Today, at 28, the young German Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is at the top. “She gives radiance (光芒) to the music,” wrote Geoffrey Norris in The Daily Telegraph, London.
Born in Rheinfelden on June 29, 1963, Anne-Sophie grew up in Wehr, a small town just five kilometers from the Swiss border. Her father, Karl Wilhelm Mutter, and her mother, Gerlinde, considered music lessons part of a good education. It came as no surprise when Anne-Sophie said she wanted a violin for her fifth birthday.
Her parents thought she was too young for the violin, and persuaded her to start on the piano. But Anne-Sophie has always had a mind of her own. “I longed to play the violin,” she says, “It seemed to me a much more interesting instrument.” After six months, her parents gave in.
The famous violin teacher Erna Honigberfer, who lived nearby, became Annie-Sophie’s teacher. After only nine months of lessons, she entered the six-year-old in a nationwide competition for young musicians. With Christoph accompanying her on the piano, Anne-Sophie won first prize.
In 1974, Erna Honigberger died. Anne-Sophie’s new teacher was Aida Stucki. She taught Anne-Sophie to develop her own ideas on how a piece should be played, not just to imitate (模仿) others. This is one of the violinist’s strongest, most distinctive characteristics today.
Though the Mutters were short of money at times, they limited their daughter’s performances to one or two a year. “We are glad we went the family road,” says her father. “No outsider can ever have an effect on our daughter’s career or push her into playing more concerts than she wants to.” Later she was allowed to give six to eight concerts a year and make some recordings.
1. Anne-Sophie’s concerts are _________.| A．limited to one or two a year | B．thought highly of |
| C．accompanied on the piano by Christoph | D．appreciated by professors in London |
| A．She wanted a violin for her fifth birthday. |
| B．She has always had a mind of her own. |
| C．Violin seemed to her a much more interesting instrument. |
| D．She had two famous violin teachers. |
| A．money is not everything |
| B．children should learn music |
| C．Anne-Sophie was too young to give concerts |
| D．parents have a great effect upon their children |
| A．Anne-Sophie got her first prize with the help of Aida Stucki. |
| B．Mutter’s family had an effect on her. |
| C．Anne-Sophie liked to imitate others. |
| D．Anne-Sophie liked all the instruments. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】How to Encourage a Teenager to Take up a Hobby
Having a hobby can greatly enrich a teenager's life. Hobbies can increase physical activity and social interaction, provide stress relief and teach valuable skills.
You can ask your teens what makes them feel good about themselves. One way to help a teenager find a hobby is to focus on their strengths and what makes them feel good. Many teens may only focus on weaknesses or things they have failed at.
You can determine if your teens already participate in hobbies. Teenagers spend much of their life away from the eyes of parents and don't always offer up information.
You can analyze the teens' personality.
| A．You can have the teens make an interest list. |
| B．However, many teens are unwilling to try a hobby. |
| C．Because their parents force them to do what they hate. |
| D．You can search for opportunities you think your teens might like. |
| E．A person's personality can help them figure out hobbies or interests. |
| F．So what you should do is to pay attention to what they enjoy doing. |
| G．As a result, sometimes adults are not entirely aware that teenagers are developing hobbies. |
【推荐2】If you ask me what my favourite sport is, my answer is swimming. I had started learning how to swim when I was five years old and I have been swimming ever since. There are many reasons why I love swimming but I’ll just share a few with you, and maybe I can even encourage you to go for a swim.
The first reason why I love swimming is that it can be extremely relaxing. I love the feeling of floating on the water, feeling almost weightless. I find that whenever I leave the pool I feel totally relaxed.
On the other hand, it can also be a competitive sport. It’s amazing pushing yourself to the challenge of beating someone else to the finishing line and it’s great fun racing across the pool as fast as you can! Trying little tricks like underwater handstands and flips (空翻) also puts a big smile on my face.
Another reason why I love swimming is that it has more varieties (种类) than other sports. Swimming offers many different strokes (游法), so it doesn’t feel like you’re stuck doing the same thing over and over again.
In the summer, swimming provides a nice break! There’s nothing better than jumping into the water on a hot summer’s day. The pool makes you feel better immediately. And I think it adds to the summer holiday feeling. As for me the summer months are when I swim most.
And finally, it’s a life skill which everyone should have. Not only is it good for your health, but you never know when you’ll need your ability to swim.
