Violin prodigies(神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists, the reason for this phenomenon. “It’s very clear, “he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.

Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field and is able to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, “children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well.” The Koreans and Chinese, as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.

That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music.

Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ______.   

   A. it would allow them access to a better life in the West

   B. Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent

   C. they wanted their children to enter into the professional fields

   D. it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country

Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ______.

   A. enforce strong discipline on students who want to achieve excellence

   B. treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development

   C. encourage people to compete with each other

   D. promise talented children high positions

Japan is described in the passage as a country that attaches importance to ______.

   A. all-rounded development                  B. the learning of Western music

   C. strict training of children                  D. variety in academic studies

Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?

   A. A natural gift.                    B. Extensive knowledge of music.

   C. Very early training.                D. A prejudice-free society.

The opening scene of The King’s Speech was, in a word, terrifying. The moment King George VI—wonderfully played by Colin Firth—stepped up to the microphone at Wembley Stadium, a rush of nervousness came over me. It took me back to my school days, standing at my desk, having to read aloud to the class. I whispered to my wife, Jill, “A stutterer(口吃者) wrote this screenplay(剧本).

   I grew up with a stutter, really afraid of trying to get through simple sentences—knowing that I would then, or later, be laughed at. I still remember the reading when I was in 7th grade at St. Helena’s: “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen…” I remember reciting, “Sir Walter Raleigh was a gentlemen.” The school teacher said, “Master B-B-B-Biden! What’s that word?” She wanted me to say gentlemen. But by then, I had learned to put my sentences into bite-size pieces and I was reading it: “gentle”|breath|“man”.

   Ninety-nine percent of the time, the teachers were great. I never had professional treatment but a couple of teachers taught me to put a regular rise and fall in my tone of speaking, and that’s why I spent so much time reading poetry. But even in my small, boys’ prep school, I got nailed in my class with the nickname Joe Stutterer. You get so desperate, you’re so embarrassed. I actually went and stood by the side of my house once, with a small round stone in my mouth, and tried to talk. Jill always thought I was kidding until she saw the movie and saw King George did the same thing.

   King George relied on the support his wife and the help of Lionel Longue, who, in describing working with other stutterers, said, “My job was to give them confidence in their voices and let them know that a friend was listening.” I was lucky enough to have more than a couple of Lionels in my life. Nobody in my family ever—ever—made fun of me or tried to finish my sentences. My mother would say, “Joey, you cannot let stuttering define you.” And because of her and others, I made sure it didn’t.

   Through hard work and determination, I beat my stutter in high school. I even spoke briefly at my graduation ceremony in 1961—the most difficult speech of my life. My fight against shyness and embarrassment at my early age has developed my ability to understand others’ feelings as Vice President of the country in public life. I still mark up all of my speeches the say way Firth’s character does in the movie, pencil-marking every line to remind myself to stop, to breathe, to pause—to beat back my stuttering as best as I can. I don’t stutter anymore, and most people who know me only late in my life are shocked that I ever did.

   By capturing exactly how a stutter feels, The King’s Speech has shown millions of people how much courage it takes for a stutterer to stand up and speak. Equally important, it has shown millions who suffer from the pain that it can be overcome, we are not alone, and with the support of those around us, our deepest fears can be conquered.

1.The writer whispered to his wife, “A stutterer wrote this screenplay”, because __________.

A. he desired to release his secret to his wife

B. he was reminded how it was as a stutterer on such occasions

C. he thought Colin Firth had a wonderful performance in the film

D. he wanted to make his wife realize why the film was so popular

2.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 imply?

A. The writer would have a good fortune to get help from many people.

B. The writer should realize he had to stand up from his pain and defeat it

C. The writer could get enough confidence under his mother’s help

D. The writer must be happy that everyone in his family did not laugh at him.

3.What message is conveyed in the passage?

A. Whatever pain and fear we have, we can defeat them if we try hard.

B. The similar stories of the writer and King George VI gains great admiration.

C. The suffer we had at our early age will have a heavy influence on our future life.

D. Stuttering is such a pain for children that we should give help and encourage them.

 

In 1974, after filling out fifty applications, going through four interviews, and winning one offer, I took what I could get ----- a teaching job at what I considered a distant wild area: western New Jersey. My characteristic optimism was alive only when I reminded myself that I would be doing what I had wanted to do since I was fourteen ------- teaching English.

School started, but I felt more and more as if I were in a foreign country. Was this rural area really New Jersey? My students took a week off when hunting season began. I was told they were also frequently absent in late October to help their fathers make hay on the farms. I was a young woman from New York City, who thought that “Make hay while the sun shines” just meant to have a good time.

But, still, I was teaching English. I worked hard, taking time off only to eat and sleep. And then there was my sixth-grade class ---- seventeen boys and five girls who were only six years younger than me. I had a problem long before I knew it. I was struggling in my work as a young idealistic teacher. I wanted to make literature come alive and to promote a love of the written word. The students wanted to throw spitballs and whisper dirty words in the back of the room.

