Andy loved the first grade. He loved his teacher，Mrs.Parks. He loved playing games on the playground. He loved learning about dinosaurs and the solar system (恐龙和太阳系).
Every morning Andy’s mother dropped him off in front of his school on South Street. One foggy morning，the traffic was so bad on South Street that she decided to drop him off behind the school. Andy walked for about ten minutes and got to the gate. He held the icy handle，but it didn’t move！Using both hands，he tried his hardest and finally the gate opened.
After Andy closed the gate behind him，he looked in the direction of the teaching building. But all he could see was fog. He got to the spot where the slide had always been，but it was not there.“The slide is gone！” he cried. He walked a little more to look for the swings，but they were not where they had always been.“The swings are gone！” he cried again.
Andy kept walking. He was so anxious to see the school that he fell and landed on the ground. He still couldn’t see the school. A terrible thought appeared in his head.“The school is gone！” he cried sadly. No more games with Jennie，Angel and Dillon，he thought. No more reading about dinosaurs. No more watching videos on the solar system...
Suddenly the boy saw something up ahead.“It’s Jennie！”he shouted. Then he saw the outline of a school building. His school was still there！He was full of excitement!
“Hi，Jennie！” he stood up and caught up with the girl.“I couldn’t see the school. I thought it was gone.” Jennie just laughed.“You’re so silly.” “What happened to the slide and the swings？” Andy asked.
“We will have new playground equipment today，” Jennie answered.“The old equipment was taken away last night. Don’t you remember Mrs. Parks telling us about it yesterday？” “I guess I forgot，” Andy said，smiling.“Anyway，I’m glad the school is here.”

1. 1.

   It can be concluded from the passage that______.

   1. A.
      Andy’s mother might feel sorry for her son
   2. B.
      Andy was a boy who loved school very much
   3. C.
      many students would be late for school on that foggy day
   4. D.
      Jennie did well in learning and was interested in nature
2. 2.

   Andy cried the second time probably because______.

   1. A.
      he couldn’t play on the slide any more
   2. B.
      he carelessly fell down on the ground
   3. C.
      it was too cold for him to walk a long way
   4. D.
      he didn’t find the swings where they had been
3. 3.

   Why didn’t Andy see the school building before he met Jennie?

   1. A.
      Because his eyesight was not very good.
   2. B.
      Because he went in the wrong direction.
   3. C.
      Because there was heavy fog that morning.
   4. D.
      Because he was not concentrated then.
4. 4.

   According to the passage，when Andy began his class that day he would______.

   1. A.
      still feel confused
   2. B.
      have a nice day
   3. C.
      miss his mother
   4. D.
      behave badly

Andy loved the first grade. He loved his teacher，Mrs.Parks. He loved playing games on the playground. He loved learning about dinosaurs and the solar system (恐龙和太阳系)．
Every morning Andy’s mother dropped him off in front of his school on South Street. One foggy morning，the traffic was so bad on South Street that she decided to drop him off behind the school. Andy walked for about ten minutes and got to the gate. He held the icy handle，but it didn’t move！Using both hands，he tried his hardest and finally the gate opened.
After Andy closed the gate behind him，he looked in the direction of the teaching building. But all he could see was fog. He got to the spot where the slide had always been，but it was not there.“The slide is gone！” he cried. He walked a little more to look for the swings，but they were not where they had always been.“The swings are gone！” he cried again.
Andy kept walking. He was so anxious to see the school that he fell and landed on the ground. He still couldn’t see the school. A terrible thought appeared in his head.“The school is gone！” he cried sadly. No more games with Jennie，Angel and Dillon，he thought. No more reading about dinosaurs. No more watching videos on the solar system...
Suddenly the boy saw something up ahead.“It’s Jennie！”he shouted. Then he saw the outline of a school building. His school was still there！He was full of excitement!
“Hi，Jennie！” he stood up and caught up with the girl.“I couldn’t see the school. I thought it was gone.” Jennie just laughed.“You’re so silly.” “What happened to the slide and the swings？” Andy asked.
“We will have new playground equipment today，” Jennie answered.“The old equipment was taken away last night. Don’t you remember Mrs. Parks telling us about it yesterday？” “I guess I forgot，” Andy said，smiling.“Anyway，I’m glad the school is here.”
【小题1】It can be concluded from the passage that________．

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

Andy loved the first grade. He loved his teacher，Mrs.Parks. He loved playing games on the playground. He loved learning about dinosaurs and the solar system (恐龙和太阳系)．

Every morning Andy’s mother dropped him off in front of his school on South Street. One foggy morning，the traffic was so bad on South Street that she decided to drop him off behind the school. Andy walked for about ten minutes and got to the gate. He held the icy handle，but it didn’t move！Using both hands，he tried his hardest and finally the gate opened.

