阅读理解

　　To me, life without music would not be exciting．I realize that this is not true for everyboby．Many people get along quite well without going to the concert, and listening to the record．But music plays an important part in everyone's life, whether he realizes it or not．Try to imagine, for example, what films or TV plays would be like without music．Would the feelings, the moving plot, and the greatest interests, be so exciting or dramatic? I'm not sure about it．

　　Now, we have been speaking of music in its more common meaning－the kind of music we hear in the concert hall．But if we look at some parts of music more closely, we discover them in our everyday life too－in the rhythm of the sea, the melody of a bird in the woods and so on．So music surely has meaning for everyone, in some way or other．And, of course, it has special meaning for those who have spent all their lives working on playing or writing music．

　　It is well said, “Through music a child enters into a world of beauty, expresses himself from his heart, feels the joy of doing things alone, learns to take care of others, develops his mind and makes his body strong．”

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Around the world young people are spending unbelievable sums of money to listen to rock music．Forbes Magazine reports that at least fifty rock stars have incomes between two million and six million dollars every year．“It doesn't make sense．”says Johnny Mathis, one of the older music millionaires, who made a miillion dollars a year when he was popular, in 1950s．“Performers aren't worth this kind of money．In fact, noboby is．”But the rock stars' admirers seem to disagree．Those who love rock music spend about two billion dollars a year for records．They pay 150 million to see rock stars in person．Luck is a key word for explaining the success of many．In 1972 one of the luckiest was Kon Mclean, who wrote and sang “American Pie”．Mclean writes his own music, so he earns an extra two cents on every single record of the song．Neil Young who performs in torn blue jeans, sometimes sings to an audience of 10, 000, each of whom has paid five dollars for a ticket．After paying expense, Young leaves with about 18, 000 in his blue jeans at the end of an evening．How do the rock stars use their money? What do they do when the money stars pouring in like water? Most of the young stars simply show the money around．England's Elton John gave someone a ＄38, 000 Rolls Royce car and bought himself 5, 000 pairs of eyeglasses then lighted up and spelt E-L-T-O-N．He also bought himself two cars, “one for each foot．”Many rock stars live like Grace Slick and Jefferson Airplane．Those performers return from a tour, pay their bills, and buy new toys．Then when they need money again, they do another tour．They save no money and live from hand to mouth．After two or three years riches and fame(名声)are gone．Left with his memories and his tax problems, the lonely ex-performer spends his remaining years trying to attract strangers．But new stars have arrived to take his place．

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阅读理解

　　Many young people want to become pop-stars．It is their great ambition(雄心)in life．They think：pop-stars earn a lot of money, they lead interesting and exciting lives．Thousands of fans adore(崇拜)them, they become famous．

　　Yes, but first they must become stars．Most performances start life with a group．This is the pattern(模式)at the present time．But there are many groups and competition is stiff(激烈的)．Groups appear and disappear almost overnight．Only a small number survive(生存)．Almost without exception(例外)they have to work very hard before they reach the top．

　　And very few reach the top and stay there．In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top．Most of these do not earn so much money, Perhaps 400 pounds each time they perform．What is more, they have quite a lot of examples．They have to pay a manager, for example, he is a key person in their lives and he takes about twenty percent of their earnings－perhaps more．Then there are their clothes, their instruments(乐器)and their van(大篷车)．

　　And don't forget they have to travel a great deal－sometimes 2,000 miles in one week．At times they even sleep in their van instead of hotel just to save money．

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　　Music is an international language．The songs that are sung or played by instruments are beautiful to all people everywhere．

　　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．Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the streets．

　　Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work．They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, politics, and activities of the American people．Most of the radio broadcast is music．

　　Pop or popular music singers make much money．They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in every state．Once the popular singer is heard throughout the country, young people buy his or her tapes．Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer．Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her．Now the singer has become a national star．

　　There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans．One is called folk music．It tells stories about the common life of Americans．Another is called western or country music．This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching．Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music．

　　Serious music for the concert halls is called classical music．Music for instruments is called orchestra music(管弦乐), such as the symphonies(交响乐)of Beethoven．There is opera(歌剧)for singers．There is ballet(芭蕾舞剧)for dancers like the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in China?

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　　The first Europeans came to America in 1492 with Christopher Columbus．Since that time people have come to America from all over the world, from Europe, Africa, and Asia, and they have brought their music with them．This mixing of people and music has created American music．

　　Music is a very important part of our lives．Music is for dancing, drinking, eating, loving and thinking．Some songs remind us of our childhood or youth．Others remind of the people we love．Many important occasions, like weddings and funerals have special music．Every nation has a national song like the American “The Star-Spangled Banner”．In the US, high schools and colleges have school songs, too．

　　Music is a part of the history of America．It expresses the problems and feelings of its people．As the years pass, the music grows and changes．

　　Modern science has also changed music．Inventions like records, radios, movies, electric instruments, tape recorders, and videos have changed the way we play and listen to music．They have helped to make music and important form of international communication．

　　American music, from the earliest folk songs to modern “pop”, is known around the world．Music is one of America's most important exports．It brings the people of the world together．Even when people cannot understand the same language, they can share the same music．Many people learn and practice English by singing songs, understanding American music can help you understand American people．“Put a dime(10cents)in the juke box(自动点唱机), baby．”Let's listen to the music!

