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For some people, music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes(音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music set them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The different is complex, and it doesn’t include defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can’t see certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed(诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say, ‘No, thanks. I’m amusic.’” says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”
Which of the following is true of amusics?

A.Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them.
B.They love places where they are likely to hear music.
C.They can easily tell two different songs apart.
D.Their situation is well understood by musicians.

According to paragraph 3, a person with “defective hearing” is probably one who _________.

A.dislikes listening to speeches
B.can hear anything nonmusical
C.has a hearing problem
D.lacks a complex hearing system

In the last paragraph, Margaret expressed her wish that __________.

A.her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier
B.she were seventeen years old rather than seventy
C.her problem could be easily explained
D.she were able to meet other amusics

What is the passage mainly about?

A.Amusics’ strange behaviors.
B.Some people’s inability to enjoy music.
C.Musical talent and brain structure.
D.Identification and treatment of amusics.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
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I may not be the wisest person on this planet. but I will tell you a little secret to happiness: Help other,, and live life. It is that simple. Just help a friend study for a test, or volunteer at a nursing home . I learned this after a long, hard search.
I was feeling really down because my long4ime friend had died. Then I started a six-week volunteering at a nursing home all day every Saturday. My routine was to serve the meal and clean up. After that, I would wait for the head nurse to tell me what to do.
One day I was told to go to Room 117 to make sure the patient was all righL. In the room I found a boy of eight sitting in his bed watching a movie. I was shocked to see a child in this seemingly forgotten nursing home for the old. He was so small and weak that you had to look closely to find him. He motioned for me to sit down. I grabbed his medical chart from which later I found out he had a terminal illness.
We started to talk, and I found out that his family rarely visited, and all he did ever7 day was watch TV. I wanted to cry for him, and for my lost friend. As we talked, he had a smile on his face, and I asked him why.
"The entire two hours I've been here you've never lost that smile. With this horrible disease, how do you still manage to stay happy?"
He thought for a moment, and then said that too many people are dead even before they die.
They walk around feeling that God has cursed (诅咒) them and that they have nothing to live for.
The boy said that he would not be like that. He wakes every morning thankful to see another sunrise. He keeps his window open so that he can smell the flowers and feel the heat of the sun. He also said that he has hope.
"Too many people haven't seen much of that around here," he said," Life is full of hope and we need to live life before it is gone. "
I don’t know what happened to him. I assume he passed away, but his lesson lives on. I now wake up and live each day to the fullest. The key to life is not money or fame, but the lessons we learn from it.
The nursing home in the passage is mainly for _

A.the elderly B.the homeless
C.the disabled D.the abandoned

The boy stayed happy mainly due to.

A.wonderful TV programs
B.his positive attitude
C.good medical condition
D.others' encouragement

The writer participated in the volunteering job in order to .

A.find out the secret
B.search for help
C.enrich experiences
D.get out of sadness

What would be the best title for the passage?

A.A Lesson in Hope
B.The Life of a Sick Boy
C.A Voluntary Job
D.The Meaning of Life

People who speak or perform before the public sometimes may suffer from “Stage Fright. ” Stage fright makes a person nervous. In the worst case(情况) it can make one's mind go back and forget what one ought to say, or to act. Actors, musicians, dancers, lawyers, even radio show hosts(节目主持人) have suffered from stage fright at one time or another.
Diana Nichols is an expert in helping people free from stage fright at a medical centre in New York City. She helps actors learn to control themselves. Miss Nichols says some people have always been afraid to perform before the audience. Others, she says, develop stage fright after a fearful experience.
She offers them ways to control the fear. One way is to smile before going onto the stage. Taking two deep breaths also helps. Deep breathing helps you get control of your body.
Miss Nichols persuades her patients to tell themselves that their speech or performance does not have to the perfect. It's all right to make a mistake. She tells them they should not be too cautious while they are performing. It is important that they should continue to perform while she is helping them. After each performance, they discuss what happened and find out what advice helped and what did not. As they perform more and more, they will fear less and less as much as 50%. Miss Nichols says the aim is only to reduce stage fright, not to eliminate it completely. This is because a little stage fright makes a person more cautious, and improves the performance.
One who is suffering stage fright may _______.

A.forget one's part before the audience
B.smile all the time on the stage
C.make a speech faster than ever
D.be cautious to improve his performance

The underlined word “eliminate” in the last paragraph means _______.

A.keep B.reduce
C.change D.get rid of

The wrong way to overcome stage fright is ______.

