“ Without music, life would be a mistake,” famous German philosopher (哲学家) Friendrich Nietzsche said over a century ago. Music is a big part of our lives. But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets (预算).
For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired(解雇) over 1,000 teachers. Among them, 10 percent of the teachers taught art or music, according to The Washington Times. In fact, this is not just a problem in the US. In other countries, such as China and the UK, music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science, math and history. That’s partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill, and it isn’t tested. Many students are busy with schoolwork, so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often.
However, learning music is beneficial(有益的) in many ways.
When playing music, you need different abilities to work together. It is not as simple as it looks, according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together, an early childhood music development program. For example, when playing the piano, people see music notes and decode(解码) them in their brains. They also use their fingers to make sounds. You need to deal with all these things at the same time.
Music has a special connection with science as well. You can see that many scientists are good at playing music: Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano.
56. Some schools in the US cut music classes, because _______.
A. students in the US weren’t interested in music B. they were too difficult to learn
C. there weren’t enough music teachers in the US D. the schools wanted to control budgets
57. In Paragraph 2, what does the underlined word “them” refer to(指代)？
A. Public schools. B. Fired teachers. C. Parents in Chicago. D. Students in Chicago. 58. What’s the main idea of Paragraph 4?
A. Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music. B. Playing the piano needs people to use fingers to make sounds. C. Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music. D. Playing the piano needs people to see music notes.
59. How many scientists who are good at playing music are mentioned in this passage?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four. 60. What’s the writer’s opinion according to this passage?
A. Music is as simple as it looks. B. Music classes should be cut in some schools. C. Music is a big part of our lives. D. Music isn’t a very important life skill for us. C题材：文化教育
【主旨大意】本文是一篇议论文，论点是如果没有音乐，生活就是一个错误。列举了“美国一些减少音乐课的事情”，和其他事例，证明学习音乐还是有很多好处的。最后通过两位科学家爱因斯坦和马克斯·普朗克会谈小提琴和钢琴的事例进一步说明学习音乐的重要性，音乐是我们生活的一部分。
56. D【解析】细节理解题。由第一段最后一句“But in recent years, some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets (预算).”可知，在一些美国学校减少音乐课，是因为学校想控
制预算。故选D。
57. B【解析】词义猜测题。由第二段第一句中的“…when it fired (解雇) over 1,000 teachers”，结合第二句可知，在解雇的老师中，10%的老师教艺术或音乐。因此，them指代“解雇的老师”。故选B。
58. A【解析】主旨大意题。通读第四段可知，主要讲述了当我们演奏音乐的时候，需要不同的能力在一起起作用。故选A。
59. B【解析】细节理解题。由最后一段最后一句中的“Einstein played the violin, and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano”可知，文章共涉及两个擅长演奏音乐的科学家。故选B。
60. C【解析】主旨大意题。由第一段第二句“Music is a big part of our lives.”可知，音乐是我们生活中的一大部分。故选C。
(2017?天津) C
As an English, I can speak three languages—English, German and French, so do you think the British people are very good language learners? The fact is that they aren’t.
Some statistics(数据) from the survey done by the European Commission(欧盟委员会) showed that 62% of the British people only speak English. 38% speak at least one foreign language and 18% speak two or more. Compared with the British people, 56% of the people in other European countries speak at least one foreign language and 28% speak two or more. From this you can see that the British people are famous for not speaking foreign languages and that they are not good language learners in Europe.
And the survey also showed that English is the most widely-spoken foreign language. Many European people can have a conversation in English. That's why my people don’t think it is necessary to learn a foreign language.
In Britain, students are not required to learn a foreign language. That means learning a foreign language is only an option at school. In UK schools it is common for children to start learning a foreign language at 11 and many of them give it up at 14. So why don’t students continue learning foreign languages at school? Because they think it is more difficult to get good marks in languages than in other subjects such as science or history.
To solve this situation, the British government is looking for different ways to improve language learning at school. One way is to start learning it at a much younger age. Another one is to give school children more choices.
Changing the British attitude(态度) to learning foreign languages may be a hard task but the government decides to try!
