Most parents do not like their children's music. For example, today's parents do not like rap music. But what the parents do not understand is that people who make rap music have important abilities.  

Think about the words in a rap song. Many of the words in the songs sound, the same. For example, each word at the end of a line in the song usually has the same sound. Say that a singer used the word" eat". He might also want to use the words "feet" and "meat" in the song. This is because these words end in the same sounds as " eat". So the person who writes the song has to know many words to find words that have the same sound and make sense in the song. Many people who do not like rap music do not think about rap singers' abilities and the clever way that they use words.  

Another thing that rappers do well is putting songs together. Rap singers mix songs from older records with their own music. A good rap song has many different songs in it. So, a rapper has to know a lot about older music. In fact, rappers can mix different kinds of music into their songs, not just rap music. Many times, rappers will put famous parts of old rock and roll, old pop, or old disco songs into a rap song. As long as the rap singer tells people who made the older song, the rock, pop, or disco singers do not mind. If a rap singer does not say where he or she got the music from, then the other singers get mad.  

Some parents think that rap is not really music. But that does not mean that the people making rap music do not have any special abilities.  

56．This passage is mainly about _____.  

A．making rap music                                   B．words in rap music  

C．old songs used in rap music                     D．mixing songs in rap music  

57．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the writer?  

A．Making rap songs is not very difficult.  

B．Rappers have to know lots of different words.  

C．Rap music has nothing to do with old rock and roll.  

D．Parents usually enjoy the same music as their children.  

58．From this passage we know that _____.  

A．rap singers often borrow music from older songs  

B．rappers do not need to make sense for their songs  

C．putting older songs together to make rap music is quite easy  

D．rappers do not usually know much about other kinds of music  

59．The writer tells us that the rap singers ______.  

A．a(chǎn)lways get other people to write their songs  

B．often use words that have the same end sound  

C．do not need important abilities for their profession  

D．do not need to ask others if they want to use their songs  

    It was a rainy day and I was riding on a bus downtown to go to work. I was   36   next to a man in a business suit and I paid little attention  37   we both got off at the same stop and walked to the same newsstand to get a morning   38  .  

The man running the stand was obviously having a  39   day. He was rude and unsmiling as we bought our papers, which only  40   more gloom （郁悶）to my day. The businessman   41 my gloomy feeling and smiled brightly,   42   the news stand owner for the paper and for being open on such a（n）   43   to make sure we were able to get our papers.  

As we  44 away, I asked this man why he was so   45   to the newsman when he didn't 46   his expression of thanks and friendliness. The businessman smiled at me and said, " Why would I let someone else  47   what I say and what I feel?"  

We then   48   to go to our own work places. To this day, I still don't know who that businessman was, or   49  he worked. He appeared briefly in my life and disappeared just as 50 . But I've never forgotten the words he said and his   51   which seemed like a ray of light on a gloomy day.  

That was a good 25 years   52  , but the effect this had on my life has lasted. I  53   had a chance to thank him personally, but the way I look at life has changed  54   those words. I have learnt that we cannot control people and   55   that come to us, but we can always control our response to them.  

―Mum, I failed in the test again.  

―______. Keep on working hard and you'll succeed.  

A．Not at all                B．Certainly not       C．Never mind         D．Don't mention it  

         to have a speech at the conference is a great honor for an ordinary person like me.  

A．Invited                   B．Inviting            C．Being invited      D．Having been invited  

Men and women should be treated equally according to the law, but ______ there is great room for improvement.  

A．in return                 B．a(chǎn)bove all           C．a(chǎn)fter all            D．in reality  

So amused _____ that I couldn't help laughing when I saw the children dressed up as Santa     Clauses on Christmas Day.  

A．did I feel                B．had I felt            C．I felt            D．I had felt  

―Why did he spend so much time searching shop after shop for a shirt?  

―Oh, he was very ______ about his clothes.  

A．embarrassed              B．particular          C．curious          D．a(chǎn)nxious  

Luckily, we'd brought a road map with us without______ we could have lost our way.  

A．which                    B．that                C．what              D．it  

A baby might show fear of an unfamiliar adult, ______he is likely to smile and reach out to  

another baby.  

A．a(chǎn)nd                    B．or                 C．so                D．but  

How I wish I ______ a chance to be a volunteer in Beijing Olympic Games!  

A．had                      B．have                C．had had           D．would have