----What do you usually do after getting up?

----I always start the day by　　 my email.

A、going through　　 B、looking for　　 C、getting through　　　 D、looking into

My Way to Success

From the day I signed up for the Naumburg Competition, everything changed. I had made a decision to start again, to save my life, and that meant a 360-degree turnaround.
I kept on practicing. An enormous amount of work had to be done in two months. I went from not practicing at all to thirteen hours a day.
I spent two weeks just playing scales. If I thought I sounded bad before, now I sounded worse than awful.
At the time I lived on 72nd Street, close to West End Avenue. I had an apartment with a window the size of a shoebox. I didn't do mylaundry. I left my apartment only to walk to Juilliard─and not onBroadway like everyone else. I walked up Amsterdam Avenue because I didn't want to see anybody, didn't want to run into anybody, didn't want anyone to ask what I was doing.
I stopped going to classes and became a hermit. I even talked Miss DeLay into giving my lesson at night.
My eating habits were awful. I lived on fried sausages, a pint of peanut butter/chocolate ice cream, and a gallon of Coca-Cola every day. That's all I ate for eight weeks.
I was nuts. I was completely obsessed with getting back into shape, with doing well in this competition. If I could, people would know I was still on earth. Not to count me out; to stop asking, “Whatever happened to Nadja?”
The last week before the Naumburg auditions, I couldn't touch the violin. I had worked and worked and worked and worked and then I just couldn't work anymore.
I certainly could have used it. I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. But I simply had to say, “Nadja, you've dedicated yourself to this thing. Ready or not, do your best.”
Fifty violinists from around the world auditioned for the competition on May 25, 26, and 27, 1981. Those that made it past thepreliminaries would go on to the semifinals. Those that passed that stage would go to the finals. In years past, one violinist was chosen as winner and two received second and third place.
On May 26, the day of my audition, I went to the Merkin Concert Hall at 67th Street and Broadway. I waited, played for twenty minutes, and went home. I couldn't tell whether the preliminary judges were impressed or not. I'd find out the next evening.
Maybe subconsciously I was trying to keep busy; that night, when I fried the sausages, I accidentally set my apartment on fire. I grabbed my cat and my violin, and ran out the door. The fire was put out, but everything in my place was wrecked.
Fortunately, the phone was okay and on the evening of May 27, I had the news from Lucy Rowan Mann of Naumburg. Thirteen of us had made it.
Talk about mixed emotions. I was thrilled to be among the thirteen; a group that included established violinists, some of whom had already made records. But it also meant I had to play the next day in the semifinals of the competition.
Everyone entering the competition had been given two lists of concertos. One was a list of standard repertory pieces. The other list was twentieth-century repertory. For our big competition piece, we were to choose from each list and play a movement from one in the semifinals, and a movement from the other in the finals─if we made it that far.
From the standard repertory list, I chose the Tchaikovsky Concerto. I had been playing the Tchaik for three years, so it was a good piece for me.
From the twentieth-century list, I chose the Prokofiev G minor Concerto. I had never played it onstage before.
My goal had been just passing the auditions, but now my thought pattern began to change. If I wanted a sliver of a chance of advancing again, my brain said, “Play your strong piece first.”
Logically, I should play the Tchaikovsky in the semifinals just to make it to the next stage. Who cared if that left me with a piece I probably wouldn't play as well in the finals of the competition? It'd be a miracle to get that far.
There wouldn't be more than seven violinists chosen for the final round, and if I were in the top seven of an international group, that was plenty good enough.
The semifinals were held on May 28 in Merkin Concert Hall. You were to play for thirty minutes: your big piece first, then the judges would ask to hear another.
There was a panel of eight judges. They had a piece of paper with my choices of the Tchaikovsky and the Prokofiev in front of them. “Which would you like to play?” they asked.
I said meekly, “Prokofiev.”
My brain and all the logic in the world had said, “Play your strong piece.” My heart said, “Go for it all. Play your weak piece now, save Tchaikovsky for the finals.”
Maybe I don't listen to logic so easily after all.
My good friend, the pianist Sandra Rivers, had been chosen as accompanist for the competition. She knew I was nervous. There had been a very short time to prepare; I was sure there'd be memory slips, that I'd blank out in the middle and the judges would throw me out. My hands were like ice.
The first eight measures of the Prokofiev don't have accompaniment. The violin starts the piece alone. So I started playing.
I got through the first movement and Sandra said later my face was as white as snow. She said I was so tense, I was beyond shaking. Just a solid brick.
It was the best I'd ever played it. No memory slips at all. Technically, musically, it was there.
I finished it thinking, “Have I sold my soul for this? Is the devil going to visit me at midnight? How come it went so well?”
