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Samuel Osmond is a 19-year-old law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata(奏鸣曲)by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable .They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn’t even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised. “I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me ---I hear the notes and can bear them in mind---each and every note,” says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it. Samuel says confidently,” It’s all about super memory---I guess I have that gift.”
However, Samuel’s ability to remember things doesn’t stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.
What is special about Samuel Osmond?

A.He has a gift for writing music.
B.He can write down the note he hears.
C.He is a top student at the law school.
D.He can play the musical piece he hears.

What can we learn from Paragraph 2?

A.Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents.
B.Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician.
C.Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability.
D.Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers.

Everyone around Samuel was surprised because he _________.

A.received a good early education in music
B.played the guitar and the piano perfectly
C.could play the piano without reading music
D.could play the guitar better than his father

What can we infer about Samuel in Paragraph 4?

A.He became famous during a special event at his college.
B.He is proud of his ability to remember things accurately.
C.He plays the piano better than many professional pianists.
D.He impressed the audience by playing all the musical pieces.

Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A.The Qualities of a Musician
B.The Story of a Musical Talent
C.The Importance of Early Education
D.The Relationship between Memory and Music.
科目 英语   题型 阅读理解   难度 中等
知识点: 故事类阅读
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Monkeys seem to have a way with numbers.

A team of researchers trained three Rhesus monkeys to associate 26 clearly different symbols consisting of numbers and selective letters with 0﹣25 drops of water or juice as a reward. The researchers then tested how the monkeys combined﹣or added﹣the symbols to get the reward.

Here's how Harvard Medical School scientist Margaret Livingstone, who led the team, described the experiment: In their cages the monkeys were provided with touch screens. On one part of the screen, a symbol would appear, and on the other side two symbols inside a circle were shown. For example, the number 7 would flash on one side of the screen and the other end would have 9 and 8. If the monkeys touched the left side of the screen they would be rewarded with seven drops of water or juice; if they went for the circle, they would be rewarded with the sum of the numbers﹣17 in this example.

After running hundreds of tests, the researchers noted that the monkeys would go for the higher values more than half the time, indicating that they were performing a calculation, not just memorizing the value of each combination.

When the team examined the results of the experiment more closely, they noticed that the monkeys tended to underestimate(低估)a sum compared with a single symbol when the two were close in value﹣sometimes choosing, for example, a 13 over the sum of 8 and 6. The underestimation was systematic: When adding two numbers, the monkeys always paid attention to the larger of the two, and then added only a fraction(小部分)of the smaller number to it.

"This indicates that there is a certain way quantity is represented in their brains, "Dr. Livingstone says. "But in this experiment what they're doing is paying more attention to the big number than the little one."

(1)What did the researchers do to the monkeys before testing them?   

A.

They fed them.

B.

They named them.

C.

They trained them.

D.

They measured them.

(2)How did the monkeys get their reward in the experiment?    

A.

By drawing a circle.

B.

By touching a screen.

C.

By watching videos.

D.

By mixing two drinks.

(3)What did Livingstone's team find about the monkeys?   

A.

They could perform basic addition.

B.

They could understand simple words.

C.

They could memorize numbers easily.

D.

They could hold their attention for long.

(4)In which section of a newspaper may this text appear?   

A.

Entertainment.

B.

Health.

C.

Education.

D.

Science.

Before the 1830s,most newspapers were sold through annual subscriptions in America, usually ﹩8 to ﹩10 a year. Today ﹩8 or ﹩10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens. Accordingly, newspapers were read almost only by rich people in politics or the trades. In addition, most newspapers had little in them that would appeal to a mass audience. They were dull and visually forbidding. But the revolution that was taking place in the 1830s would change all that.

The trend, then, was toward the "penny paper"﹣a term referring to papers made widely available to the public. It meant any inexpensive newspaper; perhaps more importantly it meant newspapers that could be bought in single copies on the street.

This development did not take place overnight. It had been possible(but not easy)to buy single copies of newspapers before 1830,but this usually meant the reader had to go down to the printer's office to purchase a copy. Street sales were almost unknown. However, within a few years, street sales of newspapers would be commonplace in eastern cities. At first the price of single copies was seldom a penny﹣usually two or three cents was charged﹣and some of the older well﹣known papers charged five or six cents. But the phrase "penny paper " caught the public's fancy, and soon there would be papers that did indeed sell for only a penny.

This new trend of newspapers for "the man on the street" did not begin well. Some of the early ventures(企业)were immediate failures. Publishers already in business, people who were owners of successful papers, had little desire to change the tradition. It took a few youthful and daring businessmen to get the ball rolling.

(1)Which of the following best describes newspapers in America before the 1830s?    

A.

Academic.

B.

Unattractive.

C.

Inexpensive.

D.

Confidential.

(2)What did street sales mean to newspapers?   

A.

They would be priced higher.

B.

They would disappear from cities.

C.

They could have more readers.

D.

They could regain public trust.

(3)Who were the newspapers of the new trend targeted at?    

A.

Local politicians.

B.

Common people.

C.

Young publishers.

D.

Rich businessmen.

(4)What can we say about the birth of the penny paper?   

A.

It was a difficult process.

B.

It was a temporary success.

C.

It was a robbery of the poor.

D.

It was a disaster for printers.

For Western designers, China and its rich culture have long been an inspiration for Western creative.

"It's no secret that China has always been a source(来源)of inspiration for designers," says Amanda Hill, chief creative officer at A+E Networks, a global media company and home to some of the biggest fashion(时尚)shows.

Earlier this year, the China Through A Looking Glass exhibition in New York exhibited 140 pieces of China﹣inspired fashionable clothing alongside Chinese works of art, with the aim of exploring the influence of Chinese aesthetics(美学)on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. The exhibition had record attendance, showing that there is huge interest in Chinese influences.

