阅读理解
As is true in all cultures, Americans first hear music in the context of family life. Much of that music comes from the records on the family radio or television, and this “canned” music is especially important in developing childrens musical taste. People often say they were very strongly influenced by the kind of music they heard before they were old enough to have their own records or choose the station on the family radio. There is usually some live music in the family as well.
Many mothers and grandmothers sing lullabies (催眠曲) , for example. These can be important since in America, as elsewhere, lullabies not only lull a baby to sleep but promise, praise and teach cultural values. Sometimes lullabies are the only songs in a foreign language that American children with strong ethnic (种族的) backgrounds hear, since people often fall back on old, familiar languages for intimate (亲密的) songs.
Another important family context is the automobile, where families learn songs and sing together on weekends and vacations. This is not as surprising as it appears, for the family car has become one of the basic centers of family experience, and it is one of the important places where the families gather for an extended period of time without outside disturbance. The family used to have to choose between making their own music in the car and being force fed by the radio, but the invention of automobile cassette recorders and eight-track playback machines allows a family to have more control over what they hear when they drive.
1. What do the underlined words “‘canned music” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A. The music children hear in a car.
B. Recorded music instead of live music.
C. Modern music young people can enjoy.
D. The music passed down from older generations.
2. The music children first hear is important in ________ .
A. learning language
B. developing their mind
C. knowing about cultural values
D. shaping their likes and dislikes in music
3. According to the passage lullabies are usually sung in ________ .
A. American English
B. a familiar language
C. an African language
D. the parents native language
4. What does the underlined word “context” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A. Chances. B. Culture.
C. Surroundings. D. Content.
5. What does the invention of automobile cassette recorders allow a family to do?
A. To spend a longer time on vacation in the car.
B. To have more choices in the music they hear.
C. To enjoy music without being disturbed.
D. To have another place to get together.
语法填空
However, there was one band that started in a different way. It began as a TV show. The musicians of 1 the band was made up played jokes on each other as well as played music. Their music and jokes were based loosely 2 the band called “The Beatles”. The TV organizers had looked for four musicians who were lively and who could make good music. They put an advertisement in a newspaper, 3 (look) for rock musicians, but they could only find one that was good enough. They had to use actors for the other members of the band. Actors may not be able to sing, 4 at first other musicians sang the songs for the programme and the band pretended to sing them.
Their attractive performances 5 (copy) by other groups and their fans supported them strongly. Each week the group 6
(call) “The Monkees” would play a song or two written by other musicians. However, after a year or so in which they became 7
(serious) about their work, “The Monkees” started to play their own instruments and 8 (write) their own songs like a real band. Then they produced their own records and started touring and playing their own music. They became even more popular than “The Beatles” in the USA and sold even more records. However, the band broke 9 in about 1970, but be together again in the mid-1980s. They produced a new record in 1996, which was a
10 (celebrate) of their time as a real band.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
书面表达
音乐在我们的日常生活中扮演着很重要的角色,请根据以下提示以“The Role of Music”为题,写一篇100字左右的短文,参加学校组织的英语演讲比赛。
要求从以下几个方面谈音乐的作用:
1. 在生活和学习方面:感到压力时、情绪低落时,心灵受到创伤时;
2. 在了解其他文化方面。