I didn't know why, but often I do my best under the worst of circumstances. I don't know if it's guts or a determination not to disappoint people. Who knows what it is, but it came through for me, and I thank God for that.
As the first movement ended, the judges said, “Thank you.” Then they asked for the Carmen Fantasy.
I turned and asked Sandy for an A, to retune, and later she said the blood was just rushing back into my face.
I whispered, “Sandy, I made it. I did it.”
“Yeah,” she whispered back, kiddingly, “too bad you didn't screw up. Maybe next time.”
At that point I didn't care if I did make the finals because I had played the Prokofiev so well. I was so proud of myself for coming through.
I needed a shot in the arm; that afternoon I got evicted. While I was at Merkin, my moped had blown up. For my landlord, that was the last straw.
What good news. I was completely broke and didn't have the next month's rent anyway. The landlord wanted me out that day. I said, “Please, can I have two days. I might get into the finals, can I please go through this first?”
I talked him into it, and got back to my place in time for the phone call. “Congratulations, Nadja,”“they said. “You have made the finals.”
I had achieved the ridiculously unlikely, and I had saved my best piece. Yet part of me was sorry. I wanted it to be over already. In the three days from the preliminaries to the semifinals, I lost eight pounds. I was so tired of the pressure.
There was a fellow who advanced to the finals with me, an old, good friend since Pre-College. Competition against friends is inevitable in music, but I never saw competition push a friendship out the window so quickly. By the day of the finals, I hated him and he hated me. Pressure was that intense.
The finals were held on May 29 at Carnegie Hall and open to the public. I was the fourth violinist of the morning, then there was a lunch break, and three more violinists in the afternoon.
I played my Tchaikovsky, Saint-Sa‘ns’s Havanaise, and Ravel's Tzigane for the judges: managers, famous violinists, teachers, and critics. I went on stage at five past eleven and finished at noon. Those fifty-five minutes seemed like three days.
I was so relieved when I finished playing; I was finished! It's impossible to say how happy I was to see the dressing room. I went out for lunch with my friends. It was like coming back from the grave. We laughed and joked and watched TV.
As I returned to Carnegie Hall to hear the other violinists, I realized I'd made a big mistake: they might ask for recalls. A recall is when they can't decide between two people and they want you to play again. It's been done; it's done all the time in competitions. No way was I in shape to go onstage and play again.
In the late afternoon, the competition was over. Everybody had finished playing. Quite luckily─no recalls.
The judges deliberated for an hour. The tension in the air was unbelievable. All the violinists were sitting with their little circle of friends. I had my few friends around me, but no one was saying much now.
Finally, the Naumburg Foundation president Robert Mann came on stage.
“It's always so difficult to choose ...” he began.
“Every year we hold this competition,” Robert Mann said. “And in the past, we've awarded three prizes. This year we've elected to only have one prize, the first prize.”
My heart sank. Nothing for me. Not even Miss Congeniality.
“We have found,” Mann went on, “that second place usually brings great dismay to the artist because they feel like a loser. We don't want anyone here to feel like a loser. Every finalist will receive five hundred dollars except the winner, who will receive three thousand dollars.”
And then he repeated how difficult it was to choose, how well everyone had played ...dah, dah, dah.
I was looking down at the floor.  
“The winner is ...”
And he said my name.
A friend next to me said, “Nadja, I think you won!”
I went numb. My friends pulled me up and pointed me toward the stage. It was a long walk because I had slipped into a seat in the back. Sitting up in front was my old friend. I would have to walk right past him and I was dreading it, but before I could, he got up and stopped me.
He threw his arms around me and I threw my arms around him. I kept telling him how sorry I was. I was holding him and started to cry, saying, “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.” I didn't want to lose, but I really didn't want him to lose either. And he was holding me and saying, “Don't be sorry. I'm so proud of you.” It was over, and we would be friends again.
I took my bow, then ran to Juilliard. Ten blocks uptown, one block west, to give Miss DeLay the news. She could be proud of me now, too.
Suddenly, everything was clear. Playing the violin is what I'd do with my life. Heaven handed me a prize: “You've been through a lot, kid. Here's an international competition.”
Everything had changed when I prepared for the Naumburg, and now everything changed again. I made my first recording. Between September 1981 and May 1982, I played a hundred concerts in America, made one trip to Europe, then two months of summer festivals. And people asked me back.
There was a great deal of anxiety playing in Europe for the first time. But I was able to rely on my self-confidence to pull me through.
Self-confidence onstage doesn't mean a lack of nerves backstage. The stakes had increased. This wasn't practice anymore, this was my life. I'd stare into a dressing-room mirror and say, “Nadja, people have bought tickets, hired baby-sitters, you've got to calm down; go out there and prove yourself.”
Every night I'd prove myself again. My life work had truly begun

