Passage2
American country music is also known as country western music. It has a very long history. It comes from the folk songs of immigrants (移民) from Britain.
Country music uses simple music and words to express everyday feelings such as loneliness, love and sadness. That is to say, country music describes life. It talks about friends and enemies, trucks and roads, farms and crops. People in many parts of the world like country music, because everyone can understand what the music is about.
Country western music became popular first among cowboys (牛仔) from the American west countryside. Cowboys had to take care of cows day and night. When they were alone with the cows, they often sang beautiful and peaceful songs to calm the animals and to overcome their own fear. They were not well-educated so they sang about their daily life in very simple words. They played guitars, violins and other instruments. In the South of America, many people added instruments from their homes, like bottles and spoons. When cowboys visited their friends and families on holidays like Thanksgiving, they usually sang and played country western music.
In recent years, many musicians have made country western music a little different from the one in the past. These changes make the songs sound even better. Today singers as Carth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Eddie Rabbit, LeAnn Rimes, Randy Travis and a group called Alabama are singing and playing in different styles. They have brought country western music more and more fans from all over the world.
29. Country western music comes from the folk songs of immigrants from _____.
A. America B. France C. Germany D. Britain
30. The underlined words “ calm the animals ” here means “ make the animals become _____”.
A. sad and lonely B. quiet and relaxed
C. angry and wild D. upset and scared(害怕的)
31. Which one of the sentences is mentioned in the passage?
A. Early immigrants lived a very simple life.
B. Many country music singers are not well-educated.
C. Cowboys usually played country western music on holidays.
D. In the west of America, cowboys added instruments from their homes.
32. The best title for the passage is _____.
A. Americans Love American Country Music B. The History of American Country Music
C. Singers and Fans of American Country Music D. All Kinds of American Music, Yesterday and Today
Passage3
I was at the store with Mom and baby Lucy. I was looking at the pictures in the pattern(图案)book, trying to decide what to be for Halloween. I wanted to be a fairy princess (公主), but I didn’t get a chance to ask Mom to help me find that page. She was busy. All the women were bent over Lucy’s carrier. Mom wasn’t even looking at me. Lucy started to cry. Mom asked me, “Mary, have you decided yet?” Last year we picked out my costume(流行的服饰) together.
I looked down at the book and saw a picture of a kid in a banana costume. I pointed at the banana. Mom bought the banana pattern and a pea-pod(豌豆荚) pattern for Lucy.
When Mom finished making my costume, I knew I had made a mistake. Mom said it was too late. So, in the evening I was going to be at the Halloween party , a big banana in yellow tight(裤袜). “ Everyone will laugh at me.” I thought.
When we walked to the party, everyone smiled at cute baby Lucy who was on my mother’s back. Everyone, the clowns(小丑) and the pop stars and the grown-ups, smiled when they saw my costume. Some of them told me I was cute. I guessed people liked bananas. I realized that it didn’t bother me when people laughed. I kind of liked it. I smiled. And everyone was looking at me. They thought I was funny, but in a good way. And guess what? I was the only banana at the party. There were three fairy princesses.
33. When Lucy started to cry, what was Mary doing?
A. Reading a book in the library.
B. Looking after her baby sister.
C. Choosing a costume for Halloween.
D. Buying some bananas in the store.
34. Baby Lucy looked like a _____ at the party.
A. princess B. banana C. pea-pod D. clown
35. How did Mary choose her costume?
A. By mistake. B. With the help of her mother.
C. Without reading the pattern book. D. By drawing the pictures herself.
36. We can infer(推断) from the passage that _____.
A. Mary’s mother didn’t love her at all B. Mary was a little afraid before going to the party
C. Mary’s mother didn’t go to the party D. Mary was laughed at by the grown-ups at the party
37. Mary was happy at the party because she was _____.
A. funny B. famous C. ugly D. different
，我们将会及时处理。
