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To begin with,"muzak"(音乐广播网 )was intended simplyto createasoothing(安慰)atmosphere.Recently,however,it's ecome big business —thanks in part to recentresearch.Dr.Ronald Milliman,an American marketing expert,hasshown that music can boost sales or increase factory roduction by as much as a third.But,it has to be light music.A fast one has no effect atall on sales.Slow music can increase receipts by 38%.This isprobably because shoppers slow down and have more opportunityto spot items they like to buy.Yet,slow music isn't alway sanswer.Dr.Milliman found,for example,that in restaurants slowmusic meant customers took longer to eat their meals,whichreduced overall sales.So restaurants owners might be welladvised to play up-tempo music to keep the customers moving—unless of course,the resulting indigestion leads tocomplaints!
练习：
1.The reason why background music is so popular isthat ______.
A.it can have a powerful effect on those who hear it
B.it can help to create a soothing atmosphere
C.it can boost sales or increase factory production erywhere
D.it can make customers eat their meals quickly
2.Background music means ________.
A.light music that customers enjoy mostB.fast music that makes people move
fast
C.slow music that can make customers enjoy their meals
D.the music you are listening to while you are doingomething
3.Restaurant owners complain about background musicbecause ______.
A.it results in indigestion
B.it increases their sales
C.it keeps customers moving
D.it decreases their sales
4.The word"up-tempo music"probably means_____.
A.slow music
B.fast music
C.light music
D.classical music
Passage 2
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:
When aluminum was first produced about a hundred and fifty years ago, it was
so difficult to separate form the ores in which it was found that its price was
higher than that of gold. The price remained high until a new process was
discovered for refining the metal with the aid of electricity approximately
three quarters of a century later. The new method was so much cheaper that
aluminum because practical for many purposes, one of which was making pots and
pans.
Aluminum is lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms. By
mixing it with other metals, scientists have been able to produce a variety of
alloys, some of which have the strength of steel but weigh only one third as
much.
Today, the uses of aluminum are innumerable. Perhaps its most important use
is in transportation. Aluminum is found in the engine of automobiles, in the
hulls of boats. It is also used in many parts of airplanes. In fact, the huge
“airbus” planes would probably never have been produced if aluminum did not
exist. By making vehicles lighter in weight aluminum has greatly reduced the
amount of fuel needed to move them, Aluminum is also being used extensively in
the building industry in some countries.
Since aluminum is such a versatile (多用的) metal, it is fortunate that bauxite
(铝土矿), which is one of its chief sources, is also one of the earth’s most
plentiful substances. As the source of aluminum is almost inexhaustible, we can
expect that more and more uses will be found for this versatile metal.
6. The price of aluminum was sharply reduced when people discovered a new
refining process with the aid of .
A. wind B. solar energy C. hydraulic power D. electricity
7. Aluminum is .
A. lightweight, rustproof but not easily shaped into different forms
B. heavyweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
C. lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms
D. lightweight and easily shaped into different forms but it is easy to
become rusty
8. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Aluminum is widely used in transportation.
B. Aluminum is also used in many parts of airplanes.
C. Aluminum is being used extensively in the building industry.
D. Aluminum is not used in its pure form.
9. Aluminum is found on earth mostly in the form of .
A. pure metal B. bauxite C. gold D. liquid
10. What is the passage talking about?
A. The features of aluminum and its functions. B. The process of
aluminum.
