题目内容
For many seniors in some universities, the final year can be an unpleasant experience, ____that ends the campus romance.
A.which B./ C.or D.one
D
Duke Ellington is known as one of the most important composers of his time, and his work has been enjoyed for more than 80 years by music lovers all over the world. During his lifetime Ellington turned musical sounds into many compositions, mostly in the style known as jazz.
The Early Years
Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in 1899 in Washington, D. C. It wasn’t until Ellington was a teenager that his interest in music grew. He taught himself to play the piano by listening to local piano players. Sometime around 1916 Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties. Ellington realized that he enjoyed entertaining people with his music. He soon became a very popular musician, playing at parties and other events in the Washington area. Young adults seemed especially delighted by the modern pieces he composed.
Success in New York
In 1923, when Ellington was almost 24 years old, he joined The Washingtonians, a five-piece group of musicians in Washington, and became the group’s leader in early 1924. In 1927 Ellington and his orchestra won an engagement(雇佣期)at Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. For the next three years, his orchestra played at the Cotton Club nearly every night.
The Influence of the Cotton Club
Working at the Cotton Club encouraged Ellington’s creativity. Since the shows changed every six months, he was challenged by the need to continually develop new material. He had to compose a wide variety of music to accompany the various acts in the Cotton Club shows and to adapt that music to the strengths and weaknesses of the players in his orchestra.
By 1928 the popular nightspot began radio broadcasts. From the broadcasts Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
On the Road
As Ellington’s popularity increased, he realized that his orchestra could do well on concert tours. They left the Cotton Club in 1931 and toured America and Europe almost continually for the next 43 years. In addition to touring, Ellington made recordings and continued to compose music.
Duke Ellington played the piano, composed music, and led his famous orchestra for more than 50 years, until his death in 1974. Music lovers all over the world agree that the large quantity of music he created will be enjoyed for many years to come.
【小题1】From the second paragraph, we know that Ellington ____________.
A.could sing as well as he played the piano |
B.preferred mature audiences to young adults |
C.had a natural talent for musical composition |
D.learnt to play musical instrument from very young age |
A.Ellington was very popular at parties in the Washington area. |
B.Ellington took the responsibility for a band for a long time. |
C.Ellington did live radio broadcasts in New York City. |
D.Ellington continually developed new material. |
A.Ellington’s career took off overnight |
B.Ellington loves touring around the world |
C.Ellington could compose a wide variety of songs |
D.Ellington had a great effect on the world of music |
a. Ellington joined a five-piece group of musicians in Washington.
b. Ellington’s orchestra played at the Cotton Club.
c. Ellington and his orchestra gained a national reputation.
d. Ellington began playing the piano at high school parties.
e. Ellington’s orchestra went on concert tours.
A.d-b-a-e-c | B.d-a-b-c-e | C.a-d-b-c-e | D.a-d-b-e-c |
John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1918. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks.
Luckily he had a strong-willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, “Son,you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe.” She told him not to depend on others,including his mother. “You have to earn success,” she said. “All the people who work hard don’t succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard.”
These words came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don’t mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15,to Chicago.
Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John’s mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words — as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks.
While others discouraged (使气馁) him, John’s mother offered him more words to live by: “Nothing beats a failure but a try.” She also let him pawn(典当)her furniture to get the $500 he needed to start the Negro magazine.
It is natural that difficulties and failures followed John closely until he became very successful. He always keeps his mother’s words in mind: “Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!”
Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America — worth $150 million.
【小题1】 John’s father died in ________.
A.1922 | B.1933 | C.1924 | D.1923 |
A.his father died when John was very young |
B.life was too hard for them to stay on in their hometown |
C.there were no schools for black people in their hometown |
D.John needed more education badly |
A.didn’t believe in or depend on others |
B.thought no one could succeed without working hard |
C.believed one would succeed without working hard |
D.thought one could be whatever one wanted to be |
A.about the spiritual support John’s mother gave him |
B.how John H. Johnson became successful |
C.about the importance of a good education |
D.about the key to success for blacks |
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, becoming a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held, with Super Bowl I being the 1966 season championship game, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Super Bowl XLVI (46) was played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, on February 5, 2012, to determine the champion of the 2011 season; the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots.
The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL--NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was appointed as a “conference”, and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the National Football Conference (NFC) leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the American Football Conference (AFC).
The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered to be an existing American national holiday, is called “Super Bowl Sunday”, though it is not determined by the government. It is the second—largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year.
Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year. Due to the high cost of investing in advertising on the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies because of the exposure’s attracting more fans.
【小题1】What does the Super Bowl use to show each game?
A.The year when the game is held. |
B.English letters. |
C.Roman numerals |
D.Arabic numerals |
A.Union. | B.Appearance. |
C.Division. | D.Competition. |
A.the Super Bowl Sunday is an official national holiday |
B.the Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day for U.S. food consumption |
C.the Super Bowl has owned the biggest TV audience among all games |
D.Thanksgiving Day is the second--largest day for U.S. food consumption |
A.singers and musicians perform during the event’s ceremonies to get more attention |
B.people seldom discuss the broadcast’s commercials |
C.commercial companies make much money by broadcasting advertisements |
D.commercial companies are not interested in the Super Bowl |