When someone says, 'Well, I guess I’ll have to go to face the music', it does not mean he is planning to go to a concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this or that, and why you did not do this or that. Sour（剌耳的; 拙劣的）music, indeed, but it has to be faced.
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. Where did the expression come from?
The first information comes from the American writer James Fennimore Cooper. He said in 1851 that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on stage. After they got their cue（提示，暗示） to go on, they often said, 'It’s time to go to face the music.' And that is exactly what they did--- face the orchestra (管弦乐队) which was just below the stage.
An actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of the audience that might be friendly or perhaps unfriendly especially if he forgot his lines. But he had to go out. So, “to face the music' came to mean having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.
The other explanation comes from the army. Men had to face inspection(视察)by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean--shiny enough to pass inspection? Still, the men had to go out, and face the music of the band, as well as the inspection. What else could they do?
小题1:According to the passage, the word “music' means________. A．your boss’s criticism(批评)B．your leader’s inspectionC．something unpleasant to be experiencedD．sour pop music小题2:The phrase ‘to face the music' was first used by _______.A．all the AmericansB．the American writer James Fennimore cooperC．some American actorsD．the American orchestra小题3:An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage. One of the reasons is that ______.A．his performance was not good at all B．he might not remember what he should say on stageC．he had to face the unfriendly audienceD．most of the audience might be his friends小题4:to face the music' is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing _______.A．to be examined about their equipmentB．to be found weakC．to show themselves up in publicD．to be inspected by their leader小题5:The passage is mainly about_______.A．the meaning of the phrase ‘to face the music'B．how to deal with something unpleasantC．how to learn English phraseD．how to go through difficulty