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. Awful music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has 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 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 was exactly what they did—facing the orchestra(管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)) 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. 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 an inspection(視察) by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shiny enough to pass the 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 linked to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. 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. 
小題1:How many ways does the phrase “to face the music” comes from?     
A．1.B．2.C．3.D．4.
小題2:What’s the meaning of “to face the music”?
A．To face something far less pleasant.B．To face the stage.
C．To face the back of one’s horse.D．To face one’s leader.
小題3:The underlined word “hostile” means ________.
A．unfriendlyB．dislikeC．unkindD．unnecessary

小題1:C
小題2:A
小題3:A  

試題分析：】本文說(shuō)明了美國(guó)習(xí)語(yǔ)to face the music的來(lái)歷和意義,以及它在什么樣的情景下使用。
小題1:細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第三、四、五段的解釋?zhuān)赏浦祟}答案為C。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)文章第2段第2句It is something far less pleasant可推知此題答案為A。
小題3:詞義猜測(cè)題。根據(jù)單詞所在的語(yǔ)境：friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines說(shuō)明hostile與friendly意義相反，從而可推知此題答案為A
點(diǎn)評(píng)：這篇文章是說(shuō)明文中較簡(jiǎn)單的一種，詞義猜測(cè)，句意理解貫穿全文。閱讀策略就是全文細(xì)節(jié)閱讀。
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Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
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B．Spelling ability is closely related to writing ability.
C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas.
D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas.
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A．Window.B．SoulC．PictureD．Imagination.
小題5:What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?
A．Computers can help people with their choice of words.
B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.
C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.
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