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, Even people of all ages in all countries enjoy 1. (listen) to it. The reasons for 2. popularity are its fast pace arid rhythmic beat. The music has many origins in the United States. Country music, 3. (come) from the rural areas in the southern United States, is one source. Many people appreciate this music because of the emotions 4. (express) by country music songs.
A second origin of American popular music is the blues. It described mostly sad feelings 5. (reflect) the difficult lives of American blacks. It is usually played and sung by black musicians, but it is popular with all Americans.
Rock music is a newer form of music. This music style was known 6. rock and roll in the 1950’s. Since then there 7. (be) many forms of rock music, hard rock, soft rock, punk rock, disco music and others. Many 8. (perform) of popular rock music are young musicians.
People hear these songs 9. (sing) in their original English or sometimes translated to other languages. The words may differ 10. the enjoyment of the music is universal.
When I was a little child, my favorite musical __ is piano, but when I started my middle school, Iwas forced to give up __ I could concentrate more on my studies.
It’s one of my biggest __ to stop practicing the piano when I recall sadly today. During the following years, I kept telling my piano teacher that I would __ .However, I didn’t keep my promise because I was __ with my study. __ I lost touch with my teacher. Some years later, my teacher died. I was very sad because I lost such a good teacher. She was a very warm and gentle person. It hurts me to think she may have been __ that I never returned I haven’t taken lessons since then but to be honest. I __ to. Sitting at the piano，I couldn’t help recalling many __ - times of my practicing at home and playing before my teacher and one time my teacher __ me after I played entire pieces of music wrong in front of her colleagues. I was so __ that I could hardly say anything. But her __ helped me ease my shame. These memories, __, good or bad, never caused my __ for playing the piano again.
This thought then led me to think that __ is like music, and that we all try to play different __ in the instrument of our life. Sometimes the pitch(音高）is ___ when we play it well, but sometimes we are out of tone. However, we all continue to create our own __ style of music. No matter what style our music is，it is __ that we sing the songs of joy, quietness and love. Though I may never make it back to piano lessons, it doesn’t __ that I’ve stopped making music.
1.A. stage B. performance C. room D. instrument
2.A. so that B. in that C. now that D. except that
3.A. successes B. decisions C. regrets D. hobbies
4.A. play B. return C. leave D. graduate
5.A. angry B. occupied C. satisfied D. patient
6.A. Actually B. Constantly C. Gradually D. Suddenly
7.A. astonished B. disappointed C. glad D. amazed
8.A. liked B. needed C. decided D. wanted
9.A. dreams B. expressions C. words D. memories
10.A. hurt B. instructed C. punished D. respected
11.A. frightened B. moved C. embarrassed D. excited
12.A. comfort B. satisfaction C. happiness D. sigh
13.A. however B. meanwhile C. therefore D. instead
14.A. hope B. courage C. feeling D. effort
15.A. attitude B. learning C. life D. enjoyment
16.A. roles B. sports C. cards D. games
17.A. surprising B. wonderful C. hard D. complex
18.A. common B. boring C. unique D. similar
19.A. necessary B. strange C. possible D. important
20.A. matter B. appear C. report D. mean
Some scientists found that the woman’s brain is mainly built for the ability to understand other people. But man’s brain is mainly to build systems. 1. For example, women are more likely to read magazines on fashion and parenting, while men will choose magazines that feature computers and sport.
You may think that these preferences are influenced by the way people are taught to behave when they are growing up. However, this is not the case. A new study carried out at Cambridge University shows that newborn girls look longer at a face, and newborn boys look longer at a mobile.2. It has also been observed (that girls are better at noticing signs of changes in other people’s feelings. Boys, however, seem to enjoy building toy towers and playing with toys which have clear functions. 3.People whose jobs are in the construction industries are almost male. Math and engineering, which require high levels of systems-thinking, are also male-chosen disciplines. Why do men and women have the difference? Actually women have four times as many brain neurons that connect the right and left part of their brains. Because of it, women have a better ability to multitask than men. 4. Men tend to focus on a limited number of problems at a time. They will separate themselves from problems and view tasks as independent from one another.
Some people may worry that I am suggesting one gender (性别) is better than the other, but this is not the case. My theory says that males and females differ in the kinds of things that they find easy, but that both genders have their strengths and weaknesses. 5.It is not true. The study simply looks at males and females as two groups, and asks what differences exist, and why they are there.
A. You can see the same kind of pattern in the adult workplace.
B. That suggests certain differences between male and female brains are biological.
C. Generally speaking, there are clear differences.
D. It is important to stress that the female brain may be built more for empathy.
E. They will consider many sources of information at the same time.
F. Their preference for building systems may change over time.
G. Others may think the theory creates a belief of what a particular type of person is like.
A new report said that different types of plants can release some chemical into the air to help other plants. These chemical warnings all have the same purpose — to spread information about one plant's disease or infestation so other plants can defend themselves. But exactly how plants receive and act on many of these signals is still mysterious.
In this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in Japan offered some explanations. They had identified one chemical message and traced it all the way from release to action.