"China is impossible to overlook," says Hill. "Chinese models are the faces of beauty and fashion campaigns that sell dreams to women all over the world, which means Chinese women are not just consumers of fashion ﹣ they are central to its movement. "Of course, not only are today's top Western designers being influenced by China﹣some of the best designers of contemporary fashion are themselves Chinese." Vera Wang, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu are taking onGalliano, Albaz, Marc Jacobs﹣and beating them hands down in design and sales," adds Hill.

For Hill, it is impossible not to talk about China as the leading player when discussing fashion. "The most famous designers are Chinese, so are the models, and so are the consumers," she says. "China is no longer just another market; in many senses it has become the market. If you talk about fashion today, you are talking about China﹣its influences, its direction, its breathtaking clothes, and how young designers and models are finally acknowledging that in many ways."

(1)What can we learn about the exhibition in New York?    

A.

It promoted the sales of artworks.

B.

It attracted a large number of visitors.

C.

It showed ancient Chinese clothes.

D.

It aimed to introduce Chinese models.

(2)What does Hill say about Chinese women?   

A.

They are setting the fashion.

B.

They start many fashion campaigns.

C.

They admire super models.

D.

They do business all over the world.

(3)What do the underlined words"taking on" in paragraph 4 mean?   

A.

learning from

B.

looking down on

C.

working with

D.

competing against

(4)What can be a suitable title for the text?   

A.

Young Models Selling Dreams to the World

B.

A Chinese Art Exhibition Held in New York

C.

Differences Between Eastern and Western Aesthetics

D.

Chinese Culture Fueling International Fashion Trends

OPENINGS AND PREVIEWS

Animals Out of Paper

Yolo!Productions and the Great Griffon present the play by Rajiv Joseph,in which an origami(折纸术)artist invites a teenage talent and his teacher into her studio. Merri Milwe directs. In previews. Opens Feb.12.(West Park Presbyterian Church,165 W.86th St.212﹣868﹣4444.)

The Audience

Helen Mirren stars in the play by Peter Morgan,about Queen Elizabeth II of the UK and her private meetings with twelve Prime Ministers in the course of sixty years. Stephen Daldry directs. Also starring Dylan Baker and Judith Ivey. Previews begin Feb.14.(Schoenfeld,236 W.45th St.212﹣239﹣6200.)

Hamilton

Lin﹣Manuel Miranda wrote this musical about Alexander Hamilton,in which the birth of America is presented as an immigrant story. Thomas Kail directs. In previews. Opens Feb.17.(Public,425 Lafayette St.212﹣967﹣7555.)

On the Twentieth Century

Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher star in the musical comedy by Betty Comden and Adolph Green,about a Broadway producer who tries to win a movie star's love during a cross﹣country train journey. Scott Ellis directs,for Roundabout Theatre Company. Previews begin Feb.12.(American Airlines Theatre,227 W.42nd St.212﹣719﹣1300.)

(1)What is the play by Rajiv Joseph probably about?   

A.

A type of art.

B.

A teenager's studio.

C.

A great teacher.

D.

A group of animals.

(2)Who is the director of The Audience?   

A.

Helen Mirren.

B.

Peter Morgan.

C.

Dylan Baker.

D.

Stephen Daldry.

(3)Which play will you go to if you are interested in American history?   

A.

Animals Out of Paper.

B.

The Audience.

C.

Hamilton.

D.

On the Twentieth Century.

During the rosy years of elementary school(小学), I enjoyed sharing my dolls and jokes, which allowed me to keep my high social status. I was the queen of the playground. Then came my tweens and teens, and mean girls and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by smoking cigarettes, breaking rules and playing jokes on others, among whom I soon found myself.

Popularity is a well﹣explored subject in social psychology. Mitch Prinstein, a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories: the likable and the status seekers. The likables' plays﹣well﹣with﹣others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships, jump﹣start interpersonal skills and, when tapped early, are employed ever after in life and work. Then there's the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence: status born of power and even dishonorable behavior.

Enviable as the cool kids may have seemed, Dr. Prinstein's studies show unpleasant consequences. Those who were highest in status in high school, as well as those least liked in elementary school, are "most likely to engage(从事)in dangerous and risky behavior."

In one study, Dr. Prinstein examined the two types of popularity in 235 adolescents, scoring the least liked, the most liked and the highest in status based on student surveys(调查研究). "We found that the least well﹣liked teens had become more aggressive over time toward their classmates. But so had those who were high in status. It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment, high status has just the opposite effect on us."

Dr. Prinstein has also found that the qualities that made the neighbors want you on a play date﹣sharing, kindness, openness ﹣ carry over to later years and make you better able to relate and connect with others.

In analyzing his and other research,Dr. Prinstein came to another conclusion: Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes, but it is also responsible for those outcomes, too. "Being liked creates opportunities for learning and for new kinds of life experiences that help somebody gain an advantage, " he said.

(1)What sort of girl was the author in her early years of elementary school?    

A. Unkind.

B. Lonely.

C. Generous.

D. Cool.

(2)What is the second paragraph mainly about?    

A. The classification of the popular.

B. The characteristics of adolescents.

C. The importance of interpersonal skills.

D. The causes of dishonorable behavior.

(3)What did Dr. Prinstein's study find about the most liked kids?    

A. They appeared to be aggressive.

B. They tended to be more adaptable.

C. They enjoyed the highest status.

D. They performed well academically.

(4)What is the best title for the text?    

A. Be Nice﹣You Won't Finish Last

B. The Higher the Status, the Better

C. Be the Best﹣You Can Make It

D. More Self﹣Control, Less Aggressiveness

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