Although Zhang Bichen, a 25-year-old songstress with a powerful yet delicate voice, took the crown of this year’s The Voice of China, runner-up Parhat Halik, 32, seems to have impressed more of the audience with his husky(沙哑的), natural and, most of all, distinguished sound.
Despite his unmistakable voice, Parhat Halik’s music is also special. Generally, it’s rock — but influenced and mixed by different styles within the genre. Read on and find out where Halik’s music gets its inspiration.
Blues rock
Representative artists: Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, John Maye
Blues rock combines improvisation (即兴创作) with rock ’n’ roll style. It began to develop in the mid-1960s in Britain and the US, when rock bands such as the Rolling Stones experimented with music from older African-American blues musicians. It borrows the idea of instrumental combo（小型乐队）from blues but is played at a faster tempo and louder volume, distinguishing it from the blues. The sound is created with the electric guitar, piano, bass and drums.
As the root for several contemporary rock styles, such as heavy metal and hard rock, blues rock had a rebirth in the early 2000s, with artists including John Mayer and The Black Keys.
Folk rock
Representative artists: Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds
As the name indicates, folk rock is a genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. Also developed in the mid-1960s, folk rock was pioneered by the US band The Byrds, who began playing traditional folk music and Bob Dylan-penned material with rock instruments, in a style heavily influenced by The Beatles and other British bands.
The genre was most popular among teenagers and college students at the time, because it includes both rock ’n’ roll’s free spirit and the more serious, culturally authentic and socially aware sounds of folk music.
Soft rock
Representative artists: Bryan Adams, Eagles, Elton John, James Blunt
Compared to hard rock’s loud and aggressive nature, soft rock, or light rock, uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer and less threatening sound. Derived from folk rock, it uses acoustic instruments（原声乐器）and puts more emphasis on melody and harmony.
Although the genre gets quite a bad name among hardcore rock fans, who see it as “wimpy”(软弱无力), it doesn’t mean soft rock is without merit (优点). Soft rock songs often deal with themes like romantic relationships and everyday life in a thoughtful and complex way hard rock simply couldn’t.Which of the artists playing traditional folk music and Bob Dylan-penned material with rock instruments first?
| A．The Beatles. | B．The Byrds |
| C．Eagles. | D．Guns N’ Roses. |
We can learn from the passage that ______________.
| A．the Rolling Stones ignored African-American musicians’ work |
| B．soft rock focus more on melody and culture awareness |
| C．blues rock gained a second birth in the 2000s |
| D．all the three rock styles developed in America |
What is hardcore rock fans’ attitude towards soft rock?
| A．They quite admire it. |
| B．They can hardly tolerate it. |
| C．They are indifferent to it. |
| D．They misunderstand it. |
What’s the main purpose of the text?
| A．To help readers become rock ’n’ roll artists |
| B．To inform the readers of the result of The Voice of China |
| C．To introduce some common rock music to the readers |
| D．To offer the readers some suggestions of composing rock music |
There is no doubt that watching television and can influence the way that people behave. Moreover, it seems that people are spending more and more time watching some sort of visual entertainment, whether it is television, a video tape or a DVD. Therefore, the effects of visual media cannot be ignored.
One obvious effect of the these media is that watching them induces people to buy certain products. television advertising is widespread and, nowadays, even movie theaters permit advertisements. Another way TV and the movies affect people is that they give people either a broader view of the world or a distorted（扭曲的） one, depending on what type of program they watch. Those who watch news and educational program can learn many new things while those who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world possess great wealth and good looks. It may make them become dissatisfied with their own lives. Finally, perhaps the most susceptible（易受影响的）viewers are children, who may be unable to tell fact from fiction and may try to imitate acts that they see on TV or in the movies.
With the every-increasing popularity of video entertainment, society must pay attention to these effects. Television and movies, while entertaining and informative, cannot take the place of real experience.
10．From the passage, we know that watching television and movies can ________.
A. make people live better B. make people feel pleased
C. make people change their way of life D. make people live worse
11 The writer holds the view that _______.
A.people may take no notice of the effects of the visual media
B.people must pay attention to the effects of the visual media
C.the effects of the visual media make the world changed greatly
D.the visual media only affect young people
12. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Those who watch news and educational programs can earn a lot of money and become very pretty.
