For the most part, you are probably only exposed to the music that is played on your favorite radio stations and TV shows, music Web sites, or the music that your friends and family members enjoy. While you probably know a lot about your favorite type of music, it can be a rewarding experience to enlarge your horizons (眼界), discovering artists and types of music that you’re not familiar with. Who knows, you might discover you like certain types of music you never even considered.
Have you ever wondered about the history and influences of your favorite types of music? For example, did you know that rock ’n’ roll originated (起源) from the blues, and that the blues began as a form of musical expression for African Americans during slavery(奴隶制度)? Did you know that most hip-hop is heavily influenced by early rhythm blues and jazz?
There are many fun ways to learn about different musical styles and their historical roots. For example, if you like hip-hop, listen to some of your favorite CDs and take note of the samples the performers used to create the songs. There is a possibility that the artist used parts of older songs to create the music. You can go to the library or online to learn more about the artists and listen to more of their music by checking out CDs from the library or downloading songs online for a small fee.
You can learn so much about culture and history just by paying attention to different types of music and what is being expressed in the songs. There are so many different styles of music to learn about, and you owe (欠) it to your-self to make an effort to listen to and learn about them.
1.The main topic of this passage is _______.
A. creating music
B. performing music
C. enjoying your favorite music
D. learning about music
2.What music did African Americans use to express their feelings of being slaves?
A. Rock ’n’ roll. B. The blues. C. Hip-hop. D. Jazz.
3.How can you learn about culture and history through music?
A. By writing down the names of the music
B. By creating music from older songs yourself.
C. By caring about what is being expressed in music.
D. By keeping a record of fees after downloading songs online.
4.By saying the underlined sentence in the last paragraph, the author probably means that _______.
A. you should try harder to learn about music
B. you should return something to music
C. you should borrow music CDs from others
D. you should buy music CDs yourself
Increasingly, over the past ten years, people--- especially young people –have become aware of the need to change their eating habits, because much of the food they eat, especially processed food(加工过的食品), is not good for the health. As a result, there has been a growing interest in natural foods: foods which do not contain chemical additives(添加剂) and which have not been affected by chemical fertilizers(化肥), widely used in farming today.
Natural foods, for example, are vegetables, fruit and grain which have been grown in soil that is rich in organic matter. In simple words, this means that the soil has been nourished(给…营养) by unused vegetable matter, which provides it with vitamins and minerals. This in itself is a natural process compared with the use of chemicals and fertilizers, the main purpose of which is to increase the amount—but not the quality—of foods grown in commercial farming area.
Natural foods also include animals which have been allowed to feed move freely in healthy pastures(牧场). Compare this with what happens in the mass production of poultry(家禽)：there are battery farms, for example, where thousands of chickens live crowded together in one building and are fed on food which is little better than rubbish. Chickens kept in this way are not only tasteless as food; they also produce eggs which lack important vitamins.
There are other sides of healthy eating which are now receiving increasing attention from experts on diet. Take, for example, the question of sugar. This is actually unnecessary food. It is not that sugar is harmful in itself. But it does seem to be addictive: the quantity we use has grown steadily over the last two centuries and in Britain today each person consumes an average of 200 pounds a year! Yet all it does is provide us with energy, in the form of calories. There are no vitamins in it, no minerals, and no fibre.
1.People have become more interested in natural foods because______.
A. they want to keep healthy
B. they want to taste all kinds of foods
C. natural foods are more delicious than processed foods
D. they want to return to nature
2.Chickens raised in poultry farms are all of the following EXCEPT that _____.
A. they are fed on food which is little better than garbage
B. they live in very crowded condition
C. the eggs they produce lack vitamins
D. they are allowed to move about and eat freely
3.According to the passage, ______.
A. people can only find sugar to give them energy
B. sugar is bad for the health
C. the use of sugar is habit forming
D. sugar only sweetens food, but provides us with nothing useful
When I was a teenager I volunteered to work at the water station at a 10,000m race. My job was to 34 water to the runners. I remember being so 35 to see all the different kinds of people who passed by and grabbed a cup of water. Some ran past, some walked past and a few wheeled past. I saw so many types of people doing it. I thought maybe I could do it too! So the next year I 36 up for the race.
That first 10,000m race was quite an experience. I jogged, I walked, I jogged and I walked 37 , I didn’t know if I could finish. Then came a defining (决定性) 38 .
At one point near the end, a 70-year-old man ran past me, very, very fast, and I felt 39 because I was 50 years younger than he but I couldn’t even keep up with him. I felt 40 for a second.
But then I realized something. He was running his race and I was running mine. He had 41 abilities, experience, training and goals for himself. I had mine. Remember my 42 was only to finish.
After a minute, it 43 me that this was a lesson I could draw from. I learned something about myself in that moment. I turned my embarrassment into 44 .
I decided that I would not give up on running races. In fact, I would run even more races and I would learn how to train and prepare 45 and one day I would be one of those 70-year-old persons who were still running. As I crossed the finish line, I was proud of my accomplishment. In life we all have those moments where we 46 ourselves to others. It’s only natural . Don’t allow those moments to 47 you. Turn them into motivation and let them inspire you. With the proper preparation and training, you can improve your result to 48 anything you want in life.
1.A. bring out B. pass out C. take out D. pick out
2.A. excited B. worried C. concerned D. anxious
3.A. gave B. made C. signed D. dressed
4.A. At times B. In time C. In all D. After all
5.A. victory B. decision C. moment D. conclusion
6.A. embarrassed B. annoyed C. moved D. thrilled
7.A. relaxed B. defeated C. puzzled D. inspired
8.A. special B. evident C. common D. different
9.A. motto B. plan C. goal D. direction
10.A. worried B. hit C. reached D. hurt
11.A. attraction B. devotion C. inspiration D. expectation
12.A. slightly B. hardly C. clearly D. properly
13.A. introduce B. relate C. present D. compare
14.A. weaken B. wound C. amuse D. cheer
15.A. reserve B. deliver C. achieve D. abandon
---Where is my pen?
--- I _____it.
A. might lose B. wouldn’t have lost C. should have lost D. must have lost
The man ______ you are talking is in the next room.
A. to whom B. about whom C. who D. whom
— I feel really disappointed not to have got that job.
— Don't worry. Maybe something better will ______.
A. go by B. take on C. turn up D. fall down
