Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 43.

    May 7, 1840 was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St.Pertersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck’s patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.

    Tchaikovsky’s music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6,1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

According to the passage, for what is Tchaikovsky’s music most well known?

A. Its repetitive and monotonous tones

B. The ballet-like quality of the music.

C. Its lively, capricious melodies.

D.  The richness and melodic drama of the music.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 55 to 64.

May 7, 1840, was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck's patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky's music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

According to the passage, for what is Tchaikovsky's music most well known? 

A. its repetitive and monotonous tones 

B. the ballet-like quality of the music

C. its lively, capricious melodies 

D. the richness and melodic drama of the music

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 36 to 43.

    May 7, 1840 was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St.Pertersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck’s patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.

    Tchaikovsky’s music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6,1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

With what topic is the passage primary concerned?

A. the life and music of Tchaikovsky

B. development of Tchaikovsky’s music for ballets

C. Tchaikovsky’s relationship with Madame Von Meck

D.  the cause of Tchaikovsky’s death

    All over the world people listen to classical music. Classical music is cult to describe. It means different things to different people.

     Some famous classical composers were Bach, Vivaldi, Haydn and Mozart. In their music, they did not tell a story or show strong emotion. They wanted to make a beautiful, interesting design. They wanted to write lovely sounds.

    Then composers started to interpret ideas. They told stories about wars, armies and soldiers. They wrote about religion. Sometimes they composed music for holidays. They told love stories and showed strong emotion. Some of these composers were Beethoven, Schumann Chopin, Mendelssohn, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky.

    Classical music stays with people a long time. Bach wrote about 300 years ago, Beethoven wrote about 200 years ago, and Tchaikovsky wrote over 100 years ago.

    Sometimes people close their eyes to listen to classical music. When they close their eyes, they can see the design. They can listen to the same classical music many times and enjoy it.

    Sometimes it is difficult to understand. The listener has to think about it. However, we can all learn to enjoy some classical music. It is very important to people.

1. Classical music is famous ______

A. in the Western    B. in Europe    C. in the United  States    D. all over the world

2. The first classical composers wanted to ______

A.  tell stories about religion   B. write lovely sounds  C. show strong emotion  D. b and c

3. What kind of stories did some composers not tell in their music? 

A. Love           B. Wars           C. Religion           D. racial integration

4. Beethoven ________.

A. composed his music a long time ago.B. just wanted to make an interesting design.

C. did not tell a story.               D. wrote sonic music that was difficult to understand.

5. People sometimes close their eyes when they listen to classical music in order to ________.

A. understand it clearly.                                      B. think about the design.

C. form the picture of the design in their mind. D. hear the same classical music many times.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 55 to 64.

May 7, 1840, was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck's patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky's music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

With what topic is the passage primarily concerned? 

A. the life and music of Tchaikovsky 

B. development of Tchaikovsky's music for ballets 

C. Tchaikovsky's relationship with Madame Von Meck 

D. the cause of Tchaikovsky's death 

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 55 to 64.

May 7, 1840, was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His greatest period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck's patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky's music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide.

It is known that before Tchaikovsky, _______ . 

A. the music behind the dance had been taken seriously 

B. serous dramatic music had been already brought to dance 

C. the music behind the dance had been given very little attention. 

D. music had been famous for its rich melodic passages 

Read the passage carefully and choose the correct answer.

 People usually sing because they like music or because they feel happy. They express their happiness by singing. When a bird sings however, its song usually means much more than that the bird is happy. Birds have many reasons for singing. They sing to give information. Their songs are their language.

The most beautiful songs are sung by male (cock) birds. They sing when they want to attract a female (hen) bird. It is their way of saying that they are looking for a wife.

Birds also sing to tell other birds to keep away. To a bird, his tree or even a branch of tree, is his home. He does not want strangers to come near him, so he sings to warn them.

If a bird cannot sing well, he usually has some other means of giving important information. Some birds dance, spread out their tails or make other signs. One bird has a most unusual way of finding a wife. It builds a small garden of shells and flowers.

 What is one bird’s unusual way of attracting a hen bird?

A. It dances. 

B. It spreads out its tail. 

C. It searches for a wife. 

D. It uses shells and flowers to make a garden.

May 7, 1840, was the birthday of one of the most famous Russian composers of the nineteenth century Peter Illich Tchaikovsky. The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child and later studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. His greatest 5 period of productivity occurred between 1876 and 1890, during which time he enjoyed the patronage of Madame von Meck, a woman he never met, who gave him a living stipend of about $1,000.00 a year. Madame von Meck later terminated her friendship with Tchaikovsky, as well as his living allowance, when she, herself, was facing financial 10 difficulties. It was during the time of Madame von Meck's patronage, however, that Tchaikovsky created the music for which he is most famous, including the music for the ballets of Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. Tchaikovsky's music, well known for its rich melodic and sometimes melancholy passages, was one of the first that brought 15 serious dramatic music to dance. Before this, little attention had been given to the music behind the dance. Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, ostensibly of cholera, though there are now some scholars who argue that he committed suicide. 1 when was Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky born? 2 where did he study composing? 3 who supplied him money? 4 what is his music famous for? 5 when did he die?