A.to smile before going to the stage.
B.to take two deep breaths to calm oneself
C.to pay less attention to one's mistakes in performance
D.to perform less and to watch more

It was one of those terribly hot days in Baltimore. Needless to say, it was too hot to do anything outside. But it was also scorching in our apartment. This was 1962, and I would not live in a place with an air conditioner for another ten years. So my brother and I decided to leave the apartment to find someplace indoors. He suggested we could see a movie. It was a brilliant plan.
Movie theaters were one of the few places you could sit all day and—most important —sit in air conditioning. In those days, you could buy one ticket and sit through two movies. Then, the theater would show the same two movies again. If you wanted to, you could sit through them twice. Most people did not do that, but the manager at our theater. Mr. Bellow did not mind if you did.
That particular day, my brother and I sat through both movies twice, trying to escape the heat. We bought three bags of popcorn and three sodas each. Then, we sat and watched The Music Man followed by The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. We’d already seen the second movie once before. It had been at the theater since January, because Mr. Bellow loved anything with John Wayne in it.
We left the theater around 8, just before the evening shows began. But we returned the next day and saw the same two movies again, twice more. And we did it the next day too. Finally, on the fourth day, the heat wave broke.
Still, to this day I can sing half the songs in The Music Man and recite half of John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart’s dialogue from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance! Those memories are some of the few I have of the heat wave of 1962. They’re really memories of the screen, not memories of my life.
In which year did the author first live in a place with an air conditioner?

A.1952 B.1962
C.1972 D.1982

What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 3 refer to?

A.The heat
B.The theater.
C.The Music Man
D.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

What do we know about Mr. Bellow?

A.He loved children very much.
B.He was a fan of John Wayne.
C.He sold air conditioners.
D.He was a movie star.

What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A.The author turned out to be a great singer.
B.The author enjoyed the heat wave of 1962.
C.The author’s life has been changed by the two movies.
D.The author considers the experience at the theater unforgettable.

Where Are They Now: Life after Olympic Gold
These celebrated Olympic champions from decades past wrote sports history, but what are they up to now? Here's the latest on some of the greatest.
Edwin Moses
How you know him: Gold Medals in 400 Meters Hurdles (1976 Montreal Games, 1984 Los Angeles Games)
Where he is today: Moses earned a degree in physics and later held a full-time job as an engineer.After retirement, he earned his master's degree in business.In 2000, Moses took on the role of executive chairman of Laureus.
Kerri Strug
How you know her: Gold Medal in Gymnastics (1996 Atlanta), when she competed through the pain of the ankle damage to land the gold-winning vault.
Where she is today: Strug lives in Tucson, Arizona.She does public relations for USA Gymnastics, speaking regularly at events and attending the Games on behalf of sponsors.
Dick Fosbury
How you know him: Gold Medal in High Jump (1968 Mexico City Games)
Where he is today: Fosbury is an executive committee member of the World Olympians Association.But he hasn't left the tracks just yet - he coaches teenager athletes at Dick Fosbury Track Camps.
Greg Louganis
How you know him: Gold Medals in Diving (1984 Los Angeles Games, 1988 Seoul Games)
Where he is today: Louganis developed AIDS and retired in 1989.It wasn't until the mid-90s that he announced he was HTV-positive.Since then, Louganis has been an outspoken advocate for HTV awareness.
Dominique Dawes
How you know her: Gold Medal in Gymnastics (1996 Atlanta Games)
Where she is today: President Barack Obama appointed her and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees as co-chairs of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.
Dawes is also the co-host for Yahoo! News Weekend Edition.
Who won two gold medals?

A.Edwin Moses and Greg Louganis.
B.Dominique Dawes and Edwin Moses.
C.Dick Fosbury and Kerri Strug.
D.Greg Louganis and Dick Fosbury.

______ won the gold medal in Gymnastics in spite of injury.

A.Edwin Moses B.Dominique Dawes
C.Greg Louganis D.Kerri Strug

The gold medalist who is still training young sportsmen is ______.

A.Greg Louganis B.Dick Fosbury
C.Edwin Moses D.Dominique Dawes

Everybody in this world is different from one another. But do you know that understanding differences can help you better manage your money?
As we grow up, we gradually develop a set of our own values or beliefs. These are influenced by society, our family, the education we receive and so on. Once this value system is set up, it’s not easy to change later in life.
Financial experts say that everyone also has their own belief of how to manage their finances. This is part of our value system and it has a great impact on the way we look after our money.
According to our different values, experts put us in three categories. They are the ant, the cricket and the snail.
◆ The ant— works first
Just like ants who work heart and soul in summer in order to store food for winter, these people don’t care about enjoying the moment. They work very hard and save money they earn so that they can enjoy life when they get old and retire. The ant loves to save but they could make more out of their money if they were willing to invest in some funds and stocks with low risk.
◆ The cricket— fun first
The cricket wants to enjoy everything now and doesn’t think too much about the future. They even borrow money when they really want something. Many young people now belong to this group. These people have little savings. When they get old, they might have problems. They should learn to save and buy insurance.
◆ The snail— lives under pressure
The snail refers to people who make life difficult for themselves. They take big long-term loans from the bank in order to buy things such as luxury houses. They are happy to take big loans even though they are not sure they can afford it. This can cause problems in the future. They should plan more carefully.
Our beliefs and values are affected by the following except ______.

A.society B.the family
C.the education D.money

People with the character of the snail would like to _______.

A.enjoy life at the moment without thinking much about the future
B.put work before everything else.
C.live a luxury life at all costs
D.take the risk of investing a large sum of money

Which of the following has the character that the author prefers?

A.the ants B.the cricket
C.the snail D.none of the above

This passage mainly talks about _______.

A.spending nature of people
B.the reaction between man and insects
C.the insects in nature
D.the problems with dealing with money

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