2．"Without music，life would be a mistake，"famous German philosopher（哲學家） Friendrich Nietzsche said over a century ago．Music is a big part of our lives．But in recent years，some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets（預算）．
For example，Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1，000 teachers．Among them，10 percent of the teachers taught art or music，according to The Washington Times．In fact，this is not just a problem in the US．In other countries，such as China and the UK，music classes are not thought to be as important as ones like science，math and history．That's partly because music is not seen as a very important life skill，and it isn't tested．Many students are busy with schoolwork，so parents and students choose to focus on subjects that are tested more often．
However，learning music is beneficial（有益的）in many ways．
When playing music，you need different abilities to work together．It is not as simple as it looks，according to Kenneth Guilmartin of Music Together，an early childhood music development program．For example，when playing the piano，people see music notes and decode（解碼）them in their brains．They also use their fingers to make sounds．You need to deal with all these things at the same time．
Music has a special connection with science as well．You can see that many scientists are good at playing music：Einstein played the violin，and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano．
56．Some schools in the US cut music classes，becauseD．
A．students in the US weren't interested in music
B．they were too difficult to learn
C．there weren't enough music teachers in the US
D．the schools wanted to control budgets
57．In Paragraph 2，what does the underlined word"them"refer to（指代）？B
A．Public schools．
B．Fired teachers．
C．Parents in Chicago．
D．Students in Chicago．
58．What's the main idea of Paragraph 4？A
A．Different abilities are needed to work together while we are playing music．
B．Playing the piano needs people to use fingers to make sounds．
C．Decoding music notes is needed while we are playing music．
D．Playing the piano needs people to see music notes．
59．How many scientists who are good at playing music are mentioned in this passage？B
A．One．
B．Two．
C．Three．
D．Four．
60．What's the writer's opinion according to this passage？C
A．Music is as simple as it looks．
B．Music classes should be cut in some schools．
C．Music is a big part of our lives．
D．Music isn't a very important life skill for us．
分析 文章大意：
文中提到的是有關于音樂的事情．作者認為音樂對于我們的生活來說是很重要的，在演奏音樂過程中，我們會協(xié)調各方面的能力，我們會去領悟人生的真實意義，并且作者還提到，有很多的偉大科學家都會彈奏音樂，比如愛因斯坦等．
解答 56．D，細節(jié)理解題，文中提到"some US schools have cut music classes to control budgets"由于預算原因，美國的很多學校取消了音樂課程，由此確定選擇D．
57．B，推理判斷題，文中提到"Chicago public schools hurt arts education when it fired（解雇）over 1，000 teachers"芝加哥解雇了超過1000名老師，后文又說10 percent of the teachers taught art or music，10%的人教授音樂和藝術，由此可以推測此處的them指的是前面那些辭退的老師，選擇B．
58．A，段落理解題，段落第一句提出"When playing music，you need different abilities to work together"當演奏音樂時，一般都需要不同的能力一起協(xié)調作用，而后邊主要是舉例子說明這句話，比如音符解碼、手指按鍵等，由此確定選擇A．
59．B，細節(jié)理解題，文中提到"Einstein played the violin，and German physicist Max Planck was talented in playing the piano"愛因斯坦會小提琴，Max Planck在彈鋼琴上很有天賦，由此確定是兩個，選擇B．
60．C，主旨歸納題，文中首句提到"Without music，life would be a mistake"沒有音樂，生命將是一個錯誤，下面通過美國削減音樂課程和介紹演奏音樂的好處來說明這一點，由此推測作者認為音樂很重要，是生活的一部分，選擇C．
點評 對于閱讀表達題，一定要記得首先通讀全文，了解文章大意，然后再根據(jù)文章關鍵詞，關鍵句，掌握細節(jié)問題，并進行推理判斷，再去回答具體的問題．
