高考英语阅读备考--主题阅读:音乐的魅力

主题阅读：音乐的魅力

素养解读

在所有的艺术形式中，音乐是最擅长抒发情感、最能拨动心弦的艺术形式。有时，一段低沉、伤感的小提琴独奏会使我们原本快乐的心情瞬间变得低落、惆怅;有时，一曲清新、欢快的钢琴曲會让我们糟糕的心情顷刻间欢畅。有时，一首高亢、激昂的进行曲会让气馁的人振奋;有时，一段安静的小夜曲使浮躁的人舒缓、冷静下来……

这就是音乐的魅力！让我们一起来感受音乐的力量吧！

一位听障人士的DJ生活

他5歲时，耳朵受到感染，听力受损。但是，这并没有阻止他成为一个成功的音乐人……

1. hooked /h kt/ adj. 着迷的

2. bass /be s/ n. 低音

3. snare /sne （r）/ n.响弦

I was born in England with perfect hearing. In 1990， when I was five， my ears got

infected. We didn’t have health insurance at the time and my parents couldn’t pay for the

treatment. My doctors predicted that I would be completely deaf， so I think I’m doing

pretty well.

There was always music on in my house when I was little. My dad was a DJ， so he

played disco， folk， dance， rock， and music from other countries. For my 18th birthday，

my dad asked me to deejay at the restaurant he owned. After doing that for a few weeks，

I was hooked. I wanted to learn more.

I emailed DJ Shifted， a well？I know New York City DJ， when I was 25. “I know you

like a challenge. How about teaching a deaf person to deejay？” He wrote back the next

day， “Challenge accepted.” He tutored me twice a week for two years， helping me

develop correct skills. I practiced four hours a day. Now when I’m performing， muscle

memory takes over.

When I started， I wouldn’t tell the club managers I was deaf. I would just show up，

introduce myself， and start playing music. At the end of the night， someone would say，

“Oh， here’s the check.” And I’d say， “What？ Oh， I can’t hear.” They were always so

surprised. Sometimes I would bring doctor s note because they wouldn’t believe me.

I use software that turns the music into lines of color on a computer screen. Red is

the bass; blue is snare; green is the vocals or melody. I’m visually hearing the music.

What I love about DJ is the creativity. Cover your ears the next time you go dancing， and

you ll feel a little bit of how I do it. You ll start using your other senses. You ll start seeing

that you’re able to hear the music in a different way. Music is not all about hearing.

I play from college parties to corporate events now. I also go to elementary schools

for the deaf and talk to the students about motivation and believing in themselves. I’m big

on talking to the parents. I tell them， “My advice to you is to let your kids chase their

dreams. I m a deaf DJ， so why not？”

1. Which of the following helps the author perform well？

A. Muscle memory.

B. The doctor s note.

C. The sense of hearing.

D. The sense of touching.

2. Who helps the author most in his DJ skills？

A. His father.

B. The doctor.

C. DJ Shiftee.

D. The club manager.

3. What can be concluded from the text？

A. Dreams have power.

B. Bad news has wings.

C. From saving comes having.

D. He that climbs high falls heavily.

1. A 2. C 3. A

“播放”音乐的公路

就著名的公路而言，66號公路是很难被超越的。许多歌曲，甚至是电视节目都用它来命名。

1. rumble / r mbl/ n. 隆隆声

2. veer /v （r）/ v. 改变方向

3. vibrate /va bre t/ v. 振动

4. strain /stre n/ v. 拉紧;竭力

In terms of famous roads， it’s impossible to top Route 66. The two and a half

thousand mile highway stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles has earned its place in

the history books， with songs and even a TV show named after it. But even on this

famous road， there’s one stretch that stands out. That s because it plays music.

In 2014， the New Mexico Department of Transportation teamed up with National

Geographic to create this unique landmark. They chose a 490 yard stretch of Route 66

（about a quarter of a mile） located in New Mexico， between mile markers 4 and 5 as

you travel east between the cities of Albuquerque and Tijeras. A group of engineers at

San Bar Construction Corp. installed rumble strips in the road， similar to the type that

jars your car if you veer out of your lane. These strips， however， do something much

more pleasant. They cause cars driving over them to vibrate， producing sounds with a

certain pitch. Those sounds combine to form a recognizable tune： the chorus of the

patriotic hit America the Beautiful.

And the best part is that you don t even have to strain to hear it. The song is pretty

clearly audible. The one thing you do have to do is drive the speed limit. The song will

only be recognizable if your car hits the rumble strips going 45 miles per hour. And

there’s a reason for this. In addition to being a cool landmark， the singing highway has

another purpose： curbing speeding. National Geographic pitched the idea as part of its

series “Crowd Control”， which looks at experiments exploring the habits of the masses

（such as speeding） and whether they can be altered.

And don t worry about missing this experience. Signs next to the road let drivers

know when the stretch is coming up， reading “Musical Road Ahead” and “Reduce to 45

mph to hear the song”. Once you reach the stretch itself， you’ll be able to see white

music notes painted on the road.

