This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers（young people aged from 13 —19）from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.

Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.

Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. The school was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully^① when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.

       Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.

       “Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”

       At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize^② American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”

Notes:

respectfully  adv. 尊敬地，謙恭地

criticize  vt. 批評，責(zé)備

Choose the best answers according to the above:

This year       __ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.

A. twenty-three hundred       B. thirteen hundred

C. over three thousand   D. less than two thousand

The whole exchange programme is mainly to        __.

A. help teenagers in other countries know the real America

B. send students in America to travel in Germany

C. let students learn something about other countries

D. have teenagers learn new languages

What is particular in America schools is that        __.

A. there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.

B. there are a lot of outside activities

C. students usually take fourteen subjects in all

D. students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car

After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought        __.

A. a better education should include something good from both American and Germany

B. German schools trained students to be better citizens

C. American schools were not as good as German schools

D. the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students

This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers（young people aged from 13 —19）from all over the world will spend about ten months in U. S. homes. They will attend U.S. schools, meet U.S. teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. The school was completely different from what he had expected — much harder. Students rose respectfully^① when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual. Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, in America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea. “I suppose I should criticize^② American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens. There ought to be some middle ground between the two.”
Notes:
①    respectfully  adv. 尊敬地，謙恭地
②    criticize  vt. 批評，責(zé)備
Choose the best answers according to the above:

1. 1.

   This year       __ teenagers will take part in the exchange programme between America and other countries.

   1. A.
      twenty-three hundred
   2. B.
      thirteen hundred
   3. C.
      over three thousand
   4. D.
      less than two thousand
2. 2.

   The whole exchange programme is mainly to        __.

   1. A.
      help teenagers in other countries know the real America
   2. B.
      send students in America to travel in Germany
   3. C.
      let students learn something about other countries
   4. D.
      have teenagers learn new languages
3. 3.

   What is particular in America schools is that        __.

   1. A.
      there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings.
   2. B.
      there are a lot of outside activities
   3. C.
      students usually take fourteen subjects in all
   4. D.
      students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car
4. 4.

   After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought        __.

   1. A.
      a better education should include something good from both American and Germany
   2. B.
      German schools trained students to be better citizens
   3. C.
      American schools were not as good as German schools
   4. D.
      the easy life in the American school was more helpful to students

閱讀理解

Information from the pioneer spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) obviously proves the theory that the burning 900-degree Fahrenheit surface temperature of Venus (金星) is due to an atmospheric greenhouse effect caused mainly by a blanket of carbon dioxide. Such a greenhouse effect is created when energy in the form of sunlight easily passes through a planet’s atmosphere, warms is surface, and becomes heat radiation that is then held in by the atmosphere. The orbiting spacecraft has collected Venus’s atmosphere from top to bottom so that NASA’s scientists are able to prove the exact amount of sunlight received at various places in the planet’s atmosphere and on its surface. Measurements of atmosphere, temperature, and radiative heating foresee Venus’s surface temperature very exactly. The planet is closer to the Sun than it is to the Earth, and it has a thin atmosphere like the Earth’s but Venus atmosphere is made up of more than ninety percent carbon dioxide, compared to less than four percent in that of the Earth. Because of its higher percentage of carbon dioxide, Venus’s atmosphere receives much more heat radiation than the Earth’s does. Thus the Venus studies are believed to be important to the understanding of possible bad effects on Earth’s agriculture and sea levels that could result from the long-term use of fuels, which add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere．

Notes

1. atmospheric adj．大氣(中)的

2. carbon dioxide 二氧化碳

3．orbit vt.使(人造衛(wèi)星、宇宙飛船等)進(jìn)入空間軌道；繞軌道運行

4．amount n．總數(shù)，總額

5．compare vt．把……比作(to)

1．Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．A New Theory

B．Measuring Planetary Temperatures

C．The Journey of Pioneer Spacecraft

D．The Greenhouse Effect on Venus

2．According to the passage, what happens to heat radiation on Venus?

A．It disappears at the planet’s surface．

B．It is received by the atmosphere．

C．It creates energy．

D．It is changed into other kind of energy．

 (丟失三道題)

Read first and then discuss the questions.

　　Where did jazz originate? What musical, social, and cultural ingredients (n. 成分, 因素) combined to form jazz? These questions, and their respective answers, are important for the student of jazz history to investigate.

　　Jazz is the only indigenous American art form and it is truly a cultural product of the United States. Western and African musical culture were the seeds of jazz, but America was the soil where jazz grew and prospered (V．成功, 興隆, 昌盛). Jazz is neither a music of Blacks nor the music of Whites, but jazz is actually a blending of a variety of traditions, heritages, and philosophies (n. 哲學(xué), 哲學(xué)體系) .

　　During the early history of America, slavery was a standard social practice. Slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to America. While in America, the displaced African’s (including African musicians who brought their musical traditions and talents with them) would learn from already established Western musical theories and performance practices. At the same time, Western musicians would learn African (Eastern) musical theories and performance practices from the African musicians.

