Rock and roll music first became popular in the 1950s. There were many popular rock and roll singers during that time, but only a few of those singers are still popular. Most people today are familiar with the singer named Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley sang different types of music．He sang country and blues music． He also sang music that you might hear in church, but it was rock and roll music that made Elvis very popular. In fact, the songs of Elvis became so famous that people gave the singer a special name. Everyone started to call him “the King of Rock and Roll.” Today many people still call him “the king” for short.

Other famous singers have also been given special names. Not everyone always agrees with their names, but many newspapers and magazines use the names. For example, in the 1980s pop music became famous, and Michael Jackson was the most popular singer. People thought that the pop music was really just one kind of rock and roll music, so they did not want to call Michael Jackson “King.” Elvis was still the king. As a result, Michael Jackson was given the name “the Prince of Pop.” However, Michael Jackson was not the only famous pop singer in the 1980s. Madonna was also very popular. She was given the name “the Queen of Pop.” More than one woman has been called “the Princess of Pop.” Two of the most famous “Pop Princesses” are Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera．

It is interesting that no woman was ever named “the queen of rock and roll.” There was a Queen of Disco and a Queen of Country music, but never a Queen of Rock. Maybe in the years to come, a woman who is singing now will get that special name.

1．This passage is mainly about _________.

A．how to make country music

B．special names for famous singers

C．a king who enjoyed playing music

D．a queen who was fond of singing songs

2．How many famous singers are mentioned in this passage?

A．Three.               B． Four.              C．Five.              D．Six.

3．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Rock and roll was popular in the 1940s.

B．There have been two queens of rock and roll.

C．It is certain that a woman singing now will be named “Queen of rock”.

D．Many people once thought pop was one type of rock and roll music．

4．From this passage we can learn that _________.

A．people always agree on titles for these famous musicians

B．there has been only one princess of pop

C．there were many rock and roll singers in the 1950s

D．there has never been a Queen of Country music so far

In the late nineteenth century, 5,000 pianos were sold in the United States each year and, with over half a million youths learning to play the instrument, there was a huge demand for sheet music （活页乐谱）．Indeed the demand was so huge that publishers rushed to enter the profitable market．During the last fifteen years of the century, many publishers began to set up shops in New York, the center for the production of the musical arts.

       By the turn of the nineteenth century many important publishers had their offices on 28^th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue, and this Is the area that became known as Tin Pan Alley．It was here that publishers adopted new, aggressive business practices and marketing techniques to achieve great sales．

       How it became to be known by that name is unclear, but the general opinion is that it is down to a visiting journalist by the name of Monroe Rosenfeld．He described the area as being drowned in the noise coming from the producers' offices, sounding as though hundreds of people were hitting tin pans（锡锅）．He used it several times in his newspaper articles in the early twentieth century and the term stuck．With time this name was popularly embraced and many years later it came to describe the U．S．music publishing industry in general．

       The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885, but the end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear-cut．Some date it to the start of the Great．Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph（留声机） and radio replaced sheet music, as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into the 1950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged （抢风头） by the rise of rock & roll．

      There's a plaque（纪念匾牌）on the sidewalk on 28th Street in honor of the influence of Tin Pan Alley on American popular culture, but the buildings that were home to the legendary Tin Pan Alley publishers and songwriters are up for sale and may be torn down to make room for modern high-rise buildings．

1．What is the passage mainly about?

       A．American popular music．

       B．Tin Pan Alley's future。

       C．American music Industry．

       D．The history of Tin Pan Alley．

2．In the early 20th century．Tin Pan Alley was used to refer to ____．

       A．the American popular culture．            B．the American printing media

       C．the American rock-music center                                      D．the American music publishing industry．

3．In the nineteenth century, the driving force of American popular music was:____．

       A．rock & roll                          B．sheet music

       C．country music                       D．phonographs and radios

4．When visiting Tin Pan Alley, Rosenfeld probably felt it was ____．

       A．very noisy          B．very quiet        C．wide               D．narrow

5．We can learn from the passage that ______．

       A．the term " Tin Pan Alley" was perhaps first used by Rosenfeld．

       B．the old shops of Tin Pan Alley will be well protected．

       C．Tin Pan Alley got its name in the early nineteenth century．

       D．there were once some factories in Tin Pan Alley