EVERYONE’S talking about it in American high schools. Whether they are hip-hop fans or just students or just students or teachers who listen to good music of any genre(类型), they all have one thing in common: an obsession with Hamilton, a hip-hop musical about the forgotten founding father of the United States on the $10 bill. What makes this musical so different from all the other ones？
“Everybody is so excited about it.” Mark Madama, associate professor of musical theater at the University of Michigan, said, “It is something for the students. Hip-hop music is what they listen to when they are walking down the street and all of a sudden, now that is also the music that is in musical theater.”
The full title of the show is Hamilton: An American Musical, and it tells the stories of Alexander Hamilton’s life: from a homeless orphan to Washington’s right hand man(得力助手), from an unknown to war hero. The idea of a Broadway musical about a founding father with hip-hop music has gotten enough attention on its own.
One of the most amazing details of this phenomenon is that most of the students have never even seen it. Nazareth High School junior Maddy Schierl has never seen the show live but said she still relates to it deeply. “There is so much emotion in the music that I feel like I have experienced the show’s essence(本质)without even having to see it,” Schierl said.
Students and teachers are finding other ways to fall in love with Hamilton, whether they do it through listening to its music, watching short videos on YouTube or even studying it in the classroom. Katja Stonebraker, who teaches AP US history at Cary-Grove High School, described the musical as “ a teacher’s dream”, Stonebraker plans to use Hamilton more in the future because of the interesting perspective it tells Hamilton’s story from.
“ You see these old dead guys, and they are who you have to memorize and learn,” Stonebraker said,-But I think Hamilton makes history real and relatable.”
1.The underlined word “obsession” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. strong enthusiasm B. great respect
C. lack of interest D. total surprise
2.Hamilton is a musical that appeals to students because______.
A. its story is closely related to students’ lives today
B. it uses hip-hop, which is very popular among students
C. it has been specially designed to satisfy students’ tastes
D. it tells interesting stories from the life of a founding father of the US
3.The example of Maddy Schierl is used to ______.
A. prove that Hamilton is very popular among students
B give an example of people’s comments about Hamilton
C. explore the controversies behind Hamilton’s popularity
D. show that people can connect to Hamilton without seeing it
4.Which of the following statements would Stonebraker probably agree with?
A. Hamilton tells Hamilton’s story vividly and from a different viewpoint.
B. Hamilton is the best teaching material she has ever used
C. Every student will become more interested in history after seeing Hamilton.
D. There will be more musicals about historical figures in the future.
While you are online there are plenty of perfectly legal sites where you can listen to music for free. This gives you the chance to listen to music before buying it, discover new music, and create great online playlists that you can share with others.
The Sixty One
The Sixty One is devoted to showcasing obscure or unknown artists of all genres. There’s a range of musical styles from classical to rock and roll, folk to jazz, and everything in between. Don’t expect to find big name musicians on here; you’re more likely to find the musicians playing at local coffee shops than bands you hear on the radio. You can find fantastic music that you never would have heard of otherwise.
Pow Wow
Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. This is a time method to renew Native American culture and preserve the rich heritage of American Indians. PowWows.com has 2 online radio stations that play Native American Music 24/7 free! Here you can listen to your favorite artists and drum groups on your computer or mobile device and add your music to our station.
Playlist
Playlist has an enormous library, so you can create playlists with almost any musician you can think of. They have both some lesser known artists and big names, so you have a really good selection. The worst part: Due to licensing laws, many of the songs on Playlist are now restricted to certain countries. So unless you live inside the US, it is likely that you might not be able to find all of your favorite songs.
Pandora
Pandora is an intelligent Internet radio site. Basically, as you listen, you can give each song a thumbs up or thumbs down. You can create your own radio station that only plays music you like.The best part: It listens to your opinion, so that after a while it’s only playing music you like, but the list is always changing and expanding.
My Space
Combine a major social networking site with thousands of artists around the world. Each musician has their own page, which normally has a playlist of several of their songs. But it has a huge range of musicians ranging from huge stars to the up-and-coming, and you can listen to the music and interact with the rest of the page.
1.If you enjoy listening to some new music, you can pay a visit to ______.
A. The Sixty One B. Playlist C. Pow Wow D. Pandora
2.You can’t listen to some music on Playlist possibly because ______.
A. you don’t have any playlist
B. you are not one of the members of the website
C. it is only open to those who are in the United States
D. the music is played only by the local people.
3.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Create Your Own Playlist.
