①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.

②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.

③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.

④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.

⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.

⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at eh age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.

1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?

a. He began learning music in an institution.

b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.

c. He visited the Soviet Union.

d. He met with Chinese musicians.

e. He performed for American soldiers.

A. a,e,c,d,b     B. a,e,b,c,d     C. e,a,b,c,d     D. e,a,c,d,b

2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.

A. how Stern began to learn music   B. how Stern began his musical career

C. Stern’s early education          D. Stern’s achievement in music

3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?

A. He was an activist in opposing war.

B. He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.

C. He had an interest in both playing music and making films.

D. He made a lot of money from music.

4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.

A. someone who supports young musicians

B. someone who wants to be a musician

C. someone who has a gift for music

D. someone who plays a certain kind of instrument

5. Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?

A.       ①                              B.       ①

↓                                         ↓

②③④⑤                                ②③④⑤⑥

↓                                         ↓

⑥⑦                                      ⑦

C. ①②③④⑤⑥                            D.    ①②③

↓                                           ↓

⑦                                      ④⑤⑥⑦

 

 

1.His platinum albums such as “You Make Me Happy and Sad,” “Flowery Heart,” “Music Brings Us Together” and “Emil & Friends” have brought him numerous awards in Singapore, and China’s Taiwan and Hong Kong.

2. Jonathan Lee represents the creative spirit of the past 20 years in Taiwan and many renowned singers like Sarah Chan (Chen Shuhua), Sandy Lam (Lin Yilian), Emil Chau (Zhou Huajian) and Karen Mok (Mo Wenwei) draw great inspiration from Lee's works.

3. Jasmine Leong is a Malaysian singer who is very popular on the Taiwan music scene. Focusing on lyrical songs, Leong's Beijing performance will also tap into rock & roll music.

4.To remember Henrik Ibsen, with pianist Wolfgang Plagge, violinist Annar Folles and soprano Gao Xia, the Norwegian Ibsen Trio will present the classic works of the celebrated playwright.

5.The mix of musical treats for children in Beijing includes various kinds of art forms, including Western classical music and Chinese traditional music, as well as puppet plays, crosstalk shows, and highlights of Chinese local operas such as Peking Operas and Kunqu Operas.

A. Commemorative show: To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, the founder of modern prose drama, a concert titled “Nora's Songs” will be given.

Time: 7:30 pm, March 20

Place: Peking University Concert Hall

Tel: 6275-2279, 6275-9637

B. Feel the mood: Jonathan Lee will host his 2006 concert in Beijing. As the master of music in Taiwan, Lee is famous for his unique annotation of love, mood and life.

Time: 7:30 pm, March 24, 25

Place: Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiao Lu, Haidian District

Tel: 6835-4020

C. Chamber music: The chamber concert series of China Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra will greet audiences with a woodwind quintet, a string quartet plus Bach's piano concerto and suite.

Time: 7:30 pm, March 25

Place: The Concert Hall of the Central Conservatory of Music, 43 Baojiajie, Xicheng District

Tel: 6641-4759, 6642-5744

D. Pop star: Singer and composer Emil Chau, one of the most admired music idols in China and Southeast Asia, will perform a solo concert in Beijing. Chau was born in Hong Kong and attended college in Taiwan. He has released more than 30 albums in Mandarin, Cantonese and English.

Time: 7:30 pm, March 31

Place: Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiao Lu, Haidian District

Tel: 6833-5552

E. Music for children: Some 50 colourful music-related performances will be staged until August 28 in an "Open the Door to Music" series of concerts, in a move to foster Chinese children's taste for art. The concert series will be held in several venues, sponsored by the Forbidden City Concert Hall and supported by the Beijing Municipal Culture Bureau.

