2．"Without music，life would be a mistake，"famous German philosopher（哲学家） Friendrich Nietzsche said over a century ago．Music is a big part of our lives．But in recent years，some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets（预算）．
For example，Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1，000 teachers．Among them，10 percent of the teachers taught art or music，according to The Washington Times．In fact，this is not just a problem in the US．In other countries，such as China and the UK，music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science，math and history．That's partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill，and it isn't tested．Many students are busy with schoolwork，so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often．
However，learning music is beneficial（有益的）in many ways．
When playing music，you need different abilities to work together．It is not as simple as it looks，according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together，an early childhood music development program．For example，when playing the piano，people see music notes and decode（解码）them in their brains．They also use their fingers to make sounds．You need to deal with all these things at the same time．
Music has a special connection with science as well．You can see that many scientists are good at playing music：Einstein played the violin，and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano．
56．Some schools in the US cut music classes，becauseD．
A．students in the US weren't interested in music
B．they were too difficult to learn
C．there weren't enough music teachers in the US
D．the schools wanted to control budgets
57．In Paragraph 2，what does the underlined word"them"refer to（指代）？B
A．Public schools．
B．Fired teachers．
C．Parents in Chicago．
D．Students in Chicago．
58．What's the main idea of Paragraph 4？A
A．Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music．
B．Playing the piano needs people to use fingers to make sounds．
C．Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music．
D．Playing the piano needs people to see music notes．
59．How many scientists who are good at playing music are mentioned in this passage？B
A．One．
B．Two．
C．Three．
D．Four．
60．What's the writer's opinion according to this passage？C
A．Music is as simple as it looks．
B．Music classes should be cut in some schools．
C．Music is a big part of our lives．
D．Music isn't a very important life skill for us．
分析 文章大意：
文中提到的是有关于音乐的事情．作者认为音乐对于我们的生活来说是很重要的，在演奏音乐过程中，我们会协调各方面的能力，我们会去领悟人生的真实意义，并且作者还提到，有很多的伟大科学家都会弹奏音乐，比如爱因斯坦等．
解答 56．D，细节理解题，文中提到"some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets"由于预算原因，美国的很多学校取消了音乐课程，由此确定选择D．
57．B，推理判断题，文中提到"Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1，000 teachers"芝加哥解雇了超过1000名老师，后文又说10 percent of the teachers taught art or music，10%的人教授音乐和艺术，由此可以推测此处的them指的是前面那些辞退的老师，选择B．
58．A，段落理解题，段落第一句提出"When playing music，you need different abilities to work together"当演奏音乐时，一般都需要不同的能力一起协调作用，而后边主要是举例子说明这句话，比如音符解码、手指按键等，由此确定选择A．
59．B，细节理解题，文中提到"Einstein played the violin，and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano"爱因斯坦会小提琴，Max Planck在弹钢琴上很有天赋，由此确定是两个，选择B．
60．C，主旨归纳题，文中首句提到"Without music，life would be a mistake"没有音乐，生命将是一个错误，下面通过美国削减音乐课程和介绍演奏音乐的好处来说明这一点，由此推测作者认为音乐很重要，是生活的一部分，选择C．
点评 对于阅读表达题，一定要记得首先通读全文，了解文章大意，然后再根据文章关键词，关键句，掌握细节问题，并进行推理判断，再去回答具体的问题．