C. The discovery of aluminum. D. The promising future of aluminum.
Bernard Bailyn has recentlyreinterpretedthe early historyof the United States
by applyingnew socialresearchfindingson theexperiencesofEuropean
migrants.Inhisreinterpretation,migrationbecomes the organizingprinciplefor
rewritingthe historyofpreindustrial North America. His approach rests on four
separate propositions.The firstof these asserts that residentsof early modern
England moved regularlyabouttheir countryside; migrating to the New World was
simply a natural spillover. Although atfirstthe colonies held
littlepositiveattractionfor the English D they would rather havestayed home D by
the eighteenth century people increasingly migrated to America becausethey
regarded it as the land of opportunity. Secondly, Bailyn holds that, contrary to
thenotion that used to flourish in America history textbooks, there was never a
typical NewWorld community.For example, the economic and demographiccharacterof
early New Englandtowns varied considerably.Bailyn's third proposition suggest
two general patterns prevailing among the manythousands of migrants:one group
came as indenturedservants,another came to acquire land.Surprisingly,Bailyn
suggests that those who recruitedindentured servants were the drivingforces of
transatlanticmigration.These colonialentrepreneurshelped determine the
socialcharacterof people who came to preindustrialNorth America.At
first,thousands ofunskilled laborers were recruited; by the 1730's, however,
American employers demandedskilled artisans.Finally, Bailyn argues that the
colonies were a half-civilized hinterland of theEuropean culture system. He is
undoubtedly correct to insist that the colonies were partof an Anglo-American
empire. But to divide the empire into English core and colonialperiphery, as
Bailyn does, devalues the achievements of colonial culture. It is true, asBailyn
claims, that high culture in the colonies never matched that in England. But
whatof seventeenth-century New England, where the settlers created effective
laws, built adistinguished university, and published books Bailyn might respond
that New England wasexceptional. However, the ideas and institutions developed
by New England Puritans hadpowerful effects on North American culture.Although
Bailyn goes on to apply his approach to some thousands of indenturedservantswho
migrated just prior to the revolution, he fails to link their experience with
thepolitical development of the United States. Evidence presented in his work
suggests howwe might make such a connection. These indentured servants were
treated as slaves for theperiod during which they had sold their time to
American employers. It is not surprisingthat as soon as they served their time
they passed up good wages in the cities and headedwest to ensure theirpersonal
independence by acquiringland. Thus, it is in the west thata peculiarly American
political culture began, among colonists who were suspicious ofauthority and
intensely anti-aristocratic.
1.Which of the followingstatements about migrants to colonialNorth America is
supportedby information in the text
[A] A larger percentage of migrants to colonial North America came as
indenturedservants than as free agents interested in acquiring land.
[B] Migrants who came to the colonies as indentured servants were more
successful atmaking a livelihood than were farmers and artisans.
[C] Migrants to colonialNorth America were more successfulat acquiringtheir
own landduring the eighteenth century than during the seventeenth century.
[D] By the 1730's,migrants already skilled in a trade were in more demand by
Americanemployers than were unskilled laborers.
2.The author of the text states that Bailyn failed to
[A] Give sufficient emphasis to the cultural and political interdependence of
thecolonies and England.
[B] Describe carefully how migrants of different ethnic backgrounds preserved
theirculture in the United States.
[C] Take advantage of social research on the experiences of colonists who
migrated tocolonial North America specifically to acquire land.
[D] Relate the experience of the migrants to the politicalvalues that
eventuallyshapedthe character of the United States.
3.Which of the following best summarizes the author's evaluation of Bailyn's
fourthproposition
[A] It is totally implausible.
[B] It is partially acceptable.
[C] It is highly admirable.
[D] It is controversial though persuasive.
4.According to the text,Bailyn and the author agree on which of the
followingstatementsabout the culture of colonial New England
[A] High culture in New England never equaled the high culture of
England.
[B] The culturalachievements of colonialNew England have generallybeen
unrecognizedby historians.
[C] The colonistsimitatedthe high cultureof England ， and did not develop a
culturethat was uniquely their own.
[D] The southern colonies were greatly influenced by the high culture of New
England.
5.The author of the text would be most likely to agree with which of the
followingstatements about Bailyn's work
[A] Bailyn underestimates the effects of Puritan thought on North American
culture.
[B] Bailyn overemphasizes the economic dependence of the colonies on Great
Britain.
[C] Bailyn'sdescriptionof thecoloniesas part of an Anglo-American empireis
misleading and incorrect.
[D] Bailyn failedto test his propositionson a specificgroup of migrants to
colonialNorth America.