B. The reason why most people possess great wealth and good looks is that they often watch television advertising.
C. People buy products only when they are induced by television advertising.
D. People who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world are rich and beautiful.
13.What would be the best title for the text?
A. The Influence of Television and Movies
B. The Reason Why People Watch Television and Movies
C. Television and Movies Induce People
D. The Importance of Television and Movies.
lt, they do not only look younger and slimmer, but feel better. Because of increased physical fitness, life expectance in the nation has risen to seventy-three years, with fewer people suffering from heart disease, the nation's number one killer.
Jogging ( 慢跑 ), the easiest and cheapest way of improving the body, keeps over 30million people of all ages on the run. For the price of a good pair of running shoes, anyone anywhere can join the race.
Dieting, too, has become a national pastime. Promoters of diets that eliminate eating one thing or another, such as fats or carbohydrates ( 碳水化合物 ), promise as much as 20- pound weight losses within two weeks. Books describing such amazing diets always head up ( 居……之首 )the best-seller lists because people who are overweight want to lose weight quickly and easily.
Nevertheless, jogging and dieting, carried to extremes, can be harmful. Many confused joggers overdo and finally suffer from ankle and foot damage. Dieting, fortunately, becomes only a temporary means for shedding a few pounds while the body lose the balanced nutrition ( 营养 )it requires, so most dieters cannot keep on diets. Above all, common sense should be the keystone for any dieting and exercise plan.
6.The main idea of this passage is that___________ .
A. both jogging and dieting can improve your health
B. exercise and improved diet has raised the American's life expectance
C. people, who jog and diet wisely, will be healthier than those who do not
D. diet and exercise harm rather than benefit health
7.According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Jogging can damage the body because it is too tough an exercise.
B. Diets are so popular because they are on the best-seller lists.
C. Americans now live to be 73years old.
D. Exercise and diet are more widespread in America than ever before.
8.It is implied but not stated that ___________ .
A. heart disease is the number one killer among Americans
B. exercise and dieting bring about spiritual as well as physical well-being
C. people don't stay on a diet because it doesn't work
D. a 20-pound weight loss within two weeks is too much for the body
9. The best title for this passage is ___________ .
A. Jogging and Diet B .Exercise and Health
C. Physical Fitness D. Life Expectancy and Diet
For many of us, printed books are satisfying in ways beyond the words they contain. Billions of printed books have been published, read and saved in the 600 years since movable type was invented, so why mess with a good things?
Sony Electronics is doing just that, betting that readers will be won over by the convenience of readability of its new electronic book devices. Sony's reader, the PRS-505, can hold 160 books in its fixed memory, enough to line the shelves on a good-sized wall in the average American home. The $299 device is about the size of a paperback book, but a half-inch thick and weighs less than a pound.
The Sony book reader is revolutionary not only in its storage capacity. The font（字体） is highly readable and adjustable by size. Unlike laptop computers, you can put the Sony in your purse, read it in direct sunlight and even bookmark the pages. And you can connect it to your PC to download books.
Surprisingly, though the reader has liberated the book from paper, electronic books aren't always a bargain. For example, David Baldacci's "Stone Cold" download retails（零售） for $15.19 at the Sony site, while Amazon（卓越网） will deliver a hard copy to your mailbox for $16.19.
The Sony reader also lets you store and play or display music. So what's not to like about the Sony? Well, for many bibliophiles, a lot. Book lovers like to have, hold and keep their volumes, which don't need charging. You can write notes in the margins, and enjoy the ambience they provide on your book shelves.
The need for electronic reading devices is likely to grow as more people worried about the billions of tons of paper used for printed material. Many believe the time will come when devices like the Sony reader are as common as printed newspapers and magazines today.
1．What would be the best title for the passage?
A. The age of the electronic book reader is coming
B. Printed books are out of date
C. The Sony reader meets many readers’ needs
D. The revolution in book readers
2．According to the passage, the Sony book reader _________.
A. is as light as a laptop computer B. can hold more than 200 books
C. is convenient to carry around D. cannot be connected to a PC
3．What is the author’s point when he mentions “Stone Cold”?
