Hip hop or rap (说唱) music as
it is also called, started on the street and in the clubs of the New York City
in the 1970s . But today many countries have their own kind of hip hop
music . This kind of music comes from reggae, disco and funk music . Rapping
means speaking to the rhythm of the music, and it is an important part of
the music . People rap to express how they feel about their lives and problems
.
Rapping in class.
Would you like to rap in class? Well actually, hip pop
music is played in more than 10,000 schools in the USA .Why ? There is a new
school program called “ Flocabulary ”in which teachers use texts and hip hop
CDs to help teach different school subjects . The words of the songs are just
what students are studying . This makes learning easy and fun . Students and
teachers are excited about the positive results it has had on exam marks
. One teacher said, “ I’ve used hip hop songs in class, and I have never seen
my students so crazy about history ! You can't imagine how well they imagine
how well they remember what I teach ! We even try to write our own songs . ”
Whose idea was Flocabulary?
Blake Harrison, a high school student, was the first
person to come up with the idea of Flocabulary . The word “ Flocabulary ” comes
from the word “ flow ” and “ vocabulary ” . “ Flow ” is a rap word for “ style
”,or the way a rapper says the words of a song . “ Vocabulary ” means the words
you have to learn in a language . How did he get the idea ? Well, he realized
he could remember the words of a hip hop song very easily . So,why not make
lessons into songs ? Today together with Alex Rappaport, a song writer, Blake
produces hip hop songs for maths, science and literature (文学). They are now used in schools with great success .
1.Rap music started _____ in New York city .
A.in the 1970s B.In a high
school
C.in the 19 th
century . D.In a music
class .
2.From the passage, we can learn “ Flocabulary ” is a
program to _____ .
A.Write rap
music . B.Sing a song
by talking
C.Remember the
words of a song . D.help teach
some school subjects.
3.The underlined word positive in
paragraph 2 most probably means _____
A.bad B.good C.final D.direct
4.Blake Harrison has produced hip hop songs for school
subject EXCEPT _____ .
A.maths B.science C.history D.literature