C

Tone of voice is very important in human conversation. A person might use words that communicate one message and a tone that shows something very different. This possibility for confusion is one reason that businessmen encourage discussing things in person, rather than through email, as tone cannot be determined in the written form.

The same rule is true with children. Children as young as a few months respond to a change in voice. It has been recorded that babies prefer to hear a story read by their own mother rather than another woman whom they do not know.

Have you ever talked to someone who had little or no changes in their voice no matter what you were discussing? Think of the teacher or professor you had in the past that spoke in a monotone manner for the entire lecture. It is very boring and difficult to become interested in the topic.

Parents should make an active effort to communicate with your child. If your child figures out how to open a box he or she has been struggling with and says “YES!” with pride in his or her voice, your response should be happy and excited (something encouraging, like “You did it!”). If you plainly said the same thing, you would not be matching the tone of your child.

This applies to feelings that the child may express in everyday situations as well. If a child argues with a friend, your response should not be said in a high voice or with a smile. Seriously and sincerely you should say “You look sad” or “That must have been hard for you”.

The tone of your voice expresses understanding, acknowledgement, connection and several other healthy things to your child. Although your words are very important, equally important is the tone with which you say those words.

29. What’s the purpose of the first paragraph?

A. To tell us that our tone of voice is as important as the words we say.

B. To tell us that businessmen prefer to talk in person.

C. To lead to the topic of the passage.

D. To advise us to use different tones of voice correctly.

30. The underlined word “monotone” in the 3rd paragraph probably means a(n) _____ tone.

A. slow B. unchanging C. cold D. high

31. When communicating with their children, what are parents advised to do?

A. To hide their feelings with different tones of voice.

B. To use a tone of voice that can match their children’s feelings.

C. Not to speak to their children in a low voice.

D. To train their children to express their feelings by tone of voice.

D

Probably no other musical instrument is as popular as the guitar around the world. Musicians use the guitar for almost all kinds of music. Country and western music would not be the same without a guitar. The traditional Spanish folk music called Flamenco could not exist without a guitar. The sound of American blues music would not be the same without the sad cry of the guitar. And rock and roll music would almost be impossible without this instrument.

Music experts do not agree about where the guitar was first played. Most agree it is ancient. Some experts say an instrument very much like a guitar was played in Egypt more than 1,000 years ago. Most experts say that the ancestor of the modern guitar was brought to Spain from Persia sometime in the 12th century. The guitar continued to develop in Spain. In the 1700s it became similar to the instrument we know today.

Many famous musicians played the instrument. The famous Italian violins Niccolo Paganinm played and wrote music for the guitar in the early 1800s. Franz Schubert used the guitar to write some of his famous works. In modern times Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia helped make the instrument extremely popular.

In the 1930s, Les Paul began experimenting to make an electric guitar. He invented the solid-bodied electric guitar in 1946. The Gibson Guitar Company began producing its famous Les Paul Guitar in 1952. It became a powerful influence on popular music. The instrument has the same shape and the same six strings (弦)as the traditional guitar, but it sounds very different. Les Paul produced a series of extremely popular recordings that introduced the public to this music. Listen to this Les Paul recording. It was the fifth most popular song in the United States in 1952. It is called “Meet Mister Callaghan.”

32. What can we infer from the first paragraph?

The guitar plays a very important role in music.

The choice of musical instrument is important for a band.

The guitar was the most popular musical instrument in the past.

Every musician likes playing music instrument with the guitar.

According to most experts, the guitar developed into a modern form like today in _____.

A. Egypt B. Persia C. Spain D. Italy

In Paragraph 3, the author introduces ______.

A. the method of playing the guitar B. the exact time of the guitar’s origin

C. the way that the guitar was made D. some musicians who played the guitar

Where does the passage probably come from?

A. A newspaper B. A broadcast C. A magazine D. A history book