"Gangnam Style" by singer Psy from Korea, is a popular song, but its extraordinary global success is really the result of its music video, which is a great piece of genius. On September 22nd, Guinness World Records listed "Gangnam Style" as the most-liked video in the history of YouTube. It's been performed at West Point (West-Point Style), and Google's CEO, has done the "Gangnam Style" horse dance at the company's office in Seoul. Even Samsung is trying to make Psy the new model for the latest type of fridge.
The song's global popularity is such that the vast majority of people who enjoy it don't speak Korean, and have no idea what it is about. That's fine --- part of what makes "Gangnam Style" so fun is, like international pop music, the difficulty in understanding it. When we sing along, "Hey, sexy lady", we don't really know what we're singing about.
The joy of incomprehensibleness is familiar to anyone who loves pop music from elsewhere. Anthony Lane, in his 2010 review of the Eurovision Song Contest, Only Mr. God Knows Why, used "Eurovision English" as one of its chief pleasures. It's "a complex tongue, spoken nowhere else, which raises the heartfelt poetry (ʫ��) but absolute nonsense to a level of what sci-fi writers could only have dreamed. " In similar ways, "Gangnam Style" is just an over-the-top video where a fat man does a funny dance and sings repetitive words that don't make sense to most of us.
But on the other, the magic of the song also lies in its funny dance, which reflects not just cultural morals specific to Korea, but cultural values easily recognizable to western viewers. This song's words may be in Korean, but its scenes are in clear American. The dance moves are simple enough to copy.
Nonsense, in other words, forces us to let down our guards. It makes us relax, and asks us to let in all sorts of feelings from which, otherwise, we might distance ourselves. "Gangnam Style" happens to be so interesting because of its incomprehensibleness.
1.Some complex languages are used in pop music because _______.
A. singers regard it as one of the chief pleasures at the concert
B. they make the music hard to understand but poetic and attractive
C. the music can sound more pleasant and beautiful to the audience
D. people like listening to the music which makes special sense to them
2.What is true about the popularity of "Gangnam Style"?
A. It was considered as the most popular video on the Internet.
B. It makes people amused and removes their emotional guards.
C. Its dance only reflects cultural and morals specific to Korea.
D. Psy, its singer, has been the new model for Samsung .
3.What does the underlined word "incomprehensibleness" mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Being interesting to listen to. B. Being simple enough to copy.
C. Being complex and repetitive. D. Being difficult to understand.
4.The text is mainly about ________.
A. how "Gangnam Style" becomes popular among the youths
B. why "Gangnam Style" is popular even if few people understand it
C. how Psy gains worldwide success through his talent and hard work
D. what emotions and cultural morals Psy wants to convey with his song
Growing up, I knew I was different. My father had left and he never came back. As I later discovered, the abandonment triggered my anxiety attacks. I feared being alone, unwanted, unpopular, and unloved.
My first attack came in a ninth-grade class: The teacher asked me to walk in front of the class, but I couldn't do it- I was soaked in sweat, shaking. My symptoms began every morning from the moment when I stepped inside the school building.
Throughout my childhood, I was no stranger to the doctor's office. My mother tried everything she could in hope of a breakthrough. There were times I thought suicide could be the only way to make the pain stop.
By age 16, I had shut down socially. Most of my peers were going to parties, playing sports, and dating. But I was a prisoner in my own home.
Then one Sunday morning, my wake-up call came from a magazine article. Freddie Prinze, Jr. was on the cover. The article detailed the pain of losing his father at a young age. I felt as though I were reading my own life story. The only difference? He was now a success.
That article inspired me to explore a new treatment option for myself. I wanted to turn my life around as well. So I hit the library and the Internet, and I began to realize how my negative thoughts controlled my physical well-being.
Immediately, I made a plan to take charge of my life. Shortly after following the items I had listed, I was able to stop seeing a therapist. I never returned to high school, but I did go to college. After graduation, I pursued a career in television news. My relationships have changed for the better, too. I've made new friends and reconnected with many from my past
The anxiety isn't completely gone, but whenever it returns, I know the feeling will pass, and know I have the power to change my life, only if I will give myself a chance.
1.The writer's anxiety attacks were mainly caused by .
A. the high school which he attended B. the teacher who asked him to walk
C. the writer himself who was fearful D. the father who left in his childhood
2.The breakthrough of the writer's treatment came when________.
A. the mother took him to the doctor B. the writer read a magazine article
C. the writer's pain finally stopped D. the writer went to college
3.What did the writer do after following the plan?
A. He went to see therapists. B. He returned to high school.
C. He contacted his old friends. D. He didn't suffer any attacks.
4.The writer wrote this story to tell us________.
