题目内容
If he is not here in three minutes, we will he is not coming.
A.decide B.agree C.assume D.allow
C
I started winning competitions. We still had very little money -- my father had to borrow $5,000 to pay for a trip to the International Young Pianists Competition in Ettlingen, Germany, in 1994, when I was 12. I realized later how much pressure he was under. Tears streamed down his face when it was announced that I'd won -- earning enough money to pay back our loan.
It was soo n clear I couldn't stay in China forever. To become a world-class musician, I had to play on the world's big stages. So in 1997, my father and I moved again, this time to Philadelphia, so I could attend The Curtis Institute of Music. Finally our money worries were easing. The school paid for an apartment and even lent me a Steinway(斯坦威钢琴).At night, I would sneak into the living room just to touch the keys.
Now that I was in America, I spent two years practicing, and by 1999 I had worked hard enough for fortune to take over. The Chicago Symphony orchestra heard me play and liked me, but orchestra schedules were set far in advance. I thought I might join them in a few years.
The next morning, I got a call. The great pianist Andre Watts, who was to play the "Gala Benefit Evening" at Chicago's Ravinia Festival, had become ill. I was asked to replace him. That performance was, for me, the moment. After violinist Isaac Stern introduced me, I played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. My father's mouth hung open throughout the entire song.
I played until 3:30 a.m. I felt something happening. Sure enough, it was a great success. Still, my father kept telling me, "You'd better practice!" But living in America with me was beginning to relax him. In Beijing I'd been fat -- he made sure I ate -- and he'd been skinny. Now I was getting thin. He wasn't.
My father and I had often practiced a piece called "Horses," a fun version for piano and erhu. One night in Carnegie Hall, after I played Chopin and Liszt, I brought Dad out on the stage, and we played our duet(二重奏). People went crazy -- they loved it. My father couldn't sleep for days. He was too happy to sleep.
There have been lots of concerts in Carnegie Hall, but for me playing there was especially sweet when I remember the cold days in Beijing. Together, my father and I worked to reach the lucky place where fortune spots you, and lets you shine.
【小题1】In the first paragraph his father cried when it was announced that he'd won mainly because__________.
A.his father was excited that his son succeeded at last. |
B.his father was under too much pressure. |
C.they could pay back the loan with the prize. |
D.his father was proud of him. |
a. He and his father moved to Philadelphia.
b. He was asked to replace the great pianist Andre Watts.
c. He and his father played “Horses” together.
d.The Chicago Symphony orchestra heard his performance.
e. The Curtis Institute of Music lent him a Steinway
A.a, e, c, b, d | B.b, e, a, d, c | C.d, a, e, b, c | D.a, e, d, b, c |
A.The writer’s father had been very fat before they went to America. |
B.The writer thought he would be one of them soon when he knew the Chicago Symphony orchestra heard him play and liked him. |
C.The Curtis Institute of Music finally eased their money worries. |
D.One can achieve his dream if he is lucky enough. |
A.America | B.Beijing. | C.Carnegie Hall | D.All the places he went to. |
A.I Took Off! | B.When Fortune Spots Me. |
C.No Pain, No Gain. | D.My father and I |
I live in the land of Disney, Hollywood and year - round sun.You may think People ,n such an attractive, fun - filled place are happier than others.If so you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.
Many intelligent people still think fun equals happiness.The truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common.Fun is what we experience during an act.Happiness is what we experience after an act.It is a deep, long-lasting emotion.
Going to an amusement park or a ball game, watching a movie or television are fun activities that help us relax, temporally forget our problems and maybe even laugh.But they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.
I have often thought that if Hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun.They have constant access to exciting parties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness" But in memoir(回忆录) after memoir, they expose Ac unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages and loneliness.
Ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying.If he is honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment.For commitment is in fact quite painful.The single life is filled with fun, adventure and excitement.Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most distinguishing features.
Similarly, couples that choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness.They can dine out whenever they want and sleep as late as they want.Couples with babies are lucky to get a whole night' s sleep.I don't know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children.
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to.It liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can truly increase our happiness.It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless.And it frees us from envy: we now understand that all those rich and famous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all.
【小题1】What is the passage mainly about?
A.Fun and happiness. |
B.Success and satisfaction. |
C.Marriage and commitment. |
D.Entertainment and responsibility. |
A.fun creates long - lasting satisfaction |
B.long - standing fun may lead to happiness |
C.fun is short-lived while happiness is long-lasting |
D.fun provides enjoyment while pain leads to happiness |
A.It ends in pain.
B.It means commitment.
C.It affords greater fun.
D.It leads to raising children.
【小题14If one gets the real meaning of happiness, he ____.
A.will start a business
B.won' t place too much value on money
C.will seek for freedom
D.won't devote himself to his family