The Piano Lesson

Jenny wasn't interested in playing the piano. She liked writing stories and acting them out with her friends. But Mrs Windsor gave her piano lessons for free, so she felt she should have a try. Every Sunday she had her piano lessons in Mrs Windsor's house.

One Sunday morning, Jenny walked into Mrs Windsor's music room and sat down on the piano bench as usual.

"Hello," Jenny heard a voice behind her. She turned around and saw a young girl.

"What's your name?" The girl asked.

Before Jenny could answer, Mrs Windsor walked in and said, "Jenny, this is my niece (侄女), Pasha. Pasha, this is Jenny. I need to go to hospital, so Pasha will give you your lesson today."

Pasha sat beside Jenny on the piano bench and asked, "What piece do you like best?"

"I don't know," Jenny said. "They're all the same to me."

"You mean you don't have a favourite?" Pasha was surprised.

"No, not really," Jenny said.

Pasha opened Jenny's music book and asked Jenny to play.

After about a page or two, Pasha gently put her hand on top of Jenny's. Jenny stopped. Then Pasha said, "Jenny, what are you hearing in the music?" Jenny looked at Pasha strangely.

"I don't know," Jenny said.

"Let me try and you listen," Pasha said. "All you have to do is learn to hear the stories in the music."

"I' ve never thought of it that way," Jenny said.

"let's try together, shall we?" Pasha smiled. Together they played that afternoon and tried to find the story in the music. That day Jenny found playing the piano was not that difficult.

1.Why did Jenny go and learn piano lessons?

A. Because she liked music very much. B. Because she paid nothing for them.

C. Because Mrs Windsor played very well. D. Because Mrs Windsor forced her to do so.

2.Which of the following statements is True?

A. Mrs Windsor's niece knew Jenny very well.

B. Mrs Windsor was too busy with her work to teach Jenny.

C. Mrs Windsor didn't feel well that day.

D. Jenny saw a girl in the room when coming in.

3.What did Jenny mean when she said, "No, not really"?

A. She didn't agree with Pasha. B. She hated music very' much.

C. She liked one piece of music. D. She had no favourite piece of music.

4.The underlined word "gently" means ____________ .

A. hardly B. heavily C. kindly D. happily

5.How can you play music well according to the passage?

A. Practice a lot. B. Understand it.

C. Have a good teacher. D. Play with a girl.

Peter Franklin is a taxi driver in New York City. He thought a lot about New York City. One day, he decided to go to radio stations to let more people know New York. Now, he had over 40,000 shows. They were both on the radio and Internet.

At first, he talked about things and people, but not about himself. But over the years he found that people loved to know more about him.

He is still talking about his city, his world and himself. He feels that he helps others know New York City better. He wants to keep doing this, because he loves it.

He isn’t just a taxi driver — he is an ambassador (大使) of a great city. He is a quiet person with few words, but when he talks about his city, he talks a lot. I like him and I like every one of you with the idea of making the world better!

1.What is Peter Franklin?

A. An ambassador. B. A taxi driver. C. A teacher. D. A policeman.

2.Why did Peter begin to talk on the radio?

A. Because it was interesting.

B. Because he wanted to let people know more about his city.

C. Because he wanted to make friends.

D. Because he thought he was wonderful.

3.Which of the following is NOT true about Peter?

A. He didn’t talk about himself much at first. B. He gives shows on the radio and Internet.

C. He knows much about the USA. D. He loves talking about New York City.

4.What does the writer think of Peter?

A. He is quiet and has few words. B. He is cute but noisy.

C. He is outgoing and noisy. D. He is friendly and funny.

5.What does the writer try to tell us according to the passage?

A. Taxi drivers know a city best. B. We should make the world better.

C. We can try to talk about our city on the radio. D. New York City has good taxi drivers.

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