“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(预算).

For example, Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired(解雇)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(有益的)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(解码)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.Some schools in the US cut music classes, because ______.

A. students in the US weren’t interested in music B. they were too difficult to learn

C. there weren’t enough music teachers in the US D. the schools wanted to control budgets

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

A. Public schools. B. Fired teachers. C. Parents in Chicago. D. Students in Chicago.

3.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.

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

A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.

5.What’s the writer’s opinion according to this passage?

A. Music is as simple as it looks. B. Music classes should be cut in some schools.

C. Music is a big part of our lives. D. Music isn’t a very important life skill for us.

As a new teacher at Doull Primary School in Denver, Kyle Schwartz thought of a simple way to get to know her third graders, most of whom came from 16 families. She asked them to complete the 17 “I wish my teacher knew…” and share something about themselves.

Their 18 answers gave the teacher a chance to understand her students’ difficulties. “I wish my teacher knew I have no pencils to do my homework,” 19 one child. “I wish my teacher knew sometimes my reading homework is not signed(签名), because my mom is not 20 a lot,” wrote another. Some shared hope for the 21 . “ I wish my teacher knew that I want to go to college.”

“Some notes are really heartbreaking,” Schwartz tells ABC News. “I care 22 about each of my students and I don’t want them to be poor forever.” She explains, “ I hoped to know 23 I could better support them. So I 24 to let them tell me what I needed to know. That was why I created the fill-in-the-blank exercise.”

25 the third graders were allowed to answer anonymously(匿名), most wanted to include names. And some were even excited to read their notes out loud. 26 one shy girl who bravely said that she was lonely. “After she told the class, ‘I don’t have friends to 27 me,’ I was worried what they would do.” Schwartz tells Us Weekly. “However, I felt encouraged to see how much support the other kids offered 28 . They invited her to play at break and sit with them at lunch. You see, 29 have an unusual ability to express empathy(同情).”

“The results have been 30 ,” says Schwartz. “It speaks to the importance of giving people a voice and really listening to them.”

1.A. traditional B. friendly C. poor D. small

2.A. postcard B. note C. letter D. diary

3.A. honest B. polite C. usual D. right

4.A. suggested B. copied C. repeated D. wrote

5.A. free B. careless C. famous D. angry

6.A. society B. course C. research D. future

7.A. secretly B. deeply C. nervously D. directly

8.A. where B. why C. how D. when

9.A. decided B. refused C. forgot D. learned

10.A. Unless B. Though C. Because D. Once

11.A. like B. from C. against D. except

12.A. look for B. talk about C. depend on D. play with

13.A. him B. you C. her D. me

14.A. children B. teachers C. parents D. reporters

15.A. boring B. surprising C. worrying D. relaxing

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