“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.

For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired 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 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 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.

1.In Paragraph 2, what does the underlined word “them” refer to?

A.Public schools. B.Fired teachers.

C.Parents in Chicago. D.Students in Chicago.

2.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.

3.How many scientists who are good at playing music are mentioned in this passage?

A.One. B.Two. C.Three. D.Four.

4.What's the writer's opinion according to this passage?

A.Music is as simple as it looks. B.Music is a big part of our lives.

C.Music classes should be cut in some schools. D.Music isn't a very important life skill for us.

The Spring Festival is coming soon! Will you try making some paper cuttings(剪纸)? Paper cutting is one of the traditional folk arts(民间艺术) in China. It has a long history of more than 1500 years. People always use paper, scissors and knives to make paper cuttings.

It's difficult to tell when it started. People found paper cuts of animals in tombs(墓) in the Northern and Southern Dynasty(南北朝). By the Southern Song Dynasty, paper cutting had become an important part of everyday life. At that time, a young man would look at a young woman's paper-cutting skills before marrying her.

Paper cuttings are mostly used for decoration(装饰). In China, it is common to see paper cuttings on walls, windows, doors and mirrors during holidays. People make them to show their joy or their wishes for good luck and health. People also use paper cuttings as design patterns on clothing. They make the clothes look special and different. What’s more, paper cuttings are made to be great gifts for friends and love ones.

It is easy to learn paper cutting but very difficult to make it perfect. We need to learn how to use the scissors and the engraving knife. Moreover, we need a lot of practice to learn paper-cutting skills.

A funny thing is that, in many parts of China nowadays, paper-cuttings skills are still a must for women because people think they are a symbol of a clever mind.

1.What tools(工具) do we need to make paper cuttings?

2.When had paper cutting become an important part of everyday life?

3.Why do people make paper cuttings on holidays in China?

4.Is it easy to learn paper cutting and make it perfect?

5.What do people think of women who are good at making paper cuttings?

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