1. 1.

   In a gesture to prepare for the competition, Nadja did all the following except _________

   1. A.
      preoccupying herself in practice
   2. B.
      trying to carry out her deeds secretly
   3. C.
      abandoning going to school for classes
   4. D.
      consuming the best food to get enough energy
2. 2.

   How many violinists does the passage mention advanced to the finals?

   1. A.
      Four
   2. B.
      Five
   3. C.
      Six
   4. D.
      Seven
3. 3.

   After Nadja finished playing at the finals, she went out for a while and when she came back to hear the other violinists she realized she had made a mistake because _________

   1. A.
      she forgot that there was going to be a recall
   2. B.
      she didn’t get hold of the permission to leave
   3. C.
      chances were that she had to replay and she was off guard
   4. D.
      there was another play she had to take part in in the afternoon

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。

首先，请阅读以下专家的解答：

A.First, let' s talk about your boyfriend.If he' s laughing at you about it and won' t stop (even after you've talked to him about the fact that it hurts and annoys you) then you might need to stop being friends with him. If he really doesn't care about how he is hurting you, then he's not good enough to be your boyfriend. Second, if that girl is bothering you and threatening to beat you up you really need to turn to an adult for help. If you can't feel safe at school, you can't concentrate and will get poor grades, which will affect your future.

B.It' s true that your first year in high school is important. It's a fresh start with your grades and it affects the rest of your high school years, but if you just stay calm, optimistic, and focused, you'll do fine. There's really no need to worry about grades as long as you work hard. Try to stay happy and confident. I think a good way to get an extra confidence boost is to wear your favorite clothes.

C.You' re already on the right track by knowing what you want to change about yourself and why you feel the way you do. Understanding yourself is a big step! One good thing to do is to hang out with people a lot like you. If you have more in common with someone, then it is much easier to talk to them. Usually when you feel comfortable around a group of people, your confidence increases a lot.

D.What I've discovered from my years of school changing is that confidence is the key to a good first day. Make sure you're not too threatening to your new classmates in any way, and it usually helps to be twice as nice as usual. Just smile and try to have fun. Also, about the clothes, wear something cute with bright colors. Then you'll look good, but you won' t have too many eyes on you all at once. Good luck and have fun!

E.Usually it helps your grades if your family life is less of a challenge. If you get better grades and quit running up high phone bills, you would get along better with your parents. Getting along with your parents is pretty important.They've been through a lot and are usually good people to go to for help. So try your best to get along with your family.

F.If you don't feel pretty, remember that everyone looks different. There are different kinds of "pretty”, believe it or not. Some people have great smiles, some have great hair, and some have nice eyes. Pay more attention to the parts of you that you like and pay less attention to what you don't like.

阅读下列人物的困惑，然后匹配相应的专家解答：

1.I am in eighth grade and am about to start high school.I am super nervous about going to high school and afraid that I won' t fit in and get good grades. It is all I think about nowadays and it is ruining my life. What should I do? Please help me!

2.I had a fight with a girl at school and ended up almost getting forced to leave school. Everybody makes fun of me and now my boyfriend is joining in with them. I have told him that it hurts my feelings, but he says that it is just a joke and that he may do it again. I feel scared to go to school, because I knocked her down at school and she'll get all her friends to beat me up the next time she sees me. I run as fast as I can to attend classes. Please help me!

