There was a man playing the piano in a bar.He was a good piano player.People __________out just to hear him play.But one __________，a customer told him he didn't want to hear him just play any more.He wanted him to sing a song.
The man said，“I don't sing.”
But the customer was __________．He told the bartender(酒吧男招待)，“I'm __________ listening to the piano.I want that guy to sing！”
The bartender __________across the room，“Hey！If you want to get __________，sing a song.The customers are __________ you to sing！”
So he did.He sang a song.A piano player who had __________sung in public did so for the __________first time.And __________had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung the way it was sung by Nat King Cole!
He had talent he was sitting on！He may have lived the rest of his life as a no name__________player in a no name bar，but __________ he had to sing，he went on to__________one of the best known __________ in America.
You，too，have skills and abilities.You may not feel as if your “talent” is __________ great，but it may be __________ than you think！And with persistence(坚持)，most skills can be __________．You may as well have no ability at all，__________，if you sit on whatever talent you possess！The better question is not “What ability do I have that is __________？”It is rather “How will I__________whatever ability I have？”
1.A. came B. ran C. walked D. looked
2.A. day B. night C. morning D. afternoon
3.A. happy B. surprised C. sad D. insistent
4.A. fond of B. good at C. tired of D. looking forward to
5.A. shouted B. suggested C. encouraged D. comforted
6.A. fired B. hired C. paid D. lost
7.A. telling B. ordering C. asking D. persuading
8.A. seldom B. never C. always D. sometimes
9.A. very B. so C. yet D. therefore
10.A. somebody B. anybody C. everybody D. nobody
11.A. song B. piano C. violin D. music
12.A. because B. when C. as soon as D. after
13.A. grow B. train C. become D. teach
14.A. pianists B. singers C. musicians D. millionaires
15.A. especially B. particularly C. specially D. highly
16.A. worse B. less C. more D. better
17.A. learned B. mastered C. improved D. found
18.A. besides B. however C. in other words D. after all
19.A. real B. special C. useful D. best
20.A. use B. accept C. believe D. get
The benefits of listening to music
Whether you like Beethoven or Mozart，there is one thing I think we can all agree on：music makes life better.
1.
Listening to music can reduce stress(压力)
A lot of us may turn to relaxing music when we are feeling stressed or tired.A recent research shows that slow，quiet classical music is suggested to have the most exciting effect.2. Or listening to a relaxing，classical－style movie soundtrack can also help you reduce stress.
Listening to music can improve your memory(记忆力)
The interesting part about the research is that it shows music helps your brain develop in many areas，one of the most important being your memory.3.
4.
Do you work out？Have you always felt like you perform better when you listen to music？Strange as it might seem，there has actually been a lot of research done on this subject.And sure enough，one study shows that music can increase endurance(耐力)by 15%.5.However，another study suggests that it's not the type of music，but rather the speed of the music—the beats per minute—that matter.
A．Listening to music can make you healthier.
B．Listening to music can improve endurance.
C．The followings are some benefits of listening to music for us humans.
D．So if you have a hard time dealing with stress，listening to some classical songs could be a good idea.
E．So if you're troubled by a bad memory，learning to play an instrument is something you should consider.
F．One of my biggest regrets these days is that I never actually tried to learn to play the piano properly.
G．One theory is that listening to a classical piece helps you focus，which in turn allows you to persevere longer.
One of the most famous buildings in the United States is Carnegie Hall, the home of classical and popular music concerts in New York. Carnegie Hall is known not just for its beauty and history, but also for its amazing sound. Carnegie Hall is named after Andrew Carnegie, who paid for its construction. Construction of Carnegie Hall began in 1890 and the official opening night was on May 5，1891.
The hall was owned by the Carnegie family until 1924 when it was sold to Robert E Simon. The building became very old and in 1960, the new owner made plans to destroy it and build an office block. Isaac Stem led a group of people who fought to save Carnegie Hall and finally, the city of New York bought it for $5 million. It was then fixed up between 1983 and 1995.
Advertisements and stories in newspapers about how Carnegie Hall needed help to recover its history led people to send in old concert programmes and information from all over the world. Over 12，000 concert programmes were received and with these it was possible to make a proper record of Carnegie Hall's concert history.
Carnegie Hall is actually made up of several different halls, but the Main Hall, now called the Isaac Stem Auditorium，is the most famous. The hall itself can hold an audience of 2，804 in five levels of seating.
Because the best and most famous musicians of all time have played at Carnegie Hall, it is the dream of most musicians who want to be great to play there. This has led to a very old joke which is now part of Carnegie Hall's history. Question: “How do I get to Carnegie Hall？” Answer: “Practice, practice, practice.”
1.It can be inferred that people wanted to save Carnegie Hall mainly because________．
A. it made a lot of money
B. it was worth visiting
C. many important concerts were held in it
D. it made some players become famous
2.How did Carnegie Hall recover its concert history?
A. Through newspaper reports.
B. Through old concert programmes.
C. Through old photographs.
D. Through old jokes.
3.Why is the Carnegie Hall joke funny?
A. Because you expect the answer to be directions but not advice.
B. Because Carnegie Hall is a place where musicians practice a lot.
C. Because it is difficult to find your way to Carnegie Hall.
D. Because you don't expect the answer to repeat the same word three times.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. The history of Carnegie Hall
B. The best musician having played in Carnegie Hall
C. A joke about Carnegie Hall
D. The dream of most musicians
Once upon a time, there was a king who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the king everywhere and his favourite piece of advice to the king was “Everything happens for the good.”