After Andy closed the gate behind him，he looked in the direction of the teaching building. But all he could see was fog. He got to the spot where the slide had always been，but it was not there.“The slide is gone！” he cried. He walked a little more to look for the swings，but they were not where they had always been.“The swings are gone！” he cried again.

Andy kept walking. He was so anxious to see the school that he fell and landed on the ground. He still couldn’t see the school. A terrible thought appeared in his head.“The school is gone！” he cried sadly. No more games with Jennie，Angel and Dillon，he thought. No more reading about dinosaurs. No more watching videos on the solar system...

Suddenly the boy saw something up ahead.“It’s Jennie！”he shouted. Then he saw the outline of a school building. His school was still there！He was full of excitement!

“Hi，Jennie！” he stood up and caught up with the girl.“I couldn’t see the school. I thought it was gone.” Jennie just laughed.“You’re so silly.” “What happened to the slide and the swings？” Andy asked.

“We will have new playground equipment today，” Jennie answered.“The old equipment was taken away last night. Don’t you remember Mrs. Parks telling us about it yesterday？” “I guess I forgot，” Andy said，smiling.“Anyway，I’m glad the school is here.”

1.It can be concluded from the passage that________．

A．Andy’s mother might feel sorry for her son

B．Andy was a boy who loved school very much

C．many students would be late for school on that foggy day

D．Jennie did well in learning and was interested in nature

2.Andy cried the second time probably because________．

A．he couldn’t play on the slide any more

B．he carelessly fell down on the ground

C．it was too cold for him to walk a long way

D．he didn’t find the swings where they had been

3.Why didn’t Andy see the school building before he met Jennie?

A．Because his eyesight was not very good. 

B．Because he went in the wrong direction.

C．Because there was heavy fog that morning.

D．Because he was not concentrated then.

4.According to the passage，when Andy began his class that day he would________．

A．still feel confused              B．have a nice day

C．miss his mother                      D．behave badly

My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can't be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying，“What do you want? Take my wallet，” but at the time I thought of nothing.

I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house—Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen's voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy's head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy，and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn't crouch (蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.

I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help！” at eight o'clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the? more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in！” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy's screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.

The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to? come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely，“Please go and eat. We're OK.”

I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of? bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I? was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer? sentences wouldn't change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was? directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes? talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy? and me?

People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out? in force twenty minutes later. They were ill?tempered about what was, to them, much trouble? about nothing.? After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to? describing the gunmen. “Typical，” said one policeman when we couldn't even agree on how tall? the men were.? Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two? policemen who stayed to make the report didn't think that would be much help.

The policemen were matter?of?fact about the whole thing. The thin one said，“That was a? stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do? what you're told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.

Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the? house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys，” he said. “If you? had gone into the house with them...” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” ——he twisted his head toward me——“and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look，” said the fat policeman kindly, “ there's no right or wrong in the situation. There's just luck.”

All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car? window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many? hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time—no? intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There's only luck. The next time I might end up dead.

And I’m sure there will be a next time.? It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone.Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they're fooling themselves.

1.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window，________.

A．she felt very annoyed

B．she lost consciousness

C．she felt very much nervous

D．she lost the power of thinking

2.What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?

A．Jeremy's fighting.

B．The author's screaming.

C．Their neighbour's brave action.

D．The police's arrival.

3.When the author called for help, the neighbors didn't come out immediately because________.

A．they were much too frightened

B．they were busy preparing dinners

C．they needed time to find baseball bats

D．they thought someone was playing a trick

4.What the author wants to tell us is that________.

A．neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty

B．the police are not reliable when one is in trouble

C．security is impossible as long as people can have guns

D．preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice