When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.

 Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well ad the social environment it came influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from  American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.

 Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.

 The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.

 Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.

 So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.

According to Paragraph 1, students

 A. regard music as a way of entertainment

 B. disagree with their parents on education

 C. view music as an overlooked subject

 D. prefer the arts to science

In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz an example to

 A. compare it with rock music

 B. show music identifies a society

 C. introduce American musical traditions

 D. prove music influences people’s lifestyles

According to the passage, the arts and science      .

 A. approach the world from different angles

 B. explore different phenomena of the world

 C express people’s feelings in different ways

 D. explain what it means to be human differently

What is the main idea of the passage?

 A. Music education deserves more attention.

 B. Music should be of  top education priority.

 C. Music is an effective communication tool.

 D. Music education makes students more imaginative.

    When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly ad possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk(冒…危险)being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.

   “Storm chasing(追逐)” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby(喜好), especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.

    Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.

Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement . “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing.    “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”

    However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”

56. For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to          .

A. head straight for the center of the storm  B. get into the car for safety

C. wait patiently for the storm to develop    D. collect information about a coming storm

57. Beginners of storm chasing are advised             .

A. not to drive in a heavy rain                           B. to do it in an organized way

C. not to get too close to a storm                 D. to spend more time on it in summer

58. By saying “it is all worth it” in the last paragraph, the author means that             .

A. storm chasing costs a lot of money          B. storm chasing is worth hours of waiting

C. efforts in storm chasing are well paid          D. a storm presents the greatest show on Earth

59. What can we learn from the text?

A.  Sometimes storm chasers get nothing but disappointment

B.  Many storm chasers get killed in the storms.

C. Storm chasing is becoming popular around the world.

D. Storm chasing is only fit for young people.

When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority（优先）. This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are. Because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values, as well ad the social environment it came influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from  American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception（感知）that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive（情感的）meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other. They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebration, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.
【小题1】According to Paragraph 1, students

When a storm is coming, most people leave the area as quickly ad possible and head for safety. But there are a few people who will get into their cars and go straight for the center of the storm. These people are willing to risk being killed by floods or 100-kilometer-an-hour winds for the excitement of watching the storm close up.
“Storm chasing” is becoming an increasingly popular hobby, especially in the Midwest of the United States, where there are frequent storms between March and July. A storm chaser begins the day by checking the Internet for the latest weather reports, and then drives up to 1,000 kilometers to where the storm will be and waits for it to develop.
Although anyone can do it , storm chasing is extremely dangerous. The power of a big storm can throw a cow into the air or destroy a whole house in seconds. Storm chasers are also often hurt in accidents caused by driving in a heavy rain. If you are a beginner, it is much safer to join a group for storm-chasing vacations during the storm season.
Even then, storm chasing is not all adventure and excitement . “Storm chasing is 95% driving,” says Daniel Lynch, who spends most of his summer storm-chasing. “Sometimes you can sit around for hours waiting for something to happen, and all you get is blue sky and a few light showers.”
However, for storm chasers, it is all worth it. “When you get close to a storm, it is the most exciting sight you will ever see in your life,” says Jasper Morley. “Every storm is an example of the power of nature, It is the greatest show on Earth.”
【小题1】For storm chasing, the first thing storm chasers do is to .

At present, computer knowledge has become ___________ requirement as the ability to read and write.