61. Which country does the writer come from?
A. America. B. China. C. Britain. D. Egypt. 62. Which of the following about the British people is true？ A. They are good language learners.
B. 62% of them speak two or more languages.
C. They are famous for speaking foreign languages. D. More than half of them only speak English.
63. According to the passage, students in Britain prefer to learn ________. A. science or German B. history or German
C. science or history D. German or French 64. In Paragraph 4, “an option” means ________.
A. a choice B. a game C. a mistake D. a conversation 65. What is the best title of the passage?
A. Speaking English B. Foreign Language Learning in UK C. Schools in UK D. Young English Learners
题材：文化教育
【主旨大意】本文是议论文。文章从一份调查结果的分析开始，介绍了英国的学生并不强制学外语；文章最后指出：改变英国人学外语的态度是一项艰巨的任务，但政府决定去试了。 61. C【解析】 细节理解题。由文章第一段第一行“As an English”可知作者是一个英国人。故选C。
62. D 【解析】细节理解题。由文章第二段第二行“62% of the British people only speak English”可知超过一半的人只说英语。故选D。 63. C 【解析】推理判断题。由文章第四段中的“Because they think it is more difficult to get good marks in languages than in other subjects such as science or history.”可知他们认为在语言学科上去的好成绩比像科学和历史这样的学科更难，可判断出他们更喜欢科学和历史。故选C。 64. A 【解析】猜测词义题。由文章第四段中的“In Britain, students are not required to learn a foreign language. That means learning a foreign language is only an option at school.”可知在英国，学生并不强制学习外语。这意味着学习外语只是一种选择。故选A。
65. B【解析】主旨大意题。由文章第一段中的“do you think the British people are very good language learners?”和最后一段中的“Changing the British attitude(态度) to learning foreign languages may be a hard task but the government decides to try!”主要围绕英国人学习外语的介绍和态度展开，且每一段中都出现了foreign language的关键词。故选B。
(2017·安徽)A
Once upon a time there was no tea at all in England. People there used to drink a light beer (啤酒). No coffee or milk but large glasses of beer stood on the breakfast table!
When tea was first brought to England, an old couple got some as a special treat. But they did not know how it should be used. They cooked
the leaves in hot water, and spread them on a piece of bacon (熏肉) which they were going to have for dinner. They ate the leaves, and throw the tea away! However, tea is becoming as popular as coffee and milk in England today.
Tea is the leaf of a plant which grows widely in China, Japan and some other countries. Tea farmers usually grow a great many tea plants on a large piece of land. When the tea leaves are ready to be picked, it is the busiest time for tea farmers in a year. They pull off the leaves and dry them. In their spare time, they pick out the best leaves and get them ready for market. In China, whenever a visitor comes into a house, he is served with a cup of tea. 71. What was served for breakfast in England long ago? A. Beer. B. Tea. C. Coffee. D. Milk.
72. How did the old couple deal with the tea leaves? A. They sold them. B. They ate them. C. They burnt them. D. They threw them away. 73. Tea farmers are the busiest in a year when they ______. A. serve visitors at home B. sell tea in the market C. pick and dry tea leaves D. look for a piece of land 74. In which part of a magazine can we read the text? A. Nature. B. Culture. C. Environment. D. Technology. 题材：茶文化 【主旨大意】
这是一篇说明文。文章首先介绍了茶在刚刚进入英国时的情景，然后介绍了茶在中国、日本和其它国家被广泛种植以及相关的茶文化。
71. A【解析】细节理解题。从第一段No coffee or milk but large glasses of beer stood on the breakfast table!知，很久以前，在英国人的早餐桌上，没有咖啡、没有牛奶，仅有大杯的啤酒；从文章第一句子，他们的餐桌上也没有茶。故选A。
72. B【解析】细节理解题。从第二段They ate the leaves, and throw the tea away!知，这对老夫妻吃掉茶叶，然后把茶水到掉。故选B。
73. C【解析】细节理解题。从第三段三、四两句When the tea leaves are ready to be picked, it is the busiest time for tea farmers in a year.They pull off the leaves and dry them.知，茶叶准备采摘时候是茶农一年最忙碌的时候。他们摘茶叶，干燥茶叶。故选C。
74. B【解析】推理判断题。本文主要谈论的是茶文化，应该在“文化”板块找到该文章。故选B。
(2017·安徽)C
Dear Sunday Globe,
I am writing to tell you about your article Smartphones Make Life Easier in last Sunday’s newspaper. You did an excellent job explaining the good points of smartphones, but you didn’t talk about their bad points at all. So, I hope you’ll let me give your readers some advice on smartphone etiquette (礼仪).