1. One stretch of Route 66 is famous because_________.

A. it can play music

B. its landmark is cool

C. cars are sensitive to it

D. many songs are named after it

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 3？

A. Recording.

B. Limiting.

C. Checking.

D. Adjusting.

3. How do drivers know the stretch is coming up？

A. By playing music in their car.

B. By limiting their speed to 45 mph.

C. By observing signs next to the road.

D. By setting GPS in the car or on the phone.

1. A 2. B 3. C

音乐帮助餐厅选择顾客

音乐可能不是你选择在哪里用餐的最大动机，但是餐馆的老板在播放音乐这一方面可是下了很大的功夫……

1. cater to 迎合

2. alienate / e li ne t/ v. 使疏远

3. deem /di m/ v.认为;视为

Music most likely isn’t the largest factor motivating where you choose to dine， but

restaurant owners put a lot of thought into what they play in their eateries. And according

to Nation’s Restaurant News， if they aren’t thinking about music， they should be.

In a recent post about music s role in restaurant design， author Mark Brand au

details the different ways sound influences sales， how different times of the day call for

their own soundtrack and how restaurants cater to certain customers. Here are a few

“notes” to keep in mind the next time you need to pick a restaurant：

It’s someone s job to build playlists. Eateries hire experts to build music playlists for

different times of the day. The Senior Vice President of Quaker Steak & Lube says，

“Energetic， up tempo songs encourage quick dining and faster table turns at peak

periods.” These paid for playlists don t include advertisements and need to be scored so

there’s enough variety to avoid repeating songs.

What you hear at lunch won’t be what you hear at dinner. And what you hear after

dinner will be something entirely different. If a restaurant s goal is to increase late night

traffic， music is crucial to creating the atmosphere.

Music builds brands. Nick Voinovich， president of four unit， fast casual chain Little

Greek， had been in the business for 20 years before realizing how crucial music is to the

restaurant experience after listening to an executive from The Cheesecake Factory

speak about using music to strengthen brand identity.

Where have you heard that before？ Restaurants may be using the same music

providers. Ambiance Radio provides playlists for Little Greek， in Florida， and also

Schlotzsky s and Union Square Café， in New York City. Voinovich， who started his

career at Chili s， revealed that years ago， instrumental tapes of background music

were changed only once per quarter.

Music helps restaurants choose diners. Brand au explains that some restaurants

prefer to turn up the volume， not to alienate certain groups of customers， but to stay

true to their core guests. If college students are a restaurant s main customers， the

restaurant may deliberately play music older crowds deem uninviting.

Do you often take music into consideration while eating out？

适合小狗听的舒缓音乐

研究显示，音乐除了能舒缓人的情绪，还可让烦躁不安的小狗瞬间平静下来。

1. pant /p nt/ v. 喘息

2. reggae / rege / n. 雷鬼（西印度群岛的一种节奏强劲的流行音乐）

3. cortisol / k t s l/ n. 皮质醇

4. cower / ka （r）/ v. 畏缩

The next time your pup starts to pant and pace during a thunderstorm or you have to

leave for a day and you know separation anxiety is about to ensue， consider turning on

some music. But not just any music. According to a new study published in the journal of

Physiology and Behavior， dogs prefer the sounds of reggae or soft rock more than any

other genre.

For the study， conducted by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals （SPCA）， researchers from the University of Glasgow turned on six hour

playlists of five different genres of music for shelter dogs. For the duration of the study，

the dogs heard classical， soft rock， reggae， pop and Motown. While the dogs were

listening， researchers took notes of their heart rate， cortisol levels and behaviors that

measure stress levels， like barking or lying down.

It turns out that dogs were less stressed while listening to soft rock or reggae. When

listening to Motown， their stress levels were higher， study coauthor Neil Evans told The

Washington Post. “Overall， the response to different genres was mixed highlighting the

possibility that like humans， our dogs have their own individual music preferences，”

Evans said. “Reggae music and soft rock showed the highest positive changes in

behavior.”

Based on the results of the study， Evans and his team believe that shelters and dog

owners alike would benefit from playing reggae or soft rock music for their canines during

high stress situations. For animals entering a shelter for the first time， the new

surroundings can be scary， leading to barking， shaking or cowering， and dogs living

in home can be fearful of loud noises or when their owners leave.

This latest research dates back to previous findings that discovered shelter dogs that

listen to classical music were more relaxed， barking less and lying down more.

Unfortunately， the study also found that by the seventh day of listening to classical

music， the dogs returned to restlessness， leading researchers including Evans to

believe that the animals were getting used to the music， or possibly getting bored.

Those previous results are what led the researchers to try varied genres for the new

study. Two Scottish SPCA shelters are taking notes of the study and will begin playing

music in their shelters， allowing their dogs to enjoy the relaxing benefits.

1. Which kind of music do dogs prefer？

A. Classical music.

B. Pop music.

C. Motown music.

D. Reggae or soft rock music.

2. Who will benefit from the study？

A. Students.

B. Parents.

C. Dog owners.

D. Doctors.

3. What can be inferred from the last paragraph？

A. Shelter dogs were more relaxed when they heard country music.

B. Shelter dogs were more restless when they heard classical music.

C. Music will be played by some dog owners to relax their dogs.

D. Music will be played by two Scottish SPCA shelters to relax their dogs.

1. D 2. C 3. D