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Background music may seem harmless， but it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it. Recorded background music first found its way into factories， shops and restaurants in the US. But it soon spread to other arts of the world. Now it is becoming increasingly difficult to go shopping or eat a meal without listening to music.

To begin with， “muzak” （音乐广播网） was intended simply to create a soothing （安慰） atmosphere. Recently， however， its become big business—thanks to recent research. Dr Ronald Milliman， an American marketing expert， has shown that music can boost sales or increase factory production by as much as a third.

However， it has to be light music. A fast one has no effect at all on sales. Slow music can increase receipts by 38%. This is probably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunity to spot items they like to buy. Yet， slow music isnt always useful. Dr Milliman found， for example， that in restaurants slow music meant customers took longer to eat their meals， which reduced overall sales. So restaurants owners might be well advised to play up-tempo music to keep the customers moving—unless of course， the resulting indigestion （消化不良） leads to complaints！

1. Why is background music so popular？

A. It can help to create a soothing atmosphere.

B. It can have a powerful effect on all shoppers.

C. It can make customers eat their meals quickly.

D. It can boost sales or increase factory production everywhere.

2. Which of the following is TRUE about background music？

A. Fast one can increase receipts by 38%.

B. Slow one can make people move fast.

C. Slow one can make customers enjoy shopping most.

D. It first occurred in factories， shops and restaurants.

3. What does the underlined words “up-tempo music” refer to？

A. Fast music. B. Slow music.

C. Light music. D. Classical music.

4. What may result in indigestion according to the passage？

A. Eating without music.

B. Eating with fast music.

C. Singing before eating.

D. Watching TV while eating.

B

There are some very good things about open education. This way of teaching allows the students to grow as people， and to develop their own interests in many subjects. It allows students to be responsible for their own education， as they are responsible for what they do in life. Some students do badly in a traditional classroom. The open classroom may allow them to enjoy learning. Some students will be happier in an open education school. They will not have to worry about grades or rules. For students who worry about these things a lot， it is a good idea to be in an open classroom.

But many students will not do well in an open classroom. For some students， there are too few rules. These students will do little in school. They will not make good use of open education. Because open education is so different from traditional one， these students may have a problem getting used to making so many choices. For many students it is important to have some rules in the classroom. They worry about the rules even when there are none. Even a few rules will help this kind of students. The last point about open education is that some traditional teachers do not like it. Many teachers do not believe in open education. Teachers who want to have an open classroom may have many problems at their schools.

You now know what open education is. Some of its good points and bad points have been explained. You may have your own opinion about open education. The writer thinks that open education is a good idea， but only in theory. In actual fact， it may not work very well in a real class or school. The writer believes that most students， but of course not all students， want some structure in their classes. They want and need to have rules. In some cases， they must be made to study some subjects. Many students are pleased to find subjects they have to study interesting. They would not study those subjects if they did not have to.

5. What does open education allow the students to do？

A. Take more tests.

B. Develop their own interests.

C. Be responsible for their future.

C. Discover subjects outside class.

6. Open education may be good for the students who ___ .

A. enjoy learning

B. worry about grades

C. are responsible for their life

D. do well in a traditional classroom

7. Why will some students do little in an open classroom？

A. There are too few rules.

A. Open education is boring.

C. They worry about the rules.

B. They hate the activities very much.

8. Which of the following statements about open education is TRUE？

A. It discourages teachers.

B. It is good in practice.

C. It is a really complex idea.

D. It is more popular than traditional education.

C

Jesse Owens was born in Alabama in the USA， in 1913. There were ten children in his family. Jesse was the youngest. He went to school in the city of Cleveland. At school he showed he had a special talent for athletics. He could run fast. He could jump high. He could jump far. Because he was good at athletics， Jesse became a student at Ohio State University.

In May， 1935 in Michigan， USA， he broke the world record for the long jump. This was his first world record. On May the 25th Jesse did something unusual. In 45 minutes he broke six world records. Some people think that this was the greatest achievement ever in athletics.

