Rock and roll music developed in the United States in the early nineteen-fifties. It was based on the music called rhythm and blues that was performed by African American musicians.

Early rock and roll singers developed their own kinds of music. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan were the most popular rock and roll musicians in the early 1960’s. All were American. Then, in 1964, a new rock and roll group from England invaded America: the Beatles.

Some people say the Beatles’ music shook America like an earthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll forever. Their early songs were influenced by American rock and roll musicians, including Chuck Berry. But the Beatles looked different and sounded different from any musical group before them.

The Beatles released their first album in the United States in 1964, when all of the top five records in America were by the Beatles. In 1967, they released an album called “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” It was one of the first “concept” albums. That is, all the songs were linked by a  common story or idea.

The popularity of the Beatles led the way for more rock and roll bands from England to become popular in America. The Rolling Stones was the most important of these bands. The Rolling Stones is one of the few groups from the 1960’s that is still performing and recording today. In 1965, the group recorded one of its most famous songs, “Satisfaction”.

The musical instrument most linked to rock and roll is the guitar. Experts say Jimi Hendrix was one of the most influential guitar players in rock and roll during the late 1960’s. His “Purple Haze” was liked by many people.

By the 1970’s, rock and roll music became known as rock music. It expanded into many new forms. For example, there was country rock, hard rock, acid rock,  heavy metal rock， Punk rock, jazz rock, and glitter rock.

In the middle 1970’s, experts say rock music regained some of the energy of early rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band became popular with their album “Born to Run”. Springsteen’s music was like the lively rock and roll music of the early nineteen-sixties. Many of his songs were about social issues. He sang about the effects of unemployment and the war in Vietnam.

49. The main topic of this passage is _______.

A. the history of American music

B. the development of rock and roll music

C. the famous rock and roll groups 

D. the new forms of rock and roll music

50. Which of the following matches is NOT true?

A. the Beatles — Chuck Berry     

B. the Rolling Stones — Satisfaction

C. Jimi Hendrix — Purple Haze 

D. Bruce Springsteen — Born to Run

51. Whose songs were mainly about social problems like unemployment and war?

A. Elvis Presley’s.                   B. Bob Dylan’s.

C. Jimi Hendrix’s.                    D. Springsteen’s.

52. From the passage, we can know that _______.

A. one of the Rolling Stones’ albums was called “concept”

B. the Beatles and the Rolling Stones became popular at the same time

C. rock and roll music had many different forms at the beginning

D. rock and roll music probably came from African American music。

I think machine power is better than human power because we cannot survive without our daily used machines like bikes, coolers, computers, etc.

Started on  14-Apr  By Smith

E-mail: rksscet12@yahoo.com

Johnson

6-May

Yes, it’s very clear that machine power is better than man power. But machine power has its limitations (局限). It cannot survive without electricity and manhandling. If it doesn’t have these two then it is completely useless. So man should not completely depend on machines. One more point is that because of the use of machines man has become lazy. This laziness has brought in many problems like obesity, arthritis (关节炎) and other health problems. But I am not saying that man should completely turn from machine power to man power. He should have a balance of both. Even I can’t think of life without a car, a computer and a cooler.

Sally

9-May

Humans only created the machines. So, human power is greater than machine power. To do the things quickly we created the machines. But machines cannot think. That thinking power beats machine power.

Tina

17-May

But without humans there is no value of any machine. If someone wants to use his machine perfectly then one must have expert labor or man power.

Tommy

19-May

Hi to all, my opinion is that human power is more powerful than machine power, because human beings created the machines. Human brain works more, compared to machines.

Mike

20-May

I think human power is better than machine power because even if we travel on foot to near places, the money will not be wasted and we can get exercise.

45. Who agrees with Smith generally?

A. Tommy.         B. Tina.        C. Sally.      D. Johnson.

46. According to Johnson, man should ______.

A. keep a balance between human power and machine power

B. completely depend on machine power

C. turn from machine power to man power completely

D. live a life without a car, a computer or a cooler

47. Sally thinks that human power is better than machine power because ______.

A. machines are useless without electricity

B. machine power can make people become lazy

C. machines can’t think like human beings

D. human brain can do things quickly

48. Which of the following questions are the speakers talking about in the passage?

A. Will machine power defeat human power?

B. Which is better, human power or machine power?

C. What limitations does machine power have?

D. Will machines think in the future?

When I was about 10, I had an enemy--a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.