3.My dad and mom always get me mad. I have bad grades.My cell phone's bill is quite high. I think it' s because of my anger at my dad and mom. What should I do to get along well with my family?

4.My family will move to a new city and I will have to start a new school. I'm really nervous about being a new kid. I don' t know what kids wear in a completely new school, how they act, or anything else. I don't want to make a bad impression on my first day. Oh, I will be in 10th grade and I've never changed schools before.

5.When I was eight my parents divorced(离婚).I used to be willing to do something and talk to someone I didn't know without being nervous. After the divorce I switched(转变) to many different schools and got really shy.My problem is that I'm shy around boys. I have to get to know them a lot to open up more and I think I might have ruined it a couple of times. I want my old self back. How do I open up even more without feeling scared?

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。
首先，请阅读以下专家的解答：
A.First, let' s talk about your boyfriend.If he' s laughing at you about it and won' t stop (even after you've talked to him about the fact that it hurts and annoys you) then you might need to stop being friends with him. If he really doesn't care about how he is hurting you, then he's not good enough to be your boyfriend. Second, if that girl is bothering you and threatening to beat you up you really need to turn to an adult for help. If you can't feel safe at school, you can't concentrate and will get poor grades, which will affect your future.
B.It' s true that your first year in high school is important. It's a fresh start with your grades and it affects the rest of your high school years, but if you just stay calm, optimistic, and focused, you'll do fine. There's really no need to worry about grades as long as you work hard. Try to stay happy and confident. I think a good way to get an extra confidence boost is to wear your favorite clothes.
C.You' re already on the right track by knowing what you want to change about yourself and why you feel the way you do. Understanding yourself is a big step! One good thing to do is to hang out with people a lot like you. If you have more in common with someone, then it is much easier to talk to them. Usually when you feel comfortable around a group of people, your confidence increases a lot.
D.What I've discovered from my years of school changing is that confidence is the key to a good first day. Make sure you're not too threatening to your new classmates in any way, and it usually helps to be twice as nice as usual. Just smile and try to have fun. Also, about the clothes, wear something cute with bright colors. Then you'll look good, but you won' t have too many eyes on you all at once. Good luck and have fun!
E.Usually it helps your grades if your family life is less of a challenge. If you get better grades and quit running up high phone bills, you would get along better with your parents. Getting along with your parents is pretty important.They've been through a lot and are usually good people to go to for help. So try your best to get along with your family.
F.If you don't feel pretty, remember that everyone looks different. There are different kinds of "pretty”, believe it or not. Some people have great smiles, some have great hair, and some have nice eyes. Pay more attention to the parts of you that you like and pay less attention to what you don't like.
阅读下列人物的困惑，然后匹配相应的专家解答：
【小题1】I am in eighth grade and am about to start high school.I am super nervous about going to high school and afraid that I won' t fit in and get good grades. It is all I think about nowadays and it is ruining my life. What should I do? Please help me!
【小题2】I had a fight with a girl at school and ended up almost getting forced to leave school. Everybody makes fun of me and now my boyfriend is joining in with them. I have told him that it hurts my feelings, but he says that it is just a joke and that he may do it again. I feel scared to go to school, because I knocked her down at school and she'll get all her friends to beat me up the next time she sees me. I run as fast as I can to attend classes. Please help me!
【小题3】My dad and mom always get me mad. I have bad grades.My cell phone's bill is quite high. I think it' s because of my anger at my dad and mom. What should I do to get along well with my family?
【小题4】My family will move to a new city and I will have to start a new school. I'm really nervous about being a new kid. I don' t know what kids wear in a completely new school, how they act, or anything else. I don't want to make a bad impression on my first day. Oh, I will be in 10th grade and I've never changed schools before.
【小题5】When I was eight my parents divorced(离婚).I used to be willing to do something and talk to someone I didn't know without being nervous. After the divorce I switched(转变) to many different schools and got really shy.My problem is that I'm shy around boys. I have to get to know them a lot to open up more and I think I might have ruined it a couple of times. I want my old self back. How do I open up even more without feeling scared?