Evelyn Glennie was the first lady of solo percussion in Scotland. In an interview, she recalled howshe became a percussion soloist(打击乐器独奏演员)in spite of her disability.
“Early on I decided not to allow the of others to stop me from becoming a misician. I grew up on a farm in the northeast Scotland and began
piano lessons when I was eight. The older I got, the more my passion for music grew. But also began to gradually lose my
. Doctors concluded that the nerve damage was the
and by age twelve, I was completely deaf. But my love for music never
me.”
“My was to become a percussion soloist, even though there were none at that time. To perform, I
to ‘hear’ music differently from others. I play in my stocking feet and can
the pitch of note by the vibrations I feel through my body and through my
. My entire sound world exists by making use of almost every
that I have.
“I was to be assessed as a musician, not as a deaf musician, and I applied to the famous Royal Academy of music in London. No other deaf student had
this before and some teachers
my admission. Based on my performance, I was
admitted and went on to
with the Academy’s hignest honours.”
“After that, I established myself as the first fulltime solo percussionist. I and arranged a lot of musical compositions since
had been written specially for solo percussionist.”
“I have been a soloist for over ten years. the doctor thought I was totally deaf, it didn’t
that my passion couldn’t be realized. I would encourage people not to allow themselves to be
by others. Follow your passion; follow your heart. They will lead you to the place you want to go.”
A. conditions B. opinions C. actions D. recommendations
A. enjoying B. choosing C. taking D. giving
A. sight B. hearing C. touch D. taste
A. evidence B. result C. excuse D. cause
A. left B. excited C. accompanied D. disappointed
A. purpose B. decision C. promise D. goal
A. turned B. learned C. used D. ought
A. tell B. see C. hear D. smell
A. carefulness B. movement C. imagination D. experience
A. sence B. effort C. feeling D. idea
A. dissatisfied B. astonished C. determined D. discouraged
A. done B. accepted C. advised D. admitted
A. supported B. followed C. required D. opposed
A. usually B. finally C. possibly D. hopefully
A. study B. research C. graduate D. progress
A. wrote B. translated C. copied D. read
A. enough B. some C. many D. few
A. However B. Although C. When D. Since
A. mean B. seem C. conclude D. say
A. directed B. guided C. taught D. limited
Some years ago I was offered a writing assignment that would require three months of travel through Europe. I had been abroad a couple of times, but I could hardly claim to know my way around, the continent. , my knowledge of foreign languages was limited to a little college French.
I . How would I, unable to speak the language, familiar with local geography or transportation systems, conduct interviews and do
research? It seemed impossible, and with considerable I sat down to write a letter rejecting the . Halfway through, a
ran through my mind: you can't learn if you don't try. So I the assignment.
There were some bad . But by the time I finished the trip, I was an experienced traveler. And ever since, I have never hesitated to head for even the most places, without guides or advancebookings, confident that somehow I will .
The point is that the new, the different, is almost by definition . But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning , the world opens to you.
I've learned to ski at 40, and flown up the Rhine River in a(n) . And I know I'll go on doing such things. It's not because I'm braver or more daring than others. I'm not. But I'll accept worry as another name for and I believe I can wonders.
A.aboard B.abroad C.away D.out
A.claim B.declare C.hope D.deny
A.Somehow B.However C.Instead D.Moreover
A.accustomed B.added C.limited D.suited
A.resigned B.hesitated C.trembled D.suspected
A.only too B.more than C.apart from D.far from
A.operations B.experiments C.research D.business
A.regret B.doubt C.terror D.disappointment
A.request B.job C.trust D.assignment
A.reaction B.thought C.meaning D.conflict
A.accomplished B.received C.accepted D.resisted
A.exchanges B.conditions C.trips D.experiences
A.remote B.accessible C.interesting D.crowded
A.still B.ever C.even D.yet
A.do B.manage C.make D.fit
A.astonishing B.frightening C.fascinating D.exciting
A.comes up B.shows up C.piles up D.steps up
A.airport B.motorboat C.surfboard D.balloon
A.goal B.opportunity C.struggle D.challenge
A.work B.own C.win D.achieve
A group of graduates have highly been established in their careers. One day they got together to their old university professor. Shortly they arrived, their conversation turned into complaints about in work and life. In order to his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups made of porcelain(陶瓷的), plastic, glass or crystal. Some of
are plain looking, some expensive, and some are exquisite(做工精致的). The told them to help themselves to the coffee.
When the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
If you noticed, all the nice looking cups were taken up, behind the plain and cheap ones. it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the of your problems and stress.
all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, you consciously went for the best cups and were seeing each other’s .
Now consider this: is the coffee and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are tools to hold and contain life, and do not change the of life. Sometimes, by concen- trating only on the cup, we to enjoy the coffee God has provided. So, don’t let the cups drive you. . . the coffee instead.
A.call at B.call on C.call for D.call up
A.after B.before C.when D.as
A.happiness B.joy C.satisfaction D.stress
A.offer B.provide C.make D.supply
A.for B.to C.with D.along
A.whom B.which C.them D.it
A.students B.professor C.son D.wife
A.all B.so me of C.none of D.both
A.cheap B.ordinary C.glass D.expensive
A.leaving B.remaining C.keeping D.staying
A.Because B.Since C.While D.If
A.source B.resource C.end D.solution
A.That B.What C.Anything D.Something
A.and B.so C.thus D.but
A.cups B.coffee C.eyes D.faces
A.Work B.Life C.Career D.Study
A.more than B.rather than C.just D.not only
A.quantity B.quality C.pace D.style
A.manage B.try C.attempt D.fail
A.enjoy B.drink C.have D.share
Mrs. Green was over seventies, but she still drove her old car like a woman half her age. She loved driving very fast, and was proud of the that she had never, in her thirty-five years of driving, been punished a driving offence(犯规, 犯法).