He listened to me quietly, and then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that  are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”

I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could — and suddenly I wanted to change.  For the first time I got a fairly clear picture of myself.

I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you,” he said. “You k now better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”

Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

41. What does “Week by week her list grew” mean in the first paragraph?

A. As time went by, she discovered more shortcomings of mine.

B. She made a longer list of my shortcomings the next week.

C. She more and more disliked me as time went by. 

D. She added one more shortcoming on the list every week.

42. What did the father ask her daughter to do when she complained(抱怨)

about her “enemy”?

A. To pay no attention to her “enemy’s” gossiping.

B. To keep away from her “enemy” at school.

C. To write down what the girl said and accept the truth.

D. To do whatever she wanted to as usual.

43. Why did her father refuse to take the list her daughter made?

A. Because he wanted her daughter to perfect herself.

B. Because what the list said were not his shortcomings.

C. Because he thought the list didn’t belong to him.

D. Because he believed the list could be well kept by her.

44. Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A. Not an Enemy, But a Good Friend   

B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C. My Father and I                  

D. My Childhood

It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee. __21__ I was waiting for my drink, I realized there were other people in the place, but I sensed __22__. I saw their bodies, but I couldn’t feel their souls(灵魂)  __23__ their souls belonged to the __24__.

I stood up and walked ___25____the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man __26___ in front of it. “I’m Steve,” he ___27___ answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can’t talk with you. I’m __28__,” he said. He was chatting online and, __29__, he was playing a computer game – a war game. I was ___30___.

Why didn’t Steve want to talk with me? I tried __31__ to speak to that computer geek （怪人），__32__ not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no reaction(反应).I was __33___. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, “__34__!”

I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I raised my head, and saw nobody showed any interest.

__35__, I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more interested in having a relationship with the __36__, particularly Steve. I wouldn’t want to __37__ the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines __38____ with people.

I was worried and sank in my thoughts. I didn’t even __39__ that the coffee was bad, __40__ Steve didn’t notice there was a person next to him.

21. A. Before        B.Since              C.Although       D. While

22. A. pain                   B. loneliness                  C. sadness                    D. fear

23. A. because             B. when                       C. until                     D. unless

24. A. home                 B. world             C. Net                          D. café

25. A. beside         B.among          C.between         D. on

26. A. sleeping             B. laughing                   C. sitting                  D. learning

27. A. finally         B. quickly                     C.patiently         D.loudly

28. A. busy                  B. thirsty            C. tired                     D. sick

29. A. first of all                               B. just then

   C. at the same time                D. by that time

30. A. surprised            B. delighted                   C. moved                     D. frightened

31. A. once                  B. again                        C. first                     D. even

32. A. but                    B. so                            C. if              D. or

33. A. excited        B. respected                  C. afraid                   D. unhappy

34. A. Shut up              B. Enjoy yourself    C. Leave me alone  D. Help me out

35. A. From then on     B. At that moment   C. In all                         D. Above all

36. A. computer           B. soul                         C. shop                     D. geek

37. A. tell                     B. plan                         C. imagine                    D. design

38. A. other than       B. instead of       C. except for         D. as well as

39. A. pretend              B. understand         C. insist           D. realize

40. A. as if                   B. just as               C. so that          D. even though

--It took me ten years to build up my business, and it almost killed me.

--Well, you know what they say: ______________________________________

　 A. Two heads are better than one.

B. Practice makes perfect.

　 C. All roads lead to Rome.

D. No pains, no gains.

My sister asked me to go there by train, because the train ticket was_____ the plane ticket.

　 A. as cheap three times as

B. as three times cheap as

　 C. three times cheaper than

D. cheaper three times than

 _______we all know is________the old gentleman, for whom life was hard in the past, still works every day.

   A. What;which     B. What;that     C.It;/        D. What; what

 Is he the only one of the students who ________ here just now ?

    A.is             B.are           C.was          D.were

I want to buy that kind of cloth because I _____ the cloth _____ well.

　 A have told; washed　　　　　　　

B. have been told; washes

　 C was told; washed　　　　　　　

D. have been told; is washed

Jane’s pale face suggested that she ____ ill, and her classmate suggested

that she ______ to see a doctor.

A. be; went      B. was; went     C. be; go      D. was; go