Popular music is very popular with American students. Almost every student carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play music loudly as they drive on the street. Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, and the life of American people. Most of the radio programmes are music.

Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make CDs or tapes which radio stations in many places broadcast (广播) . Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a pop star.

There are other kinds of music that are popular among Americans. One is called folk music. It tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.

1. _____ kinds of music are mentioned in this passage.

2.When pop singers ______, they are regarded as pop stars.

3.From the passage we know that country music is about the______.

4.Which of the following is true?

The Firegathering

18－20 May

The Firegathering festival returns to an unidentified place somewhere in the Sussex countryside this May.The ticket price is a very agreeable ￡40，an amount that the organisers promise covers only the costs of staging the event.As well as the night?club singers and dancers and circus performers，you can expect live performances from local stars.If this looks like it might be right for you，you’d be well advised to book your ticket soon；the event has sold out every year since its beginning four years ago.

Sheep Music

20－22 July

Sheep Music started life as a garden party and has developed into a full?scale(全面的) community event.Even though the advertising has always been limited to word of mouth，the huge number of people in 2005 left organizers worried that the large crowds could ruin the festival’s family feel.Luckily July sees the return of this brilliant party.The climax(高潮) comes in the shape of Saturday night’s full?scale parade(游行) and fancy dress ball that you just would not expect to happen in the other sleepy Welsh borders.

The Big Chill

3－5 August

Ten years on and The Big Chill could very well be close to becoming a big pop festival like Glastonbury.That said，the many thousands in attendance are still able to relax in the beautiful Eastnor deer park and listen to plenty of music that would otherwise pass them by.Families have always been given a warm welcome and it’s fair to say that The Big Chill is probably the most child?friendly of all the medium?sized festivals.If you’ve never been，you should certainly go.

Summer Sundae

10－12 August

Although only a year old this summer，Summer Sundae has quickly inspired the imaginations of Leicesteks music lovers.Last year’s event was a success，noted by more than a few mentions at the UK Festival Awards.It is set in the impressive grounds of De Montfort Hall.Although the performers are still to be confirmed，the cabins are sure to be there.These small buildings are made from wood and carpets，storage space，and can fit a family for the night.

1.What can we learn about The Firegathering?

A．The festival will take place in a park.

B．No profits will be made from the festival.

C．The audience will be bigger than expected.

D．A lot of national stars will perform at the festival.

2.How did Sheep Music advertise itself?

A．By holding a parade.

B．By advertising orally.

C．By giving performances.

D．By holding a family party.

3.Which festival will provide accommodation for the audience?

A．The Firegathering.? B．Sheep Music.

C．The Big Chill.? D．Summer Sundae.

4.What is the similarity of these festivals?

A．All of them entertain attendants with music.

B．All of them have a long history.

C．All of them need advance booking.

D．All of them can be compared with Glastonbury.

1970 was “World Conservation Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.?

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “No, One's Going to Change our World. ” It was made by Scatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.?

There are few plants, trees and flowers in Holland now because _______.

A. there has been a lot of conservation in Holland?

B. Holland does not need so many plants, trees and flowers?

C. many plants, trees and flowers don't grow there any more?

D. some plants, trees and flowers are dangerous?

We shall destroy ourselves if we don't _______.

A. improve our technology in planting trees?

B. hear about the record called “No, One's Going to Change our World”?

C. try our best to save the world?

D. change the earth?

“No,One's Going to Change our World. ” was _______.

A. an important book published in 1970?

B. a record calling on people to conserve nature?

C. an idea that nobody would accept?

D. a rule worked out by the United States?

1970 was “World Conservation Year”. The United Nations wanted everyone to know that the world was in danger. They hoped that the governments would act quickly in order to conserve nature. Here is one example of the problem. At one time there were 1300 different plants, trees and flowers in Holland, but now only 860 remain. The others have been destroyed by modern man and his technology. We are changing the earth, the air and the water, and everything that grows and lives. We can't live without these things. If we continue like this, we shall destroy ourselves.

What will happen in the future? Perhaps it is more important to ask “What must we do now?” The people who will be living in the world of tomorrow are the young of today. A lot of them know that conservation is necessary. Many are hoping to save our world. They plant trees, build bridges across rivers in forests and so on. In a small town in the United States a large group of girls cleaned the banks of eleven kilometres of their river. Young people may hear about conservation through a record called “No, One's Going to Change our World. ” It was made by Scatles, Cliff Richard and other singers. The money from it will help to conserve wild animals.?

1. There are few plants, trees and flowers in Holland now because _______.

A. there has been a lot of conservation in Holland?

B. Holland does not need so many plants, trees and flowers?

C. many plants, trees and flowers don't grow there any more?

D. some plants, trees and flowers are dangerous?

2. We shall destroy ourselves if we don't _______.

A. improve our technology in planting trees?

B. hear about the record called “No, One's Going to Change our World”?

C. try our best to save the world?

D. change the earth?

3. “No,One's Going to Change our World. ” was _______.

A. an important book published in 1970?        B. a record calling on people to conserve nature?

C. an idea that nobody would accept?             D. a rule worked out by the United States?

4. What is the most important thing for us to do to save our world?

A. We should clean the banks of our rivers.?

B. We should know what will happen in the future.?

C. We should know what we should do and do it now.?

D. We should plant more trees and flowers.?

5. What's the main idea of the passage??

A. 1970 was “World Conservation Year”.?

B. The United Nations wanted everybody to know that the world is in danger.?

C. Conservation is necessary.?

D. It is the young people who are helping to save our world .

In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip (点滴) above her to fight her bone cancer. Over her bald (秃的) head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes. But the third grader’s cheery dressing didn’t mask her pain and weary eyes.

Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.

Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣, 唱) birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.

That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.

The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling (蜷缩) in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.

“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”

Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour.

1.Simran Jatar lay in bed in hospital because ______.

2.What do we know about Anita Kruse’s project?

3.What does the case of a 12-year-old boy suggest?

4.What is probably the best title for the passage?