Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(適合大眾口味的音樂(lè)) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR

  1. 1.

    Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________

    1. A.
      the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK
    2. B.
      her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week
    3. C.
      Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did
    4. D.
      she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry
  2. 2.

    According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________

    1. A.
      to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music
    2. B.
      is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice
    3. C.
      lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust
    4. D.
      is largely due to the state of the music industry currently
  3. 3.

    Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

    1. A.
      She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce
    2. B.
      She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music
    3. C.
      Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK
    4. D.
      Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves
  4. 4.

    What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

    1. A.
      Her musical talent
    2. B.
      The joint work of musicians in the album
    3. C.
      Her incredible voice
    4. D.
      Her universality and broad appeal
  5. 5.

    The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________

    1. A.
      satisfying
    2. B.
      disappointing
    3. C.
      dangerous
    4. D.
      desperate
BCADB
試題分析:文章介紹Adele的音樂(lè)成就,和為什么她的音樂(lè)能這么受歡迎,同事作者表達(dá)對(duì)英國(guó)音樂(lè)領(lǐng)域的擔(dān)心。
1.細(xì)節(jié)題:從第一段的句子:The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. 可知Adele的第二張唱片連續(xù)10周排在排行榜首位,這是令人難以置信的。選B
2.細(xì)節(jié)題:從第二段的句子:For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility.可知選C
3.細(xì)節(jié)題:從第三段的句子:What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, 可知作者認(rèn)為她和Gaga 和 Beyonce.的方式是完全不一樣的。選A
4.細(xì)節(jié)題:從第四段的句子:It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales.可知是因?yàn)樗拇蟊姎g迎度使她的歌唱天賦變成銷售額。選D
5.細(xì)節(jié)題:從最后一段的句子:The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.可知現(xiàn)在的英國(guó)的英國(guó)的音樂(lè)潮流是令人失望的。選B
考點(diǎn):考查新聞報(bào)道類短文
點(diǎn)評(píng):本文考查細(xì)節(jié)題為主,細(xì)節(jié)題可以在文章中直接找到與答案有關(guān)的信息或是其變體。搜查信息在閱讀中非常重要它包括理解作者在敘述某事時(shí)使用的具體事實(shí)、數(shù)據(jù)、圖表等細(xì)節(jié)信息。在一篇短文里大部分篇幅都屬于這類圍繞主體展開的細(xì)節(jié)。做這類題一般采用尋讀法即先讀題,然后帶著問(wèn)題快速閱讀短文,找出與問(wèn)題有關(guān)的詞語(yǔ)或句子,再對(duì)相關(guān)部分進(jìn)行分析對(duì)比,找出答案。
練習(xí)冊(cè)系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2012-2013學(xué)年福建省晉江市養(yǎng)正中學(xué)高一上學(xué)期期中考試英語(yǔ)試卷(帶解析) 題型:單選題

—I did very poorly in last week’s test.
— ____ Look at your paper. You got a good mark.

A.Oh, come off it!B.Absolutely.
C.You’re dead right.D.You’ve got a point there.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2011-2012學(xué)年廣西柳鐵一中高三年級(jí)第一次月考英語(yǔ)卷 題型:填空題

此題要求改正所給短文中的錯(cuò)誤。對(duì)標(biāo)有題號(hào)的每一行做出判斷:如無(wú)錯(cuò)誤,在該行右邊橫線上畫一個(gè)勾(√);如有錯(cuò)誤(每行只有一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤),則按下列情況改正:該行多一個(gè)詞:把多余的詞用斜線(\)劃掉,在該行右邊橫線上寫出該詞,也用斜線劃掉。該行缺一個(gè)詞:在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧),在該行右邊橫線上寫出該加的詞。該行錯(cuò)一個(gè)詞:在錯(cuò)的詞下劃一橫線,在該行右邊橫線上寫出改正后的詞。
注意:原行沒有錯(cuò)的不要改。

Today Li Lin is praised for how she has done for our class.
【小題1】___________
On a hot afternoon last week Li Lin went to downtown and
【小題2】___________
went from one store to other, looking for the clothes we would
【小題3】____________
wear in the singing contest. She spend the whole afternoon
【小題4】____________
searching until she found it finally. Deeply moved by her
【小題5】____________
efforts, we tried our best and won the first prize in the contest.
【小題6】____________
    Li Lin is always warm-hearted and cares our class a lot.
【小題7】____________
Besides, she often devotes her spare time to help classmates.
【小題8】____________
She has set a good example for us. Therefore, she deserves the
【小題9】____________
praise and we should learn her.
【小題10】____________
 

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2012屆河南省許昌新鄉(xiāng)平頂山高三第一次調(diào)研考試英語(yǔ)卷 題型:填空題

