Boys and girls, do you like listening to music? Can you play music by yourself? But have you found that music is an international language? Popular music in America is what every student likes. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to music before class, after class, and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and listen to music loudly as they drive on the street. Adult drivers listen to music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about sports, the weather, politics, and activities of American people. Most of the radio broadcast is music. So people can listen to it at any time if they like.
Pop or popular music singers make much money. They make CDs or tapes which radio stations use in every state. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people buy his or her tapes. Some of the money from these tapes comes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, all the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star. And some young students even behave like him or her and they say it’s a fashion.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music. It has stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called Western or country music. This was started by cowboys who would sing to the cows they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called Western or country music. Serious music for the concert halls is called classical music. Music for instruments is called orchestral (管弦乐的) music, such as the symphonies (交响乐) of Beethoven.
Music is around people’s life, and music can even change people’s life. Let’s listen to music at once.
【小题1】Almost every American student likes ________.| A．popular music | B．American songs | C．folk songs | D．classical music |
| A．are loved by all the young people | B．make much money |
| C．make a CD or tape | D．are wanted to sing on the radio |
| A．Popular music in America | B．Kinds of music in America |
| C．How to be famous singers | D．How to enjoy music |
