Our lives and our songs

   Do you ever listen to the songs that your parents like? Chances are that you don’t. You probably think the music that they like is old and dull and that the songs on your playlist are much cooler.

   But here is what scientists found recently : People’s music tastes change as they age, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. So it is likely that your own musical preferences will follow a similar path to your parents’, whether you like it or not.

   We used to think that culture and personality are the only factors (因數(shù)） that affect one’s music choice. But researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, gathered data from more than 250,000 people over the past 10 years. They noticed that as people age, their social circumstances (環(huán)境） change, and so does their music taste.

   There are three musical periods that people pass through as they mature -- “intense(熱情的）”, “contemporary” and “ sophisticated (深奧微妙的）”.

   The first period comes in the teenage years , during which people like intense music such as punk and rock because teenagers tend to be aggressive and want to establish their identities as independent individuals.

   But as people move into early adulthood, their lifestyle changes --they socialize (社交）more and want to build close relationships with others. As a result, they become more fond of contemporary music ,such as pop and R&B, which is usually uplifting and danceable and played at parties where people hang out together and chat.

   When middle age comes, things have settled down for most people. This period will be dominated (支配）by more “sophisticated” music, such as jazz and classical, as well as more catchy music like country, folk and blues.

   “ For many , this life stage is frequently exhausted (使精疲力盡）by work and family, and there is a requirement for relaxing , emotive (動情的）music,”Jason Rentfrow, a research member , told The Telegraph.

   But you must be thinking : “Aren’t there old people who are still into rock music ?”

   Of course there are. But Rentfrow explained that their reasons for listening to rock music may have changed. “ We use music for different reasons,” he said , and thus at that age people may listen to remind themselves of their youths.

68.According to researchers at the University of Cambridge, ______.

A.People’s music preferences have deep connections with their social lives

B.Children don’t like the songs that their parents like because they are too hard to understand .

C. Children are influenced by their parents in terms of the types of music they listen to .

D.People from different cultural backgrounds have different tastes in music

69.Which of the following statements about musical periods is TRUE according to the article.?

A. People in their teenage years prefer pop music to rock music.

B. People’s music tastes tend to settle down as they age.

C. Jazz and classical music help adults develop their identities.

D. Pop and blues ane dull and boring in the eyes of most middle-aged people.

70.What is the main purpose of the article ?

A. To explain why parents and children don’t share music preferences.

B. To show how music helps shape people’s social lives.

C. To present a new study about how people’s music tastes change.

D. To discuss research into the varied factors that determine people’s music tastes .

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Luckily he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son，you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others，including his mother. “You have to earn success,” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15，to Chicago.

Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words — as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged (使氣餒) him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn（典當）her furniture to get the ＄500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.

It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind: “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”

Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.

1. John’s father died in ________.

A．1922

B．1933

C．1924

D．1923

2.John’s mother decided to move to Chicago because _______.

A．his father died when John was very young

B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown

C．there were no schools for black people in their hometown

D．John needed more education badly

3. John’s mother ________．

A．didn’t believe in or depend on others

B．thought no one could succeed without working hard

C．believed one would succeed without working hard

D．thought one could be whatever one wanted to be

4.The story mainly tells us ________ .

A．a(chǎn)bout the spiritual support John’s mother gave him

B．how John H. Johnson became successful

C．a(chǎn)bout the importance of a good education

D．a(chǎn)bout the key to success for blacks

 

單詞拼寫（共10小題；每小題05分，滿分5分）

1.The train leaves at nine according to the train s___________ 

2.The jewels are her personal ___________( 財產(chǎn))

3.We should be in h_______ with our environment.

4.They fully intend to _______(反對) the decision.

5.They r_________ him for saving the child..

6.There are four q______in a basketball match.

7.We must obey all school _______(規(guī)章) when we are at school.

8.Bad weather ________(使。。受挫)his attempt to climb Mt. Everest.

9.Due to the financial crisis, our profits continue to d_______.

10.People find LiuQian’s magic shows _______ (耳目一新) and fascinating.

 

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.

Luckily he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son，you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others，including his mother. “You have to earn success,” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”

These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15，to Chicago.

Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words — as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.

While others discouraged (使氣餒) him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn（典當）her furniture to get the ＄500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.

It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind: “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”

Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.

1.John’s father died in ________.

A．1922

B．1933

C．1924

D．1923

2.John’s mother decided to move to Chicago because _______.

A．his father died when John was very young

B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown

C．there were no schools for black people in their hometown

D．John needed more education badly

3.John’s mother ________．

A．didn’t believe in or depend on others

B．thought no one could succeed without working hard

C．believed one would succeed without working hard

D．thought one could be whatever one wanted to be

4.The story mainly tells us ________ .

A．a(chǎn)bout the spiritual support John’s mother gave him

B．how John H. Johnson became successful

C．a(chǎn)bout the importance of a good education

D．a(chǎn)bout the key to success for blacks

 

John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Luckily he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son，you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others，including his mother. “You have to earn success,” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15，to Chicago.
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words — as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged (使氣餒) him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn（典當）her furniture to get the ＄500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind: “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.
【小題1】John’s father died in ________.

A．1922

B．1933

C．1924

D．1923

【小題2】John’s mother decided to move to Chicago because _______.

A．his father died when John was very young

B．life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown

C．there were no schools for black people in their hometown

D．John needed more education badly

【小題3】John’s mother ________．

A．didn’t believe in or depend on others

B．thought no one could succeed without working hard

C．believed one would succeed without working hard

D．thought one could be whatever one wanted to be

【小題4】The story mainly tells us ________ .

A．a(chǎn)bout the spiritual support John’s mother gave him

B．how John H. Johnson became successful

C．a(chǎn)bout the importance of a good education

D．a(chǎn)bout the key to success for blacks