The Japanese like parties.From ancient times, a party becomes enlivened (活泼) when someone starts singing and others keep applauding.Having such a custom, the Japanese can easily sing in front of others without feeling embarrassed.This seems to be one of the reasons that karaoke has been largely accepted in Japanese society.

It is now widely recognized that the use of karaoke started at a snack bar in Kobe City, one of the three biggest cities in Japan.It is said that when a guitarist could not come to perform at the bar due to illness, the owner of the bar prepared tapes of accompaniment recordings, and people enjoyed singing to the tapes.

It was at that time that karaoke appeared.Holding a microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of an “orchestra (管弦乐队)”， you can feel like a professional singer.For soldiers living in a stressful society, there is no other entertainment activity that can make them feel so refreshed.

It is a typical way to relax for Japanese businessmen.They use it to take away their stress after work.However, there is an obstacle to this: since most Japanese houses are still made of wood, it would be very annoying to the neighbors to sing into a microphone at night.Seizing upon the opportunity, businessmen created the karaoke box, a roadside facility containing karaoke equipment.Karaoke boxes are soundproofed rooms, closed with a door, placed on roadsides where people can sing.The first “Karaoke box” was placed in a rice camp in the countryside in 1984.It was built from a converted freight car (改装的货运车).Now, the karaoke boom has even spread abroad and it has also been attracting the attention of the countries trying to improve their literacy rate (识字率) as a good educational tool.

【1】According to the text, we can learn that karaoke ________.

A.originated from the biggest city of Japan

B.originated in the form of singing to tapes

C.can help you achieve the level of professional singers

D.first appeared in the army to relieve stress for soldiers

【2】The underlined word “soundproofed” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “________”.

A.recording sounds repeatedly

B.receiving sound signals

C.making sound more clear

D.stopping sound from being heard outside

【3】What can be inferred from the text?

A.Karaoke was started in a bar during a party.

B.A guitarist was the originator who brought the karaoke into being.

C.Karaoke was very common as a form of entertainment at home when it was born.

D.Karaoke is used as a way of education in some countries.

【4】What is the text mainly about?

A.What karaoke boxes are like.

B.How karaoke boxes were created.

C.The origins and development of karaoke.

D.Karaoke becomes a popular form of entertainment.

【答案】

【1】B

【2】D

【3】D

【4】C

【解析】

试题分析：

【1】B 细节理解题。根据第二段可知，卡拉OK起源于日本神户市的一间小吃店，这家小店因为吉他手生病不能演奏，店主就录制了吉他手的乐曲，歌手唱歌时播放录制的音乐，因此可知A项错误，神户市并不是日本最大的城市，B项正确。根据第三段“feel like a professional singer”可知，卡拉OK让你的歌声听起来像专业歌手的歌声，并不能让你真正达到专业歌手水平，故排除C。文章第三段提到卡拉OK是士兵缓解压力的不二方式，但卡拉OK并非诞生于军营，故排除D。

【2】D 词义猜测题。根据画线单词前后语境可知，由于日本的房子大都是木房子，隔音效果差，因此唱歌时会影响周围居民的生活，商人抓住这一商机发明了包厢，这是一种关闭门窗，置于路边的隔音效果较好的房子。因此根据语境可以推断soundproofed意思是“隔音的”，故D项符合题意。

【3】D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段最后一句中的“attracting the attention of the countries trying to improve their literacy rate (识字率) as a good educational tool”可知D项正确。卡拉OK起源于一家小吃店，由于吉他手生病，店主想出了用录制音乐伴奏的法子，故推断A和B均错误。根据最后一段可知由于噪音大影响邻居，因此卡拉OK的发展受到限制，故推断C项错误。

【4】C 主旨大意题。本文介绍了卡拉OK的起源和发展，故选C。