knocked down by a runaway team and his leg broken in two places． But a certain man who was very drunk was seen to reel into Mr. Twain's hotel last night． It is his duty to prove that this person was not Mark Twain himself． WHO WAS THAT MAN？

I did not drink!

In the following weeks，I got more titles like "Delirium Tremens"， "Body﹣Snatcher"， "Filthy Corruptionist" ，etc．

Then one morning：

Mr. Mark Twain still maintains SILENCE． He dare not speak． Dare he open his mouth explain？

Before I could reply， more dirty charges" poured up on me． One day they even taught nine little children of all shades of colour to rush on to the platform at a public meeting and call me Pa（ father）!

I gave up． I sent them a letter to state that I gave up， and in bitterness of spirit I signed it，"Truly yours，once a decent man， but now MARK TWAIN， I．P．， M．T．， D．T．， B．S． and F．C．"

（1）In the story，　　people were running for Governor．

A． three

B． four

C． five

D． six

（2）Which of the following is TRUE about Mr. Twain according to his story？　　

A． He got punished for stealing in Montana．

B． He kept silent to the charges against him．

C． He was often too drunk to attend meetings．

D． He accepted the titles from the newspapers．

（3）Who could be the person making Mr. Twain dirty？　　

A． The persons who wanted to beat him．

B． The poor who wanted their land back．

C．The women who had children with him．

D． The reporters who helped him make news．

（4）Why did Mr. Twain finally decide to give up running for Governor？（请用约40词回答）

Tide is the regular rise and fall of the ocean level caused by the movement of the sun， the earth and the moon． It is considered a promising source of green energy to produce electricity in coastal areas．

To make use of tidal energy， we need to build tidal power stations． The bays and the river mouths where the tide is high（the tidal range is more than 10 metres） are usually perfect sites to build tidal power stations． There are many such places in the world． According to the IRENA （ the International Renewable Energy Agency）， by just using 2% of our coastlines， we can produce 4，383TWh of ocean power each year， enough to meet 16.4% of the world's electricity needs．

To build a tidal power station， we need to build a dam． In the dam are many turbines and on each turbine there is an electric generator'． When the tide rises，water comes through the dam，the turbines turn and the electric generators work， producing electricity．When the tide falls，water goes out through the dam， the turbines turn again．The electric generators continue to work．

Tidal energy has its advantages．Using tidal energy to produce electricity is much cheaper than using the traditional energy， like coal or gas． For example， the Rance Tidal Power Station in France has been there for over 50 years， producing around 5.000.000TWh of electricity each year． The cost is only 1.3 cents/TWh．

Tidal energy can be used nearly 24 hours a day． As long as the sun， the earth and the moon exist，we can use it to produce electricity． But without sunshine， there is no solar energy． When there is no wind，electric generators will not work． In addition， with the development of modern technology， tidal energy can be stored and used to produce electricity continuously．

However， we still have some problems to solve． It is difficult to build a dam in the sea， and the cost is very high．Moreover it's expensive to keep a tidal power station in its best condition．Scientists are working on them．

（1）A tidal power station is best built 　　．

A．at a river mouth with wind

B． along the coast with waves

C． In a bay with tide high enough

D．in coastal areas with sunshine

（2）The underlined word "turbine" in Paragraph Three is a machine to 　　．

A． make the tide rise and fall

B． make an electric generator work

C． let water go through the dam

D．keep the dam in good condition

（3）What advantage does tidal energy have？　　

A． We can use it to get useful tide．

B． It can improve the ocean environment．

C． We can use it nearly all the time．

D． It meets 16． 4% of the electricity needs．

（4）How can we make better use of tidal energy？　　

A． By digging more bays and river mouths．

B． By building cheaper tidal power stations．

C． By closing traditional electric power plants．

D． By using tidal energy to replace other energy．

The balalaika， also called "Russian guitar"，is a traditional Russian musical instrument．It has a long neck，a wooden triangle shaped body and strings．It is usually used to play Russian music by plucking the strings with fingers or a pick．

Russians like the balalaika．The music played with it can be cheerful，as if the farmers were dancing happily to celebrate their harvest． It can also be energetic，as if the workers were working hard to make their country richer and stronger．If a Russian moves to live or work abroad， he will probably take a balalaika with him． When he feels lonely and sad， he will play it to cheer himself up．

The balalaika was originally played by the poor in Russia． At that time， balalaikas were made by the players themselves． They were rough， simple and cheap with different numbers of strings， from two to even six．Later a Russian musician Vasily Vasil'yevich Andreev（1861 ﹣ 1918）improved the balalaika． He created a whole family of balalaikas of different sizes，all with three strings．The smallest balalaika is called Prima．It is 60﹣70cm long． The biggest， Contrabass， is almost 2 metres high with a leg to sit on the floor． Andreev founded the first balalaika orchestra" in the world， mainly using balalaikas to perform． He gave concerts at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889， which was a great success．

Today，there are balalaika groups performing around the world．More and more people get to know the balalaika and are attracted by its Russian style music．

（1）The balalaika is a musical instrument 　　．

A． without strings

B． with a long neck

C． of a round shape

D． with a metal body

（2）The music played with a balalaika is usually 　　．

A． slow and sad

B． strong and serious

C．soft and modern

D． cheerful and energetic

（3）Andreev is mentioned in Paragraph Three to introduce 　　．

A． the success of balalaika concerts

B． the history of balalaika orchestras

C． his． talent for playing the balalaika

D． his contributions to the balalaika

（4）Which of the following can be the best title for the passage？　　

A． Balalaika： The "Russian Guitar" for the Poor

B．Russia： The Home of Famous Balalaika Musicians

C．Balalaika： A Traditional Russian Musical Instrument

D． Russia： The International Hand﹣ made Balalaika Factory

A．see its color	B．see its heat
C．not see its color	D．see nothing

A．dark-colored clothes	B．red-colored clothes
C．green-colored clothes	D．light-colored clothes