1. How does the author feel after a swim?| A．Confident. | B．Tired. | C．Relaxed. | D．Bored. |
| A．The variety of swimming. |
| B．The challenge of swimming. |
| C．Much swimming experience. |
| D．Underwater swimming tricks. |
| A．Whether swimming is good for health. |
| B．The advantages of swimming. |
| C．The ways to learn swimming. |
| D．Why I love swimming. |
【推荐3】Summertime has always been my absolute favorite time of the year. When I was in school，I just lived for the long summer holidays when I could play with my friends and my sister all day at our ease. Everyone has different associations with summer. For some，they think of the smell of freshly cut grass，for some it's lying on a beach reading a book and for others it might be the taste of lemonade or ice cream. I am so happy to be spending this summer with my family and childhood friends here in the Highlands of Scotland after a year away in France.
One of my favorite things to do in summer is go to see the Highlands. These events happen all across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland over the summer and are a great chance for friends and families to get together and support the local community. A Highland Games event is a big gathering with food stalls（货摊），fair games for children and sports competitions. Many of the sports are very specific to Scottish tradition such as "caber toss". This is a competition in which the competitors attempt to lift a full-length tree log and throw it into the air. The oldest Highland Games of Scotland are now an iconic（象征性的）part of the Scottish summer.
Summer just would not be complete for me without my favorite fruit-strawberries. Here in the Highlands，strawberries are grown as one of the best-sellers over the summer months and one thing I love to do on a warm summer afternoon is to pick some strawberries to eat with cream at the end of the day. If you come here，I think you will fall in love with them.
1. Why did the author treasure summertime as a child?| A．It was a long hot holiday for him. |
| B．He could see his brother every day. |
| C．He was able to feel quite relaxed. |
| D．It was the best time to live a life. |
| A．The author was born and raised in France. |
| B．The author spent one year out of his country. |
| C．The author moved to Scotland with his family. |
| D．The author devoted much time to reading books. |
| A．People giving a hand to those in need. |
| B．Kinds of delicious food and happy children. |
| C．A cultural display of Scottish tradition. |
| D．Some extreme sports competitions. |
| A．To show he only takes interest in this fruit. |
| B．To prove the Highlands is best for summer. |
| C．To attract readers to buy strawberries. |
| D．To suggest strawberries are the best fruit. |
【推荐1】Elena Yi dreamed of pursuing piano performance in college, never minding that her fingers could barely reach the length of an octave (八度音阶）. Unable to fully play many works by Romantic-era composers including Beethoven and Brahms, she tried anyway-and in her determination to spend hours practicing a Chopin concerto, wound up injuring herself.
The efforts of Professor Carol Leone from the Southern Methodist University (SMU） are changing all that: twenty years ago, the school became the first major university in the U.S. to introduce smaller keyboards into its music program, leveling the playing field for Yi and other piano majors.
Yi, 21, tried one of the smaller keyboards, “I remember being really excited, because my hands could actually reach and play all the right notes,” she said.
For decades, few questioned the size of the traditional piano. For those with small hand spans (掌距）, it’s difficult to properly play many works of Beethoven and Brahms. Those who attempt to play them either get used to skipping notes or risk injury with repeated play. Leone is familiar with such challenges. Born into a family of musicians, she favored classical music and pursued piano despite her small hand span and earned a degree as a doctor in musical arts.
The idea of smaller keyboards first met resistance from some traditionalists. Leone also said that when she raised the issue with one Viennese professor, he told her there were already too many pianists anyway.
Though such resistance is fading, there are some very traditional people who think of piano as a competitive thing. Leone said, “This is art, not sport. It’s about making as much beautiful art as possible, and we should give everybody the opportunity to do that.”
1. Why did Elena Yi find it hard to play a Chopin concerto so well?| A．Her fingers got injured. | B．It was time-consuming. |
| C．Her hand spans were small. | D．The traditional piano was out of tune. |
| A．Summarize the previous paragraphs. | B．Add some background information. |
| C．Introduce a new topic for discussion. | D．Provide some advice for pianists. |
| A．Disapproving. | B．Objective. |
| C．Unclear. | D．Positive. |
| A．Yi’s Road to a Brilliant Artist |
| B．Hard-working SMU Professor |
| C．Traditional Piano: A Competitive Thing |
| D．The Story Behind Smaller Keyboard Pianos. |
【推荐2】Undoubtedly, music can comfort the soul for some, and it could also be a temporary reliever for physical pain. Listening to favorite songs could reduce people’s sensibility of pain, according to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research. And the most effective pain relievers were songs describing bittersweet experiences and causing strong feelings.
The study invited 63 young adults to bring two of their favorite songs, which were required to be at least 3 minutes and 20 seconds long. One selection represented their favorite music of all time, and the other was the song they could use to comfort loneliness. The researchers also had the young adults pick one of seven songs that the team considered relaxing and were unfamiliar to the study participants. Each person experienced 7-minute blocks (隔音) where they were instructed to stare at a monitor screen while listening to their favorite music, or one of the seven relaxing instrumental songs, or a scrambled (打乱) version of both songs and the relaxing song chosen. One 7-minute block had people sitting in silence. All the while, the researchers stuck a hot object to the participants’ left inner forearms. When assessing their experiences, people were more likely to report feeling less pain when listening to their favorite songs compared with hearing the unfamiliar relaxing song or silence.
