2012年湖北成人学位英语考试真题及答案（文字版）
Passage 4
Material culture refers to the touchable, material" things"--physical objects that can be seen, held,felt, used--that a culture produces. Examining a nation's material culture can tell us about the group's history and way of life. Similarly, research into the material culture of music can help us understand the music culture. The most vivid way, of course, is musical instruments. We cannot hear for ourselves the actual sound of any musical performance before the 1870s when the phonograph was invented, so we rely on instruments for important information about music culture, their remote past and their development.
Here we have two kinds of evidence: instruments well preserved and pictures of instruments in art.
Through the study of instruments, as well as preserved paintings, written documents, and so on, we can explore the movement of music from the Near East to China over a thousand years ago, or we can outline the spread of the influence of the eastern countries to Europe that results in the development of most of the instruments on the symphony orchestra.
Sheet music or printed music, too is material culture. Printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet folk music stimulates people to create new and different songs. Besides,the ability to read music notation (乐谱) has a far-reaching effect on musicians and, when it becomes widespread, on the music culture as a whole.
One more important part of music's material culture is the influence of the electronic media-radio,record player, tape recorder, television, and video cassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the" information revolution," a twentieth century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations;they have affected music cultures all over the globe. They have brought about changes to traditional music instruments.
36. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because__________.
A. it helps produce new cultural tools and technology
B. it can reflect the way of life of the nation
C. it helps understand the nation's past and present as well as its way of life
D. it can demonstrate the nation's civilization
37. It can be learned from the second paragraph that__________.
A. the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese Music
B. Near Eastern music had influence on the instruments in the symphony orchestra
C. the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western Music
D. the musical instruments in the symphony based on that of Near Eastern music
38. According to the author, music notation is important because__________.
A. it has a great effect on the music culture as more and more people are able to read it
B. it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musicians
C. it is the printed version of standardized folk music
D. it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs
39. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music__________.
A. has brought about an information revolution
B. has speeded up the arrival of a new generation of computers
C. has given rise to new forms of music culture
D. has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments
40. Which of the following best summarized the main idea of the passage?
A. Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
B. Music cannot be passed on to future generation unless it is recorded.
C. Folk songs cannot spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.
D. The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
Part m Cloze (10 points)
Directions: There arel0 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are 4 choices marked A, B, C, and D. You should choose the ONE answer that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.
People live in groups, which we call societies, and social relations are the subjects 41 in the social sciences.
Men depend on other men and on the world around them. The sun brings them warmth and light,day and night, summer and winter. Plants grow 42 there is air and sunshine, earth and water;animals depend on plants;men depend on water, air, sunshine, and the plants, animals around them.
Wherever people live and 43 they look like, many of their requirements are the 44 . They need food and places to live in warmth and sleep. They need a social existence, they need friendships and relationships which will 45 to marriage and family. The members of a society depend on one 46
In different society we find different ways of getting food and different methods of preparing it.
Societies have 47 habits and customs. They teach their children, care for sick people, look after 48 people in various ways. They have different beliefs in life, death, and the world 49 whichthey were born.
Most men want to live in peace. The members of every social group accept certain rules and customs and expect other members to know them. Children are taught to 50 these rules, and what they do in later life depends partly on the habits they learned when they were young.
41. A. studied
B. searched
C. explained
D. learned
42. A. when
B. where
C. place
D. the place
43. A. whatever
B. what
C. how
D. however
44. A. similar
B. same
C. different
D. various