The scientists looked at tomato plants infested by a common pest, the cutworm. The researchers studied leaves from exposed and unexposed plants. They found one compound showed up more often in the exposed plants. The substance is called Hex Vic. When the scientists fed Hex Vic to cutworms, it knocked down their survival rate by 17%. The scientists identified the source of Hex Vic, and sprayed it lightly over healthy plants. Those plants were then able to start producing the cutworm-killing Hex Vic. Researchers confirmed that uninfected plants have to build their own weapons to fight off bugs and disease. How do they know when to play defense? They are warned first by their friendly plant neighbors.
It is a complex tale, and it may be happening in more plant species than tomatoes. It may also be happening with more chemical signals that are still unknown to us. Further studies are needed to increase agricultural efficiency.
1.Which is the way used by plants to warn their neighbors?
A. Using of winds.
B. Identifying the chemicals.
C. Releasing some chemicals.
D. Being exposed early.
2.It can be inferred from the text that ________.
A. farmers may benefit from the further studies
B. the phenomenon may be happening in less plant species than tomatoes
C. there are not chemical signals
D. plants are warned first by their neighbors
3.What’s the function of Hex Vic?
A. It sprays over healthy plants.
B. It shows up more.
C. It cures the disease.
D. It damages the cutworm’s body.
4.The passage is likely to appear in ________.
A. a newspaper advertisement
B. a physics textbook
C. a science magazine
D. a finance report
Green building refers to both a structure and the using of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle. Green buildings can also refer to environmentally friendly houses, factories, and offices.
Green building means “reducing the effect of the building on the land”, Taryn Holowka of the U. S. Green Building Council (评议会）in Washington, D, C, said. According to Holowka, building accounts for 65 percent of total US, electricity use.
But green buildings can reduce energy and water use- Also, the buildings are often located near public transportation such as buses and subways, so that people can drive their cars less. That could be good for the environment, because cars use lots of gas and give off pollution. Green buildings are often built on developed land, so that the buildings don’t destroy forests.
Marty Dettling is project manager for a building that puts these ideas into action. The Solaire has been called the country's first green high-rise building. According to Dettling, “We’ve reduced our energy use by one-third and our water by 50 percent.”
The Solaire cuts energy in part by using solar power. “On the face of the building we have solar panels which change the sun's energy into electricity,” Dettling explained.
The Solaire also has lights that automatically turn off when people leave the room. In addition, the building has lots of windows, allowing people to use the sun for light during the day. The Solaire cuts water by reusing it.
Not everyone is eager to move into a green building, however. Some people think that things like solar panels cost more money than more traditional energy sources. Anyhow, Holowka said, “It’s going to be big.”
1.A green building is often built on an area of land ________.
A. where traveling around by car is most convenient
B. which has thick forests around
C. where people of high income live
D. which has already been for buildings
2.A green building means ________.
A. a building that uses no electricity
B. a green-colored building
C. a building occupying less land
D. a building that saves energy and water
3.When Holowka says in the last paragraph, “It’s going to be big”, she means that green buildings ________.
A. will be more comfortable
B. will be more environmentally friendly
C. will become popular in future
D. will take the place of traditional buildings
Two years ago, Dimas Aliprandi and Elton Plaster didn’t know of each others existence. Then they learned they had been switched at birth by mistake more than 20 years ago. The discovery didn’t bring bitterness. Rather, it led to the creation of a bigger family.
The chain of events started with Dimas, who was always wondering why he did not look like the four sisters he grew up with. He was 14 when his doubts grew after watching a TV news report on babies getting switched at birth because of mistakes at hospitals—He wanted to do a DNA test, but it was too expensive for the family.
A decade later, Dimas did it on his own. The DNA test showed that he was not the birth son of the man and woman who had raised him. The news was a shock for his parents. They at first refused to believe the results, but eventually decided to help him look for his biological parents.
The search began at the Madre Regina Protmann Hospital where records were checked. The hospital searched its records and found Elton Plaster was born there on the same day.
The records led Dimas to the 35-acre farm where Piaster lived, with his parents, Nilza and Adelson, in the town of Santa Maria de Jetiba, about 30 miles from the Aliprandi home in Joao Neiva. After tests, the Plasters discovered that Elton was the biological son of the man and woman that Dimas had been calling Mom and Dad for 24 years. Meanwhile, the couple Elton, had always regarded as his biological parents were Dimas’ parents.
About a year ago, Aliprandi and the parents who raised him accepted an offer from the Plasters to move to their farm, where they built a home. “This is the way it should be,” Adelson Plaster recently told Globo TV. “ We are all together and I now have two sons living and working here.
1.Who was the first to discover the baby switch?
A. Globo TV. B. The hospital.
C. Elton Plaster. D. Dimas Aliprandi.
2.Where do the Aliprandis now live?
A. In Sao Pauo. B. In Joao Neiva.
C. In Madre Regina Protmann. D. In Santa Maria de Jetiba.
3.What did the Aliprandis do when they knew about the baby switch?
A. They took another DNA test.
B. They switched the hospital s records.
C. They went to Globo TV for more information.
D. They helped Dimas find his birth parents.
4.Who are Elton Plaster’s biological parents?
A. The Aliprandis. B. The Plasters.
C. Dimas and Elton. D. Nilza and Adelson.