After interviewing the participants about the song they brought and their rating of pain, the researchers found people who listened to bittersweet and moving songs felt less pain than when they listened to songs with cheerful themes. People who listened to bittersweet songs also reported more chills — the thrill and tremble you get on your skin from listening to pleasurable music. “When people are listening to music they enjoy, by our measurements it can reduce the pain that we’re feeling by 10%,” said Patrick, a professor of biomedical and molecular sciences.
1. Which kind of music can best relieve pain according to the study?| A．Relaxing music. | B．Unfamiliar music. |
| C．Emotive music. | D．Instrumental music. |
| A．The explanation of concepts. | B．The process of the experiment. |
| C．The presentation of study findings. | D．The application of research methods. |
| A．Their sensibility of pain was evaluated. |
| B．They listened to the music in the open air. |
| C．They each listened to three pieces of music. |
| D．They brought two favorite songs randomly. |
| A．Listening to songs can decrease our pain to 10%. |
| B．The more music you enjoy, the less pain you feel. |
| C．Certain types of music can help you feel less pain. |
| D．Feelings of pain can’t be measured by instruments. |
【推荐3】Each May since 1956 people from across Europe and around the world have gathered around their televisions with friends and family for an evening of international entertainment(娱乐)：The Eurovision Song Contest. It may well be a fun event but perhaps it’s not the shared celebration of European language that it could be. In the first ten years of Eurovision, the UK and Ireland were the only two countries to sing in English. Now English is what we expect. Is it that English is becoming, or has become the official language of music?
From high streets in Hungary to supermarkets in Sweden, from bus stops in Bulgaria to parks in Poland, people listen to English-language music everywhere. And people don't just listen, they sing it too! From sporting events in Spain to nightclubs in Norway, from concerts in Croatia to fitness classes in France, people sing along to popular songs in their everyday lives, in English. But why?
For one evening each year Eurovision is the dinner party of Europe. A dinner party to which each guest brings something special. Their clothing, tradition and food show their culture and their language shows the character of a nation. Although there are 50 nations with 83 languages, for Eurovision, English is the only language. Does Eurovision really represent Europe?
English is an international language spoken by over 1 billion people worldwide. It is no surprise that so many musicians make music in English. Of course, music makes money and more listeners make more money. According to Ragnar Thorhallsson, singer and guitarist with the Icelandic indie band (乐队)“Of Monsters and Men”, English is simpler and is easier to make rhythms(节奏). Could this be true?
Let’s remember that although English-language music is everywhere, music is not everything. As long as we continue to learn, to speak，to love, diversity(多样性)shall be valued. After all, what fun is a dinner party if the guests can’t communicate(交流) or express themselves in the way they choose?
1. What do we know about Eurovision?| A．Singers sing English songs. | B．It helps protect European cultures. |
| C．It is the most popular contest in the world. | D．Singers mainly come from the UK and Ireland. |
| A．By asking questions. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By making comparisons. | D．By following the order of space. |
| A．It is easy and beautiful. | B．It should be used in all music. |
| C．It is the best language in the world. | D．It helps musicians make money easily. |
| A．Why we should protect language diversity. |
| B．How language and music affect each other. |
| C．Whether English is the official language of music. |
| D．Why Eurovision is becoming more and more popular. |
【推荐1】In 1906, Jacqueline Cochran was born to a poor family in Pensacola, Florida. Like many girls at the time, she went to work at an early age. When she was just eight years old, Jacqueline started working in a cotton mill(纱厂). As she worked on the weaving(编织)machines, making cloth, she dreamed about becoming an aviator. She wanted to fly one of the airplanes that had been recently invented.
Jacqueline got her wish in the 1930s, she became a pilot at a time when airplanes were being avoided by most people.
Only a handful of brave young men flew these new planes, and there were very few women aviators. However, that did not stop Jacqueline. She took flying lessons and began to enter famous races. In 1938,she won first prize in a competition to fly across the United States.
At the beginning of World War II, Jacqueline trained women in England as pilots. She later came back to the United States and trained American women, too. In 1945, .she received the Distinguished Service Medal, one of America's highest honors(荣誉).
When jet planes were invented, Jacqueline learned to fly them, too. Soon, she was the first woman to fly faster than the speed of sound. Jacqueline also set many other records in the field of aviation, including flying higher than anyone had before her.