B. All Kinds of Music Online.
C. Best Free Music Websites.
D. Listen to Music for free.
March 21 has been declared World Sleep Day, a time to recognize and celebrate the value of sleep. Many sleep experts hope it will be a wake-up call.
According to a poll (民意调查)by the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 4 in 5 Americans don’t get as much sleep as they should during the workweek. On average, adults are thought to need at least eight hours of sleep a night, although some can manage with less and some won’t do well without more. But the survey found that, on workdays, only 21% of Americans actually get a full eight hours of sleep, and another 21% get less than six.
To many of us, the thought of spending more time sleeping is, well, a big yawn. On the other hand, the thought of being smarter, thinner, healthier and more cheerful has a certain appeal. And those are just a few of the advantages that can be ours if we consistently get enough sleep, researchers say. Also on the plus side: We’re likely to have better skin, better memories, better judgment, and, oh, yes, longer lives.
“When you lose even one hour of sleep for any reason, it influences your performance the next day,” says Dr. Alon Avidan, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center.
A study published last year found the same to be true even of children. When kids aged 8 to 12 slept for just one hour less for four nights, they didn’t function as well during the day.
But sleeping has an image problem. “We see napping or sleeping as lazy,” says Jennifer Vriend, a clinical psychologist in Ottawa, Canada, and the leading author of the study with children. “We put so much emphasis on diet, nutrition and exercise. Sleep is in the back seat.” In fact, she adds, no matter how much we work out, no matter how well we eat, we can’t be in top physical shape unless we also get plenty of sleep.
1.The underlined part in Paragraph 1 means _____.
A.to wake up the sleepers
B.to serve as a morning call
C.to draw people’s attention
D.to declare the special day
2.From Paragraph 3 we can infer that _______.
A.being healthier is one of the advantages for us
B.enough sleep is the guarantee of the appealing things
C.sleeping has nothing to do with one’s expectations
D.spending more time on sleeping is a waste of time
3.What Jennifer Vriend said in the last paragraph implies that _______.
A.people care little about sleeping
B.sleeping is an image problem
C.lazy people tend to sleep long
D.sleeping is only part of our life
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.to talk about people’s sleeping problems.
B.to provide an investigation result of sleeping.
C.to stress the function of sleeping at night.
D.to arouse the awareness of enough sleeping.
书面表达
学校将为高三学生举办一场英语沙龙。假如你是学生会主席李华，请根据以下提示准备一份英语发言稿，呼吁高三学生调节好学习和生活，保持良好的心态。
内容要点：
1．描述周围同学现状：熬夜多，运动少，学习效率不高。
2．提出至少两条建议。
注意：1．词数100左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数。
2．可适当增加细节，使行文连贯。
Good morning，everyone! It’s my honor to be here to make a short speech．
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That's all．Thank you for listening!
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下短文。短文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧), 并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改： 在错的词下划一横线, 并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2、只允许修改10处, 多者(从第11处起) 不计分。
I grew up in my grandparents’ home. My grandfather would take all his grandkid for walks. Usually we would go to his garden, which he would pick apples that had tasted by the bird and carve off the opposite side to give to us. I once asked, “Why do you not to offer the ripe-looking apples untouched by the bird?” Feel unhappy, I thought he was such mean. Maybe he wanted to sell the “good” apples instead of feed them to his grandkids. He rolled his hand over my head gentle. “Birds only eat the sweetest apples, but I pick the best for you,” he said. “Never assume; always ask.” My grandfather teaches me a good lesson.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
When I agreed to stage-manage my school’ s production of Guys and Dolls, I had no idea of 1.________ a stage manager actually did. Still, I 2.________ (decide) that it would be a(n) 3.________ (interest) experience, and a way to get involved with theater. Besides, if there was already a director and some technicians to build the sets and run lights, how much could there be 4.________ (leave) for a stage manager to do? I figured that I would spend a lot of time 5.________ rehearsals and scripts（剧本）.
I was discouraged by the first rehearsal. I discovered that it was my 6.________ (responsible) to make sure that all of the cast actors were present, had scripts, and gave 7.________ (I) their schedules before leaving the room. It was not an easy thing. I found that it was impossible 8.________ (get) all twenty-five cast members together for a group scene, since actors kept 9.________ (call) me with emergency appointments, and last-minute family gatherings.
Finally, it was the opening night. I sat to the side of the stage, 10.________ my script open on a music stand in front of me. The lights came up, the show began, and I knew that it had all been worthwhile.
