IV. Reading(30)
A
Mathematical ability and musical ability may not seem on the surface to be connected, but people who have researched the subject -- and studied the brain—say that they are. Three quarters of the bright but speech-delayed children in the group I studied had a close relative who was an engineer, mathematician or scientist, and four fifths had a close relative who played a musical instrument. The children themselves usually took readily to math and other analytical subjects and to music.
Black, white and Asian children in this group show the same patterns. However, it is clear that blacks have been greatly overrepresented in the development of American popular music and greatly underrepresented in such fields as mathematics, science and engineering.
If the abilities required in analytical fields and in music are so closely related, how can there be this great discrepancy? One reason is that the development of mathematical and other such abilities requires years of formal schooling, while certain musical talents can be developed with little or no formal training, as has happened with a number of well-known black musicians.
It is precisely in those kinds of music where one can acquire great skill without formal training that blacks have excelled popular music rather than classical music, piano rather than violin, blues rather than opera. This is readily understandable, given that most blacks, for most of American history, have not had either the money or the leisure for long years of formal study in music.
Blacks have not merely held their own in American popular music. They have played a large role in the development of jazz, both traditional and modern. A long string of names comes to mind—W.C. Handy, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker…and so on.
None of this presupposes(假设，意味着) any special innate（先天的）ability of blacks in music. On the contrary, it is perfectly consistent with blacks having no more such inborn ability than anyone else, but being limited to being able to express such ability in narrower channels than others who have had the money, the time and the formal education to spread out over a wider range of music, as well as into mathematics, science and engineering.
36. what is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A.    Mathematical ability and musical ability are connected.
B.    Mathematical ability has more to do with the brain than musical ability.
C.    More people are good at music than math.
D.    More research should be done into the relationship between mathematical ability and math ability.
37. The word “discrepancy” (Para. 3) most probably means ____.
A. difference  B. excellence  C. inborn ability     D. inability
(38. What can be inferred about opera?
A.    It requires formal training.
B.    It is often enjoyed by those with strong analytical ability.
C.    It is disliked by blacks.
D.    It is more difficult to learn than classical music.
39. Which of the following statements is true according to the last paragraph?
A.    Blacks have special innate ability in music.
B.    Unlike others, blacks do not have innate ability in music.
C.    Jazz is one of the narrow channels through which blacks express their ability in music.
D.    Those who have money and time choose mathematics over music.
40. which of the following questions does the passage mainly concern?
A.    Are musical ability and mathematical ability connected?
B.    Why have blacks been greatly over represented in the development of American popular misic?
C.    What kinds of music require formal training?
D.    What are the contributions made by black musicians?

下面是一篇文章，请将标有A-F的段落插入文章中标号为1- 5的合适位置，使这篇文章意义完整，结构连贯；其中有一个段落是多余的.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om.。

A punctual （准时的）person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.

      ______.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om._He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again，but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things.__ ______.The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable assets as well as the assets of others'. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters or return calls or keep appointments promptly.____ ___. He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully attends to every piece of work when it has to be attended to .

Failure to be punctual in keeping one's appointments is a sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time，he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. _____.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om.___.

Unpunctuality，moreover，is very harmful when it comes to doing one's duty，whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time.__ _.w.^w.k.&s.5*u.c.#om._

A. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful with his time and seldom complains because he lacks it.

B. The unpunctual man，on one hand，never does what he should do ahead of time.

C. In fact，time is life itself.

D. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or

fellow men.

E. The unpunctual man，on one hand，never does what he has to do at the proper time.

F. All guests present ought to be respected by the host.

G. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.

Although man has known asbestos （石棉） for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H.W.Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for the opening of that first mine．

Mr.Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy． He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands.How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all．You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials． However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr.Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein（岩脉）, in the province of Quebec in Canada．

Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen．When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be．When it is separated, a strange thing happens: the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres．

Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads, but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”．

1.Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A．Asbestos mined in Canada                 B．Fireproof matter

C．A “wonder” mineral                  D．A new roofing material

2.Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______．

A．going into roofing business                B．carrying asbestos from Italy

C．sending a trained scientist                 D．showing the use of asbestos gloves

3.Which is the most important characteristic of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A．It is like thread．                       B．It feels soapy．

C．It burns easily．                        D．It is unusually heavy．

4.The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______．

A．show the need for more scientists

B．compare asbestos with other minerals

C．increase the sales of asbestos

D．present facts about asbestos

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【小题1】What is stressed in the ad?

Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责) the opening of that first mine.

Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport (carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.

Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维).

Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.

Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?

A. Asbestos mined in Canada        B. Fireproof matter

C. A “wonder” mineral                 D. A new roofing material

Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.

A. going into roofing business      B. carrying asbestos from Italy

C. sending a trained scientist         D. showing the use of asbestos gloves

Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?

A. It is like thread.               B. It feels soapy.

C. It burns easily.                 D. It is unusually heavy.

The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.

A. show the need for more scientists

B. compare asbestos with other minerals

C. increase the sales of asbestos

D. present facts about asbestos