Singing had always been an important part of Gloria Estefan’s life. “Since I was three years old, I sang. I sang everything,” Gloria said. “Cubans,” she added, “are a musical people”.

Gloria was born in Cuba in 1957. Her family left the country just before Fidel Castro came to power. In Miami, where the family settled, many people did not accept Cuban immigrants. In first grade, she spoke little English, but she worked hard to learn the language. Six months after she entered school, she won an award for reading in English!

When Gloria was ten, her father returned from the Vietnam War. Soon, the family realized he wasn’t well. They soon found out that he was badly ill. Her mother went back to teaching at school to support the family. Gloria cared for her father and her younger sister.

She still made the honor roll, and she still had her music, but Gloria was lonely. However, when the band leader Emilio Estefan came to speak at her high school, Gloria sang for him. He asked her to join his band. It was the beginning of the Miami Sound Machine.

Within a few months, the Miami Sound Machine was the top band in Miami. In 1978 Gloria and Emilio married.

At first, the Miami Sound Machine was known only in Miami. Then the band signed with CBS Records. Estefan and his band became stars.

Since then, the Miami Sound Machine has sold millions of records. Gloria has done more than just singing when Hurricane Andrew hit central Florida in 1992. She used only two weeks to organize an all-star concert that raised $2 million for the people who suffered in the hurricane. “We needed a party after that disaster,” she said.

Gloria said, “You have to stay true to the music you really love to do. There will always be people who will tell you, ‘that won’t work.’ You’ve got to be firm in spite of difficulties. Stick to it—that’s the main thing.”

Gloria’s father was ill        .

       A. when they settled down in Miami.

       B. before they left their home country

       C. after he returned from Vietnam War

       D. as soon as she finished high school

According to the passage, probably Gloria did the following except        .

       A. organizing an all-star concert for Hurricane victims

       B. winning an award for reading in English

       C. teaching at school to support the family

       D. taking care of her father and sister

The underlined word “disaster” in this passage refers to        .

       A. the concert B. the celebration   C. the victims D. the hurricane

This passage mainly tells about Gloria Estefan’s        .

      A. life story   B. happy marriage   C. music style    D. Cuban background

完形填空(共20小题;每小题1.5 分,满分30 分)
阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36-55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Our holidays were coming to an end but we had not yet realized our plan to drive to Dalat. Our   36   about Dalat with its shining cherry blossoms (花) and scenic views were   37   us to start our journey.
Then one morning our dream   38  . We hired a car and drove   39  to Dalat early in the morning. Splendid landscapes   40  on either side of the road   41   before us. The refreshing morning breeze was caressing (抚摸) our skin and in   42   spirits we were singing merrily.
When we reached Blao Pass, we saw a white   43   in front of us. We   44   down the pass. It seemed to us that the young girl in the white car did not want to be   45  as she was driving at full speed. Suddenly she lost  46  of her car; it turned to the left and crashed into the slope and   47  .
Quite frightened, we braked   48   and jumped out of our car. We turned her car over and pulled out the girl who was   49   in the car. The girl had narrowly escaped death. She was shivering like an aspen (白杨) leaf. In spite of her   50 , she looked very beautiful, just like an angel. When she had   51  from her panic, she timidly (胆小地) thanked us for having rescued her, then she looked at her flat   52  in despair.
Reading her thoughts, we took off our shirts and began to   53   the punctured tyre. We then put on the   54   wheel for her. As soon as the work had been done, we started our  55   again and followed Da Huong Lan—the girl we had helped.
36.A.thoughts    B.ideas C.suggestions       D.stories
37.A.promising  B.telling         C.urging         D.refusing
38.A.came true B.woke up     C.took place D.broke out
39.A.back   B.again C.slowly         D.straight
40.A.at dusk       B.at night      C.at dawn     D.at noon
41.A.disappeared       B.unfolded    C.grown         D.developed
42.A.strange      B.fresh  C.high   D.low
43.A.bus     B.car     C.dog    D.cat
44.A.walked       B.ran     C.climbed      D.sped
45.A.overtaken  B.beaten       C.discovered          D.known
46.A.anger          B.control       C.life      D.memory
47.A.left     B.stopped     C.returned    D.overturned
48.A.highly          B.successfully        C.hard   D.hardly
49.A.trapped      B.locked         C.thrown       D.found
50.A.pleasure    B.death          C.shock D.wake
51.A.came B.recovered  C.learned      D.turned
52.A.tyre    B.chair  C.car     D.leg
53.A.repair         B.remove      C.throw         D.check
54.A.other B.new   C.second-hand      D.spare
65.A.journey       B.voyage       C.passage     D.umbrella

I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.

“How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.

“None.”

“Where did you go?”

“The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”

“What did you do?”

“Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”

“You just stood there?”

“Didn’t sell a single one.”

“My God, Russell!”

Uncle Allen put in, “Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.

Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.

One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.

“If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.

My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.

1.Why did the boy start his job young?

A.He wanted to be famous in the future.

B.The job was quite easy for him.

C.His mother had high hopes for him.

D.The competition for the job was fierce.

2.From the dialogue between the boy and his mother, we learn that the mother was _______.

A.excited           B.interested         C.ashamed          D.disappointed

3.What did the mother do when the boy wanted to give up?

A.She forced him to continue.               B.She punished him.

C.She gave him some money.                D.She changed her plan.

4.What does the underlined word “nickel” most possibly mean?

A.a note that is worth ten dollars

B.a bill signed in acknowledgement of debt

C.a list showing how much you have to pay

D.a coin that is worth five cents

5.What is the text mainly about?

A.The early life of a journalist.

B.The early success of a journalist.

C.The happy childhood of the writer.

D.The important role of the writer in his family.

 

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