Millions of girls grow up with the hope of becoming a famous singer. Some even win local talent competitions as children, but only a few such early successes and dreams turn into reality. Jessica Andrews is one of the few whose dreams have come true.
Andrews, first taste of success came at the age of 10. She won a talent competition in her home town of Huntingdon, Tennessee, singing I Will Always Love You, originally sung by Whitney Houston. Houston's version of the song appeared on The Bodyguard sound track, which happened to be the first album Andrews ever bought.
Within two years, talk of Andrews had spread to Nashville and caught the attention of producer Byron Gallimore, whose credits include work with Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Jo Dee Messina. With Gallimore signed on to produce, Andrews soon had a recording contract (合同)with Dream Works' Nashville label.
Andrews' professional career was launched with 1999's Heart Shaped World, recorded when she was 14 years old. The album included the country hit I Will Be There For You, which also appeared on The Prince Of Egypt . She followed up the release of the album by touring as a support act for such country superstars as Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood.
With the release of 2001’s, Who I Am, Andrews became a star in her own right. The album was certified (证明)gold for sales of 500,000 copies. Andrews returned in April 2003 with Now,an album that she promised would show a new side of the young artist. "This album has a very different feeling for me," she said. "It's a lot more personal and there's a confidence that wasn't quite there on the first two. I feel especially connected to this group of songs."
【小题1】According to the passage, who mostly helped Andrews to achieve success ?

A.Tim McGrawB.Whitney HoustonC.Faith HillD.Byron Gallimore
【小题2】What's the meaning of the underlined word “launched,,in the fourth paragraph?
A.Started.B.Sent.C.Aimed.D.Set.
【小题3】Which of the following statements is WRONG according to the passage?
A.The Bodyguard was the first album Andrews ever bought.
B.After Andrews sang Who I Am,she became a star in her own right.
C.I Will Always Love You was originally sung by Whitney Houston.
D.Now expresses a new feeling of Andrews.
【小题4】Which of the following may NOT be Andrews' album?
A.Now.B.Heart Shaped World. C.The Prince of Egypt. D.Who IAm
【小题5】Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Jessica Andrews' LifeB.Jessica Andrews' Dream
C.Jessica Andrews' SongsD.Jessica Andrews' Success as a Singer

A year ago, at the annual pre-Grammy party, Whitney Houston, the great star, walked on stage and closed the evening with a brilliant performance.
Last Saturday, Houston was once again the focus before the Grammy, but her presence was a regrettable one.Earlier that day, the pop music's former queen was found dead in her hotel room.She was 48.This, no doubt, is sad news to the whole music industry and her fans all over the world.
At her peak(巅峰), Houston was the golden girl of the music world.From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists.She impressed audiences with her effortless, powerful and peerless performance.
Besides multi-million record sales, Houston made countless hits such as The Greatest Love of All, I Have Nothing, and the mostly famous I Will Always Love You.She also influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey.
But by the end of her career, there was a shocking fall for this superstar.Houston had been addicted to(上瘾) drugs.Her album sales declined (下降) and the hits stopped coming and her once beautiful voice became hoarse (嘶哑的), unable to hit the high notes as she used to.
In 2009, Houston staged a successful comeback with the album I Look To You, which fell on top of the charts.But hoarse voice, canceled concerts, and continuous illness-Houston's comeback trail wasn't smooth at all.In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009, Houston admitted: "It (show business) is too much for me and I wanted out."
Now that Houston has finally taken a break from all the chaos(混乱), may she rest in peace.
【小题1】Whitney Houston died ______.

A.shortly before the Grammy this yearB.earlier last Sunday
C.a year agoD.at the annual pre-Grammy party
【小题2】The underlined word "peerless" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______.
A.having no powerB.having no equal
C.requiring no effortD.leaving no impression
【小题3】The cause of the fall of Whitney Houston was that _____.
A.her album sales declined
B.show business was too much for her
C.her fans no longer love her
D.she had been addicted to drugs
【小题4】According to the passage, which is not Houston’s achievement?
A.She made countless hits such as I Have Nothing.
B.She influenced a generation of younger singers.
C.She became the focus before the Grammy this year.
D.She staged a successful comeback in 2009.

Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.

For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(适合大众口味的音乐) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".

What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.

It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.

In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.

For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.

1.Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.

A.the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK

B.her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week

C.Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did

D.she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry

2.According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.

A.to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music

B.is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice

C.lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust

D.is largely due to the state of the music industry currently

3.Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?

A.She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce.

B.She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music.

C.Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK.

D.Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves.

4.What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?

A.Her musical talent.

B.The joint work of musicians in the album.

