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 by your boss to explain why you did this or that , and why you did not do this or that . Sour (刺耳)music , indeed , but it has to be faced .

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American , young and old . It is at least 100 years old . Where did the expression come from ?

The first information comes from the American writer James Fenimore Cooper . He said—in 1851—that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings (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(管弦乐队)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 that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly , especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out .

So, “to 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 other explanation comes from the army . Men had to face inspection(检阅)by their leader . The soldiers worried about how well they looked . Was their equipment clean—shiny enough to pass inspection ? Still , the men had to go out , and face the music of the band , as well as the inspection . What else could they do ?

1.The phrase “to face the music” was first used by______________.

A.all the Americans

B.the American writer James Fenimore Cooper

C.American actors

D.the American orchestra

2.An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage .One of the reasons is that ______________.

A.his performance might not satisfy most of the audience

B.he might not remember what he should say on stage

C.he had to  face the unfriendly audience

D.the audience might be mostly his friends

3. “To face the music” is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing______________.

A.to be examined about their equipment

B.to be found weak

C.to show themselves by their leader  

D.to be inspected by their leader

4.This passage is mainly about______________.

A.the meaning of the phrase “to face the music”

B.how to deal with something unpleasant

C.the origin(起源)of the phrase

D.how to go through difficulty

第三部分  阅读理解(共20小题,每小题2分,满分40分)

    阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项,并填在答卷卡上。

A guitarist was pleasantly surprised to hear from New York City police that his valuable guitar had been found. It disappeared almost a year ago when he got out of a taxi and forgot to take the guitar with him. Laurence Lennon, 44, said he was running late that day. He was talking to his manager on his cellphone when he rushed out of the taxi. He said that he gave the driver $60 and told him to keep the change. He walked through the front doors of the concert hall, still talking on the phone to his manager.

Upon discovering his loss, Lennon used his cellphone to call the police. The policewoman asked him for the name of the taxi company, the number of the taxi, and the name of the driver. He said that she must have been joking.

She told Lennon that he could apply for a missing item report online. Lennon asked for address. It was www.nypd.gov/toprotectandtoserve/haveaniceday. She told him that finding the guitar might take a couple of years for finding guitars was not as important as finding murderers and marijuana (大麻)smokers. Then she told him to have a nice day.

“This year has been depressing,” said Lennon.  “I had to put off the recording of two new CDs. I’ve been using borrowed guitars. And I was losing hope of ever recovering my guitar.”

Lennon was reunited with his $100,000 guitar yesterday. The guitar had been discovered in the corner of a coffeehouse only two blocks from where Lennon had lost it. Lennon had offered a $10,000 reward for its return. He said he would give the reward to the coffeehouse owner, who had informed the police.

1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

    A. Careless guitarist surprised.           B. Valuable guitar found.

    C. Coffeehouse owner rewarded.         D. Taxi driver still unknown.

2. In the first paragraph, the author explained ________.

    A. how costly the guitar was            B. how important the concert was

    C. why the guitarist was late            D. why the guitar was left behind

3. By saying “she must have been joking” in Para 2, the guitarist probably means ________.

    A. it was impossible for him to answer her questions

    B. there must have been something she felt funny

    C. she didn’t believe at all that he had lost his guitar

    D. she must have felt that his behavior was funny

4. In the policewoman’s opinion, finding the lost guitar _________.

    A. was not important at all              B. wouldn’t be done online

C. could be a long time hunting          D. only depended on the driver

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