You probably know you should say “ please” and “thank you ” at restaurants. You probably know the rules of a library. You know you should respect and be nice to your classmates. But do you have music manners?
Keep It Down! You have to notice the volumeof your music. You should not play your music so loud that everyone around you can hear it. Some people might even get angry. Usually, when you play the music loud on an MP3 player, other people can’t hear the words of the song. They just hear a loud sound. Not one wants to listen to this. Very loud music can also be bad for your ears, so even if you are alone when listening to our MP3 player, you shouldn’t have it turned up too high.
Take Them off! You need to know when to turn your MP3 player off and put it away. Libraries and schools don’t allow MP3 players. There are other places, like museums, that don’t have rules, but it would be rude to have your MP3 player on. Sometimes, it just doesn’t make sense to listen to your MP3 player at event. Why would you listen to music at a play, a movie or a sporting event? You would miss what is going on and others would wonder why you even came.
Take One Out! Once in a while it’s okay just to take out one earphone and not other. Imagine you are listening to your MP3 player when someone asks you the way. It would not be rude to take out one earphone, tell him the way, and put back the earphone and continue listening. You can also do this when you order food at a fast-food restaurant or when you answer the telephone and it’s not for you.
It’s Your Choice! There are times when you need to decide what is the best. For example, some people can listen to music on their MP3 Players when reading books, while others think it is disturbing. In cases like this, you need to do what seems right for you.
【小题1】The underlined word “volume” in Paragraph Two probably means       .
A. the type of music       
B. the amount of a sound  
C. the length of a song      
【小题2】We should turn down the music when we are alone because loud music       .
A. is not enjoyable        
B. makes us tired         
C. hurts our ears
【小题3】If we listen to our MP3 player at a play,       .
A. the theater won’t allow it                        
B. we will miss part of the play
C. others won’t hear the play well        
【小题4】We can take one earphone out when we       .
A. show others the way   
B. talk to fiends on the phone
C. watch a sporting event    
【小题5】What can be the best title of this passage?
A. Music Lovers        B. Music Manners           C.MP3 Players

People living in the country enjoy several advantages that people living in the city cannot enjoy.

    They are in close contact (接触) with nature. They make friends with trees and stones.  They breathe fresh air. They fight with strong winds. They listen to the song of birds.

    This contact with nature is good for health. There are many diseases that are common in the city, but are not to be found in the country, For example, near---sightedness is almost unknown to country people.

    Because of the absence of cars, one can walk more freely in the country than in the city, There are no rules of the road nor traffic signs to obey.

    People living in the country can easily get fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh milk, and they get them at lower prices than in the city.

    Country life is economical (节俭的) in other ways, too. There are practically no temptations to waste money.

    Country people are mostly honest. They say what they mean, and make and keep promises with sincerity (诚意). They do not put on air (摆架子). They do not pretend to have those ridiculous (荒谬的) manners which are necessary in what we call polite society.

1. What can’t country people often enjoy?

   A. Musical concerts.    B. Fresh air.   

C. Song of birds.       D. Close contact with nature.

2.What is probably more expensive in the country than in the city?

