六级经典阅读5
One more important part of music's material culture should be singled out： the influence of the electronic media - radio， record player， tape recorder， television， and videocassette， with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the “information revolution，” a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations； they have affected music-cultures all over the globe.
1. Research onto the material culture of a nation is of great importance because_______.
A） it helps produce new cultural tools and technology
B） it can reflect the development of the nation
C） it helps understand the nation`s past and present
D） it can demonstrate the nation`s civilization
2. It can be learned from this passage that_________.
A） the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music
B） Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphony orchestra
C） The development of the symphony shows the mutual influenc3e of Eastern and Western music
D） The musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basis of Near Eastern music
3. According to the author， music notation is important because______.
A） it has a great effect on the music-culture as more and more people are able to read it
B） it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musicians
C） it is the printed version of standardized folk music
D） it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs
4. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music______.
A） has brought about an information revolution
B） has speeded up the arrival of a new generation of computers
C） has given rise to new forms of music culture
D） has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments
5. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage？
A）Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
B）Music cannot be passed on to future generations unless it is recorded.
C）Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.
D）The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
Passage 3
The long years of food shortage in this country have suddenly given way to apparent abundance. Stores and shops are choked with food. Rationing （定量供应）is virtually suspended， and overseas suppliers have been asked to hold back deliveries. Yet， instead of joy， there is wide-spread uneasiness and confusion. Why do food prices keep on rising， when there seems to be so much more food about？ IS the abundance only temporary， or has it come to stay？ Does it mean that we need to think less now about producing more food at home？ No one knows what to expect.
The recent growth of export surpluses on the world food market has certainly been unexpectedly great， partly because a strange sequence of two successful grain harvests in North America is now being followed by a third. Most of Britain's overseas suppliers of meat， too， are offering more this year and home production has also risen.
But the effect of all this on the food situation in this country has been made worse by a simultaneous rise in food prices， due chiefly to the gradual cutting down of government support for food. The shops are overstocked with food not only because there is more food available， but also because people， frightened by high prices， are buying less of it.
Moreover， the rise in domestic prices has come at a time when world prices have begun to fall， with the result that imported food， with the exception of grain， is often cheaper than the home-produced variety. And now grain prices， too， are falling. Consumers are beginning to ask why they should not be enabled to benefit from this trend.
The significance of these developments is not lost on farmers. The older generation have seen it all happen before. Despite the present price and market guarantees， farmers fear they are about to be squeezed between cheap food imports and a shrinking home market. Present production is running at 51 per cent above pre-war levels， and the government has called for an expansion to 60 percent by 1956；but repeated Ministerial advice is carrying little weight and the expansion programme is not working very well.