To face the music

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music”.

When someone says, “well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you.” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that was exactly what they did — facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” come to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced an inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass the 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? 

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As, for example when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

How many ways does the phrase “to face the music” comes from?

A. 1        B. 2        C. 3       D. 4

What’s the meaning of “to face the music?”

A. To face something far less pleasant.

B. To face the stage.

C. To face the back of one’s horse.

D. To face one’s leader.

Which of the following is a situation of facing the music?

A. When we are playing basketball.  

B. When we are making a speech.

C. When we are having a party.

D. When we are talking with somebody. 

The underlined word “hostile” means _______. 

A. unfriendly               B. dislike        C. unkind                     D. unnecessary

IF and WHEN often had lunch together. Their conversation always  36  on the things they hoped to achieve and they loved to talk about them.  ]

This particular Saturday when they met for lunch, WHEN  37  IF wasn’t in a great mood（心情）. After they sat at the usual table  38  for them, WHEN asked IF, “You don’t seem your usual  39  self(样子)?” IF replied,“Yesterday I saw a course I wanted to take. If only I  40  the time.”

WHEN knew exactly how IF felt and said, “I too saw a   41   and I’ m going to register when I get   42   money.” WHEN then questioned IF, “What about the new job you were going to apply for?” IF answered, “I would have applied, but my  43  broke down. I couldn’t type my resume(简历).”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been thinking about looking for another job also,  44  I’ll wait and when the weather gets  45  I will look then. I hate this awful weather.”

The man sitting nearby heard them talking about when this and if that. When he couldn’t  46  it anymore, he went to them and said, “I think I know  47  you could solve your problems.”

IF smiled and thought that even if he knew the  48  they faced, there was no way he could help!   49  , IF asked the man for advice. The man said, “Your conversation reminds me of an old   50  : IF and WHEN were planted, and nothing   51   .”

IF and WHEN both looked surprised and began to feel   52   of living their life for the “ifs” and “whens”. Finally they came to a(n)   53  : next time they met, there would be no “ifs” or “whens”; they would   54   talk about what they had  55  ! 

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path．I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud．As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack．It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected．I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times．I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me．Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing．And I was laughing．After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward．My attacker rushed me again．He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain．For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused．I wasn't sure what to do．After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly．I stepped back to look the situation over．My attacker moved back to land on the ground．That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier．He had a mate and she was dying．
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her．I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate．He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake （缘故）, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large．He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her．His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable．I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool．He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed．    
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.
【小题1】Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path．I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud．As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack．It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected．I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times．I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me．Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing．And I was laughing．After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!

    Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward．My attacker rushed me again．He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain．For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused．I wasn't sure what to do．After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly．I stepped back to look the situation over．My attacker moved back to land on the ground．That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier．He had a mate and she was dying．

    Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her．I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate．He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake （缘故）, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large．He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her．His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable．I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool．He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed．    

    Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me.

1.Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path?

   A. To get close to a butterfly.          B. To look over the bad situation.

   C. To escape a sudden attack.            D. To avoid getting his shoes dirty.

2.What made the man feel funny?

   A. Making the attacker pause.            B. Being attacked by a butterfly.

   C. Being stepped on by his mate.         D. Discovering the energetic butterfly.

3.From this experience the man learned        .

A. what he should do when faced with troubleB. people should show sympathy to the weak

 C. how he should deal with attacks        D. people should protect butterflies

4.Which of the following words can best describe the butterfly?

    A. Careless．       B. Amusing．   C. Courageous． D. Aggressive.