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Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Music can be happy, sad, romantic, sleepy, spine-tingling, healing - all kinds of things. But what is it? Some people define it as an artful arrangement of sounds across time. Our ears interpret these sounds as loud or soft, high or low, rapid and short, or slow and smooth. The sounds need to continue for a time in some sort of pattern to become music.
Music, like language, is a uniquely human form of communication. As with language, there are many different kinds. In North America, people listen to jazz, rock, classical, folk, country, and many other kinds of music. Each kind of music has its own rules and “speaks” to us in its own way.
What we think of as music depends on where we live. What Americans are used to listening to might sound strange to someone from another culture, and vice versa. It might not even sound like music. In Indonesia, gamelan orchestras play music on gongs, drums, and xylophones. These aren't the instruments you'd find in a typical orchestra in North America.
Today, modern communications make it possible for us to listen to music from all over the world. Music from one part of the world influences music from another part. For example, gamelan music from Indonesia influenced 20th-century American composers such as John Cage.
No one knows for sure when music began. Perhaps while people were working, they began to chant or sing to make the work go faster. People who were repeating movements - picking crops or rowing boats, for example - could sing or chant in time to the work. Navajo Indians, for example, had corn-grinding songs. Many cultures developed work songs.
Over time, people developed musical instruments. They might have started by clapping their hands and stamping their feet. Sticks and objects that rattled could have replaced the human body as early instruments. Both instruments and music became more complex with time.
Today, many cultures divide music into art music and music of the people. Art music, which we call classical music, is more complicated than the music of the people - folk music and popular music. Art music is generally harder to write and perform. Musicians who perform it need a lot of training. Popular and folk styles typically are easier to create, perform, and understand.
Which of the following is given a definition in paragraph 1?
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. His childhood was unhappy. His father drank too much. Beethoven's musical talent was obvious from childhood. He quickly became a talented performer on the piano. In 1792, he moved to Vienna, Austria, to study with Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. Soon Beethoven was playing music that he wrote himself. Many people admired his powerful, dramatic music.
Beethoven was often ill or depressed. He was unable to find a woman who would marry him. Just as he was becoming very successful, he started to lose his hearing. Deafness is the worst fate for a musician. Beethoven's performing career was over.
Despite Beethoven's hearing loss, he still wrote music. The music he wrote became even better. His music was richly expressive and revealed feelings such as joy and sadness. He created one bold masterpiece after another. Besides piano music, Beethoven wrote string quartets (pieces for four stringed instruments) and other kinds of chamber music. Chamber music is written for small groups, and people can play it in their homes or in small halls. Beethoven also wrote songs, two masses, an opera, and nine outstanding symphonies.
Beethoven studied works by Haydn, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Then he broke their rules and made music that was like no one else's. It was emotional and challenging. Beethoven wanted his music to express ideas as well as emotions. He wanted it to praise freedom and equality and other high ideals.
Some of Beethoven's well-known achievements are the Moonlight Sonata for piano, the Fifth Symphony, and the Ninth Symphony. The Fifth Symphony has a famous four-note opening, da-da-da-dum. The Ninth Symphony ends with a triumphant chorus called "Ode to Joy." Beethoven's music set a standard that later composers measured their work by.
Crowds loved him and adored his music. Beethoven was famous, although not happy. In 1827, he got pneumonia and died in Vienna.
Which of the following best describes Beethoven's life according to the passage?
