During the 1800s, African Americans worked long days in the fields of the American South. They sang songs that they had brought from Africa while working. One person sang a line. Then a group of workers repeated it. The songs' words told of the hardships (艰苦) that people suffered. They clapped their hands and stomped (跺) their feet to the music.
In the 1860s, the music changed greatly. African American music took new forms. It was also influenced by dance music, which had great rhythm. Banjos (班卓琴) became popular. A blues singer usually sang a line and then played the banjo in reply. By the early 1900s, the guitar had taken the place of the banjo in the blues music.
The blues music has many obvious characteristics. One of them is that the musical notes are often "bent". That is, they are changed slightly to give a song more strength.
Lyrics are the words of a song. Blues lyrics describe everyday life. The lyrics are often about the relationships between men and women. They tell about sadness and overwork. They tell about finding and losing love, having money or being poor, being happy or sad and lonely. They almost always use the rhythms of everyday speech. A group of blues lyrics usually has three lines. The second line repeats the first line. The third line has different words.
By the 1940s, a large number of African Americans moved to Chicago. There, a new kind of "Chicago" blues began. The new music was excellent dance music. Chicago blues led to the birth of a new music style-rock and roll.
1.This passage is mainly about ___________.
A. the rhythms of different music
B. the life of African Americans
C. the blues lyrics
D. the blues music
2.What information does the passage NOT provide?
A. How the blues music developed as time went by.
B. What the blues lyrics are mostly about.
C. When African Americans moved to the American South.
D. How long the banjo was popular in the blues history.
3.Which of the following is the most likely taken from a blues song?
A. You have to help me. I’ll die if you don't. You have to help me.
B. You have to help me. You have to help me. I'll die if you don't.
C. I'll die if you don't. You have to help me. You have to help me.
D. I'll die if you don't help me. You have to help me. Please help me.
4.What fact does the passage lead you to believe?
A. African Americans sang songs after a long day's work to relax in the 1800s.
B. The blues singers in the 1860s usually played the guitar while singing songs.
C. It is not difficult to tell the blues music from others from its musical notes.
D. Rock and roll was the most popular blues music in Chicago in the 1950s.
I am Alice. I like We chat. It is fast, convenient and fashionable. And you can use it for free. It can be used in my mobile phone. It has hold-to-talk voice messaging function. I am a fan of Leehom Wang. Through We chat, Leehom Wang often says something to me. It’s amazing.
I am David. I love Micro blog. I update my Micro blog when I am free. We can share instant(即时的) messages with each other. I often look through Yao Chen’s Micro blog. She has many followers. I make many friends with them. I often write something on my Micro blog, for example, “I’m in blue today. I didn’t pass the exam.” Then many friends comfort me. I share my birthday party, my new phone, my new coat, etc. with my friends. It is fun.
I’m Lily. I don’t like We chat or Micro blog. I don’t believe them. There are so many crimes(犯罪行为) on We chat. Many people are cheated because they believe in other people they meet on We chat easily. It is not a real world. As to Micro blog, I don’t think it is a good way to make friends. And you should write something no more than 140 words. I like keeping diaries. I don’t want my secrets known by others. I am a low-key(低调的) girl.
1.Who loves Micro blog?
A. Alice. B. David. C. Lily. D. Leehom Wang.
2.What does Alice think about We chat?
A. It’s fashionable and convenient.
B. It’s fashionable but slow.
C. It’s safe and useful.
D. It’s fun but expensive.
3.Why doesn’t Lily believe We chat?
A. Because many people are cheated on We chat easily.
B. Because she doesn’t like to say anything to her friends.
C. Because she doesn’t think it is a good way to make friends.
D. Because she prefers keeping diaries to showing secrets to others.
阅读下列短文，判断下列句子是否符合短文内容，符合用A，不符合用B表示
My mother was a housewife. She thought that successful people spent a lot more time reading than watching TV. So she asked my brother and me not to watch too much TV, but to read two books every week in our free time. She would check them with marks, though she couldn’t read books at all.
When I went to high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted cool clothes and hung out with friends. I went from being an A-student to a C-student , but I didn’t care. One night I complained about not having enough Italian shirts. Then my mother gave me all the money and said I could get the money left to buy shirts if I finished buying all the things the family needed. I was pleased with that, but after I bought
those things, there was no money left. I got to know how difficult it was for my mother to do all these. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. Finially , my dream came true and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story---- a woman with little education greatly changed my life as a parent, So I believe there is no job more important than parenting(父母对孩子的养育).
1.The writer’s mother is a doctor.
2.The mother asked her children to read books in their free time because she thought successful people spent more time reading.
3.The writer cared about clothes and didn’t study, so he fell behind.
4.In the end, the writer bought the Italian shirts with the money his mother gave to him .
5.The writer mainly wants to tell us that there is no job more important than parenting .
完形填空（2015·浙江温州中考）
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后在每小题所给的四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
My parents always told me that I couldn’t dance, because it was a girl’s sport. But I never gave up my dream of becoming a dancing star. I practiced secretly, learning from books, movies, and shows. However, without my parents’ support, that ________ seemed all but impossible to reach.
One summer, my little sister Maggie was going to dance lessons. I immediately asked my parents for permission（允许）to take her to the lessons. What a ________ chance to learn dancing!
One afternoon, I was practicing a new dance in my room, when Maggie walked in.
“What’s the matter, Maggie?”I stopped ________ .
“Denis, you are a great dancer! Can you help me?”
“What is it?”I wondered.
“There’ll be a dancing performance in my school, ________ the boys think I’m slow, and none of them wants to be my partner. ________ you dance with me for it?”She looked at me anxiously.
“You can be a good dancer!”I encouraged her.“Let’s show those people that they have been ________all along.”
In the following months, we ________ every evening, hiding from my parents. I was having a fantastic time and soon Maggie improved a lot.
Finally came the big day. I became ________ when I heard my parents would come to watch the performance. As the music began, I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. We moved perfectly, shining with pride. From the cheering of the crowd, I was sure we had ________ .
My heart was beating wildly when I saw my father coming towards me. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Well done, Son. Though it is hard for me to admit it, you really looked like you ________ this stage(舞台).Go for it and make us proud.”
I’d been waiting for this moment for so long. I knew that the road ahead wasn’t going to be easy, but I wouldn’t give up. I wanted nothing more in life than to dance.
1.A. line B. dream C. answer D. message
2.A. similar B. funny C. good D. strange
3.A. drawing B. dancing C. singing D. writing
4.A. but B. or C. so D. if
5.A. Need B. Must C. Could D. Should
6.A. sad B. lazy C. sorry D. wrong
7.A. chatted B. rested C. slept D. practiced
8.A. shy B. bored C. nervous D. angry
9.A. arrived B. finished C. succeeded D. regretted
10.A. took away B. paid for C. fell into D. belonged to
— How I regret _______ when my father told me not to play computer games!
— You’d better say sorry to him.
A. talked back B. taking back
C. to talk back D. talking back
— Excuse me, sir. But your bike gets_______ the way of my car.
— Sorry. I didn’t see your car.
A. in B. at C. on D. inside