Then one day she nearly her record. A police car her, and the policeman in it saw her a red light without stopping. Of course, she was stopped. It seemed that she would be punished. When Mrs. Green came up to the , he looked at her seriously and said that she was old to drive a car, and that the why she had not stopped at the red was most probably that her eyes had become weak old age, so that she had simply not seen it.
When the judge had finished what he was , Mrs. Green opened the big handbag she was and took out her sewing. Without saying a word, she a needle with a very small eye, and threaded it at her first attempt.
When she had done this, she took the thread out of the needle again and handed the needle and the thread to the judge, saying, “Now it is your . I suppose you drive a car, and that you are quite sure about your own eyesight. ”
The judge took the and tried to thread it. After half a dozen tries, he had still not succeeded. The case against Mrs. Green was , and her record unbroken.
A.fact B.action C.skill D.age
A.about B.on C.to D.for
A.kept B.won C.missed D.lost
A.watched B.chased C.followed D.stopped
A.pass B.go C.run D.rush
A.sure B.able C.certain D.like
A.police B.judge C.officer D.captain
A.so B.very C.too D.quite
A.cause B.reason C.matter D.trouble
A.light B.lamp C.sign D.one
A.with B.because C.for D.of
A.speaking B.saying C.talking D.telling
A.holding B.getting C.carrying D.bringing
A.took B.brought C.picked D.chose
A.almost B.hardly C.successfully D.successful
A.both B.all C.neither D.either
A.time B.turn C.chance D.job
A.thread B.glasses C.needles D.needle
A.dismissed B.passed C.settled D.studied
A.was B.kept C.seemed D.remained
Many years ago, when I was in high school and working on weekends, I lost my wallet. After adding gas to my old car, I paid, and my wallet at the gas station. I hadn’t even had time to I had lost it when my phone rang. A man asked me if I had lost my wallet. I my purse and to my , I had. He asked me to him what was in it. I did so. He then told me where to my wallet.
When I reached his , I noticed his wheelchair and a slope(坡道)going up to the house. I thought that it might have been for him to lower his body and pick up my wallet. I knocked on the door and he told me to come in. I him for finding my wallet. While I didn’t want to insult(侮辱)him by offering , I really felt like something. So I asked him if there was anything I could do to repay his , and he said, “Just pass it on. ”I said I would be to do that. I was raised to be honest in any case and I would have done so, promising this fellow I would, but I wanted to his kindness, so I promised I would.
Ten years later I found a lying on the ground. It me several days to find the owner. He lived in another state, about 60 miles away from where I found the wallet. When he me back, we to meet, so I could return his wallet. He was actually all his money was still in the wallet and he tried to hand me a $20 bill. I told him, “Thanks, but just pass it on. . . ”
A.forgot B.left C.found D.saw
A.realize B.regret C.consider D.recognize
A.looked B.checked C.found D.searched for
A.anger B.delight C.horror D.excitement
A.tell B.give C.buy D.offer
A.turn up B.bring up C.look up D.pick up
A.house B.school C.company D.station
A.easy B.practical C.difficult D.useful
A.presented B.thanked C.blamed D.paid
A.help B.thanks C.money D.wallet
A.leaving B.saying C.offering D.owning
A.labor B.patience C.kindness D.support
A.able B.hard C.certain D.possible
A.without B.with C.on D.by
A.repay B.thank C.show D.reply
A.package B.cellphone C.card D.wallet
A.spent B.cost C.wasted D.took
A.called B.paid C.brought D.went
A.started B.preferred C.agreed D.failed
A.satisfied B.worried C.puzzled D.surprised
One day I came home from school, changed my clothes and got ready for work. I worked at a local restaurant in town as a cashier and waiter.
I went to work feeling . And to make matters worse, I was busy that evening. It’s the same thing over and over again, with customers who complain about their food and where they are is too big or too small. Little things like that tend to a lot of us but we manage to deal with them.
Three elderly ladies walked in and sat by the windows. It happened to be the very near where I keep the dirty in the boxes. Trying to keep up with all the dirty tables, customers leaving and coming in and running all over the house, it was crazy. these elderly women were watching I was working to make sure every table was clean and ready for the next customers.
When they their meals, I took their plates back to the kitchen. They talked to me for a while about school, how I was doing, what I was in and what I planned to do in the future.
they were leaving, they walked past me and one of them said to me in a and gentle voice, “You are going places. ”And that was it. They left the and I had tears in my eyes, because they gave me to believe in myself. They my spirit from being down and gave me a to keep on working hard.
People used to tell me that I couldn’t have a career in until I had a degree. I’m now a co-anchor(联合主持人)of a student-produced television . And the best thing is: I’m only 17 years old and I am a senior in high school.
A.tired B.excited C.up D.down
A.dealing B.helping C.talking D.meeting
A.sat B.seated C.laid D.dressed
A.attract B.avoid C.adjust D.annoy
A.employees B.customers C.bosses D.employers
A.table B.box C.spot D.kitchen
A.dishes B.rooms C.clothes D.chairs
A.men B.women C.waiters D.bosses
A.And B.Otherwise C.But D.So
A.what B.how C.where D.why
A.finished B.completed C.ordered D.got
A.place B.grade C.mark D.position
A.Before B.While C.As D.After
A.confident B.loud C.low D.pleasant
A.kitchen B.house C.restaurant D.table
A.ability B.courage C.imagination D.time
A.put down B.picked up C.took over D.pointed out
A.cause B.reason C.present D.permission
A.television B.government C.school D.restaurant
A.company B.station C.show D.advertisement