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 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 Fenimore 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 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(交响乐团) 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(检阅) by their leader. The soldiers worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment(装备) 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?
1. According to the passage, the word "music" means
A. your boss's criticism (批评) B. your leader's inspection
C. something unpleasant to be experience D. sour pop music
2. The phrase "to face the music" was the first used by _ _
A. all the Americans
B. the American writer James Fenimore Cooper
C. some American actors
D. the American orchestra
3. An actor might feel frightened or nervous when going on stage. One of the reasons is that _
A. his performance might not satisfy most of the audience
B. he might not remember what he should say on stage
C. he had to face the unfriendly audience
D. most of the audience might be his friends
4. "To face the music" is also used to mean that soldiers were not willing _ _.
A. to be examined about their equipment
B. to be found weak
C. to show themselves up in public
D. to be inspected by their leader
5. The passage is mainly about _ _.
A. the meaning of the phrase "to face the music"
B. how to deal with something unpleasant
C. the phrase "to face the music" in America
D. how to go through difficulty