假定英語(yǔ)課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文,請(qǐng)你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語(yǔ)言錯(cuò)誤,每句中最多有兩處,每處錯(cuò)誤僅涉及一個(gè)單詞的增加、刪除或修改。
增加:在缺詞處加一個(gè)漏字符號(hào)(∧),并在其下面寫出該加的詞。
刪除:把多余的詞用斜線(\)劃掉。
修改:在錯(cuò)詞下劃一橫線,并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。
注意:1.每處錯(cuò)誤及其修改均限一詞。
2.只允許修改10處,多者(從第11處起)不計(jì)分。
Our English club was set up two months ago.Now,we have members of 25.We met once a week on Saturday afternoon.So far,we have been conducted a variety of activities on English learning,such as watching English films,including a Christmas party and get together with the foreign students.Last week we held an English story-telling competition.We required that the entries would be original and interesting and be presented in English within five minutes.Every member took an actively part in it.Two foreign English teachers were invited to act as judge.At last,LiBing won the first place.Many members said that the activity benefited them many ways.
Not only did it improve their speaking English,but also it brought them more fun.They hope many such activities can be held.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2015屆浙江省高一12月月考英語(yǔ)試卷(解析版) 題型:其他題

動(dòng)詞填空(每空1分,共10分)

1.My tooth is aching; I’d better have it ________(pull) out.

2.My computer was _______(break) so I couldn’t read your two e-mails until toady.

3. He lay in bed with his eyes closed, __________(listen) to the music over the radio.

4.In yesterday’s physics exam, John got better marks than _________(expect).

5.By the end of last week, four large bridges __________(build) over the river.

6.The question __________(discuss) at the meeting at the moment.

7.According to the timetable, the next train for Beijing ________(leave) at 8: 13.

8. If you want the job_________(do) before Friday, you’d better come to help us.

9. I was about __________(telephone ) him when he entered the room.

10.________(ride) a bike helps you keep slim and stay healthy.

 

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2012-2013學(xué)年江西省八校高三聯(lián)考英語(yǔ)試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

Michelle Obama made a daring decision to return to the same designer who created her Inaugural (就職)Ball dress four years ago --- and the risk paid off.

The First Lady looked extremely attractive in a thin, sweeping, and ruby-colored dress by designer Jason Wu. She teamed the dramatic dress with heels by Jimmy Choo and a diamond ring by Kimberly McDonald.

She surprised the fashion establishment by returning to a Wu design which had been the custom made for her.

Four years ago at her first Inauguration Ball, Michelle shimmered(熠熠生輝)in an off-white, one-shouldered floor-length dress by the designer.

Wu, who was 26 at the time and had only been working in fashion for three years, saw his career take off after the First Lady's surprise decision to wear one of his dresses.

He said at the time that he was unaware she had chosen the dress and had been watching at home on his couch and eating pizza when she appeared.

After her 2013 decision, Wu told Women's Wear Daily: “Mrs Obama likes to keep her secrets. She fooled me again.”

Wu released a women's clothing and accessories(裝飾品)collection at Target last year and continues to be popular with the First Lady for official engagements.

The sleeveless, cross-halter neck dress with low-cut back flattered(突出)49-year-old Michelle's arms and neat waist.

It had been created especially for her by Wu and was a departure from the dark and plain colour tone she stuck to at earlier inauguration events.

Mrs Obama's new hairstyle -- she had bangs(美發(fā)沙龍)cut on her birthday last week  had been loosely tousled(蓬松的)for the special night.

Vice-President Joe Biden's wife Jill also looked attractive in a blue silk dress by Vera Wang at the Inauguration Ball.

1.What does the passage mainly talk about?

A.Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball dress.

B.Wu, a great designer.

C.The First Lady’s secrets.

D.Mrs Obama’s 2013 decision.

2.Michelle Obama’s brave decision proved to be a_________.

A.risk                                  B.danger

C. Surprise                             D.success

3. According to the passage, which of the following is correct?

A.Mrs Obama’s inaugural dresses were made by the same designer.

B.Joe Biden’s wife Jill also had her dress created by Wu.

C.The colour tone at Michelle’s earlier inaugural events was not satifactory.

D.Mrs Obama had straight forehead hair as her new hairstyle for the special night.

4. Which of the following best describes Jason Wu?

A.Daring and gifted.

B.Unusual and cautious.

C.Careful and brave.

D.Talented and lucky.

5. From the 6th and 7th paragraphs we know that________.

A.Wu was aware that Mrs Obama had chosen his work again

B.Wu didn’t know Mrs Obama had chosen his creation again.

C.Mrs Obama told Wu to give away her secrets

D.Mrs Obama should have told Wu the truth

 

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊(cè)答案