Sheet music or printed music, too, is material culture. Scholars once defined folk music cultures as those in which people learn and sing music by ear rather than from print, but research shows mutual influence among oral and written sources during the past few centuries in Europe, Britain, and America. Printed versions limit variety because they tend to standardize any song, yet they stimulate people to create new and different songs. Besides, the ability to read music notation has a far-reaching effect on music and, when it becomes widespread, on the music culture as a whole.
One more important part of music’s material culture should be singled out: the influence of the electronic media—radio, record player, tape recorder, television, and videocassette, with the future promising talking and singing computers and other developments. This is all part of the "information revolution", a twentieth-century phenomenon as important as the industrial revolution was in the nineteenth. These electronic media are not just limited to modern nations; they have affected music cultures all over the globe.
62. Research into the material culture of a nation is of great importance because ________ .
[A] it helps produce new cultural tools and technology
[B] it can reflect the development of the nation
[C] it helps understand the nation’s past and present
[D] it can demonstrate the nation’s civilization
63. It can be learned from this passage that ________ .
[A] the existence of the symphony was attributed to the spread of Near Eastern and Chinese music
[B] Near Eastern music had an influence on the development of the instruments in the symphony orchestra
[C] the development of the symphony shows the mutual influence of Eastern and Western music
[D] the musical instruments in the symphony orchestra were developed on the basis of Near Eastern music
64. According to the author, music notation is important because ________ .
[A] it has a great effect on the music culture as more and more people are able to read it
[B] it tends to standardize folk songs when it is used by folk musicians
[C] it is the printed version of standardized folk music
[D] it encourages people to popularize printed versions of songs
65. It can be concluded from the passage that the introduction of electronic media into the world of music ________ .
[A] has brought about an information revolution
[B] has speeded up the appearance of a new generation of computers
[C] has given rise to new forms of music culture
[D] has led to the transformation of traditional musical instruments
66. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
[A] Musical instruments developed through the years will sooner or later be replaced by computers.
[B] Music cannot be passed on to future generations unless it is recorded.
[C] Folk songs cannot be spread far unless they are printed on music sheets.
[D] The development of music culture is highly dependent on its material aspect.
Part V Cloze (15 minutes)
Directions: There are 20 blanks in the following passage. For each blank there are four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D] on the right side of the paper. You should choose the ONE that best fits into the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.
Today, most countries in the world have canals. Many countries have built canals near the coast, and parallel 67 the coast. Even in the twentieth century, goods can be moved more cheaply by boat than by any other 68 of transport. These 69 make it possible for boats to travel 70 ports along the coast without being 71 to the dangers of the open. Some canals, such as the Suez and the Panama, save ships weeks of time by making their 72 a thousand miles shorter. Other canals permit boats to reach cities that are not 73 on the coast; still other canals 74 lands where there is too much water, help to 75 fields where there is not enough water, and 76 water power for factories and mills. The size of a canal 77 on the kind of boats going through it. The canal must be wide enough to permit two of the largest boats using it to 78 each other easily. It must be deep enough to leave about two feet of water 79 the keel of the largest boat using the canal. When the planet Mars was first 80 through a telescope, people saw that the round disk of the planet was crises-crossed by a 81 of strange blue-green lines. These were called "canals" 82 they looked the same as canals on earth 83 are viewed from an airplane. However, scientists are now 84 that the Martian phenomena are really not canals. The photographs 85 from space-ships have helped us to 86 the truth about the Martian "canals".
