In the USA, children start school when they are five years old. In some states they must stay in school 1 they are sixteen. But most students are seventeen or eighteen years old when they 2 secondary schools. There are two kinds of schools in the USA: public schools and private schools. 3 children go to public schools. Their parents do not have to 4 their education because the schools 5 money from the government. If a child goes to a private school, his parents have to get enough money for his schooling. Some parents still 6 private schools though they are much more expensive.
Today about half of the high school students 7 in universities after they finish secondary schools. A student at a state university does not have to pay very much if his parents 8 in that state.
Many students 9 while they are studying at universities. In this way they get into 10 working habits and live by their own hands.
Most students in America like popular music. Students carry small radios with earphones and listen to the music before class, after class and at lunch. Students with cars buy large speakers and play the music loudly as they drive on the street.
Adult drivers listen to the music on the car radio as they drive to work. They also listen to the news about the sports, the weather and the life of American people. Most of the radio programs are music.
Popular music singers make much money. They make a CD or tape which radio stations use in many place. Once the popular singer is heard all over the country, young people will buy his or her CDs or tapes. Some of the money from them goes to the singer. Wherever the singer goes, most of the young people want to meet him or her. Now the singer has become a national star.
There are other kinds of music that are important to Americans. One is called folk music which tells stories about the common life of Americans. Another is called western or country music. It was started by cowboys who would sing at night to the cows which they were watching. Today, any music about country life and the love between a country boy and his girl is called western or country music.