C.Her incredible voice.

D.Her universality and broad appeal.

5.The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.

A.satisfying          B.disappointing       C.dangerous         D.desperate

 

The Girl with the Cut - out Face

When I was a child, I often looked through a family album. I remember asking my mother why there was a   36   cut out of a photo of a little girl. But it was   37   that my mother did not want to talk about it.

  38   I looked at the album I saw that cut - out face and   39   about it. I figured there was something   40   . When I was grown up and had almost   41   about the photo, my mother must have realized I should know her   42   . She sat me down one day and said, “That cat - up photo is   43   your Aunt Anna. She has schizophrenia(精神分裂症).”

But why did my mother never   44   this before? I still didn’t understand. “Because people are… were…   45   of having mental illness in the family” was the   46   . But I wanted to meet Aunt Anna, and I   47  .

My mother and I traveled to the house   48    Anna lived with an Italian family. Anna looked like a question mark on legs,   49   she had lovely, clear eyes and a gentle manner. I could see the   50   to my mother. “So nice to meet you,” she said to me. “Do you have a trunk (象鼻;行李箱)?”

Did she think that I was an elephant? No, she wanted to run   51   and hide in the trunk of my car. The family that   52   her said that she always wanted to   53  .

The last time I saw Anna she was placed in a smaller old - age facility in Brooklyn.

  54   Aunt Anna, I’m not the least bit ashamed of you. I’m   55   about you now for many to see, with your sweet young face showing under a pretty bow.

And you finally found that escape you were seeking.

 

1.A. space         B. picture          C. face             D. corner

2.A. easy          B. necessary        C. simple           D. clear

3.A. At once       B. Every time       C. On purpose       D. Of course       

4.A. wondered      B. recognized       C. proved           D. learned

5.A. wrong         B. serious          C. difficult        D. strange

6. A. forgotten    B. remembered       C. found            D. lost

7.A. thought       B. mind             C. secret           D. reason

8.A. for           B. of               C. about            D. on

9.A. follow        B. discover         C. stop             D. mention

10.A. proud        B. tired            C. ashamed          D. fond

11.A. question     B. answer           C. voice            D. fact

12.A. had          B. did              C. would            D. dared

13.A. where        B. when             C. how              D. why

14.A. so           B. and              C. but              D. or

15.A. difference   B. possibility      C. chance           D. resemblance

16.A. upstairs     B. forward          C. outside          D. back

17.A. housed       B. supported        C. offered          D. accepted

18.A. run          B. escape           C. hide             D. die

19.A. Therefore    B. Otherwise        C. However          D. Anyway

20.A. telling   B. writing  C. finding  D. complaining

 

Angela Chang(张韶涵) didn’t know it would be so hard to turn singing into a career. She went to many different record companies. But she was always turned down for looking too young and small.

“I’d never had such difficulties before,” Chang said. But Chang’s talent was finally accepted in 2002. When she got a piece of work, she cried.

She soon became a star. Her first album Over the Rainbow sold very well. She won many awards.

“You wouldn’t believe such a beautiful voice could come from such a small body,” said one musician after hearing Chang sing. “She has a special voice. You can’t forget it.”

But the 25-year-old girl has other talents too. Chang is also an actress. She has played a role in the popular TV plays, My MVP Valentine and At Dolphin Bay. Many people remember her common-girl parts in the plays. But acting is difficult. Chang once acted so badly that she was nearly fired. Another time it took her 27 tries to get a scene right.

“I cried when I got back home,” Chang said. “But I knew that I wouldn’t always fail. You only fail when you give up.”

Now with four albums behind her - Over the Rainbow, Aurora, Pandora and Flower in the Wonderland, it’s clear that Chang and music were made for each other. As she sings in one song, “I have a pair of invisible wings. They fly me to the sky and give me hope.”

1.The word “invisible” in the last paragraph means “________________”.

A.难以相信的

B.看不见的

C.隐藏的

D.暗的

2. Many record companies refused to co-operate(合作) with her because ______________.

A.she looks very common

B.she is too young

C.she doesn’t sing very well

D.she looks young and small

3. Which of the following is NOT right?

A.She won many awards for the album Over the Rainbow.

B.She has made four films.

C.One musician spoke highly of her.

D.She is not only a singer but an actress.

4.Although acting is difficult for her, she never gives up because ______________.

A.she is strong-minded

B.people like her films

C.she is interested in acting

D.she acted in the popular TV plays

5.Which do you think is the best title of the passage?

A.The Small Girl.

B.Four Albums.

C.I have a Pair of Invisible Wings.

D.A Poor Actress.

 

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