Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time, and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world. During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions, mostly in the style known as jazz.

The Early Years

Duke Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington D.C. It wasn’t until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew. He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players. Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties. Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music. He soon became a very popular musician playing at parties and other events in the Washington area. Young adults seemed especially to love the modern pieces he composed.

Success in New York

In 1923, when Ellington was almost 24 years old, he joined The Washingtonians, a five-piece group of musicians in Washington, and became the group’s leader in early 1924. In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra (管弦乐队) won an engagement (雇佣期) at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. For the next three years, his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.

The Influence of the Cotton Club

Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington’s creativity. Since the shows changed every six months, he was challenged by the need to develop new material. He had to compose lots of music for the Cotton Club shows.

By 1928 the club began to cover the shows live on the radio. From the live shows, Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation (名声).

On the Road

As Ellington’s popularity increased, he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours. They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years. During his trip, Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.

Duke Ellington played the piano, composed music, and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years, until his death in 1974. Music lovers all over the world agree that his music will be enjoyed for many years to come.

1.What do we know about Ellington from the first two paragraphs?

A.He preferred young adults to elder audience.

B.He could sing as well as he played the piano.

C.He had a natural gift for composing music.

D.He learnt to play musical instruments from a very young age.

2.Which of the following can show us Ellington’s leadership ability?

A.Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area.

B.Ellington did live radio shows at the Cotton Club in Washington.

C.Ellington made the orchestra popular and successful for a long time.

D.Ellington continually developed new material and composed more music.

3.What can we infer (推断) from the passage?

A.Ellington loved traveling around the world.

B.Ellington could compose a large number of songs.

C.Ellington’s career became successful just in one night.

D.Ellington made a great difference to the world of music.

4.Which of the following shows the order in which the events happened in the passage?

a. Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.

b. Ellington’s orchestra played at the Cotton Club.

c. Ellington’s orchestra went on concert tours.

d. Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.

A.d-a-b-c B.d-c-a-b C.a-d-b-c D.d-b-a-c

阅读短文,根据要求完成下面各小题。

These days we are bringing up kids in a generation(一代) that we like to call the iPad generation. Kids enjoy spending hours playing on their computers and phones. Since it seems that most of us parents can’t live without the computer (iPad, phone), it is normal for our kids to feel that that’s the way to go.

But we as parents find ourselves asking the same questions. Some of them are “I don’t want my kid on the computer; Am I right in not letting him use it?”, “Should I allow him to play for so long?”, and” When should I say no?”

A lot of parents believe in not letting their kids use computers. 43 They think that kids are expected to do other things like riding a bike or playing out with friends. At the same time, there is another set of parents who let their kids use their iPads or their phones for long hours. They feel their kids have to be good at using them, or they will be left behind(落后) Well, we shouldn’t stop our kids from using the computer. It can play a big role in the development of our kids. It can be used even without an Internet connection(连接). Kids can use it to draw pictures, read books, listen to music or play games just like any other toy. However, the number of hours that they use it should be controlled.

Let us talk about the Internet now. Is it a big bad wolf? Not really. If used properly, it has a number of information to offer our kids. Kids can know what is happening around them, and read wonderful facts about anything that interests them. There are a lot of healthy, kid-friendly websites that our kids can use. If you do allow your kid to use the Internet, be there while he or she uses it. Make it an experience that your kid enjoys with you. 44 Don’t let the Internet turn into something that just helps you to take care of your kid.

(一)根据短文内容简要回答问题。

1.What do the kids in the iPad generation usually like to do?

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2.What can kids use the computer to do in the passage?

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(二)将短文中划线的句子译成汉语。

3.____________________________________________________________________________

4.____________________________________________________________________________

(三)请给短文拟一个适当的题目。

5.____________________________________________________________________________

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