题目内容
15. --- Who are the teenagers gathering at the school gate?
--- Well, if you _____ know, they are all my visiting students.
A. need B. must C. may D. Will
B
For some people, music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes (音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music set them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in withdrawal and social isolation. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn’t involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can’t see certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed (诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say, ‘No thanks, I’m amusic,’” says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.” (335 words)
【小题1】Which of the following is true of amusics?
| A．Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them. |
| B．They love places where they are likely to hear music. |
| C．They can easily tell two different songs apart. |
| D．Their situation is well understood by musicians. |
| A．dislikes listening to speeches |
| B．can hear anything nonmusical |
| C．has a hearing problem |
| D．lacks a complex hearing system |
| A．her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier |
| B．she were seventeen years old rather than seventy |
| C．her problem could be easily explained |
| D．she were able to meet other amusics |
| A．Amusics’ strange behaviours. |
| B．Some people’s inability to enjoy music. |
| C．Musical talent and brain structure. |
| D．Identification and treatment of amusics. |
The teacher who did the most to encourage me was, as it happened, my aunt. She was Myrtle C. Manigault, the wife of my mother’s brother Bill. She taught in second grade at all-black Summer School in Camden, New Jersey.
During my childhood and youth, Aunt Myrtle encouraged me to develop every aspect of my potential, without regard for what was considered practical or possible for black females. I liked to sing; she listened to my voice and pronounced it good. I couldn’t dance; she taught me the basic dancing steps. She took me to the theatre ---- not just children’s theatre but adult comedies and dramas—and her faith that I could appreciate adult plays was not disappointed.
My aunt also took down books from her extensive library and shared 
them with me. I had books at home, but they were all serious classics. Even as a child I had a strong liking for humor, and I’ll never forget the joy of discovering Don Marquis’s Archy & Mehitabel through her.
Most important, perhaps, Aunt Myrtle provided my first opportunity to write for publication. A writer herself for one of the black newspapers, she suggested my name to the editor as a “youth columnist”. My column, begun when I was fourteen, was supposed to cover teenage social activities—and it did—but it also gave me the freedom to write on many other subjects as well as the habit of gathering material, the discipline of meeting deadlines, and, after graduation from college six years later, a solid collection of published material that carried my name and was my passport to a series of writing jobs.
Today Aunt Myrtle is still an enthusiastic supporter of her “favourite niece”. Like a diamond, she has reflected a bright, multifaceted (多面的) image of possibilities to every pupil w
ho has crossed her path.
【小题1】Which of the following did Aunt Myrtle do to the author during her childhood and youth?
| A．She lent her some serious classics. | B．She cultivated her taste for music. |
| C．She discovered her talent for dancing. | D．She introduced her to adult plays. |
| A．involve her in teenage social activities | B．give her a chance to collect material |
| C．develop her capabilities for writing | D．offer her a series of writing jobs |
| A．gave pupils confidence in exploiting their potential |
| B．trained pupils to be diligent and well-disciplined |
| C．emphasized what was practical or possible for pupils. |
| D．helped pupils overcome difficulties in learning |
Annalisee Brasil, a 14-year-old girl, is one of the brightest kids of her generation. When Annalisee was 3, her mother Angi noticed that she was stringing together word cards into correct sentences. After the girl turned 6, her mother took her for an IQ text. Her IQ is above 145, placing the girl in the top 0.1% of the population. Annalisee should be the star pupil at school. She is witty and pretty, and it’s easy to imagine she would get along well at school. But Annalisee’s parents couldn’t find a school willing to take their daughter. So her mother homeschooled Annalisee.
But Angi felt something was missing in her daughter’s life. Annalisee didn’t have a rich social network of other kids. She had trouble getting along with others. She described herself as a “perfectionist” and said other students sometimes were jealous of her.
What’s needed is a new model for gifted education. That’s the idea behind the Davidson Academy of Nevada. At the academy, all the kids are skipping ahead quickly. However, the academy’s most important gift to its students is social, not academic. One of the main functions of the school is to provide a good social setting for the highly gifted.
Last year the school enrolled Annalisee, which has been good for her. She has made friends at the academy. She has also developed an interest in calculus(微积分) and biochemistry(生物化学). Socially, Annalisee is finally learning to get along with others. “It’s been interesting having to deal with that and getting used to the judgments of other kinds,” she said. “We get into arguments a lot, because we’re all really smart people with opinions, and it doesn’t always turn out that great. Sometimes I take things a little too personally.”
What is the passage mainly about?
Annalisee Brasil——the star pupil at school.
A smart girl who entered a proper school and benefited from gifted education.
A smart girl who had trouble getting along with others.
A girl who was too smart to find a suitable school.
【小题1】The word “perfectionist” in paragraph two probably means a person who _________.
| A．is smarter than others |
| B．is always favored by teachers |
| C．can do everything well and has strong demands |
| D．is accepted by others as a good leader |
| A．At the age of 3, Annalisee took an IQ test, in which she scored above 145. |
| B．Finding no school willing to take Annalisee, her father had to homschool her. |
| C．The Davidson Academy of Nevada emphasizes social gift more than academic gift. |
| D．After being enrolled by the academy, Annalisee enjoyed her school life without ant argument with her classmates. |
| A．Annalisee has realized her problem and is gradually changing her attitude towards others. |
| B．One of the main functions of the gifted education is to provide a good social setting for the highly gifted. |
| C．Without the academy, Annalisee couldn’t have learnt so much. |
| D． Like Annalisee, many other smart kids also have the similar trouble. |