C

To face the music

Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music.”

When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you!” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!

The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue (提示) to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did---facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines (台词). But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”

Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do?

Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.

59. How many explanations are mentioned about the phrase “to face the music” in the passage?

A. 1. B. 2. C. 3. D. 4.

60. What does the phrase “to face the music” really mean?

A. To face the stage.

B. To face the back of the horse.

C. To face one’s leader or father.

D. To face something far less pleasant.

61. Which of the following occasions is the one we may have to face the music?

A. When we are playing basketball in the playground.

B. When we are making a speech before a lot of people.

C. When we are having a party at ease with our teachers.

D. When we are talking with somebody in secret.

62. The underlined word “hostile” in the third paragraph means ______.

A. unfriendly B. dislike C. unkind D. unnecessary

D

One might expect that the ever-growing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holiday-makers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the long-term future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rock-bound Pacific island is advertised as the “last paradise (天堂) on earth”.

However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays, over-crowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.

Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holiday-makers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation (开发) of precious trees and plants.

Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The one-time farmer is now the servant of some multi-national organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn’t happier in his village working his own land.

Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.

The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve (保护) the market for these companies. If not, in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.

63. What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?

A. The Pacific island is a paradise.

B. The Pacific island is worth visiting.

C. The advertisement is not convincing.

D. The advertisement is not impressive.

64. The example of Nepal is used to suggest ______.

A. its natural resources are untouched

B. its forests are exploited for farmland

C. it develops well in health and education

D. it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists

65. Which of the following determines the future of tourism?

A. The number of tourists.

B. The improvement of services.

C. The promotion of new products.

D. The management of tourism.

66. The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is ______.

A. optimistic B. objective C. doubtful D. negative

E

Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.

Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.

E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.

The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun, see a great movie perhaps---and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.

With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address (述说) it to all the friends who you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.

E-mail is also an inexpensive way to stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.

We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.

67. The purpose of this passage is to ______.

A. explain how to use the Internet

B. tell the merits (价值) and usefulness of the Internet

C. describe the writer’s joy of keeping up with the latest technology

D. introduce the reader to basic knowledge about personal computers and the Internet

68. The use of E-mail has made it possible for the writer to ______.

A. spend less time working

B. work at home on weekends

C. have more free time with his child

D. work at a speed comfortable to him

69. According to the writer, E-mail has an obvious advantage over the telephone because the former helps one ______.

A. reach a group of people at one time conveniently

B. keep one’s communication as personal as possible

C. pass on much more information than the latter

D. get in touch with one’s friends faster than telephone

70. The best title for this passage is ______.

A. Computer New Technological Advances

B. Internet New Tool to Maintain Good Friendship

C. Computers Have Made Life Easier

D. Internet a Convenient Tool for Communication