I like music so much that I believe I can't live without it. I was once asked by a friend of mine why I took such a great interest in it. First I would like to go deep into my soul and find myself through the music I like. Actually，some people call it the process of looking for the purpose of life，but I consider it to find my own spirit rather than the purpose of life. And the other reason is that I can communicate with other people and share all the things we have with the help of music. In fact，the use of music as a communication tool has been kept by human beings for thousands of years.

My friend asked me for further explanation after hearing what I said. I told him that this can date back to the original time，and to the very beginning of the world. At the very beginning of human beings，our forerunners（先驱）already had a special hobby of music. You'll know exactly what I mean if you happen to know the musical sentence when Adam，the first man，said to the first woman Eve，“Madam，I'm Adam”，which may have the meaning when you read from the end to the beginning. Later on，Adam and Eve and their children began to enjoy the sound of nature as a result of the special hobby of music. They found interest in listening to the sound of wind and rain, the singing of birds, the howls of beasts as well as the simple songs they themselves made.

As time went by, people started to form different kinds of music, such as Eastern music, pop music, rock and roll and light music. People became more skillful at enjoying the music. They were not just paying attention to the words and melodies, but they went deep into the soul of a piece of music. They began to know the relationship between music and their own life. They realized the power of music and started to use music to show their feelings and emotions. At the same time, people who listened to music and found the right way of enjoying it were going deeper and deeper into their soul and spirit through music. They got the whole colourful world which was surrounded by music. They began to communicate with others and share their feelings with the help of music. Music has become a kind of language since then.

Nowadays, people take a greater interest in music than ever before. More and more people begin to like music because they want to find their soul deep in their spirit and also because they have a need to share their life with other people. It is said that music has become an exactly international language today. It is even believed that if there are creatures on other planets and all other ways can't help communicate with them, music will probably do!

【小题1】The passage is intended to ___________.

A．show people how to enjoy music

B．persuade people to take interest in music

C．tell people the origin of music

D．present the reasons why the writer loves music

【小题2】The underlined word "this" in Paragraph 2 refers to“___________”.

A．the explanation	B．his love of music
C．music	D．the history

【小题3】In Paragraph 2 the example of Adam is meant to ___________.

A．arouse people's curiosity

B．show music has a long history

C．reveal the real meaning of music

D．explain how music came into being

【小题4】Which of the following does NOT agree with the writer according to the passage?

A．Music can serve as a means of communication.

B．People can associate music with their own life.

C．Music helps to find the purpose of life.

D．Music is a universal language in a sense.

   Here we will explore American folk music, the music of the people.

Good Night, Irene is an example of a traditional folk song. That means the song is so old that no one really knows who wrote it. Huddie Ledbetter, the singer and guitarist known as Lead Belly, first recorded Good Night, Irene in 1933. Since then more than a hundred other versions (版本) have been recorded. Good Night, Irene was a huge success for The Weavers in 1950.

Folk songs sometimes tell stories about real events. An example is the story of a young man whose last name was spelled D-U-L-A but pronounced “Dooley”. The story was retold in poems and songs — including the popular song, Tom Dooley, recorded in 1958 by the Kingston Trio.

Folk singer and songwriter Amy Speace says the history of American folk music can be imagined as a tree with many branches. At the center, she says, is Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie wrote almost 3,000 songs. But he only recorded about 300 of them. His granddaughter Anna Canoni says that was partly because he did not have enough money to record more. He made only one record with a major record company.

Yet for all his influence, millions of Americans today remember him for just one song, which children learned in school. The song, This Land Is Your Land, seems like the perfect expression of pride in country. What many people do not know is that it was meant sarcastically (讽刺地), as just the opposite. This meaning is made clear later in the song, and since then most children have never learned it in school.

Some people probably think a folk singer out of date from the 1960s. But these days, with music production software, digital video, and social networks all easily available, folk artists really can bring the world together.

【小题1】Who wrote Good Night, Irene?

A．Dooley.	B．Amy Speace.
C．Huddie Ledbetter.	D．Someone unknown.

【小题2】What can we learn about Woody Guthrie from Paragraph 4?

A．He earned a lot by writing folk music.

B．He played an important role in folk music.

C．He recorded as many as 3,000 songs in his life.

D．He recorded his songs with several companies.

【小题3】Why is This Land Is Your Land not learned in school now?

A．It shows the perfect expression of pride in country.

B．Its real meaning has been known by people.

C．It’s unhealthy and isn’t fit for children.

