1、Module 4 Music Born in America (建议用时：35分钟).阅读理解A(2023年昆明摸底调研)A study of 500，000 songs released(发行) in the UK between 1985 and 2015 showed that pop music had decreased in happiness and increased in sadness.In a report published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, researchers at the University
2、of California examined hundreds of thousands of songs and classified them by their mood. “Happiness is going down, sadness is going up, and at the same time, the songs are becoming more danceable and more partylike，” coauthor Natalia LKomarova told The Associated Press.The study found songs in 2014
3、like Stay with Me by Sam Smith, Whispers by Passenger and Unmissable by Gorgon City have a “low happiness” trend. However, tracks from 1984 like Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen, Would I Lie to You? by Eurythmics and Freedom by Wham! had a “high happiness” trend. “The public seems to prefer happier s
4、ongs, even though more and more unhappy songs are being released each year，” the researchers wrote.Apart from the emotional trends, researchers discovered that dances and pop were the most successful styles of music and that there was a “clear downward” trend, with the popularity of rock beginning i
5、n the early 2000s. “So it looks like, while the overall mood is becoming less happy, people seem to want to forget it all and dance，” Komarova wrote in an email.It was also found that the “maleness” of songsthe frequency of male singers in popular musichad decreased during the last 30 years. “Succes
6、sful songs are characterised by a larger percentage of female artists compared to all songs，” they wrote.This discovery appears at a time when the conversation around sex equality in the music industry is at its height, with more male artists and songwriters.【解题导语】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了流行音乐表达的情绪的变化趋势。1The r
7、esearchers examined lots of songs to _Afind songs for dances and partiesBchoose songs for a journalCrelease more songsDknow better about songsD解析：推理判断题。本文第二段介绍了加州大学的研究者们调查了成千上万的歌曲并把它们按情绪分类，紧接着得出歌曲分类的结果，可见他们调查歌曲的目的是想对歌曲有更多的了解，故选D。A、C两项曲解文意；B项无中生有。2Whose music style tends to bring you more happiness?A
8、Natalia LKomarovas.BSam Smiths.CGorgon Citys.DBruce Springsteens.D解析：细节理解题。根据第三段中的“However, tracks from 1984 like Glory Days by Bruce Springsteen.had a high happiness trend.”可知D项正确。Natalia LKomarova为报道的合著者，而非歌手；Sam Smith、Gorgon City所演唱的歌曲有让人开心感降低的趋势，故排除。3What do we know about songs over the past thr
9、ee decades?ARock became popular in the early 2000s.BFewer unhappy songs came to light every year.CMale singers were better at performing pop music.DFemale artists were less skilled in writing songs.A解析：细节理解题。根据第四段中的“with the popularity of rock beginning in the early 2000s”可知，摇滚乐在21世纪初开始流行，故A项正确。其余三个
10、选项的内容均与文意不符。4What can be a suitable title for the text?APop Music Is Getting SadderBMusic Calls for Sex EqualityCPop Music Has a Long HistoryDMusic Industry Is Going DownA解析：标题归纳题。根据本文首段总述及后续段落的描述可知，全文重点介绍了流行音乐正变得越来越伤感，故选A项。B项仅是本文中提到的一个细节；C项不是本文的重点；D项扩大外延，属过度概括，故排除。B(2023年成都高三摸底)As evolution tends t
11、o remove waste, how come we evolved such large, energyconsuming brains? The dominant hypothesis(假设) suggests that tough social interactions are the driving force. But our new study done in an unusual way shows that human brain expansion is likely driven by ecology(生态)Scientists have tested the ecolo
12、gical and social hypotheses before. The common approach is to look at many species and investigate whether large brains are associated with specific problems. For example, do primates or other animals with large brains have a diet that is challenging to find but nutritionally rewarding? This would i
13、ndicate an ecological origin. Or do they live in large groups where they face lots of social problems?While many studies have found such associations, there is a problem. It cannot tell whether large brains evolved to solve the difficult problems or whether they evolved for other reasons and then en
14、abled their bearers to deal with the hard problems.To find out the causes of brain expansion, we recreated the scenarios(可能出现的情况) of the two hypotheses using a mathematical model. We found that a combination of ecological and social challenges do produce the brain size we see in humans. But it was e
15、cological challenges that expanded brains. In contrast to the dominant view and our own expectation, we found that social challenges contributed by decreasing brain size. But you need both factors to get the brain size we see todayif there were no social challenges our brains would have been even la
16、rger but likely poorly suited to social life. Bigger isnt necessarily better.But many animals face hard ecological problems. Why dont they all have large brains? We found that ecological problems only lead to humansized brains when individuals can keep learning hard skills as they grow. So our results and those of others suggest that hard ecology and
