7. When she worked as a nurse at a New York hospital, Alberta never talked　　 T　　 F

about her past

6. Ms Hunter has been on the stage for less than forty years.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

5. Alberta Hunter ran away from her home at eleven years of age in order 　　　 T　　 F

to make money by singing 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

4. Alberta Hunter is famous for wearing large round gold earrings　　　　　　　　　　 T　　 F

3. That Alberta Hunter often sings to herself shows that she is happy. 　　　　　　　 T　　 F

2.Many people don't recognize Alberta Hunter in the daytime because 　　　　　　 T　　 F

she doesn't look different from other old women

1.This passage mainly tells us ____.

A. something about the famous jazz singer---Alberta Hunter

　 B. why Alberta Hunter ran away from home when she was young

　 C. how she stopped singing

D. when she changed her job

8.The word nap in the first paragraph means ___.

　 A. a short rest　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. a short sleep

　 C. something hot to drink　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. something cool to drink

Words per minute ______

%Comprehension _______

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Passage 22　

　　　　　　　　　　　 Alberta Hunter.

By day she looks like so many other older women out shopping, going slowly along on feet that move as though they hurt. She likes to ride the city's buses, often singing softly to herself as she rides. If you hear her, listen carefully, for the little old lady is the famous jazz(爵士音乐) singer Alberta Hunter. After over twenty years away from the stage (舞台), the eighty-three-year old singer is a star once again, and, says she, "I'm the happiest woman in this world."

At night Ms Hunter is on stage, wearing large round gold earrings, and singing the blues (sad songs) for the people who crowded into the theater.

Ms Hunter, who has loved music all her life, began her life's work when she was only eleven years old. She ran away from her home in Memphis, Tennessee, because she'd heard that singers in Chicago were making ten dollars a week. Even though she was young and small, she was able to get a job, and people began to recognize her great talent (天才). She traveled all over the world and became famous not only as a singer, but also as a songwriter.

During all those years, Ms Hunter was very close to her mother, whom she brought from Memphis to live and travel with her. But when her mother died in 1954, there was a sudden and complete change in Alberta Hunter's life.

A few days after her mother's death, Ms Hunter attended school and became a nurse. She gave up singing forever. She thought.

For more than twenty-three years, she worked happily as a nurse at a New York hospital, where no one had any idea of her unusual past. Nor did they have any idea of her age. When she finally retired(退休), they believed she had reached age seventy. "I was eighty-two," Ms Hunter says with a smile. She became terribly bored(无聊) and told some of her old friends. One of them suggested that she should go back to singing. She did and she had been busy ever since.

　　　　　　　　　　　　 Length 338

Total Reading Time ___

_____________________________________________________________________

Answer the following questions without referring to the reading:

7. A sleeping pill is something that ____.

A. stops somebody from sleeping too much

　 B. can make somebody sleep

　 C. can be put under the head when sleeping

D. can be taken when sleepy

6. The doctor asks him not to drink or eat anything during the night.　　　　　　　　 T　 F