In 1936 Jesse went to the Olympic Games in Berlin， Germany. There were only nineteen black athletes in the USA team. He won gold medals in the 100 meters race， the 200 meters race， the long jump and the relay race.

Jesse was not a professional athlete. This meant that he could not get money for running. Later， he became a professional athlete. To make money he had to appear in strange races. Sometimes he had to race against horses.

In 1960 another athlete broke Jesses last world record. In 1980 Jesse died.

9. Where was Jesse Owens born in the USA？

A. Alabama. B. Cleveland.

C. Ohio. D Michigan.

10. What was Jesse talented in when he was at school？

A. Basketball. B. Swimming.

C. Athletics. D. Shooting.

11. Jesses first world record was for the ______.

A. running B. relay race

C. high jump D. long jump

12. How many gold medals did Jesse win in the 1936 Olympic Games？

A. Two. B. Four.

C. Six. D. Eight.

D

Norman Cousins was a businessman from the United States who often traveled around the world on business. He enjoyed his work and traveling. But now，Mr. Cousins got sick. Because he had pushed his body to the limit of its strength on the trip， a chemical change began to take place inside him. The material between his bones became weak. In less than one week after his return， he could not stand. Every move that he made was painful. He was not able to sleep at night.

The doctors told him that they did not know how to cure his problem and he might never get over the illness. However， Mr. Cousins refused to give up hope. He thought that unhappy thoughts were causing bad chemical changes in his body. He didnt want to take medicine to cure himself. Instead， he felt that happy thoughts or laughter might cure his illness. He began to experiment on himself while still in the hospital by watching funny shows on television. Mr. Cousins quickly found that 10 minutes of real laughter during the day gave him two hours of pain-free sleep at night. After that Mr. Cousins left the hospital and checked into a hotel room where he could continue his experiments with laughter. For eight days， Mr. Cousins rested in the hotel room watching funny shows on television， reading funny books， and sleeping whenever he felt tired. Within three weeks， he felt well enough to take a vacation to Puerto Rico where he began running on the beach for exercise.

After a few months， Mr. Cousins returned to work. He had laughed himself back to health.

13. Why did Mr. Cousins get a strange and serious illness？

A. He worked too long.

B. He travelled too often.

C. He pushed himself to the limit.

D. He spared no effort for watching shows.

14. What did Mr. Cousins think caused the bad changes？

A. Unhappy thoughts.

B. His bones becoming weak.

C. Traveling around the world.

D. Spending little time for recreation.

15. What is the main idea of the text？

A. Laughter can cure illness.

B. We can get lucky by laughing.

C. Mr. Cousins was a funny man.

D. Medicine can not cure strange illness.

Lena Horne was born in Brooklyn， New York in 1917. Her mother was away for much of her 1 . So her grand-mother helped raise her.

At the age of sixteen， Lena 2 a job as a dancer at the famous Cotton Club in New York City. After 3 voice lessons， she soon began performing there as a singer too. At the age of nineteen， Lena moved to Pittsburgh and 4 Louis Jones， who was an actor. 5 ， their life together did not last long. But they had two 6 ， Gail and Edwin.

In 1940， Lena Horne became the first African-American to travel and 7 with an all-white jazz band. She 8 made records and performed at New York Citys Café Society jazz club. This was the first nightclub in the United States 9 racial barriers （隔閡）. Many jazz clubs during this period had black performers， but few 10 them to watch the performance as part of the 11 .

Lena Horne became very 12 . After performing at a club in Hollywood， California， she caught the attention of 13 . So with the help of some filmmakers， she soon 14 making movies. Lena Horne said that she was able to make movies

15 she was the kind of black person that white people could accept. But she said this was the 16 kind of acceptance. It was for the way she 17 ， not for how good she was or how hard she worked.

However， through her hard work， she helped 18 racial barriers. During her sixty-year career as a performer， Lena Horne earned peoples 19 and respect. She used her fame to

20 social injustices toward African-Americans.

1. A. dream B. performance C. life D. childhood

2. A. disliked B. found C. lost D. wanted

3. A. taking B. giving C. making D. designing

4. A. saw B. changed C. surprised D. married

5. A. Excitingly B. Amazingly