If you want to listen to music today，you have the luxury of simply streaming songs from one of the many online sites.But that was not the case even just two decades ago.Music had to be stored on devices such as cassettes and compact discs that were inserted into players.
On March 6th，Lou Ottens，the inventor of cassette tapes，passed away.Ottens worked for a company called Philips that introduced portable cassettes to the world in 1962.Since then，more than 100 billion cassettes have been sold worldwide!
In 1877，Thomas Alva Edison created the phonograph （留聲機(jī)）-a device that played recorded sounds from round cylinders.This was followed by the gramophone a decade later.While vinyl records （唱片）were extremely popular，they could easily be scratched or damaged.
By the mid-1930s，a new technology emerged in Germany that dramatically improved sound quality.The magnetic tape used a metal tape covered in magnetic particles.The first use of magnetic tapes was in reel-to-reel（盤(pán)式的） tape recorders.These recorders were large，expensive，and difficult to use，which is why mainly professionals in radio stations and recording studios used them.
The story goes that one night，after a frustrating experience with a reel-to-reel recording，Ottens decided to create something that was portable，accessible，and dependable.He even brought along a wooden block in his pocket to represent his goal for the size of the invention!And the cassette tape was born.
But in the late 1990s and early 2000s，when compact disc （CD） players emerged，cassette tapes saw a decline in sales and usage.CDs provided more storage and better audio quality，were less expensive，and overall had a longer lifespan.With the rise of the Internet and streaming music over the past decade，both CDs and cassettes have since become obsolete.
As you can see，music has certainly changed a lot over the past century.We owe it to pioneers like Ottens who made music portable and brought color into our lives!
（1）What do we know about vinyl records？ DD
A．They recorded sounds on round cylinders.
B．They made sounds by using a metal tape.
C．They could be used for a longer time.
D．They could be easily damaged.
（2）Why did Ottens bring along a wooden block in his pocket？ AA
A．To expect his invention to be small enough.
B．To treat wood as a material of his invention.
C．To wish his invention to be solid and hard.
D．To make his invention as light as wood.
（3）What caused a decrease in cassette tapes in the late 1990s and early 2000s？ BB
A．The Internet.
B．Compact discs.
C．Magnetic tapes.
D．Vinyl records.
（4）What is the purpose of the text？ CC
A．To introduce the music development.
B．To explain the ways of recording music.
C．To remember Ottens' invention of cassettes.
D．To explain the role of Ottens in making music.
【考點(diǎn)】文學(xué)與藝術(shù)；說(shuō)明文．
【答案】D；A；B；C
【解答】
【點(diǎn)評(píng)】
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發(fā)布：2024/12/29 13:30:3組卷：1引用：1難度：0.6
相似題
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1．How similar are language and music？ Language is part of our daily lives，no matter where we live in the world. （1）
Both language and music play a huge role in our culture and here are some of their similarities.
Both language and music have a writing system.
In English we record language using the alphabet，which is a collection of letters.Similarly，we use notes （音符） to keep a record of music.Musicians read notes and create meaning in the form of music. （2）By writing pieces of text or music，we are able to share experiences through time.We can read the ideas or hear the composition （作品） of someone who lived hundreds of years ago.
（3）
You can make a good guess at where someone is from by listening to the language he uses.In the same way，we know that styles of music are different around the world，giving us the opportunity to explore many different cultures through their music and providing us with music for every situation.
Both share emotion.
（4）Of course you may be able to see it in my face，but you will know for sure through my words.Similarly，music can sound angry，sad or happy.Music can show you exactly how the composer was or is feeling，and allows us to share that emotion.When you feel happy，you might want to sing and dance to a happy song to celebrate your happiness. （5）I think we have all used music to express or process our emotions，often combining it with language in the form of song lyrics （歌詞）.
A.Both are expressive.
B.Both vary with culture.
C.How do you know that I am angry？
D.We use language to express our thoughts.
E.Similarly，music is part of many people's lives.
F.So just as you read English，you can read music.
G.In contrast，you probably also listen to sad music when you are feeling down.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 16:30:1組卷：5引用：3難度：0.7 -
2．About 20 years ago，Daniel Hoffman，a classically trained violinist met a young musician playing in the town square in Marrakech，an ancient city in Morocco.They communicated in the little French they both knew，but their main common language was music.On the back of a motorbike of the fellow violinist，Hoffman weaved through the back streets of the city and then learned his first lessons in Andalusian music，the classical music of North Africa.
That experience gave birth to an idea：What would it be like to try to learn how to play different violin styles around the world in just one week？Oh，yes，and at the end of that week，play a concert.He even got a name for the concept "musical extreme sports".
