1 

The definition of pop music is always changing. Whatever, the most popular music at the time is called  1   music.   2  the early 1900s in America, the popular music was called Ragtime. People played it on piano and was very fast. Some of the songs had   3  and were easy  4  . Some of the songs were only music but were easy to dance, too. In the 1920s, a style called “crooning” was popular. Men sang it with a very gentle voice. In the 1930s and 1940s, “jazz” became popular. Jazz is often fast and people usually play it with a piano and horns.

It wasn’t stopping  5  the 1950s when people created “rock and roll”. Elvis Presley is called the “King of Rock and Roll”. He had many popular songs throughout the years. Rock music changed as the years went   6   . Some different kinds of pop music in the 1960s were called Motown and beach music. In the 1960s, there was also a movement in the United States called the British Invasion. That was when the group The Beatles  7  popular. They were one of the most important  8  in American music history.

Today, pop music can be Hip Hop, Rap, R & B, or Country. American young people  9  like listening to pop music. People   10  as Michael Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears are some of the most well-known singers.

1.A. rock       B. jazz     C. country  D. pop

2.A. On     B. At       C. In       D. Between

3.A. words  B. fan      C. grammar  D. sentence

4.A. dance  B. dancing  C. to sing  D. sang

5.A. until  B. when     C. while    D. in

6.A. in     B. by       C. to       D. with

7.A. become B. became   C. becomes  D. to become

8.A. singer B. music    C. songs    D. bands

9.A. especially B. fast C. very     D. not

10.A. so        B. see      C. example  D. such

 

I ____ lesson on Wednesday afternoon.

A．play piano                             B．play a piano

C．have piano                            D．have a piano

 

完形填空（共12分，每小题1分）
阅读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选择最佳选项。
Dear Laura,
I just heard you tell an old story of gift giving and unselfish love in your program. You don’t know whether it is true that such unselfish love would happen in today’s world. Well, I’m here to give you   36 .
I wanted to do something very   37  for my fifteen-year-old son, who has always been the perfect child. He worked all summer to earn enough money to buy a used motorcycle. Then, he spent hours and hours on it   38  it looked almost new. I was so proud of him that I bought him the shiniest helmet(头盔)and a riding outfit(全套装备）.
I could   39  wait for him to open up his gift. In fact, I couldn’t sleep the night before. Upon awakening, I went to the kitchen to   40  the coffee, tea, and morning dishes. In the living room was a beautiful keyboard with a   41 :” To my wonderful mother, all my love, your son.”
I was so surprised. It had been a long-standing joke in our family that I wanted a piano so that I could   42  lessons. “Learn to play the piano, and I’ll get you one” was my husband’s   promise.
I stood there shocked(震惊的), crying a river, asking myself how my son could  43  this expensive gift.
Of course, the house awoke, and my son was very pleased with my reaction（反应）. Many kisses were exchanged, and I immediately wanted him to   44  my gift.
As he saw the helmet and outfit, the look on his face was not exactly what I was expecting. Then I   45  that he had sold the motorcycle to get me the keyboard.
Of course I was the proudest mother ever on that day, and my feet never hit the ground for a month.
So I wanted you to know, that kind of love is   46  present and lives even in the ever-changing world of me, me, me!
I thought you’d love to   47  this story.
Yours,
Hilary

【小题1】

A．hope B．advice C．spirit D．courage

【小题2】  

A．strange

B．similar

C．special

D．private

【小题3】  

A．after

B．before

C．unless

D．until

【小题4】

A．perhaps B．really C．almost D．hardly

【小题5】  

A．start

B．cook

C．set

D．serve

【小题6】  

A．sign

B．notice

C．word

D．note

【小题7】

A．give B．take C．draw D．teach

【小题8】

A．present B．find C．afford D．order

【小题9】

A．tear B．open C．check D．receive

【小题10】

A．realized B．remembered C．imagined D．supposed

【小题11】  

A．only

B．still

C．ever

D．even

【小题12】  

A．send

B．publish

C．share

D．write

Once there was a piano player in a bar (酒吧). People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.

“I don’t sing,” said the man.

But the lady told the waiter, “I’m tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!”

The waiter shouted across the room, “Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!”

So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!

He had talent(天赋) he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.

1.The lady asked the player to sing a song because ________.

A．she had paid him for this

B．she knew him very well

C．she was tired of listening to the piano.

D．she enjoyed his singing

2.Nat King Cole succeeded because ________.

A．the lady helped him a lot

B．he caught the chance(机会)

C．he continued to play in the bar

D．he played the piano well

3.The words “sit on” in the passage probably mean “________”.

A．fail to realize                           B．forget to use

C．try to develop                          D．manage to show

4.From the story we know if you have some talent, you should __________.

A．hide it and wait

B．ask others for help

C．pay no attention to it

D．work hard to improve yourself

5.Which could be the best title(标题) for the passage?

A．Sing in the Bar

B．Achieve Success in Life

C．Never Lose Heart

D．Find Your Hidden（隐藏的） Talent