A. Amazon’s printed books are very cheap
B. “Stone Cold” can be got from the Sony site and Amazon
C. The Sony book reader is not very cheap to use
D. The Sony book reader can benefit its buyers a lot
4．The underlined word “bibliophiles” in Paragraph 5 refers to “__________”.
A. music lovers B. book lovers
C. electronic reading devices D. Sony readers
5．According to the author, what’s the future for the electronic reading devices?
A. They’ll replace printed newspapers and magazines
B. They’ll still be more expensive than printed newspapers
C. They’ll become a must in people’s daily life
D. They’ll become more popular as time goes on
Nearly everyone is shy in some ways. If shyness is making you uncomfortable, it may be time for a few lessons in self-confidence. You can build your confidence by following some suggestions from doctors and psychologists.
Make a decision not to hold back in conversations. What you have to say is just as important as what other people say. And don’t turn down party invitations just because of your shyness.
Prepare yourself for being with others in groups. Make a list of the good qualities you have. Then make a list of ideas, experiences, and skills you would like to share with other people. Think about what you would like to say in advance. Then say it.
If you start feeling self-conscious in a group, take a deep breath and focus your attention on other people. Remember, you are not alone. Other people are concerned about the impression they are making, too.
No one ever gets over being shy completely, but most people do learn to live with their shyness. Even entertainers admit that they often feel shy. They work at fighting their shy feelings so that they can face the cameras and the public. Just making the effort to control shyness can have many rewards. But perhaps the best reason to fight shyness is to give other people a chance to know more about you.
15．The main purpose of the article is to ________.
A. explain how shyness developed
B. prove that shyness can overcome
C. persuade readers that shyness is natural
D. recommend ways of dealing with shyness
16．Which of these can you conclude from reading the article?
A. The attempt to overcome shyness is always worthwhile.
B. Entertainers choose their work to fight shyness.
C. The attempt to overcome shyness is always successful.
D. Shy people never have any fen.
17．What is the source of the suggestions for fighting shyness?
A. The author of the article. B. Shy men and women.
C.Popular entertainers. D. doctors and psychologists.
18. Where would this article probably appear?
A. On the front page of a newspaper. B. In a popular magazine.
C. In a science textbook. D. In an encyclopedia(百科全书)。
China's largest water diversion project may start supplying water to Shandong Province by 2007 and Beijing by 2010, an official confirmed Tuesday.
The worsening water shortage in the two areas, caused by decades of drought, may be alleviated with water from the mighty Yangtze River in the South which will be diverted into the parched North, he said.
The water diversion project consists of three 1,300-kilometre canals that will carry water from the Yangtze along the eastern, middle and western parts of the country.
Zhang Jiyao, director of the State Council's office in charge of the South-to-North Project, told a national conference that ground will be broken in more places along two of the lines of the ambitious water diversion scheme, the largest of its kind in the world.
Before next year's flood season, construction of four new sections along the two lines will push the project further along the fast track. That would bring the total sections under construction to 13, since construction started in 2002 with an estimated investment of 124 billion Yuan (about US$15 billion).
When finished, the two water diversion canals will be capable of transferring 13.4 billion cubic meters of water a year.
11．China's largest water diversion project is being constructed to__________.
A. supply water to Shandong Province.
B. remove the worsening water shortage in Beijing.
C. alleviate the shortage of water in the North.
D. break ground in more places.
12. From the whole passage we can infer that__________.
A. the water diversion project is the biggest in China, but not in the world.
B. the water diversion project is the largest both in China and in the world.
C. the project will cost 124 billion dollars.
D. the project will be finished by 2010.
13. When finished, ________.
A. the project will solve the water problem once and for all.
B. the project will supply 13.4 billion cubic meters of water a year.
C. the shortage of water in the North will be alleviated.
D. the drought in Beijing and Shandong province will disappear.
14. According to the passage, which one is true?
A. The shortage of water in the North is only because there are too many people.
B. The whole project will be completed by the year 2010.
C. The total sections under construction will be 13 till the whole project is finished.
D. The whole water diversion project is made up of three canals.