Beethoven, a famous musician in the world, was born in Germany in 1770.

In his childhood Beethoven didn’t have a happy life．His father was a singer. When he was only four, his father began to make him practise hour after hour on different musical instruments(乐器). If he did not put his heart into it, his father would beat him or make it hard on him.

Beethoven loved music and he learned so fast that he was able to go around to give concerts, when he was only a boy of eleven. At the age of seventeen, he won high praise from Mozart, the great musician at that time.

Beethoven was often poor and ill during his life. After one illness, he suddenly found himself deaf. At that time he was only thirty-one. It was a blow(打击)to him indeed.

But he still went on working and writing music pieces. To people’s surprise, some of his best pieces were written after he lost his hearing.

In 1827, leaving more than 300 pieces, the great musician died. But his name is still remembered to this day.

1.Beethoven was a ______ musician.

A．America B．French

C．German D．British

2.What happened when he was thirty-one? ___________.

A．He was blind B．He was deaf

C．He gave concerts D．He won high praise

3.Why didn’t Beethoven have a happy life in his childhood? ___________.

A．Because his family was poor

B．Because he had to practise a lot of musical instruments

C．Because his father was strict with him

D．Both B and C

4.The great musician lived in the world for only ______ years.

A．43 B．70 C．57 D．60

5.When were some of his best pieces written? ____________.

A．At the age of 11 B．At the age of 17

C．Before he was deaf D．After he became deaf

6.What did Beethoven do after he lost his hearing? ____________.

A．He never gave in B．He stopped writing music pieces

C．He lost his heart D．He went to see a doctor

One summer night Ludwig Beethoven took a walk in the suburb (市郊) of Bonn. Suddenly a gentle wind came. He heard some music. He listened carefully and found it was his F sonata. He followed the music and came to a small house. There through the window, he saw a girl playing a very old piano and a young man was making shoes beside her, he pushed the door open and went in. The host received him very warmly and told him that the girl was his sister, who was blind but very fond of music. They couldn’t afford to send her to a master. So she was only trying to play some music she heard the neighbors play. She knew it was the work of a great composer. Beethoven was very much moved. Suddenly the candle was blown out. Moonlight struck on the girl’s slender figure. Then Beethoven played music for them. He played so wonderful that the brother and sister were amazed. That was his famous Clair de lune.

1. Beethoven heard the music because ______.

A. it was played loudly B. there was a slight wind

C. the piano was old D. he stopped walking

2.The young man and the girl were _____.

A. brother and sister B. husband and wife

C. lovers D. good friends

3. The girl couldn’t go to the teacher most probably because_____.

A. she was blind

B. her brother didn’t want her to go

C. they were too poor

D. good friends

4.Beethoven played some music____.

A. before he was moved

B. as soon as he came in

C. when he saw the piano

D. after he heard the moving story

Pablo Picasso was born in Spain in 1881. His father was an artist and also an art teacher. He gave little Picasso the first lesson in drawing. The boy showed great interest in it and learned it very quickly. Picasso drew so well that he won a prize – “Science and Charity” for his first important painting at the age 15. Later he studied in several cities in Spain. But no one could teach him because he had known so much.

When he was 19, he visited Paris. At that time, Paris was the center of the world for artists. Everything in the painting world was new to Picasso. When he was 23, he moved to Paris to live and spent the rest of his life in France.

In his 80s, Pablo Picasso still worked like a young man. He kept on looking for new ideas and new ways to work. He never stopped painting all his life.

Pablo Picasso died in 1973 as a great artist in the world.