D．The government stops it from being learned.

【小题4】What is the author’s attitude towards folk artists?

A．He supports them.	B．He doubts them.
C．He argues against them.	D．He doesn’t care about them.

Have you ever thought about why malls, restaurants, and even theaters have music? Well, to understand this, you simply just look back at how you felt when you heard music in these places. Music is known to improve the mood of people. Often music helps us pay attention to what we are doing. Music helps patients feel good and helps them recover faster and better.
Depression（沮丧) is a state of mind that most of us experience at some point of time. There are some periods in our life when everything seems difficult. It seems that everything is getting worse and we have no control over our life. Studies have shown that music can be an important mood lifter in such situations. Music also plays a great role in making us feel less nervous or worried. Anxiety(焦虑) can often cause loss of sleep and other illnesses.
Music is often known as an international language. We may not know the language another person is speaking, but most of us respond to music in the same way. Music can often be the best way to connect with someone.
Music is one of the best ways to improve your moods, but this can depend largely on the kind of music you listen to. While happy music can certainly make you feel better, sad music can further lower your spirits. Listening to classical music can often make you feel a lot more powerful, while soft music can be the perfect way to relax at the end of a long way. If you want to use music to change the way how you are feeling, you need to understand the role of it, learn to recognize the kind of music that lifts your mood and helps you feel better. Once you realize the kind of music you can use, you can use it to change the way you feel. The right kind of music can be the perfect way to help us feel happier.
【小题1】The passage is mainly about __________.

A．what meanings music has

B．how we control our moods

C．how music affects our moods

D．what kind of music we listen to

【小题2】According to the passage, playing music in restaurants is to __________.

A．welcome the customers

B．make customers feel good

C．make customers dance

D．make customers feel powerful

【小题3】From the passage, we can know that __________.

A．most of us suffer depression all the time

B．most of us respond to music in different ways

C．music can be a good way to connect with others

D．any kind of music will help us improve our moods

【小题4】According to the passage, which kind of music can relax ourselves from a long day’s work?

A．Soft music.	B．Classical music.
C．Sad music.	D．Rock music.

   The symphony ended and after much applause the audience moved out of the warmth of the hall and into the cold night air. It had been one of the best performances of recent months and you could feel the excitement as the crowd moved down the street. Taxis seemed to appear from nowhere to convey people home，while others sought out bars and restaurants. Everyone was chatting excitedly and the magic of the performance carried on in their minds.

This had been a traditional classic，with none of the clumsy notes so loved by the so-called modernists. The music had thrilled the soul and assisted in lifting the spirits to a higher level. Perhaps in these hard times someone might learn this valuable lesson. What was wanted was traditional works that attracted crowds，not the shameful and incomprehensible pieces that had left so many seats unoccupied for so long.

As the people left they seemed to carry some of the performances along with them. It was like the fragrance of a rose bush carried by a gentle wind，sweet and exciting，yet at a distance the source unknown. A few hummed（哼）the tunes as they walked along，spreading their enjoyment far and wide. Long into the night you could still feel the emotion of the music and as dawn rose over the city the next day，the last faint echoes（回声）still remained as people returned to work.

Critics are critics；they are never really interested in ordinary people and simple pleasures. Where was the skill in simply playing well to a fascinated audience？What was advanced by the performance of well-known overtures（序曲）？So，as would be expected，they used their usual phrases and quotations to belittle（贬低）the traditional classics. As a result，the pop returned. And within a week the concert hall was almost empty again.

【小题1】The first paragraph is intended to tell us ________.

A．many people attended the concert

B．how the people spent their evening

C．the concert impressed those people

D．many people were fascinated with music

【小题2】In the author's opinion，________.

A．modern music is preferable

B．classics are more valuable

C．classics are incomprehensible

D．modern music equals classics

【小题3】In what background was the concert held？

A．Most people didn't like pop music.

B．The economy was rapidly developing.

C．Cultural life was rather short.

D．The country was in difficulty.

【小题4】What is the author's attitude toward music critics？

A．Favorable.	B．Negative.
C．Positive.	D．Subjective.

短文改错
Dear students，

The Student Union had decided to have a music party. It will be held in the first week of the May. The activities include singing pop songs and play classical and folk music. Bring your own musical instruments, please. A music contest will be including, too. The students taking part in the contest will listen part of a song or a piece of music, and then guess what it comes from. As you'd like to take part in the music party, please come and sign up for them before April 20th. The place of the activities will be told late. Come to have greatly fun!

The Student Union