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!

   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.

   One British school is finding that allowing children to listen to music or even to have the TV on while studying is helping improve grades. When your teenager starts a family _____ by sitting in an armchair listening to music while doing his homework next time, why not _____ a simple experiment? Rather than taking the strict line of _____ him to go to his bedroom to get on with it _____ , let him do the homework the _____ he wants. You might well find that his essay is more interesting than _____ he’s done before.

___ the research of Millfield Prep School, around 20% of youngsters _____ best with background music, 10% do extremely well when allowed to ______ their work with short walks around the room while up to 80% can focus ______ if allowed to play with a small object.

The research has advised the school to adopt a complete ______ approach, analyzing pupils to discover which learning style ______ them best — then letting them do their work listening to music or ______ lying down. Doubtful (感到怀疑的) parents at first regarded the ______ as a layabout’s (懒汉) deed but many are now applying it at ______ where children are also allowed to do their work ______ the television on.

“I ______ to work on the floor with music on low, ” admits Susan, 13, a day girl. “______ my parents thought I was playing truant (偷懒), but my ______ persuaded them to look at my homework and when they saw it was okay, they ______.”