1. Pablo Picasso was born _____.

A. in France in 1973 B. in Spain in 1973

C. in Spain in 1881 D. in Paris in 1881

2. Pablo Picasso won the prize______.

A. “Science and Art” at the age of 15

B. “Science and Charity” at the age of 15

C. “Science and Art” at the age of 19

D. Science and Charity” at the age of 23

3.______was the center of the world for artists when Pablo Picasso was young

A. Spain B. New York

C. London D. Paris

4. Pablo Picasso was good at _________

A. teacher B. acting

C. painting D. thinking

5.What about Pablo Picasso when he was over 80 years old?________________

A. He still worked and kept painting all his life

B. He gave lessons in drawing

C. He studied in several cities in Spain

D. He spent the rest of his life with his father

A painting by Chinese artist Qi Baishi set a record for modern art and calligraphy (书法) on the mainland when it sold for 425.5 million yuan at an auction (拍卖) on May 22. The sale was a milestone (里程碑) in the auction of modern and contemporary artworks.

The price meant its value had risen more than 2,000 per cent in six years. The work , Eagle standing on pine tree with four-character coupleti（对联）, measures about 2.6 metres by 1 metre . It was the second highest price paid for an artwork on the mainland . A Song dynasty work by Huang Tingjian was sold for 436.8 million yuan in 2010. Qi’s painting was finished in 1946 when Qi was 86, and was his largest work . With a starting price of 88 million yuan, it attracted nearly 50 bids（出价）in half an hour. Shanghai businessman Liu Yiqian said that the work had belonged to him and had cost less than 20 million yuan in 2005. The auction company said the work was brought back to the mainland after being bought from a private owner in San Francisco six years ago.

China ranked first in global art sales last year, ahead of the United States and Britain . Four Chinese artists were among the top 10 in worldwide sales: Qi Baishi , Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong and Fu Baoshi. Qi’s works ranked second in sales to Pablo Picasso’s last year . Qi was born into a peasant family in Hunan in 1864. He taught himself to paint and focused on nature including plants, insects, birds and fish. He is mostly well-known for his paintings of shrimps. In 1953, he was elected president of the Association of Chinese Artists. He died in Beijing in 1957.

1.What’s the best title of the text ?

A. Qi Baishi’s Painting Was Discovered .

B. Qi Baishi’ s Painting Was Brought Back .

C. Qi Baishi’s Painting Sets an Auction Record .

D. The Value of Qi Baishi’s Paintings Is on the Increase .

2. Whose artwork sold for the highest price on the mainland ?

A. Qi Baishi’s . B. Huang Tingjian’s

C. Xu Beihong’s . D. Zhang Daqian’s .

3.The auction price of Qi’s painting was _____ million yuan higher than the starting price in the auction .

A. 337.5 . B. 348.8 . C. 50 . D. 11.3 .

4.Which of the following is TRUE ?

A. Qi finished the painting when he was young .

B. The painting was once stolen by an American .

C. The owner of this painting Liu Yiqian gained a lot of money .

D. Pablo Picasso’s works ranked second in sales to Qi’s last year .

5. The text is most probably taken from a _____.

A. computer book B. library guide

C. technology magazine D. newspaper report

1.古典音乐 (n.)________

2.音乐家 ( n.) ________

3.影响 (vt.) ________

4.对……印象深刻 ________（短语）

5.到……的时候 ________（短语）

6.绘画，油画(n.) ________

7.令人愉快的，可爱的(adj.) ________

8.采纳，采用(vt.) ________

9.对……厌烦________（短语）

10.推迟 ________（短语）

以“我最喜爱的音乐形式”为题目写一篇英语作文，内容包括：喜欢的音乐类型，喜欢该音乐的原因，音乐在生活中扮演的角色。100词左右

—I didn’t know this was a one-way street, officer.

— ________

A. That’s all right.

B. I dont believe you.

C. How dare you say that?

D. Sorry, but that's no excuse.

Most of the people _______ to the party were famous scientists.

A. invited B. to invite

C. being invited D. inviting

Because of my ______ English, I can't make myself ______.

A. broken; understand B. broken; understood

C. break; understood D. breaking; understanding

In front of the farmhouse ______.

A．lay a peasant boy B．laid a peasant boy

C．a peasant boy lay D．did a peasant boy lie