In college I had been taught that a successful educator should ignore bad behavior. So I did, confident that, as the textbook had said, the bad behavior would disappear as I gave my students positive attention. It sounds reasonable, but the text evidently ignored the fact that humans, particularly teenagers, rarely seems reasonable. By the time my boss, who was also my taskmaster, known to be the strictest, most demanding, most quick to fire inexperienced teachers, came into the classroom to observe me, the students exhibited very little good behavior to praise.

My boss sat in the back of the room. The boys in the class were making animal noises, hitting each other while the girls filed their nails or read magazines. I just pretended it all wasn’t happening, and went on lecturing and tried to ask some inspiring questions. My boss, sitting in the back of the classroom, seemed to be growing bigger and bigger. After twenty minutes he left, silently. Visions of unemployment marched before my eyes.

I felt mildly victorious that I got through the rest of class without crying, but at my next free period I had to face him. I wondered if he would let me finish out the day. I walked to his office, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He was sitting in his chair, and he looked at me long and hard. I said nothing. All I could think of was that I was not an English teacher; I had been lying to myself, pretending that everything was fine.

When he spoke, he said simply, without accusation, “You had nothing to say to them.”

“You had nothing to say to them”. he repeated.” No wonder they are bored. Why not get to the meat of literature and stop talking about symbolism. Talk with them, not at them. And more important, why do you ignore their bad behavior”? We talked. He named my problems and offered solutions. We role-played. He was the bad student, and I was the forceful, yet, warm, teacher

As the year progressed, we spent many hours discussing literature and ideas about human beings and their motivations. He helped me identify my weaknesses and strengths. In short, he made a teacher of me by teaching me the reality of Emerson’s words: “The secret to education lies in respecting the pupil.”

Fifteen years later I still drive that same winding road to the same school. Thanks to the help I received that difficult first year, the school is my home now.

1. It can be inferred from the story that in 1974 ________________.

A.the writer became an optimistic person

B.the writer was very happy about her new job

C.it was rather difficult to get a job in the USA

D.it was easy to get a teaching job in New Jersey

2.According to the passage, which of the following is most probably the writer’s problem as a new teacher?

A.She had blind trust in what she learnt at college.

B.She didn’t ask experienced teachers for advice.

C.She took too much time off to eat and sleep.

D.She didn’t like teaching English literature.

3.What is the writer’s biggest worry after her taskmaster’s observation of her class?

A.She might lose her teaching job.

B.She might lose her students’ respect.

C.She couldn’t teach the same class any more.

D.She couldn’t ignore her students’ bad behavior any more.

4.Which of the following gives the writer a sense of mild victory?

A.Her talk about symbolism sounded convincing.

B.Her students behaved a little better than usual.

C.She managed to finish the class without crying.

D.She was invited for a talk by her boss after class.

5.The students behaved badly in the writer’s classes because

A.They were eager to embarrass her.

B.She didn’t really understand them.

C.They didn’t regard her as a good teacher.

D.She didn’t have a good command of English.

6.The taskmaster’s attitude towards the writer after his observation of her class can be described as________________.

A.cruel but encouraging                    B.fierce but forgiving

C.sincere and supportive                   D.angry and aggressive

 

三,阅读理解(共15小题;每小题2分,满分30分)

阅读下列短文,从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中,选出最佳选项。

During his college years, Rogers spent his summer holidays at an Idaho logging camp (伐木场). When Roy, the manager, had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge. "What if the workers refuse to follow my orders?" Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, a worker who was always giving the other men a hard time. "Fire them," Roy said. Then, as if reading Rogers’ mind, he added, "I suppose you want to fire Tony if you get the chance. I’d feel bad about that. Tony is the most reliable worker I’ve ever had. I know he complains a lot, but he comes first and leaves last. There has not been an accident on the hill where he works for eight years." Rogers took over the manager’s job the next day. He went to Tony and spoke to him, "Tony, did you know that I’m in charge today?" Tony didn’t show any respect or interest. "I was going to fire you because you once gave me a hard time, but I want you to know I’m not," he told Tony, adding what Roy had said. When Rogers finished, tears streamed down Tony’s face. That day Tony worked harder than ever before —and he smiled for the first time! Rogers went back to school after that summer. Twelve years later he met Tony again. He was in charge of one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how he managed to become so successful. Tony replied, "If it were not for that time you spoke to me back in Idaho, I would not be myself today. That one minute changed my whole life." Have you got one minute to appreciate someone? It can make a difference for a lifetime.

1. Which of the following statements about Tony is TRUE?

A. He didn’t care about his work.

B. He never showed respect to his co-workers.

C. Nobody liked Tony because of his bad temper.

D. He worked hard but he always complained.

2. The manager’s attitude towards Tony is _____.

A. strict      B. doubtful   C. satisfied      D. negative

3. Rogers changed his mind and didn’t fire Tony because _______.

A. Tony smiled at him

B. he learned more about Tony’s work

C. Roy didn’t give him the power to fire anyone

D. Tony didn’t give him a hard time anymore

4. What can we learn from Tony’s success?

A. It’s never too late to learn.           

B. Well begun is half done.

C. It’s necessary to work with a wise boss.

D. It’s important to recognize others’ good qualities.

 

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