Question

Most people know that the United States is made up of fifty states. However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them. Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician. He wants to change this situation.

Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album about each of the fifty American states. During college he played in several musical groups and recorded an album of his own music. However, he wanted to be a writer, not a musician. So after college he moved to New York City to study writing.

In New York. Stevens had trouble writing stories. He discovered that he missed music. He also discovered that most of the stories he did write were about his home state of Michigan. So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan.

Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State was released in 2003. The album was a big success. Many young people and music critics liked it. Before long, Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state. He called it his “fifty states project”.

Stevens chose Illinois as his next state. He read many books about Illinois. He studied police documents and old newspapers. He talked to people who live in the state. The CD Illinois was released in 2005. Critics loved the album. It won many awards. Illinois became popular at colleges throughout the United States. People said the CD sounded different from anything else they had ever heard.

Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters. People have said that he is writing about Oregon, Rhode Island, or Minnesota. However, no one but Stevens knows for sure.

1.Why does Sufian Stevens plan to make an album about each of the American states?

A. To excite the music talent in ordinary Americans.

B. To record an album of his own music.

C. To let people know more about all the American states.

D. To go on writing stories.

2.What did Sufjan Stevens do to make an album of songs about a state?

A. He played in several musical groups.

B. He studied documents and newspapers and talked to people there.

C. He moved to New York City to study writing.

D. He kept his next state a secret from reporters.

3.Which of the following can serve as the proper title for the passage?

A. Fifty States Project

B. The Fifty States in America

C. Songs About American States

D. Sufjan Stevens and Michigan

Answer 1

1.C

2.B

3.A

【解析】

试题分析：大多数人都知道美国由五十个州组成，但是很少有人能够熟知每一个州。美国一个年轻的音乐家Sufjan Stevens想改变这种局面，他计划为每个州制作一张唱片来让人们对每个州有更多的了解。

1.However, few people know a lot about all fifty of them. Sufjan Stevens is a young American musician. He wants to change this situation.”可知，很少有人对五十个州都很了解，年轻的音乐家Sufjan Stevens想改变这种局面，说明他计划为每个州出唱片是为了让人们对各个州有更多的了解，故选C。

2.He read many books about Illinois. He studied police documents and old newspapers. He talked to people who live in the state.”可知，Sufjan Stevens读了很多相关书籍，研究了文献资料和旧报纸，他还和当地人交谈，故选B。

3.He wants to change this situation.”和第二段“Sufjan Stevens plans to make an album about each of the fifty American states.”与第三段“So, Sufjan Stevens decided to make an album of songs about Michigan.”和第四段“Stevens announced that he wanted to make an album for every state. He called it his “fifty states project”.”及第五段首句“Stevens chose Illinois as his next state.”和第六段首句“Sufjan Stevens is keeping his next state a secret from reporters”可知，文章主要讲的是Sufjan Stevens计划为每个州制作一张唱片来让人们对五十个州有更多的了解，故选A。

考点：人物类短文阅读