　　Primitive (原始的) African culture places a great emphasis on music, much more so than Western societies. Music is an important aspect (n. 方面) of many of the day-today activities of the primitive African societies. As a primitive musical expression, early African music placed a great emphasis on rhythmic (adj. 節(jié)奏的, 合拍的) activity with a more simple use of melody (n. 悅耳的音調(diào)) and harmony (n. 協(xié)調(diào), 融洽). African rhythms are quite complex and very advanced, yet the melodies and harmonies are simple. This strong emphasis on musical tradition and usage was brought with the African populations during their forced exile of slavery to America.

　　While in America, these new Black Americans still expressed themselves through their musical traditions. Since they were in America, their old musical traditions could not be reproduced exactly for many reasons, including not being allowed to use traditional African instruments. To understand a comparable situation, let us assume (vt. 假定, 設(shè)想) that we have a fictional American rock band who are forcibly taken to a foreign country. While in slavery, the rock musicians still desire to create their music. Unfortunately, their new “owners” give them permission to perform their rock music, but the rock band is not allowed to use any electric guitars, an electric bass, a drum set, keyboards, or any type of electronic instruments. This would cause quite a problem for the rock band, but if they have a strong enough desire to create their music, they would have to find a way to do so with the resources (instruments etc. ) that were available to them. This imaginary (adj. 假想的, 想象的) scenario (劇情概要, 或是某一特定情節(jié)) was exactly what the African musicians faced as slaves in America.

　　Along with finding new instruments, the African musicians were being exposed to the Western musical culture. This exposure was a vital essence to the evolution of jazz. These new Western melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and aural traditions affected the African musicians tremendously. Of course, White musicians were also being affected by what they head from the African musicians. As time passes, the give and take between the African and Western musical traditions would blossom into what would be called Jazz.

　　To this day, elements that started with the African slaves can still be heard in jazz and rock. One example still in use is the African “call and response” method of early African songs. In a call and response, the soloist sings a portion of a melody while the group responds afterwards (much like a musical question and answer) .

　　Another example is “pitch-bending”. During the advent of jazz, the musicians would bend pitches for expressive purposes. This bent pitch catches our ears because the ear does not know where the pitch will actually end up, thus creating a musical surprise. Countless jazz and rock musicians use this technique today. Listen to a rock lead-guitar solo and count all the pitch-bends utilized. Most of today's synthesizers even have a pitch-bend device built in.

　　The roots of jazz are from African and Western musical traditions blended together. Over a period of many years, these traditions exchanged musical qualities and slowly evolved into jazz. The African emphasis on rhythm combined with Western theoretical musical thought created a new music for all musicians and audiences to enjoy. As the jazz musical tree grew, other sub-styles of music grew from the trunk of jazz. Music styles such as Rhythm and Blues (n. 節(jié)奏和布魯斯) Soul, Funk, Rap, and Rock and Roll are all descendants (n. 子孫, 后裔, 后代) of jazz and the jazz heritage.

Questions For Discussion:

1．Does Jazz come from Africa?

2．Does Jazz come from Blues?

Information from the pioneer spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) obviously proves the theory that the burning 900-degree Fahrenheit surface temperature of Venus (金星) is due to an atmospheric greenhouse effect caused mainly by a blanket of carbon dioxide. Such a greenhouse effect is created when energy in the form of sunlight easily passes through a planet’s atmosphere, warms is surface, and becomes heat radiation that is then held in by the atmosphere. The orbiting spacecraft has collected Venus’s atmosphere from top to bottom so that NASA’s scientists are able to prove the exact amount of sunlight received at various places in the planet’s atmosphere and on its surface. Measurements of atmosphere, temperature, and radiative heating foresee Venus’s surface temperature very exactly. The planet is closer to the Sun than it is to the Earth, and it has a thin atmosphere like the Earth’s but Venus atmosphere is made up of more than ninety percent carbon dioxide, compared to less than four percent in that of the Earth. Because of its higher percentage of carbon dioxide, Venus’s atmosphere receives much more heat radiation than the Earth’s does. Thus the Venus studies are believed to be important to the understanding of possible bad effects on Earth’s agriculture and sea levels that could result from the long-term use of fuels, which add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere．

Notes

1. atmospheric adj．大氣(中)的

2. carbon dioxide 二氧化碳

3．orbit vt.使(人造衛(wèi)星、宇宙飛船等)進(jìn)入空間軌道；繞軌道運行

4．amount n．總數(shù)，總額

5．compare vt．把……比作(to)

1．Which of the following would be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．A New Theory

B．Measuring Planetary Temperatures

C．The Journey of Pioneer Spacecraft

D．The Greenhouse Effect on Venus

2．According to the passage, what happens to heat radiation on Venus?

A．It disappears at the planet’s surface．

B．It is received by the atmosphere．

C．It creates energy．

D．It is changed into other kind of energy．

 (丟失三道題)