Today, we talk to an up-and-coming (有前途的) erhu player, Lee Hang, from Hong Kong. He’ll play with the Hong Kong Orchestra (管弦乐队) next Sunday in a special concert by young Chinese musicians.

Interviewer: Thank you for talking to us, Lee. You must be very excited.

Lee: Yes, I am. This is the first time that I’ve played with such a famous orchestra and in front of so many people. They’re expecting about 4,000 people.

Interviewer: Does that scare you?

Lee: To be honest, yes. I haven’t slept much in the last few days. But my teacher told me I wouldn’t take it seriously enough if I wasn’t scared. That helped a lot.

Interviewer: Tell me about why you started playing the erhu.

Lee: My parents took me to piano and violin lessons. I quite liked them but they had to force me to go sometimes. One night, I saw a documentary about Yo Yo Ma, the famous Chinese American cello(大提琴) player. He talked about his love of Chinese instruments and we should follow our interests. I always enjoyed listening to Chinese instruments like the erhu and guzheng. That inspired me to learn the erhu. My parents were glad that I was playing something I actually liked.

Interviewer: What do your friends think of you playing a Chinese instrument?

Lee: Well, a lot of my classmates think playing things like the erhu isn’t cool. I don’t care. It makes me happy. I got a letter from Yo Yo, saying how much he admired me and that he’d like to meet me next time when he’s in Hong Kong. They thought that was pretty cool!

Interviewer: And what does the future hold for you?

Lee: I’d like to study music in a university in China then hopefully play in orchestras. My ambition is to bring the beautiful sound of the erhu to all the corners of the world.

Interviewer: Well, if anyone can, it’s you. Thanks for talking to me, Lee. Good luck.

Lee: Thanks.

What will Lee Hang do next Sunday?

A. He will have an interview. 

B. He will talk to a newspaper reporter.

C. He will play a Chinese musical instrument at a concert.

D. He will study in a university in China.

Lee _______ because of the concert.

A. hasn’t been sleeping well    B. hasn’t been sleeping 

C. will meet 4000 people       D. has been afraid of his teacher

Lee started playing the erhu ________ a film about Yo Yo Ma.

A. before seeing   B. while seeing   C. after seeing    D. to copy

Lee likes playing the erhu _______ the piano and violin.

A. less than   B. as much as   C. more than    D. because his parents like

Lee’s friends thought _______ was great.

A. getting a letter from a famous musician     B. writing a letter to a famous musician

C. playing Chinese musical instruments       D. seeing Yo Yo Ma in Hong Kong


①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.
④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.
⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at eh age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.
1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?
a. He began learning music in an institution.
b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.
c. He visited the Soviet Union.
d. He met with Chinese musicians.
e. He performed for American soldiers.
A. a,e,c,d,b     B. a,e,b,c,d     C. e,a,b,c,d     D. e,a,c,d,b
2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.
A. how Stern began to learn music   B. how Stern began his musical career
C. Stern’s early education          D. Stern’s achievement in music
3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?
A. He was an activist in opposing war.
B. He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.
C. He had an interest in both playing music and making films.
D. He made a lot of money from music.
4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.
A. someone who supports young musicians
B. someone who wants to be a musician
C. someone who has a gift for music
D. someone who plays a certain kind of instrument
5. Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?
A.       ①                              B.       ①
↓                                         ↓
②③④⑤                                ②③④⑤⑥
↓                                         ↓
⑥⑦                                      ⑦
C. ①②③④⑤⑥                            D.    ①②③
↓                                           ↓
⑦                                      ④⑤⑥⑦

①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.

②Isaac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院).He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.

③During World War Ⅱ, Mr. Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.

④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.

⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.

⑥Mr. Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo -Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of 81.He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.

1.Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?

a. He began learning music in an institution.

b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

c. He visited the Soviet Union.

d. He met with Chinese musicians.

e. He performed for American soldiers.

A.a, e, c, d, b         B.a, e, b, c, d         C.e, a, b, c, d         D.e, a, c, d, b

2.Paragraph 2 is mainly about _________ .

A.how Stern began to learn music

B.how Stern began his musical career

C.Stern’s early education

D.Stern’s achievement in music

3.The underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to _________ .

A.someone who supports young musicians

B.someone who wants to be a musician

C.someone who has a gift for music

D.someone who plays a certain kind of instrument

4.Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?

A.①→②③④⑤→⑥⑦                    B.①→②③④⑤⑥→⑦

C.①②③④⑤⑥→⑦                      D.①②③→④⑤⑥⑦

 

The lights dimmed,the musical hall grew quiet and out walked the conductor (指挥) shiny and white and 4 feet and 3 inches tall.

ASIMO, a robot designed by Honda Motor Co., met its latest challenge Tuesday evening: Conducting the Detroit Symphony (底特律交响乐团), in a performance of “The Impossible  Dream” from “Man of La Mancha”.

“Hello, everyone,” ASIMO said to the audience in a childlike voice, then waved to the orchestra. As it conducted, it perfectly mimicked (模仿) the actions of a conductor,

nodding its head at various sections and gesturing with one or both hands. ASIMO took a final bow to excited shouts from the audience. Later, cellist Yo-Yo Ma joined ASIMO onstage to receive an award for his efforts in music education.

Honda spokeswoman Alicia Jones says it is the first time ASIMO has conducted an orchestra, and it may be the first time any robot has conducted a live performance. But ASIMO has its  limits. ASIMO's engineers programmed the robot to mimic Charles Burke, the Detroit Symphony's education director, as he conducted the piece in front of a pianist about six months ago. But it can't respond to the musicians.

“It's not a communicative device. It simply is programmed to do a set of gestures,” said Leonard Slatkin, the orchestra's musical director. “If the orchestra decides to go faster, there's nothing the robot can do about it. Hopefully, I keep that under control.”

But several musicians also said ASIMO was more realistic than they expected. “The movements are still a little stiff (僵硬的), but very humanlike, much better than I thought,” Hutchinson said.

1.What's the audience's response to ASIMO's performance?

A.Disappointed.

B.Moved.

C.Excited.

D.Astonished.

2.Whose conducting was ASIMO made to copy?

A.Yo-Yo Ma's.

B.Charles Burke's.

C.Leonard Slatkin's.

D.Alicia Jones's.

3.We can learn from the passage that ASIMO ________.

A.was designed and trained by Yo-Yo Ma

B.can communicate with the audience freely

C.only performs according to the designed programs

D.can change its conducting style freely

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A.Detroit Symphony gives a good performance

B.Honda robot conducts Detroit Symphony

C.“The Impossible Dream” from Detroit Symphony

D.Cooperation between Honda and Detroit Symphony

 

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