I sat down to read under an old tree in the park. I felt my life was   36  , because my whole world was dark.

A young   37   ran up to me, out of breath（气喘吁吁）. He stood right before me with his head down and said   38  , “Look what I found!” In his hand was a flower, and what a poor sight! The flower was dry and   39 . I gave him a small smile and then turned my eyes away so that he could take his dry flower and go off to play.

  40 , he sat next to my side and placed the flower to his   41  and said in surprise, “It smells sweet and it’s beautiful, too. That’s   42  I picked it. Here, it’s for you.” The flower before me was dead. But I knew I must   43  it, or he might never leave. So I accepted(接受) the flower, and replied, “This is just what I   44 .” Just then, for the first time I noticed that the boy could not   45 －he was blind.

Tears came down my face as I   46  him for picking the best one. “You’re welcome.” he smiled, and then ran off  to  47 . I sat there and wondered how he was able to learn about my pain.

Through the eyes of a blind child,   48  I could see the problem was not with the world; the problem was me. And for all those years I myself had been   49 . I decided to see the beauty in life, and   50  every second of my life. And then I held that dry flower up to my nose and breathed in the smell of a beautiful rose.

Popular music

　 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 street.

　 Adult（成年人）drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmes are music.

　 Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many places. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tape. 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（民间的）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.

46. __________ kinds of music are mentioned（提及）in this passage.

　 A. Two　　　　　　 B. three　　　　　　 C. four　　　　　　 D. five

47. When pop singers ___________, they will become national stars.

　 A. make much money　　　　　　　　 　　　 B. make a CD or tape

　 C. are loved by all the young people　　 D. are wanted to sing on the radio

48. From the passage we know that country music is about the _____________.

　 A. common life of Americans　　　　　 B. country life and love stories

　 C. life of cowboys　　　　　　　　　 D. both A and C

49. Which of the following is true according to this passage? ___________________

　 A. A few students in America like popular music.

　 B. Students with cars in America like to listen to music while driving.

　 C. Adult drivers in America listen to music all the time while driving.

　 D. Everyone in America wants to meet pop singers wherever they go.

50. What would be the best title for this passage? _________________

　 A. American Music.　　　　　　　　　 　　　 B. Popular Music.

C. History of Music. D. Western Music.