3 . On October 3, 1945, a ten-year-old boy stood on stage at a contest. One of his teachers had encouraged him to enter the contest after hearing him sing one morning. He placed fifth.

A few months later, he received a guitar for his 11th birthday. What he really wanted was a bicycle. Two of his uncles gave him basic guitar lessons. But he didn’t like singing in public. He was too shy.

Yet something inside kept pulling him back to music. In 1948, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. The boy would spend every moment of his free time on Beale Street, the heart of the Memphis Blues Scene. He’d often bring his guitar to school. Yet his eighth grade teacher gave him a C in music. She told him that he had “no gift for singing”.

In 1953, the young man walked into the offices of Sun Records. But the record went nowhere. He tried out for a local singing group, but failed in the audition. He told his father, “They told me I couldn’t sing.”

Then Sam Philips, the owner of Sun Records heard this young man’s record. Sam invited him back to the studio and asked him to sing as many songs as he knew. Yet even then, it was not going well. The young man was about to go home when he suddenly picked up his guitar and started singing a 1946 Blues song, That’s All Right. Philips immediately began taping; he knew this was the sound he’d been looking for. Sun Records released the album. No one had ever heard anything like it before.

Within three years Elvis Presley（猫王）was an international superstar.

1. What did the boy hope for as the 11th birthday gift?

A．A guitar.	B．A birthday party.
C．A bike.	D．A music lesson.

2. What can we infer about the boy from the third paragraph?

A．He eventually gave up singing.	B．His teacher encouraged him.
C．His family sent him to a music school.	D．He was still addicted to music.

3. What does the underlined word “audition” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．A short performance.	B．A previous plan.
C．A singing contest.	D．A new record.

4. What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Actions speak louder than words.

B．Two heads are better than one.

C．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

D．Where there is a will, there is a way.

4 . On November 24, 1868, Scott Joplin was born in Texas. He became famous as a ragtime (拉格泰姆音乐) composer and piano player. Ragtime music was an early form of jazz. This music has a lively beat and was developed from the music of African Americans.

Ragtime became popular in the early 1890s, and the music was played on the piano. The piano player usually made up a melody, then changed it a little bit every time he played. Scott Joplin was very good at composing, or making up music and playing the piano. When he was growing up, Joplin’s home was filled with music. Still, Joplin’s father did not want him to be a musician. When he was about 14 years old, Joplin left home to travel and start a life of his own. He traveled all over the Midwest playing the piano and composing music. Sometimes he played with music groups. Other times he sang by himself in noisy saloons and bars. In 1899, Joplin wrote Maple Leaf Rag, a ragtime song that became a big hit and earned Joplin the title of The King of Ragtime. In all, he wrote more than 500 songs. Joplin’s biggest dream was to compose a ragtime opera. Finally, after 10 years, Joplin completed a ragtime opera which he called Treemonisha. This opera was about a young black woman who became a leader of her people. She tried to help her people gain their freedom and their rights.

1916, Joplin became very sick. He had a disease that made him forget things and become easily afraid of things. In 1917, he was put in the hospital. He finally died there on April 1, 1917. Scott Joplin’s music became popular again in the early 1970s when it was used in a movie called The Sting.

1. Which of the following best describes ragtime?

A．It is a kind of jazz music.	B．It was born in Texas.
C．It sounds slow and sad.	D．It is played on the guitar.

2. Joplin took up ragtime       .

A．with strong family support	B．against his father’s will
C．for a richer and happier life	D．with the hope of traveling

3. What can we know Maple Leaf Rag?

A．It was a ragtime opera.	B．It was attacked by other composers.
C．It was used in a movie.	D．It won the composer great honor.

4. Which of the words can best describe Scott Joplin?

A．Talented and traditional.	B．Determined and productive.
C．Stubborn and cautious.	D．Patient and generous.