The first point I’d like to address is loudness. When you talk on your smartphone in public, please don’t shout. In fact, the microphones in smartphones are very sensitive (灵敏的). So, you can be heard even if you speak quietly.
Another point is about personal space. I don’t think it is polite to make calls in small spaces full of people. This makes others uncomfortable and forces them to listen to your personal business. What’s worse, it stops many face-to-face conversations from ever beginning.
Lastly, doing two things at the same time is dangerous. For example, making calls while driving is a bad habit. Pay attention to the road! Similarly, when staying with your friends, turn off your smartphone and enjoy their company.
Yours truly, Amber Jala
79. Amber Jala wrote the letter to ______. A. find a good job B. provide advice C. make her life easier D. buy a smartphone 80. What does the underlined word “address” in Paragraph 2 probable mean? A. 致函 B. 称呼 C. 陈述 D. 选址
81. According to Paragraph 3, what makes people around you uncomfortable? A. Discussing face to face. B. Speaking quietly on your phone. C. Minding your own business. D. Calling in small spaces full of people. 82. What can we learn from the last paragraph? A. It is dangerous to drive on the road. B. It is easy to start a company with others. C. It is bad to turn off our phones while driving. D. It is important to use our smartphones properly. 题材：手机礼仪 【主旨大意】
本文是一篇书信应用文。信中肯定了智能手机的优点，但同时也提出使用智能手机需要注意的三个方面的礼仪：一、手机打电话不能大声；二、不能在人员集中的公共场合打手机；三、不能边打手机边开车或做其它事情。
79. B【解析】细节理解题。从正文第一段最后一句So, I hope you’ll let me give your readers some advice on smartphone etiquette知，Amber Jala写信的目的是希望给出几点有关智能手机礼仪的建议。故选B。
80. C【解析】词义猜测题。从第二段开始，Amber谈论即陈述了三点使用智能手机的建议。由此推知选C。 81. D【解析】细节理解题。从正文第三段I don’t think it is polite to make calls in small spaces full of people. This makes others uncomfortable知，Amber认为，在人员拥挤的狭小空间打电话是不礼貌的，这使得别人不舒服。故选D。
82. D【解析】总结归纳题。阅读最后一段知，同时做两件事是危险的，比如开车打电话、与朋友在一起时不关掉电话等。由此知，最后一段告诉我们要合理使用手机。故选D。 C（2017·湖北随州）
Are you a TV lover? Can you imagine living without TV? Well, you could give it a try.
A group of Americans from TV-Turnoff Network (网络）have an idea. From April 19 to 25, they are asking children all over the world to turn off their TVs for one week. They hope children will find more interesting things to do. Maybe they can read some books, or learn to swim, or paint a picture. Since 1995, about 24 million people in America have taken part in TV-Turnoff Week.
TV-Turnoff Network says watching TV too much can bring children big problems with school, health and family. They want kids to watch a lot less TV. What do you think?
Bad for your studies
American scientists did a study of 1,300 children. They watched the children for four years. They say that if children watch lots of TV, they don’t do well in school.
Bad for your health
Studies show that when children watch lots of TV, they eat more unhealthy food. More children are getting overweight. Overweight children become ill more easily. Watching too much TV is also bad for their eyes.
Bad for family life
About 40% of American families watch TV at dinner time. That means that they don't talk very much when they eat together.
Also, too many violent (暴力的）things
An American study says that before a child turns 18 years old, that child will see 200,000