One day the king went hunting and had a small accident. His foot was injured. Fortunately he was not badly injured but as always he was forced to ask his advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied，“Everything happens for the good.”
This time the king was really angry and put his advisor in prison. The king then asked his advisor，“Now，what do you think？” The advisor again answered，“Everything happens for the good.”
About a week later the king went on another hunting trip. It turned out that the king was caught by some cannibals (食人者) and taken to their camp where he would be prepared to be their evening meal. Before putting him into the cooking pot, he was examined and the cannibals realized that the king's foot was injured. They decided to throw him back into the forests. It is the tradition for the cannibals not to eat anything that was in any way injured.
It is true that everything in our lives happens for a purpose, and most often for our own good. If you think about it, all our past experiences actually happened to bring us to where we are today and make us a better person. So whatever challenges that we may face today, consider it happening to bring us to the next level.
1.When the advisor was put in prison, he was still________．
A. nervous B. angry
C. calm D. upset
2.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that________．
A. everything happens for its own reasons
B. it is unnecessary for us to think about experiences
C. challenges will make you do anything
D. our life experiences are our best teacher
3.By telling the story, the writer________．
A. tells us the danger of hunting
B. wants us to think positively
C. asks us not to hunt any more
D. wishes us to follow others' advice
This may be music to your ears.
Researchers P Jason Rentfrow and Samuel Gosling gave 3，500 people a personality quiz.Then they asked them to name their favourite kind of music.“We found that the musical styles people like are closely linked to their personalities，”Gosling says.
RAP/HIP－HOP
Known for their quick speech，some rappers can say more than 700 syllables (音节)a minute!
If you like rap/hip－hop，you are energetic(精力充沛的)and have a way with words.You_put_a_fresh_spin_on_things，whether it's new moves on the dance floor or your hip style.
CLASSICAL
In the 18th century，classical musicians were like rock stars.Beethoven and Mozart，for example，played to packed concert halls.
If you like classical，you are o
pen to new ideas and like debating with friends.Creative and imaginative，you can easily spend many hours scrapbooking，writing or painting.
COUNTRY
Country music came from the folk songs of English，Scottish，and Irish settlers of the southeastern United States.
If you like country，you express your opinions well，which makes you the ideal class president or team captain.Traditional and loyal，you enjoy spending time with your family.
POP
Pop music is designed to appeal to(吸引)almost everyone，and it does.Each year，the industry brings in about 30 billion dollars!
If you like pop，you are attractive to your friends.You can make big things happen，like planning for a huge party or inspiring your team to victory.
ROCK/ALTERNATIVE
In the 1950s，rock music created a brand－new culture.Teenagers，for the first time，had an identity(身份)separate from adults and children.
If you like rock/alternative，you are a risk－taker who never accepts no for an answer.You rise to any challenge，like doing very well in a big exam or in the school play.
If these personality profiles don't match you，that's OK.These are just for fun.
1.What does the underlined part “You put a fresh spin on things” mean in the passage?
A. You can express your idea in a clever way that makes it seem better than it really is.
B. You have the ability to attract other's attention.
C. You are always willing to communicate with others.
D. You are willing to express your thought to others all the time.
2.If you like pop music，________．
A. you are traditional and prefer to stay with your family
B. you are easy to accept new ideas
C. you are welcome and your friends all like to be with you
D. you have a quick speech and can say 30 words in a minute
3.We can know from this passage that ________．
A. in the 18th century，classical musicians were like pop stars
B. country music came from the folk songs of the Native Americans
C. pop music is liked by the largest number of people in the world
D. everyone can find his personality in this passage
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A. When music came into being.
B. What your favourite music says about you.
C. Some basic information about music.
D. How to like music.
Music is an international language.The songs that are sung or played by instruments are beautiful to all people everywhere.
Popular music in America is what every student likes.Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class，after class and at lunch.Students with cars buy large speakers(扬声器)and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work.They also listen to the news about sports，the weather，politics，and activities of the American people.But most of the radio broadcast is music.
Pop or popular music singers make much money.They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in every state.Once the popular singer is heard throughout the country，young people buy his or her tapes.Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer.Wherever the singer goes，all the young people want to meet him or her.Now the singer has become a national star.
Besides pop music，there are two other kinds of music that is important to Americans.One is called folk music.It tells stories about the common life of Americans.The other is called western or country music.This was started by cowboys who wou
ld sing at night to the cows they were watching.Today，any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.
Serious music for the concert halls is called classical music.Music for instruments is called orchestra music，such as the symphonies(交响乐)of Beethoven.There is opera for singers，ballet for dancers like the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in China.
1.In what way can music be regarded as an international language?
A. Popular music is what everyone enjoys.
B. The wonderful songs are popular with the world people.
C. When music is played，it seems as if it were speaking to us.
D. Music is too popular for everyone to be able to play it.
2.What can we know about music and people in America?
A. Adult drivers listen to news as well as music when they drive to work.
B. Adult drivers never listen to music when they drive to work.
C. Student drivers carry small radios with earphones when they drive on the streets.
D. Students always listen to music before class，in class and after class.
3.Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. All people in America like popular music.
B. Pop singers can get all the money from the tapes.
C. Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is a kind of pop music in China.
D. Now，western or country music is a little different from its beginning.
4.What's the best title of the passage?
A. International language. B. Music in America.
C. Pop music. D. Music listeners.