Tickets: 10-100 yuan (US$1-12)

Time/date: 2 pm or 7:30 pm, July 20-August 28

Location: mainly in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Zhongshan Park, some in Peking University Hall in Haidian District and in the China Puppet Art Theatre and Poly Theatre

Tel: 6506-5343, 6506-5345

F. Beautiful timbre: Jasmine Leong will meet her Beijing fans next month. Singing with beautiful timbre, Leong will present a series of love stories to the audience. To highlight the theme of love, 200 sets of lover's tickets, valued at 1800 yuan will be presented.

Tickets: 180-980 yuan (US$22-121)

Time/date: 7:30 pm, September 9

Location: Workers' Gymnasium, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6501-6655

 

Today, roller skating (滑旱冰) is easy and fun. But many years ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, people never tried skating on wheels. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making instruments. In his free time he liked to play the violin. Merlin was a man with many ideas and many dreams. People called him a dreamer.

   One day Merlin received an invitation to go to an important party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think. He wanted to find a way to make a wonderful entrance at the party. Merlin had an idea. He thought that he would attract a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.

Merlin tried different ways to make he roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skate shoes. Merlin was very proud of them. He dreamed of arriving at the party and skating into the room while playing the violin. He was sure that everyone would be very surprised.

   On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing his violin. Everyone was really surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skating. He rolled on, playing the violin. Then, with all eyes on him, Merlin hit into a huge mirror on the wall. The mirror broke into many pieces with a very loud noise. But nobody forgot Merlin’s wonderful entrance after that.

1. The story tells us that people began to enjoy roller-skating ______.

    A. before the year 1750         B. before the invitation

    C. because of Joseph Merlin     D. because it was dangerous

2.People called Merlin a dreamer because ___________.        

    A. he slept and dreamed a lot       B. he was full of different ideas

    C. he was a talented violinist      D. he always made people’s dreams come true

3. ___________ made Merlin think of skating on wheels.

    A. Merlin’s work                   B. Merlin’s violin    

C. A huge mirror                    D. An important party

4. What was Merlin’s problem after he rolled into the room?

    A. He couldn’t stop his roller-skating.     

B. He couldn’t attract a lot of attention.

    C. Everyone was surprised at him.    

D. He couldn’t play the violin while rolling.

5. The text is mainly about_________.

A. a strange man                       

B. an unusual party

C. how roller skating began            

D. how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century

 

On November18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the world famous violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Lincoln Centre in New York City. If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is not easy for him. He got polio(小儿麻痹症)as a child, and has to walk with the aid of two crutches(拐杖)now.

That night Perlman walked slowly to his chair. Then he sat down and began to play. But, suddenly, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it break---it broke with a loud noise.

People thought to themselves, “He would have to get up to either find another violin or find another string for this one.”

But he didn’t. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra(管弦乐队)began, and he played from where he had stopped. He played with such passion and such power.

Of course, everyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. But that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him changing and recomposing(重新作曲)the piece in his head.

When he finished, there was a silence in the room. Then people rose and cheered. We were all on our feet, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.

He smiled and then he said in a quiet tone, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can make with what you have left.”

His words have stayed in my mind ever since I heard them. That is also the way of life. Perhaps our task in this quickly changing world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.

1.Holding a concert is challenging for Perlman because ______.

A. he is just a world famous violinist 

B. he has never performed on stage before

C. he is physically disabled as a result of a disease 

D. he has difficulty in moving his body

2.When Perlman had just begun playing, ______.

A. there was something wrong with the violin

B. he fell ill suddenly

C. an accident happened and caused a disturbance

D. a very loud noise arose from the audience

3. If one of the strings suddenly broke, what would an ordinary player do?

A. He would cancel the concert.             B. He would play another violin.

C. Another performer would play instead.     D. The concert would be put off.

4.The audience rose and cheered ______.

A. to show they are satisfied with Perlman’s performance

B. to thank the orchestra for their passionate performance

C. to ask Perlman for another performance

D. to express their appreciation of Perlman’s creative mind

5. The lesson we draw from the story is that ______.

A. we should make the best of what we have

B. what we have is more important than what is lost

C. we should not care about what is lost

D. the way of life is to always live with music

 

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