A teacher says music education in schools has kind of turned into amusement, Classroom lessons focus heavily on pop while understanding the classical （古典的）art form and its history should be paid attention to.
A professor in music and music education at the University of NSW, Robert Walker, argues that all students should study the works of Western classical composers such as Haydn and Tchaikovsky.
Professor Walker says students are missing out on an important part of the culture heritage （遗产）because they fail to study classical music, as the little music that children learn at school is mainly pop. The lack （缺乏）of music teaching is serious, especially in government schools where there are not enough specialist （专业的） music teachers.
A national review in 2005 made 15 suggestions, but Professor Walker said it still failed to deal with the lack of classical music taught in schools.
"I'm not against pop music, but it's very simple, and not difficult either to play or to sing, " Professor Walker says. "But classical music is challenging and although it is part of Australia's culture heritage, most children learn it only through Hollywood films. "
"At least children ought to know what's happening in Western culture. It's part of culture heritage," he says. "Asian students know more about Western classical music than most children in the West. "
Professor Walker has taught music and music teachers in Britain, Canada and Australia and is a former chief （首席的）examiner for the International Baccalaureate and a former chairman of the research committee of the International Society for Music Education. Professor Walker says no school curriculum （课程）in Australia lists a piece of music that children should study , such as the Mendelssohn's.
"This lack of standard texts means that some children can be brought up totally on Western classical music, others on Elvis Presley, or on any music the teacher wants to teach. The situation should be changed as soon as possible, " he says.
1.What's the problem in music education in Professor Walker's opinion?
A.Children know nothing about their culture heritage.
B.Classical music education isn't valued in schools.
C.Pop music is simple and not difficult to play and sing.
D.Australian schools need more specialist music teachers.
2.According to the passage, students should study classical music because it is _____________ .
A.part of culture heritage B.good for their growing up
C.difficult to play and sing D.popular only in Asia
3.According to the passage, which one is different from the other three?
A.Haydn. B.Tchaikovsky. C.Mendelssohn. D.Elvis Presley.
4.Which of the following statements is NOT true about Professor Walker?
A.He worries about the music education in schools.
B.He thinks pop music teaching shouldn't be allowed.
C.He is well known in Western classical music teaching.
D.He has worked in Britain, Canada and Australia.
5.From the last paragraph, we can learn that _____________ .
A.music teachers should teach anything that they like
B.most children today are brought up by their music teachers
C.music teachers shouldn't teach the music of Elvis Presley at all
D.children's music education today depends on their teacher 's taste
I can’t remember when I fell in love with music. Maybe it happened when I was feeling blue sometime long ago. I can’t tell you exactly how music makes me feel better. But while listening to music, especially light music, it makes me feel calm and peaceful. Now I am listening to a song named Moon River. It is really a fantastic song. I didn’t like this song at the beginning, but later I found its slow melody and beautiful lyrics deeply touching.
“Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker. Wherever you’re going I’m going your way. Two drifters(流浪者) are off to see the world. There’s such a lot of world to see.”
Yes. Although there is a long way to go for the drifters and maybe there are many troubles ahead, he seems afraid of nothing. I like music. Music reminds me that human beings have a lot in common even if they come from different countries or backgrounds, because we all have the same feeling or understanding of melodies and words.
1.The writer likes music.
A.popular B.light C.classical D.dance
2.The writer didn’t like the song called Moon River .
A.now B.at all C.at the beginning D.very much
3.From the song, we know that the drifters seem afraid of .
A.everything B.police C.dogs D.nothing
4.The writer thinks people who come from different countries have .
A.the same feeling of melodies and words
B.different understanding of melodies and words
C.different feelings of melodies and words
D.the same understanding of sound and words
5.The writer began to love music when he/she was sometime long ago.
A.happy B.excited C.tired D.blue
There are many kinds of music in the world, pop music, classical music, folk music and so on. Do you know country music? It's a traditional kind of music from the southern states of America. I like it very much! It will take me away for a while after I am tired. The guitars and songs will take me to mountains and fields.
Country music usually talks of everyday life and feeling. It's like the spirit of America, easy to understand, slow and simple. Country music developed in the Southern United States. It was the folk music of American countryside. Many of the songs tell about the lives of farmers. They talk about love, crops or death. The life of the countryside can be hard, so the words in country music are often sad. At first, people played the music only at family parties. But it became more popular later. In the 1920s, people played country songs on the radio, and they made them into records.
When people in the countryside moved to towns and cities to look for work, they took their music with them. Country music continued to change and became popular across America.
John Denver was one of America's most famous country singers in the 1970s. His song "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is well-known and people still play it today.
1.Country music developed ______.
A.in John Denver's city B.in the Northern United States
C.in the Southern United States D.in the Western United States
2.Country music is usually about ______.
A.everyday life and feelings B.workers' feelings
C.the lives of workers D.farmers' feelings
3.People began to make country song records ______.
A.in 1920 B.in the 1920s C.in the 1970s D.in 1970
4.Why did Country music become popular in America?
A.Because city people liked the music.
B.Because farmers moved to cities with their music and it continued to change.
C.Because country music talked about city people's lives.
D.Because people in the city moved to the countryside.
5.Who is famous for the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads"?
A.A farmer in the countryside. B.A person who moved to towns.
C.Denver John. D.John Denver.
There are two kinds of music in the world—one is written down and the other is not. Many people make their living _________ writing music. They write songs for pop stars and music for films and TV plays. They usually write exact instructions on ________ the music is played.
Folk music has been passed down from one generation (世代, 一代) to another. ________ it was never written down. People learnt the songs from their families, relatives, neighbors and friends in the same village. These songs were ________ country life, the seasons, animals and plants, and about love and ________ in people's lives.
Early performers of music were popular and respected. They ________ learn hundreds of songs by ________. On festivals they used to act and sing to praise heroes ________ lived long ago. This was at a time when there was no radio, TV, ________ cinema. Many of the country people could ________ read nor write. In this way, stories were passed on from one person to another. This continues even today.
1.A.by B.with C.in D.to
2.A.why B.when C.what D.how
3.A.In that case B.At first C.In the end D.In time
4.A.about B.so C.for D.into
5.A.masters B.dialogs C.cases D.sadness
6.A.were used to B.didn't use to C.used to D.usedn't to
7.A.head B.heart C.eyes D.mouth
8.A.who B.whom C.when D.which
9.A.but B.as C.and D.or
10.A.both B.either C.neither D.all
—The radio says there will be a rainstorm this weekend, so we have to cancel the hiking to Nanshan.
—_______I’m looking forward to it.
A.Never mind B.What a pity C.My pleasure D.No problem
Too much fast food is bad for us. But I only have it ________.
A.all the time B.from now on
C.once in a while D.at the moment
