1 . João Carlos Martins, the 80-year-old Brazilian classical pianist, had lost the ability to play for almost 20 years due to a series of unfortunate events in his life. But everything changed thanks to a pair of special bionic (仿生的) gloves.
He is one of the best pianists alive today. He had already won a contest playing Bach when he was only 8 years old. Then at the peak of his skills, he could play 21 notes per second. However, luck wasn’t always on his side. At 24 years old, he suffered an accident that caused nerve damage to his arm, atrophying (使萎缩) three of his fingers. Then when he was 55, an accidental brain injury completely paralyzed (使瘫痪) his arm.
João went through 24 surgeries, but nothing could help his hands, forcing him to stop playing the piano, seemingly for good.
However, João didn’t give up on his musical career. He became a conductor in 2003. He couldn’t turn the pages in the score, so instead, he just tried his best to memorize every score, note by note. He still played the piano sometimes, but extremely slow, since he could play only one note per second.
That might have been his life, were it not for an engineer who saw the pianist playing live and decided to work out something to help him. After a concert, he approached João with the first pair of special bionic gloves. Yet, they didn’t work. When the engineer first showed João the gloves, he joked that they were for boxing, not to play the piano.
But neither of them gave up, and after testing out several models, the perfect match was created. The gloves provide the necessary support for each finger and can even “tune” to what he plays.
João knows that he might never recover his speed of the past. But he’s starting over, as though he were an 8-year-old again. João says, it can take years, but he will keep pushing. He won’t give up.
1. What can we learn about João Carlos Martins from the second paragraph?| A．He lost three fingers during an accident. |
| B．He showed great talent for the piano as a child. |
| C．He went through many hardships to succeed. |
| D．He suffered brain injuries when he was young. |
| A．He asked engineers for help. | B．He lost hope for his future life. |
| C．He prepared to give up his dream. | D．He struggled to continue his career. |
| A．They should be improved. | B．They cost too much money. |
| C．They were too heavy to carry. | D．They could bring fun to his life. |
| A．Smart and helpful. | B．Gifted and confident. |
| C．Determined and positive. | D．Creative and generous. |