In many ways, Jacqueline Cochran is forgotten today. But this woman pilot should be remembered. She was a pioneer of new technology. She helped to make air travel one of our most important ways of transportation.
1. What is an aviator?| A．A weaver. | B．A traveler. |
| C．A pilot. | D．A trainer. |
| A．They were dangerous to fly. |
| B．They could travel faster than sound. |
| C．They were not allowed to be flown by women. |
| D．They were very popular among brave young men. |
a. Jacqueline worked in a cotton mill.
b. Jacqueline trained women pilots during World War II.
c. Jacqueline received the Distinguished Service Medal.
d. Jacqueline won first prize in a competition to fly across the United States.
| A．a-b-d-c | B．a-d-b-c |
| C．d-a-b-c | D．d-a-c-b |
| A．The flying races for women |
| B．The invention of jet planes |
| C．The first woman pilot |
| D．The forgotten flyer |
【推荐2】Rehan Staton recently found out he was accepted to Harvard Law School. For him, the sky’s the limit, but it wasn’t always that way.
The 24-year-old college student was raised by a single father who worked three different jobs, breaking his back. But, despite his father’s best efforts, financial burdens steadily mounted. Staton’s study had suffered but he kept pushing himself forward. He said growing up was tough and he used to struggle in school. One teacher even suggested he switch to a special education class.
But with help from a free tutor, Staton’s grades improved. He continued to improve academically while training to be a professional boxer in high school. However, his choices for college dwindled after suffering an injury, which ruined the chances of him turning professional in sports. He was rejected from every school he applied to.
So to help support his family, Staton took a job collecting trash at a local sanitation company, which he said changed his life in ways he never imagined. “Most of my coworkers were formerly imprisoned. So, it caught me by surprise how much the people on the bottom of the society uplifted me and really wanted me to make something of myself,” he told the reporter. “They encouraged me to reapply to college. They had nothing but uplifting words for me and my future.”
Through persistence, he took the LSAT and applied to nine schools—getting accepted to five. Ultimately, he decided to commit to Harvard Law School—and he’ll never forget all the people who helped him get there. “Throughout this time, people ask me, ‘How did you do it?’ it’s more so how could I not do it when everyone is breaking their backs for me, and pushing me to win.” Staton said. “When you have a support system, you want to give them your best shot. Because as much as you’re investing into yourself, you have others investing into you too.”
1. What can we know about Staton from paragraph 2?| A．He received special care from his teacher. |
| B．He used to have poor academic performance |
| C．He worked three jobs to help support his family |
| D．He lost sight of his goal due to family difficulties |
| A．Decreased. | B．Change. | C．Appeared. | D．Continued. |
| A．The mixed backgrounds of his coworkers |
| B．The misunderstanding about garbage men |
| C．The strong encouragement from his coworkers |
| D．The misfortune of people at the bottom of society |
| A．Courage is resistance to fear and pain. | B．Success comes from sweat and support. |
| C．Achievements are going from failure to failure. | D．Progress takes place outside the comfort zone. |
He usually went to the seaside, but one year he saw an advertisement in a newspaper. “Enjoy country life. Spend a few weeks at West Hill Farm. Good food. Fresh air. Horse riding. Walking. Fishing. Cheap and interesting.”
“This sounds a good idea,” he thought. “I’ll spend a month at West Hill Farm. I think I can enjoy horse riding, walking and fishing. They’ll make a change from sitting by the seaside and swimming.”
He wrote to the farmer. In the letter he said that he would like to spend all of July there. Then on the first of July, he left for West Hill Farm.
But four days later, he returned home.
“What was wrong with West Hill Farm?” his best friend, Ed, asked him. “Didn’t you enjoy country life?”
“Country life was very good,” Henry said. “But there was another problem.”
“Oh. What?”
“Well,” he said, “the first day I was there a sheep died, and we had roast mutton for dinner.”
“What’s wrong with that?” Ed asked. “Fresh meat is the best.”
“I know, but on the second day a cow died, and we had roast beef for dinner.”
“Lucky you!”
“You don’t understand,” Henry said. “on the third day a pig died and we had roast pork for dinner.”
“A different meat every day,” Ed said loudly, “and you are complaining!”
“Let me finish,” Henry said. “on the fourth day the farmer died, and I didn’t dare(敢) stay for dinner!”
1. How did Henry find out about the farm?
| A．He saw it in a newspaper advertisement. |
| B．His best friend told him. |
| C．He wrote to the farmer. |
| D．Maybe he learned it from the radio. |
| A．he didn’t like the country life at all |
| B．the farmer wasn’t friendly to him |
| C．his holiday was over |
| D．he thought he might have to eat the farmer |
| A．What a beautiful farm！ |
| B．Have a good time |
| C．A short holiday |
| D．Henry and the farmer |
