We know music is very important in our daily life.Do you notice music playing at any of those places when you go somewhere？Today most stores，stations，restaurants and other places play music.You might even hear music in an office or on a farm.
Scientists believe that music influences the way people behave.They think that the sound of Western classical music makes people feel richer.When a restaurant plays classical music，people spend more money on food and drinks.When the restaurant plays modern music，people spend less money.Without music，people spend even less.
Scientists also believe that loud，fast music makes people eat faster.Some restaurants play fast music during their hours.This makes people eat faster and leave quickly.Restaurants can make more money in this way.
Some scientists think that music makes you think and learn better.They say that music helps students to be more active.It is true that people learn better when they are relaxed.And listening to music can help you relax.
The next time you hear music somewhere，be careful，it might influence the way you do things.
1.According to the passage，scientists believe that music can______.
A. create different feelings for us
B. help us to develop good habits
C. develop our interest in money
D. influence natural environments
2.Western classical music is often considered to be ________．
A. a sign of being slower B. something about manners
C. a sign of being richer D. something with new styles
3.Which type of music below can make people work faster?
A. Light music. B. Rock music.
C. Sweet music. D. Soft music.
4.The habit of listening to music can make a student ________．
A. slow in action B. care about manners
C. fresh in mind D. worry about studies
5.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. Music in Restaurants B. Good and Bad Music
C. Types of Music D. Music and Behavior
The Plain of Jars(石缸平原)is a great manmade wonder(奇观)in Laos，a country in southeast Asia.It is made up of thousands of stone jars.More than 90 jar sites have been found there.Each site has from 1 to 400 stone jars.The jars come in different sizes from 1 to 3 meters tall.Scientists have long been perplexed by their original(最初的)use.
Not long ago，scientists found ancient things and burial practices at the Plain of Jars.“This will be the first major effort since the 1930s to try to understand the purpose of the jars and who created them.”Dougald O'Reilly from the Australian National University said.“The jars are empty now，but it is possible that they were once used to hold bodies.”
Only a few simple objects，such as a handful of glass beads(玻璃珠)，have been found at the burial sites.And scientists think they are from about 500 or 600 BC to 550 AD.
An AustraliaLaos research team spent a month collecting data(资料)at the site.O'Reilly said，“Though the stone jars remain a mystery，I hope a better understanding of the Plain of Jars will help have it listed as a World Heritage site(世界遗产保护区)．”
1.The Plain of Jars is in ________．
A. Asia B. Europe C. America D. Australia
2.What do we know about the jars?
A. They are of the same size.
B. They were used for holding water.
C. They are all made of stones.
D. All the sites have the same number of jars.
3.The underlined word “perplexed ”means “ ________ ” in Chinese.
A. 无视 B. 困惑 C. 遗忘 D. 玩弄
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The Plain of Jars is a natural wonder.
B. There are all kinds of things in the jars.
C. The mystery of the Plain of Jars hasn't been solved.
D. The Plain of Jars is a World Heritage site.
5.Where can we probably find the passage?
A. In a storybook. B. In a movie review.
C. In a dictionary. D. In a geography magazine.
Music is different from songs. Songs express feelings with lyrics, but music with tones (音调).Unlike songs, music tones in themselves have no specific meanings. Different people may get different things from the same musical performance. Though some music works are difficult to understand, people need music in their daily life because it brings fun to them. Different people like different music: some love classical music, and others take an interest in pop music. Most young people like pop music.
Pop music began in the USA and became popular around the world during the 1950s and 1960s.The best-known early kind of pop music was “rock and roll”. Pop music has taken the place of native music in many parts of the world. It has caused the number of people for “jazz” music to become much smaller than in the 1950s and earlier and it has now begun to become the most popular. Much pop music is without artistic value (价值), but the works of some pop singers such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, the groups like Pink Floyd and Crosby are excellent. And there is still great interest in it today. Pop music concerts and festivals are held all over the world.
1.The biggest difference between music and songs is ________.
A. feelings
B. lyrics and tones
C. languages and countries
D. meanings
2.According to the passage, the number of people for jazz in the 1950s and earlier was ________ it is today.
A. much greater than
B. much smaller than
C. as great as
D. as small as
3.What does the underlined word “kind” mean?
A. Type. B. Class.
C. Feature. D. Entertainment.
4.Which of the following has now become the most popular according to the passage?
A. Native music. B. Jazz.
C. Pop music. D. Classical music.
5.Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?
A. People can get different things from the same piece of music.
B. Pop music began to be popular in the midtwentieth century.
C. The best-known early form of pop music was “rock and roll”.
D. Much pop music is of great artistic value, so it interests young people greatly.。
Ye Xiaogang is regarded as one of the most famous modern Chinese composers(作曲家)．
He was born in a musical family in 1995.He learned to play the piano at the age of four.His father was a composer who wrote much music ______films.But later his father was sent to farm to work，and Ye was only 11 years old at that time.
Ye had to work on ______farm at the age of 15.He stayed there for a year.Then he entered a factory.He ______in the factory for six years until he was 22.The workers in the factory were ______and helped him a lot，but he couldn't play the piano any more.No matter how hard he worked on the farm or in the factory，he ______gave up music.He just waited for chances.He dreamed of becoming a ______．When Ye could play the piano again，he ______hard every day in order to go to the Central Conservatory of Music(中央音乐学院)in 1978，but the school would not recruit(招收)piano students that year.Finally，Ye chose composition(作曲)as his major(专业)，______he didn't know it well.Because of his hard work，Ye soon became one of the best students at the Central Conservatory of Music.
He wrote ______symphonies(交响乐)．He also wrote film and TV music ______ traditional composers hardly ever worked on.He is really a great composer!
1.A. with B. from C. for D. through
2.A. other B. others C. another D. the other
3.A. worked B. played C. sang D. performed
4.A. cold B. friendly C. terrible D. silent
5.A. sometimes B. always C. usually D. never
6.A. director B. pianist C. leader D. teacher
7.A. spared B. mastered C. practiced D. reflected
8.A. unless B. because C. until D. although
9.A. a lot B. a little C. plenty of D. few
10.A. which B. whose C. who D. whom
—My mother says we won't go on a picnic this weekend.
— ________ You were looking forward to it.
A. Enjoy yourself! B. Never mind.
C. Don't worry. D. What a pity!
—Whom was the book ________ Frog ________ by?
—Mo Yan，a famous writer.
A. called；writing B. called；written
C. calling；written D. calling；write
