Question

When someone says, “Well, I guess I'll have to go to face the music,” it doesn’t mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you did not do this or that. Terrible music, indeed, but it has to be faced. At some time or another, every one of us has had to “face the music”, especially as children. We can remember father’s angry voice: “I want to talk to you!” And only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “face the music” is known to every American, old and young. It is at least one hundred years old. Where did the expression come from?

The first explanation came from the American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. He said, in 1851, that expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings (舞台的两侧) to go on stage. After they got their clue(暗示) to go on , they often said, “It’s time to go to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did face the orchestra (乐队) which was just below the stage. An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience(观众) that might be friendly, or perhaps unfriendly, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So “face the music” came to mean: having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.

The expression “face the music” means ______.  

A. plan to go to a concert                      

B. get one’s clue to do something

C. have to go through something far less pleasant   

D. disobey what one's father says

The passage tells us that the expression was first used by _____.

A. children                     B. novelists             C. actors               D. audience

In the last paragraph the Chinese meaning of the word “line” is _______.

A. 老板               B. 同事                 C. 角色                          D. 台词

Which of the following is NOT true?

A. The expression came from James Fenimore Cooper, an American novelist

B. The expression has a history of 100 years.

C. If someone doesn’t obey his boss, he will have to face the music.

D. Almost everyone once had an experience to face the music. 

Answer 1

【小题1】C

【小题2】C

【小题3】D

【小题4】B

解析:

略