单选题
The Westlife story really began way back in December 1996 when the three original members of Westlife were performing in a local production of the musical Grease. Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehilly were all born and bred in Sligo, a small town a few hours west of the Republic of Ireland's capital city, Dublin. During breaks the three would get together and sing covers of some of their favorite songs including Boyz II Men's I Make Love To You. The reaction to their singing was so positive that they decided to form a band as soon as they had finished their exams at school. This they duly did and on July 3 1997 they formed I.O.U. The boys organized concerts in the area and even produced their own CDs to sell locally. This local success led to an appearance on TV that was to prove extremely important. Among the viewers who saw the trio perform in a children's hospital was Boyzone's manager, Louis Walsh. Soon after Shane's mother contacted him about I.O.U. and found he had been desperately trying to get in contact with them. Louis Walsh decided to hold auditions to recruit two new members in June of 1998. This is when Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden, two Dublin boys and friends entered the picture. A quick name change and Westside was born. Yes, WESTSIDE. This was to be the quintet's name until they discovered another band already using the name and a final change to Westlife was called for. The final link in the chain was Ronan Keating, Boyzone's lead singer, who at Louis Walsh's request joined him to help and nurtured this raw talent. His experience proved an invaluable help. The next step was to secure a record deal. The band organized a showcase in Dublin and soon representatives of every major record label were offering the bewildered boys contracts. In October 1998 Westlife signed to RCA, a label that had a proven track record with the successful marketing of both Take That and Five. Barely had the ink on the contract dried when they headed out on tour as part of the Smash Hits Show, which led to them winning the Best New Tom" Act in December 1998 (this was an award Boyzone themselves had won in 1994 which seemed like a pretty good omen). Styled by Kenny Ho, who was responsible for The Spice Girls image, Westlife's first single Swear It Again was released in March 1999. In their native Ireland it went straight to number one and became the biggest selling debut single in the history of the Irish charts. A month later Swear It Again repeated the feat in the UK, staying at number one for two weeks and following on from Boyzone's dominance of the UK top spot. This success was soon matched all around Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. They look set to repeat their success now in the USA. A tour throughout the States has meant Swear It Again is rapidly climbing the Billboard charts. This is the good news the boys needed as Bryan McFadden recently suffered nervous exhaustion and had to miss some shows while recuperating back in Ireland with his family. Not only that but Ronan Keating's solo plans have forced him to give up his co- managing duties due to lack of time. More good news, though, is they have recently recorded with Mariah Carey and are due to begin work on their second alburn.
单选题
Before the I.O.U. was formed, its members were A. neighbors. B. classmates. C. co-performers. D. playmates.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】TEXT B 全文翻译划线点评 [86]“西城男孩”故事的真正开始要追溯到1996年12月。当时西城男孩的三名创始成员参与演出一部当地制作的 音乐剧《油脂》(也作《火爆浪子》)。谢恩·菲兰、奇恩·伊根和马克·费希利都出生并成长在斯莱戈小镇。它位于爱尔兰共 和国首都都柏林以西，离首都只有几小时的路程。[86]每逢幕间休息，三个男孩就聚在一起，翻唱他们喜爱的歌曲，包括 Boyz Ⅱ Men的“I Make Love To You”。观众对他们的演唱反应十分积极．因此他们决定学校的考试一结束就组建 乐队。他们就这么做了．于1997年7月3日成立了I.O.U。 这些男孩在当地举办演唱会，甚至还制作自己的CD在当地出售。在当地的成功让他们在电视里上露了脸，这在后 来证明是特别重要的一步。[87]这三个人在一家儿童医院表演时，观众中有一位是Boyzone的经理路易斯·沃尔什。此 后不久．谢恩的妈妈找他商谈I.O.U有关事宜时，发现其实他一直拼命地设法与他们取得联络。 1998年6月．路易斯·沃尔什决定通过试唱来招收两名新成员。就是自那时起，一对好友，两个都柏林男孩——尼 基·柏恩和布莱恩-麦菲登加入了。乐队很快更名，westside诞生了。没错，WESTSIDE。[88]它即将成为这支五人组合 的称号．直到他们发现已另有乐队使用同样的名字而需最终改叫西城男孩为止。成功链上的最后一环是罗南·基 廷——男孩地带的主唱。他应路易斯·沃尔什之邀携手帮助和雕琢这块璞玉。他的经验被证明是无价之宝。 下一步是取得唱片协议。乐队在都柏林组织了一场亮相演出，很快各大唱片公司的代表都向这群困惑的男孩发出 了签约邀请。1998年10月，西城男孩和RCA签约。这家公司曾经成功地打造了Take That和Five这两支乐队，取得 了有目共睹的佳绩。 合约上的墨迹未干．他们就开始了作为“轰动表演”一部分的巡回演出。此举为他们在1998年12月赢得了“最佳 新人巡回演艺奖”(Boyzone本身在1994年也曾获此奖，这似乎是一个吉兆)。 肯尼·霍曾负责“辣妹”的造型。经他设计，西城男孩的首张单曲“Swear It Again”于1999年3月问世。在男孩们的 家乡爱尔兰，它直升排行榜之冠，成为爱尔兰流行唱片榜上有史以来销量最大的首张单曲。[89] 一月之后，“Swear It Again”在英国再现辉煌，连续两周名列排行榜第一，代替了Boyzone男孩地带对英国流行音乐顶尖位置的占领。不久， 他们在整个欧洲、亚洲、澳大利亚和新西兰都取得了成功。 他们眼下看来努力在美国再现成功。全美巡演令“Swear It Again”在排行榜上急速攀升。这无疑是男孩们需要的 好消息，因为在布莱恩·麦菲登最近患了神经衰弱，不得不放弃一些演出，回爱尔兰与家人团聚疗养。[90]另外，由于时 间问题．罗南·基廷的solo计划也迫使他放弃与路易斯·沃尔什共同管理乐队。尽管如此，还有好消息，他们最近和玛丽 亚·凯丽一起灌制唱片，并将开始第二张专辑的录制。
[定位] 首段三句。 [解析] 推断题。首先要明白I.O.U.的成员是指第2 句中提到的shane Filan，Kian Egan all Mark Feehilly，根据首句和第3句的描述，只能 推断三位成员是一部音乐剧的演出者，即选项C。 [点睛] 原文第2句虽有提到三位成员来自同一个城镇， 倒数第2句提到他们完成学校的考试，但这不足以证明 他们是邻居、同学或玩伴，因此其他三个选项都不正确。
单选题
The TV appearance was extremely important to the I.O.U. because A. they got to know Louis Walsh at the show. B. their talents were recognized by Louis Walsh. C. they got great local success. D. it was their first concert on TV.
单选题
"The quintet's name" (Line 3, Para. 3) most probably means A. the name of a five-member group. B. the name of an outstanding group. C. the name which will soon become popular. D. the name which will never be forgot.
单选题
Which group held a dominant position in the UK's pop music before the winning of Westlife? A. Boyzone. B. The Spice Girls. C. Boyz Ⅱ Men. D. Take That.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 第6段倒数第2句。 [解析] 细节题。根据第6段第3句中的following on from Boyzone's dominance可推断在此 之前居英国流行乐坛首位的应该是Boyzone乐 队．因此答案为A。 [点睛] 其他三个选项虽然都是乐队的名称，但是只要定 位原文就可以发现它们不符合题意。
单选题
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the last paragraph? A. Bryan McFadden will have to give up the second album. B. Mariah Carey has taken Ronan Keating's role. C. Westlife might be upset about Ronan Keating's withdrawal. D. Westlife will have the second album recorded in the U.S.