   A. Vegetables.     B. Beer.          C. Milk.           D. Fruit.

3. What is NOT true of country life?

   A. The traffic accident rate is very high in the country.

   B. Living in the country saves one a lot of money.

   C. Country people enjoy better health than the city people.

   D. Country people are honest.

nickname is a shortened form of a person's name. A nickname also can be a descriptive name for a person, place or thing. Many American cities have nicknames. These can help establish an identity, spread pride among citizens and build unity.
A few years ago, some marketing and advertising experts were asked to name the best nickname for an American city. The winner was the nation's largest city, New York. The top nickname was The Big Apple.
You might wonder how New York got this nickname. In the early nineteen seventies, the city had many problems. The number of visitors was falling. So a campaign was launched to give the city a new image. The head of the New York Conventions and Visitors Bureau decided to call the city, The Big Apple.
There are several explanations for where this name came from. Language expert Barry Popik studied the question and wrote about it on his Web site. He says John Fitz Gerald, a writer for a New York newspaper, used the name The Big Apple to mean New York in the nineteen twenties. Mister Fitz Gerald wrote about horse races. He heard the name used by men who worked at a racetrack in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mister Fitz Gerald wrote: "The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York."
In horse racing, the expression meant "the big time," the place where large amounts of money could be won. The Big Apple became the name of a night club in the Harlem area of New York City in nineteen thirty-four. It also was the name of a popular dance and a hit song in the nineteen thirties.
But it is not the only nickname for America's largest city. Barry Popik's web site lists almost one hundred nicknames that describe New York. The best known are The Capital of the World. Empire City. Gotham. The City So Nice They Named it Twice. And, The City That Never Sleeps. You can hear about the city in the song, "New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra.
【小题1】Why do many American cities have nicknames?（回答词数不超过15个）
【小题2】What did John Fitz Gerald write about for the New York newspaper?（回答词数不超过5个）
【小题3】Besides “The Big Apple”, how many best known nicknames that describe New York are listed according to Barry Popik's web site?（回答词数不超过2个）

Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are on colors.
Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.
Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pick when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.
Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: “You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.” Someone who is blue is very sad.
The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.
Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.
The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.
【小题1】If you had your wallet stolen while doing some shopping, you may call it        .

A couple of years ago, I went to a lady’s house to buy some vitamins. Upon entering the house, I  36   that there was an electronic keyboard on a stand, leaning  37   the wall. Being a piano music lover and  38  , I asked, if the woman played. She nodded and added that she had been

  39   lessons at age 54! I told her that it was very   40   that she was pursuing （追求） her passion to play the piano.  .  . 

 Then she asked me  41   question. “I have been playing for 8 years now,” I answered. 

  “Then you must play a song for me before you leave,” she  42  .I thought she was joking and I simply smiled. At the end of the deal of the vitamins, she  43  me of our musical “  44 _”. She then showed me to an old upright piano in the living room,   45   asked me to play a song for her. I thought   46   and decided to play David Lantz’s “Return to the Heart”, since she had so much passion for  47  ,and it was my soul-searching song. 

    I played the song to the best of my ability, and with my emotions __48   into it as possible. She loved it.  49   I was about to step out of the door, I heard a weak voice calling out, “Young man!”

    I turned around. And there was an old lady  50   one little step at a time with the help of another woman. “I wanted to come out to  51   you for the beautiful song that you played. I have been very sick, and it’s very hard for me to  52  my bed, but your music made me feel good ”she said. With that, she turned around and walked  53   back to her room. 

   I was deeply  54   by her appreciation and felt a deeper understanding for the song. It served its purpose beautifully, returning to one’s  55   for peace and joy. 

1. A. observed          B. watched          C. noticed         D. caught

2. A. on                B. at               C. over            D. against

3.A. player             B. teacher              C. composer        D. starter

4.A. giving             B. attending            C. teaching             D. reviewing

5. A. interesting       B. wonderful       C. moved           D. impressive

6.A. another            B. a different          C. the same             D. other

7.A. advised            B. ordered              C. demanded        D. requested

8.A. warned             B. reminded             C. asked                D. required

9.A. course             B. task            C. discussion           D. deal

10.A. and                   B. but              C. as a result          D. what’s more

11.A. for the moment        B. at the moment        C. for a moment         D. at a moment

12.A. music             B. songs            C. the piano            D. vitamins

13. A. dropping         B. falling          C. pouring              D. running

14.A. Since             B. As               C. While             D. Because

15.A. taking            B. making           C. having               D. giving

16.A. thank             B. praise               C. admire            D. owe

17.A. get on           B. get up           C. get off              D. get down

18.A. quietly           B. calmly           C. happily          D. slowly

19.A. shocked           B. touched          C. delighted            D. disturbed

20.A. world             B. heart            C. brains               D. dreams