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　　When I was small and my grandmother died I couldn't understand why I had no tears．But that night when my dad tried to cheer me up, my laugh turned into crying．

　　So it came as no surprise to learn that researchers believe crying and laughing come from the same part of the brain．Just as laughing has many health advantages, scientists are discovering that so, too, does crying．

　　Whatever it takes for us to reduce pressure is important to our emotional(情感的)health, and crying seems to study found that 85 percent of women and 73 percent of men report feeling better after crying．

　　Besides, tears attract help from other people．Researchers agree that when we cry, people around us become kinder and friendly and they are more ready to provide support and comfort．Tears also enable us to understand our emotions better; sometimes we don't even know we're very sad until we cry．We learn about our emotions through crying, and then we can deal with them．

　　Just as crying can be healthy, not crying－holding back tears of anger, pain or suffering－can be bad for physical(身体的)health, Studies have shown that too much control of emotions can lead to high blood pressure, heart problems and some other illnesses．If you have a health problem, doctors will certainly not ask you to cry．But when you feel like crying, don't fight it．It's a natural－and healthy－emotional response(反应)．

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　　If there is and single factor that makes for success in living, it is the ability to profit(从……中获利)by defeat．Every success I know has been achieved because the person was able to analyze(分析)defeat and actually profit by it in his next undertaking(任务)．Confuse defeat with failure, and you are doomed indeed to failure．For it isn't defeat that makes you fail; it is your own refusal to see in defeat the guide and encouragement to success．

　　Defeats are nothing to be ashamed of．They are routine incidents in the life of every man who achieves success．But defeat is a dead loss unless you do face it without humiliation(羞辱，不光彩), analyze it and learn why you failed．Defeat, in other words, can help to cure(治疗)its own cause．Not only does defeat prepare us for success, but nothing can arouse within us such a compelling desire to succeed．If you let a baby grasp a rod and try to pull it away, the will hold on more and more tightly until his whole weight is suspended(悬浮)．It is this same reaction which should give you new and greater strength every time you are defeated．If you exploit the power which defeat gives, you can accomplish with it far more than you are capable of．

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　　I like watching TV very much for I think it has many advantages(长处)．First of all, watching TV is a good rest．After a day of hard work, we need a good rest．Watching TV can make our mind and body not tired any more because of the pleasant music and TV plays．

　　Besides, watching TV is entertaining(娱乐消遣)．There are many kinds of entertainment, such as sports activities(活动), singing and dancing concerts, plays and films all over the world at every time．It's not possible for us to go to every place to enjoy all the activities within a short time．We need at least over ten hours to fly from New York to Paris, a week by train from Beijing to Moscow and an hour to drive from Queens District to Manhattan District．But within just one second, TV can bring us from an NBA game in New York to a fashion show in Paris by changing the channels．

　　Most important, watching TV is educational(教育)．Our children can learn every kinds of subjects through the educational programs and the special reports on TV, and it's easy for them to learn Chinese from a Chinese teacher in Beijing and to learn Russian lessons from a Russian teacher in Moscow．Even we can learn how to behave well from the TV plays．Meanwhile, a teacher can teach millions of students without a huge classroom．

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It was during a weekend, Mum gave me two tickets for a film and told me she was too busy with the endless housework to go with me．She told me to keep the money if I could sell the extra ticket．I was very happy, of course．At that time, a ticket only cost 20 fen．But to me, a little girl of 12, 20 fen seemed quite a lot．I reached the cinema in a great hurry．Holding the ticket in my hand, I began to look for buyer．A handsome young man noticed me and the ticket in my hand．He came towards me with a big smile．“You've got an extra ticket?” “Yes, ” I nodded．“That's great．Say, how much?” “Twenty fen．” “Oh, ” he thought for a while and then took out a ten-yuan note from his wallet．“I'm very sorry, but I've only got this note．” Seeing I was confused(迷惑), he added, “Then, how about waiting for a while? I'll give you the money after I have changed it in the cinema's store．”Without much thinking, I agreed．Then we went to the cinema together．He walked fast．I could hardly keep up with him．By and by, he left me farther and farther behind．Soon he disappeared in the crowd．I stood there without knowing what to do．Suddenly I seemed to realize the handsome young fellow had cheated(欺骗)me．He had saved twenty fe, but lost his honor．It seemed to be a funny or even ridiculous(可笑的)experience．But it did cast a dark shadow on(投下……阴影)my young mind．

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The experiment needs fifty people divided into two groups of the same size．Group A is to take part in a 7-week exercise, while Group B is not allowed to do any exercise during those seven weeks．On the day before the experiment began, all fifty men took part in a step-test．They were told to step up and down on a 16-inch-long bench at 30 steps a minute for five minutes．After the test each man's heart-beating was taken and recorded．Then during the seven weeks men in Group A rode a sort of bike like exercise machine for 15 minutes a day．During the first day ride they were asked to ride very slowly．For the next three days, they were permitted to ride a bit more quickly．And the speed of riding was increased every few days until the end of the experiment, when both Group A and Group B were given the step-test again and the heart beating was taken again, too．Heart-beating of Group A members was to have dropped an average of 30 heart beats per minute while that of Group B members remained the same or almost unchanged．

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