A. anxiety attacks are not lasting if we have proper treatment
B. we shouldn't keep ourselves away from the outside world
C. we can change our lives if we give ourselves a chance
D. fathers are not supposed to abandon their small kids
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Many Chinese kids, known as "left-behind" children, hardly ever see their parents, because their parents are migrant workers.
Li Ling, 11, is a left-behind child. Her parents have been working in Zhejiang for 10 years, while she lives with her grandparents in Guangdong. She was reunited with her parents last Spring Festival. As the number of migrant workers in China increases, the number of left-behind children is rising fast. Li is one of the 61. 02 million left-behind children under 17. They account for 37. 7 percent of rural children and 21. 88 percent of all Chinese children
The large number of left-behind children has already become a social issue. If left unsolved, it will cause serious problems, Wang Zhenyao, director of the China Philanthropy Research Institute, told China Daily. The education level of adults supervising（监管） these children is generally not that high. They can only take care of the children's personal safety and daily living, being unable to care for their educational and spiritual needs. Meanwhile, the absence of parental support will make some left-behind children lack self-confidence. They may be slower in physical and emotional growth than their peers. Others may even become "problem youths".
To solve this problem, the government is taking action. For instance, 30 provinces and cities have allowed certain children to attend school and take the college entrance exam in the city where their parents are. However, Wang suggested that the country do more, such as making policies encouraging migrant workers to work in their hometowns. He also said that a well-balanced child welfare system is needed. "These children are the future of the nation, so they deserve our loving care and protection," Wang said.
1.Left-behind kids hardly see their parents because _______.
A. they are poor and in rural areas
B. they are brought up by their grandparents
C. their parents are making a living in other cities
D. their parents don't go back home on Spring Festival
2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Li Ling hasn't seen her parents for about 10 years.
B. Left-behind children have become problem youths.
C. There are 61. 02 million left-behind children in China.
D. Much remains to be done to settle the left-behind kids issue.
3.The purpose of the passage is _______.
A. to criticize the migrant workers who leave their children at home
B. to focus on the present situation of the left-behind children
C. to worry about the present situation of left-behind children
D. to call on the government to educate the migrant workers
4.In which column of a newspaper can we most probably find this passage?
A. Education. B. Society. C. Entertainment. D. Employment.
A few days ago, I bought some ink for my printer at my favorite $1 Supermarket, which sold everything from fresh produce to birthday cards at one dollar. Then l found a better at a computer store. So I went back to the supermarket to it for some other products. With telling me exactly what to do, I put the ink into a plastic bag, tied it up, placed the bag into a push-cart and started .
I was midway when a clerk suddenly stopped me. "You are not allowed to a bag around in this store. Open it and show me the !" she yelled coldly.
, I opened the bag and the ink to her. "I'm returning it. " I said.
"You should have left the bag with the clerk upon . Let me see your receipt!" she demanded I did as told, looking around, embarrassed everyone was laughing at me. "Perhaps in the future you'll learn how to follow the store . " she added.
By the time I finished shopping, I was angry. How dare she treat me as a ? I went looking for her and asked for her . She mumbled (嘀咕) something. I asked her again, and this time I heard "Ursula. "
"Ursula what?" I asked. She yelled at me, "Ursula! " and stormed away.
"This employee is about to become unemployed, " I when I got home. 1 their headquarters (总部). I described my unpleasant experience to a representative. She was sympathetic, "Our employees are taught to be . Give me your phone number and I will ring you back. "
She did two days later. "I'm sorry," she said, "but there's no Ursula at that supermarket. Can you her so that I can find out who she is? I assure you, we do not tolerate rude behavior, nor do we tolerate to our customers. "
By this time, I had calmed down. l didn't really want the employee to lose her . So I told the representative to forget about it.
1.A. reduction B. choice C. introduction D. price
2.A. change B. return C. receive D. replace
3.A. somebody B. nobody C. everybody D. anybody
4.A. bargaining B. storing C. loading D. shopping
5.A. across B. up C. through D. down
6.A. carry B. show C. move D. push
7.A. identity B. contents C. belongings D. ink
8.A. Depressed B. Shocked C. Amused D. Stressed
9.A. poured B. mixed C. showed D. fell
10.A. exit B. admission C. entry D. departure
11.A. even though B. as if C. so that D. in case
12.A. lines B. borders C. regulations D. permissions
13.A. criminal B. blue-collar C. beggar D. colleague
14.A. number B. career C. explanation D. name
15.A. calmed down B. thought aloud C. found out D. got through
16.A. rang B. visited C. questioned D. blamed
17.A. patient B. clever C. polite D. hardworking
18.A. recognize B. inform C. describe D. forgive
19.A. yelling B. pointing C. talking D. lying
20.A. job B. way C. chance D. business
________energy, we turn off the lights for Earth Hour on the last Saturday in March
A. Saving B. To save C. Saved D. Having saved
