Blues， a type of music， developed during the late 19th century in the United States. It was started by African American performers. We can say blues music started around 1890， though we don’t have many records about the early history of blues.

The first publication(發(fā)行) of blues sheet music was Hart Wand’s “Dallas Blues” in 1912. Then W.C.Handy’s “The Memphis Blues” followed in the same year. The first recording by an African American singer was Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues” in 1920.

World WarⅡmarked the changing from acoustic(原聲的) to electric blues and great opening of blues music to many people， especially some white listeners.

During the 1930s， the blacks travelled north towards Chicago. They brought with them blues music， and soon the sound of it filled night clubs in the city. Chicago became the center of blues music. A new type of blues was made—Chicago blues and it was more powerful than all types before.

Blues music became even more popular in the late 1950s. In 1958 the Kingston Trio recorded the number 1 hit， Tom Dooley， which was ranked(排名) first at American folk songs ranking list. For eight years， from 1958 to 1966， the Newport Fork Festival introduced folk and blues music to the white American people. Finally， it became popular among the whites.

After this time， blues was fast merged(融合) with rock music to form the rock blues bands of the 1960s and 70s. The Rollings Stones， John Mayall， Led Zeppelin and others were all famous for their blues music. Blues also directly or indirectly influenced most of popular music during the 20th century， such as jazz， rock， and R&B.

Americans, like many people elsewhere in the world, like to invite friends to their homes for an evening of food, drink and conversation. Formal dinners, in fine homes and hotels in the United States are much the same as formal dinners anywhere in the world. But as most people in the United States have no servants (傭人) , their dinner parties at home are mostly informal. Guests may sit down at a table, or, as many new small homes have no separate (單獨(dú)的) dining room or very small dining space, guests can also serve themselves and eat in the living room, holding their plates on their knees.

A more enjoyable form of entertainment is the picnic. Americans are great picnickers, and almost every family has a picnic basket. Summer invitations are often for a picnic at a park or in the open countryside. Unless hamburgers or hot dogs are cooked over a fire, picnic food is usually cold sandwiches, salads, potato chips, etc. Watermelon is a favourite dessert, followed very often by baseball for the young and active, and naps (打盹) for the weary (疲憊的； 困乏的)．

【1】What do most Americans like to do?

A. To entertain friends at home with food and drink.

B. To invite friends to some fine homes.

C. To spend an evening with friends in the country.

【2】Why do most Americans prefer informal parties?

A. Because they have no servants to help them.

B. Because their houses are too small to hold formal dinner parties.

C. Because it takes them too much time to prepare formal parties.

【3】Where do guests sit and eat at informal dinner?

A. At a table in the dinning room.

B. In the living room.

C. Both A and B.

【4】According to the passage, what do people usually NOT have for a picnic?

A. Cooked food. B. Hot food. C. Cold food.

【5】Why is the picnic said to be a more enjoyable form of entertainment?

A. Because people can be closer to nature.

B. Because a dessert is served.

C. Because the whole family can have it together.

【1】______________________________________

【2】_____________________________________

【3】_____________________________________

【4】___________________________________

【5】___________________________________

假如你叫劉林(Liu Lin)，你班進(jìn)行了“Is Daily Homework Necessary?”的分組討論，你代表第五小組，向全班用英語(yǔ)匯報(bào)討論結(jié)果。請(qǐng)你根據(jù)提示和要求，完成匯報(bào)稿。

提示：

要求：

1. 匯報(bào)內(nèi)容包含三大要點(diǎn)：

①自我介紹：姓名、小組；

②討論情況：不同學(xué)生有不同看法；

③你自己的看法：……

2. 以第一人稱寫；

3. 90詞左右(已給出部分不計(jì)人總詞數(shù))。

注意：文中不得出現(xiàn)真實(shí)姓名和校名。

Dear Class,

It is our turn to give a report.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

That’s all. Thanks.

Do you know an old city called "Pingyao" in Shanxi? The old city is not _______Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province (省). It's a town_______ a long history of more than two thousand years.

The old city is not very large. It is_______2.25 square kilometers in size. And there are no tall buildings here. ______of the buildings have only two floors. And most of them are made of stones(石頭). There are many Chinese-style shops on _______ side of the street.

Pingyao is a square city. The city has a_______around it. It's about 6 km long and 12 m_____. The wall has six gates. And you mustn't _____ the nice food in Pingyao. Try Pingyao beef and you are sure to fall in love with it.

Pingyao is a very good place to visit. You can take buses or trains here. It's less than 2 hours' bus ride from Taiyuan. It _____you only 20 yuan. If you take a train, it will take you ______ time, only one and a half hours. And if you want to go to Pingyao from Beijing, the train ride takes only about 6 hours.

【1】A. far from B. far away C. away from D. far to

【2】A. in B. at C. with D. of

【3】A. even B. also C. still D. only

【4】A. Most B. Some C. A few D. Few

【5】A. every B. all C. each D. both

【6】A. gate B. building C. village D. wall

【7】A. long B. wide C. tall D. high

【8】A. eat B. miss C. try D. have

【9】A. takes B. costs C. spends D. pays

【10】A. fewer B. more C. less D. longer

【1】I ______ (突然) remembered that I had left my bag in the restaurant.

【2】They lost their boat in a ______ (暴風(fēng)雨)．

【3】When he went into the room, the fans all stood up and ______ (歡呼)．

【4】I'm too ______ today and don't want to do anything.

【5】I bought some carrots for my little ______.

【1】There are _______mice altogether(總共).

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5

【2】_______and _______don't have any butter.

A. Tommy; Kate B. Kate; Jimmy

C. Kate; John D. Tommy; Jimmy

【3】_______has no eggs among all the mice.

A. Tommy B. Kate C. Jimmy D. John

【4】_______doesn't like fruit, but likes juice.

A. Tommy B. Kate C. Jimmy D. John

【5】All the mice like_______.

A. chicken B. milk C. sugar D. meat

A　 B　 C
D E

---Yes, the air will be fresher and cleaner.

A. less, less B. less, fewer

C. fewer, fewer D. fewer, less

A. funnyly B. funny C. funy D. fun