It took him almost two decades to launch that dream with a friend，who introduced him to the wonders of Kickstarter，a funding platform for creative projects.Up to now，the dream has taken the form of a new documentary currently airing on American public television stations called "Otherwise，It's Just Firewood."
In the documentary，Hoffman travels to County Clare，Ireland，where he takes lessons with James Kelly，a master Irish violin player，for less than a week and then performs together with him in front of an audience，many of whom are star Irish musicians.
The film is what Hoffman hopes will be the first of an eventual series of short documentaries，showing him learning to play the violin in a variety of styles，including the folk music of south India，Sweden，Greece，Romania，and West Virginia.
That would add to his extensive repertoire（全部曲目），which already includes Balkan，Middle Eastern，and Turkish styles."The big joke is what's the difference between the fiddle and the violin？It's the person who plays it，" says Niall Keegan，a traditional flute player."It's the music you make on it that makes it Irish or English or French or classical or jazz or whatever else.It's how we imagine it and how we create through it that make it and give it character."
"Otherwise，it's just firewood，" he says，words that became the film's title.
（1）Where does Hoffman's idea of musical extreme sports come from？
A．His exploration of the local music.
B．His cooperation with the young violinist.
C．His sightseeing tour on a motorbike seat.
D．His constantly changing taste in violin styles.
（2）According to the passage，the series of documentaries.
A．help Hoffman to become a master violin player
B．a(chǎn)re funded by American public television stations
C．introduce different styles of musicians around the world
D．record Hoffman's experience in learning various violin styles
（3）The title of the documentary "Otherwise，It's Just Firewood" is used to emphasize.
A．the power of diversified artistic expression
B．the pleasure in learning traditional music
C．the technique of instrument playing
D．the importance of famous artists發(fā)布：2025/1/1 15:0:2組卷：28引用：4難度：0.5 -
3．The Mozart in the Machine Sometime in the coming decades，an external system that collects and analyzes biometric data （生物特征數(shù)據(jù)） will probably be able to understand what's going on in my body and in my brain much better than me.What will it do to art？Will art remain humanity's last line of defense against the rise of the all-knowing algorithms （算法）？
In the modern world art is usually associated with human emotions.We tend to think that artists are controlling internal psychological forces，and that the whole purpose of art is to connect us with our emotions or to inspire in us some new feeling.Consequently，when we come to evaluate art，we tend to judge it by its emotional impact and to believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
In 1952，the composer John Cage composed a musical piece 4'33" This piece consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds during which no instrument plays anything.The piece encourages the audience to observe their inner experiences in order to examine what music is and what we expect of it.The message is that it is our own expectations and emotions that define music.
If art is defined by human emotions，what might happen once external algorithms are able to understand and manipulate human emotions better than Shakespeare，Picasso or Lennon？After all，emotions are not some mysterious forces —they are a biochemical process.Therefore，given enough biometric data and enough computing power，it might be possible to hack （入侵） love，hate，boredom and joy.
Of all forms of art，music is probably the most sensitive to Big Data analysis，because the inputs are the mathematical patterns of soundwaves，and the outputs are the electrochemical signals.Allow a learning machine to go over millions of musical experiences，and it will learn how particular inputs result in particular outputs.
Therefore，in the long run，algorithms may learn how to compose entire tunes，playing on human emotions as if they were a piano keyboard.Using your personal biometric data，the algorithms could even produce personalized melodies，which you alone in the entire world would appreciate.
Will this result in great art？That depends on the definition of art.If beauty is indeed in the ears of their listener，then biometric algorithms stand a chance of producing the best art in history.If art is about something deeper than human emotions，biometric algorithms might not make very good artists.But nor would most humans.In order to enter the art market，algorithms won't have to begin by straight away beating Beethoven.It is enough if they outperform Justin Bieber.
（1）The author mentions the musical piece 4'33" to.
A．discuss the effect of silence in a musical piece
B．emphasize its emotional impact on the audience
C．show the significance of emotions in defining music
D．encourage the audience to observe their inner experiences
（2）What does the underlined word "manipulate" in Paragraph 4 mean？
A．Influence.
B．Cover.
C．Present.
D．Appreciate.
（3）What can we learn from this passage？
A．Computers will take the place of artists one day.
B．Human emotions are much more than biochemical signals.
C．Art is the final wall of humanity against the all-knowing algorithms.
D．Personalized music may be available for people to enjoy in the future.
（4）What is the author's attitude towards the future of algorithms music？
A．Uncertain.
B．Pessimistic.
C．Confused.
D．Positive.發(fā)布：2025/1/1 17:0:1組卷：17引用：3難度：0.6
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